Recently, the well-known American media "Open Air Stand" released a ranking list called "the most disappointing players in the NBA this season". There are five players in the list, some of whom are not suspenseful, while some of them appear in the list somewhat unexpectedly.
Fifth place: Ben Simmons
The 2016 draft winner Ben Simmons has not had a good year, the 25-year-old wing with the ball has not played for most of the season, and according to the latest media reports, he may not appear in the regular season. In last season's playoff series against the Hawks, Ben Simmons' disastrous performance caught him in the spotlight, with criticism and attacks from 76ers fans, teammates and even the coaching staff giving Simmons the option of ending the matter in an extreme way. After refusing to return to the team for psychological reasons and refusing to play for nearly five months, Simmons was finally sent away as he wished, or to another powerful team in the East, the Nets. But disappointingly, his comeback still looks far away. Simmons is known to have severe back strain symptoms, and medical experts suspect he may have a lumbar disc herniation. Considering he hasn't been in team practice and games for nearly a year, even if Simmons can come back, it's not easy for the Nets to expect him to fit into the team immediately in the upcoming playoffs.
4th place: Cairn (Zion) Williamson
Williamson, 21, was drafted by the Pelicans in the '19 draft, and the player known as "Son of Heaven 2.0" did not start as smoothly as James's career. Cain, who has played only two seasons in a total of 85 NBA games, has been plagued by injuries, and this season he has not played a single game because of a foot injury. Williamson last season had a glimpse into a future All-Star who made all 61 starts and averaged 27 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 27 minutes per game. Sadly, while the 21-year-old was still debating whether the 21-year-old could try more possibilities in the first position, his foot injury opened Pandora's box. It is reported that Cain disagreed with the Pelicans in the process of recovering from a foot injury, and he believes that the misdiagnosis of the team's medical team is the main reason for his delay in returning. In addition, there have also been negative news of Cai En's overweight during the recovery period.
Third place James Harden
James Harden's list of the most disappointing players is somewhat surprising, but his performance this season has really broken the hearts of many fans. The 32-year-old Harden voluntarily applied to leave the team last season, and has not played the MVP level since the Rockets joined the Nets. No one would deny that Harden is the best two-man defender in the NBA league right now, but averaging 22.5 points per game is a bit less for Harden. In addition, Harden's negative attitude to deal with the Nets' problems has also chilled Brooklyn fans, and he is the only player in the Big Three who can play in many games, but Harden has not shown enough desire to win in these games. Before the trade deadline, Harden voluntarily offered to leave the team for the second consecutive season to join the 76ers. Changing teams back-to-back after the age of 30 is clearly the main reason fans are disappointed in him, and hopefully Harden can get himself back at the 76ers.
Second place Kyrie Owen
Unlike the four remaining players on the list, Irving's main reason for the list is not on-court reasons, but his personal stubborn prejudices. Compared to last season, the Nets after Durant's injury this season clearly need Kyrie Irving to play alongside Harden. Unfortunately, Irving not only could not play in the team game for personal reasons, but even engaged in a trick to split the team at this time, so that the Nets openly divided into two factions of infighting. The Nets are willing to send Harden away, and in addition to Harden's own wishes, Irving's opinion clearly plays an important role. The performance of an All-Star player who, instead of contributing his full strength on the court, forced out another All-Star teammate was the main reason for the disappointment of the fans. According to the latest situation, Irving will most likely not be able to play in this season's home games. Irving can't play and Simmons is absent, and Nets fans need to continue to be disappointed.
1st prize: Russell Westbrook
There is no doubt that Westbrook will be the number one on this list. The NBA's historical triple-double, once MVP, was completely lost in Los Angeles. If Westbrook led the team forward in the Rockets, and Westbrook was the best player on the team when he was a Wizard, then Westbrook was a role player at best in the Lakers, and a role player who played very erratically. His lack of shooting ability prevented him from helping the team open up space, and as he grew older, Westbrook's ability to break through was gradually declining, which caused his offensive threat to fall to a career low. No matter which team plays against the Lakers, it will shrink the formation and let Westbrook shoot, which is one of the main reasons for the Lakers' offensive stagnation. According to local media reports in Los Angeles, the Lakers and Westbrook have agreed to a peaceful breakup this summer, though it's uncertain whether to buy out or trade.