When an NBA team is determined to enter the reconstruction period, the first task is to find young players who can be relied on in the next cycle and focus on development. And such players will either be traded or picked from the draft through the high picks they got through the pendulum. Just like after Harden left last season, the Rockets on the one hand from the Cavaliers traded Kevin Porter Jr., and then got Jaylen Green at the recent draft meeting, with this backcourt combination, the Rockets' rebuilding prospects are a little brighter.
In developing the new core of the team, the team management often needs to provide him with a relaxed environment and some privileges. It includes not only giving soccer rights, shooting rights, playing time, but even decisively disposing of players who disagree with him or disagree with him, like the Lone Ranger who sent Jordan Jr. and Danny Smith away after Doncic took office.
But not all the players who are regarded as the cornerstone of reconstruction can bring enough returns to the team in the future, some of them are considered by the team in a short period of time, and some waste more years of the team, the author here counts five players who have been driven to the shelves and cannot serve as the core of the team.
Rodney Stucky Detroit Pistons
During his time at the Pistons from 2007 to 14, Stucky was always called "Prince Ki" by Pistons fans in China. We know that singer Zheng Zhongji is called "Prince Ki" because there is a father as an entertainment tycoon, stained with the light of his father's industry background, and Stucky is called "Prince Ki" because the Pistons management is blindly optimistic about him.
How promising is it? After the Pistons sent Billups away, they saw Stucky as the centerpiece of the rebuild, and even had Iverson, who was still at the peak tail at the time, play him as a substitute. To know that the previous season at the Nuggets, Iverson was full-time in the regular season, maintaining an average of 40+ per game and averaging 26.4 points and 7.1 assists, while Stucky was only the No. 15 show with 7.6 points and 2.8 assists in the rookie season.
Perhaps it was Stucky's playoff performance in his rookie season that gave the Pistons management such courage. In 11 games in the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals, Stucky scored in double figures in five games, and such a performance in such a big scene is really not easy for rookie players. The Pistons' attention also gave him no fear, and he refused to give up his No. 3 jersey, so we could see Iverson wearing No. 1. The snub he received while in the Pistons made Iverson somewhat discouraged, and his rapid decline was not unrelated to his retirement.
The Pistons then walked on the road of revival that insisted on sticking to the Center of Stucky, but found that this road was not passable, and Stucky has been an inefficient scorer throughout his 7-year Pistons career, shooting in the early 40%, shooting rate of less than 30%, scoring about 15 points, and in the three seasons as the main controller, the number of assists is only 5. The Pistons missed the playoffs for five consecutive years, so after his second contract ended, the Pistons did not renew, and Stucky went to the Pacers to play three years later, bidding farewell to the NBA at the age of 30.
Aaron Avraro Orlando Magic
Afralo and Stucky debuted in the pistons the same year. But the same team did not die, and Afraro was sent to the Nuggets by the Pistons at the end of the second season for cash and second-round picks, and in the 2012 four-team trade involving Howard, Avraro was sent to the Magic.
During the Pistons period, Afraro was a simple 3D player, during the Nuggets, his ball-holding offense was developed, and when this team lost Howard's magic, Avraro gained unprecedented ball rights, he could play his Kobe-like back singles, and was once regarded as the boss of this team. But Afraro belongs to the player of "decent software, hardware brake", and his ordinary physical fitness is the shackle of his career, pulling down his ceiling. Averaging 18 points per game at his peak wasn't very convincing, and even the team's top scorer that season, the Magic, sent him back to the Nuggets in the offseason in exchange for Fourniers.
Trevo Ariza Houston Rockets
Like Afraro's two-time Nuggets, Ariza played for the Rockets twice, and when he first signed with the Rockets, he was properly groomed as the team boss. In the 09-10 season, Yao Ming was reimbursed for the season, Maddy was watched six games in the middle of the season, and then sent away, and the Rockets, who had no requirements for the record, gave Ariza a lot of ball rights, but Ariza was unable to digest.
In the Rockets' first 20 games, Ariza averaged 17.15 shots per game, compared to Harden's 16.5 shots per game in the Rockets' first season. But Ariza only hit 6.55 of the 17.15 shots, shooting 38.1%, which also gave him the nickname "Tieza". On the other hand, his crappy possession ability, unable to support the ball-holding attack, unable to create opportunities for teammates, which also caused everyone to say the word "system Ariza" in the future when black Paul George's ball-holding offensive ability...
Later in the season, Ariza's possession was gradually taken away by Aron Brooks and others, and the Rockets traded him to the Hornets in the offseason, admitting that Ariza had failed.
Harrison Barnes Dallas Maverick
After Durant announced that he would join the Warriors, the "North Carolina Black Hawks" could only pack up their bags and leave, and went to the lone ranger who was thirsty for talent at the time, and the lone ranger at that time had two big things, finding the core of reconstruction and accompanying Nowitzki to play the last season.
Barnes, who arrived in Dallas, seemed to hold his breath and played the best season of his career, averaging 19.2 points per game to lead the team, and Lone Ranger fans once thought they had picked up the treasure. Perhaps the story of Barnes they picked up from the Warriors is a replica of Harden that the Rockets picked up from the Thunder. But over time, we still found that Barnes's way of playing had a limited influence on the game, even if the singles in the elbow zone were fairly efficient, but some of them were out of line with the trend of the times.
After Doncic's strong start, Barnes, who had a certain conflict with his playing style, was at the end of his days as a lone ranger, and he was not such a conscientious 3D player as he is today. So there was the incident when Barnes was traded in the middle of the game, and the face of Barnes who was replaced was somewhat unbelievable.
Andrew Wiggins Minnesota Timberwolves
Finally, I would like to mention Wiggins. How enviable Wiggins's plasticity was at the beginning of the draft, then how regrettable he is now. But to be honest, I'm a little unsure if he fits the topic of the article perfectly, as the Timberwolves' turmoil has affected him a lot during his pivotal gains. In the first three years of the rookie season, Wiggins changed three managers, from the old Sanders' cultivation mode, a fast forward to Thibodeau's "utilitarian basketball" mode, Butler and Thibodeau certainly led the team to play a good record, but to a certain extent, Wiggins's ability to control the game stopped growing.
But Wiggins's own problems are also not small, and the fact that he is not aggressive is written in his draft scouting report, there is no dispute with the world on the court, and the sense of existence is weak, but everyone sees it. If Wiggins is a player with big ambitions, maybe he can become the boss in the absolute sense of the word in his first two seasons for the Timberwolves, and the team at that time is undoubtedly centered on him. But in the end, he just got tired of each other with the team.
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