It’s easy to find teams residing in NBA hell.
A sky-rocketing payroll, mediocrity on the court, and the best player in street clothes because he blew out a tire and will be possibly sidelined through next season. This is you Washington Wizards.
Of the 14 teams headed toward the May 14 lottery, no franchise is currently in worse shape than the boys from the nation’s capital.
Even before they sent Otto Porter and the $56 million they owed him to the Bulls, the Wizards will pay John Wall almost $171 million over the next four seasons, including $38.1 million next year to not play. Wall ruptured his Achilles tendon while recovering from season-ending heel surgery.
Then add on the $27 million they will pay Bradley Beal next year, and the $16 million Ian Mahinmi is guaranteed – and oh by the way Dwight Howard even has a $5.6 million player option – well, that’s $86.6 million to watch Beal, Mahinmi and Howard run up and down the court next season.
That’s NBA hell.
So while the Bulls and Suns squared off Monday night with just a combined 36 wins between them, they actually check in low on the NBA hell meter.
1. Washington Wizards – The clean-up will be long and messy. Get the hazmat suits out.
2. Charlotte Hornets – Sorry Mike, but this is what bad drafting and throwing bad money at mediocre free agents results in. And Charlotte’s best player in Kemba Walker is a free agent.
3. New Orleans Pelicans – New Orleans looked like a guaranteed playoff team out of the gate, and now they are in a hostage situation thanks to Anthony Davis’ trade demands. If they get the right haul in exchange for Davis it could be a quick turnaround.
4. Memphis Grizzlies – Chandler Parsons – yeah, that Chandler Parsons – is guaranteed $25 million next season, while Mike Conley was given max money to be a fringe first-tier point guard.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves – Ownership invested max deals in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. One guy who often seems disinterested, and another who cares more about his stats than winning. Towns is Kevin Love 2.0.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers – Can always hope to win the draft lottery when LeBron James’ son, Bronny, is eligible in possibly four years.
7. Dallas Mavericks – If Kristaps Porzingis comes back healthy from a torn ACL this rebuild could come quick. Luka Doncic was a huge home run coming out of the 2018 draft.
8. Orlando Magic – If Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba can start living up to the draft hype they each once had, the Magic could be interesting. But right now more hope than reality.
9. Phoenix Suns – Devin Booker was paid superstar money, and needs to keep living up to that. What could be a setback, however, is the inconsistent play of the enigmatic Josh Jackson since the Suns selected him No. 4 overall in 2017.
10. Sacramento Kings – The playoffs are still in sight for the Kings, but even if they fall short they look to be headed for good things.
11. Atlanta Hawks – The Hawks have hit on John Collins, Trae Young and Kevin Huerter out of the last two drafts, and will have tons of payroll room the next two offseasons.
12. Bulls – Yes, the point guard situation needs fixing and the bench is a mess, but both are easy repair jobs because of a flexible payroll. The big problem? Where are they going to find a superstar?
13. Los Angeles Lakers – The best recruiter in the business in LeBron. ‘Nuff said.
14. New York Knicks – It’s all or nothing for the Knicks this summer. They have a chance at Zion Williamson in the draft, plus room for two max contracts. If they miss, however, welcome to Satan’s basement for years to come.
