Turn the tide of the tide on the verge of falling, and the building will fall. This highly philosophical quote also applies to the NBA stage. In the star-studded and star-studded alliance, there is no shortage of legends.
However, like Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who can be in danger, not afraid of hardships, and save the team from the depths of the superstar can be described as a wind and hair, more superstars are not useful, or good times are not solved, adversity collapses. Unable to stand up for the team at a critical moment and carry the banner of the team's attack.
Today, take stock of the six biggest stars whose big contracts in the playoffs have failed.
Sixth place: Russell, the chosen son of the arrogant
Russell was selected by the Lakers with the second pick in the 2015 first round. As the son of genius, Russell's career was not smooth, and Russell's career was adrift in many teams such as the Lakers, Nets, Warriors, timber wolves and so on.
As a talented player, Russell was once pinned on high hopes, but because of his arrogant personality, he never got the opportunity to show it, and Russell's unsociable personality once became the source of contradictions in the dressing room, which also became an important factor in Russell's frequent use as a trading chip.
In 2020, Russell was sent to the Timberwolves by the Warriors to form the Three Musketeers, but Russell was not compatible with the 2020 champion Edwards, and the chemistry between the two was almost zero. Even the efficiency of the two-person single-core team is much higher than that of the dual-core team, which also made the locker room conflict between the two break out for a while.
Although, at the end of the season, Russell's form has rebounded, and the Timberwolves have also turned on rampage mode. Not only stabilized the record of the seventh place in the West, but also the Nuggets in the sixth place in the West.
The Timberwolves defeated the Clippers, who were guarded by George and Reggie, and made it to the playoffs after years. Edwards played at his peak in the playoffs, helping the team to take the lead and bringing a huge deterrent to the young Grizzlies.
However, as the core player of the team, Russell was completely demoralized, completely losing his offensive power, becoming the biggest burden on both ends of the team's attack and defense.
In the playoffs, Russell averaged 12 points, 2.5 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, a sharp drop in scoring, and became the culprit of the team's defeat. Shooting from the field was only 33.3 percent less than the 41.1 percent shot in the regular season. The decline in various data also reveals Russell's weakness when it is strong.
As one of the three musketeers, Russell's sluggish performance, as well as the attributes of the locker room cancer, in the offseason, this upside-down chosen son is likely to start a wandering career again, after all, his ability does not match his tens of millions of salaries, and it is reasonable to leave.
It is reported that Russell's 2023 contract will expire, and the next contract can sign a 3-year 118 million maximum salary contract in advance, but with Russell's sluggish performance, this contract is naturally drifting away from him, not only that, in the offseason, this role model who has never been able to cash in on his talent is likely to start a turbulent and wandering career again.
Fifth place: Bench bandit Hiro
Hiro was selected by the Heat with the 13th pick in the 2019 first round. As a 13th overall pick, although Thirot's talent and achievements are not as good as those of current superstars such as Mitchell and LaVine, as the leader on the bench, Hiro once showed his super scoring ability and explosiveness.
In the 2019-20 season, as a rookie, Hiro made history with the Heat, not only as a dark horse in the playoffs to defeat the 76ers and bucks, but also once reached the Finals, Hiro also became the first young player in the class of 2019 to enter the league and reach the Finals. Hiro's play in the playoffs was also remarkable, and he was once famous.
Plagued by Butler's injuries last season, the Heat lost to the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs and returned home to start a dormant journey.
In the new season, the Heat attracted lowry and Tucker, and the team's strength improved again. As a third-year freshman, Hiro also ushered in his peak.
This season, Hiro averaged 20.7 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game in the regular season, averaging second only to Butler in points per game, once becoming the biggest reliance of the team, and even during Butler's injury, Hiro once carried the team, and Hiro's rise also became the biggest contributor to the Heat's return to the Top Spot in the East.
However, after the start of the playoffs, the young man who killed all sides in the regular season fell to the bottom again, almost completely disappeared, and in the 5-game series against the Eagles, Giro was extremely depressed, completely losing the fighting spirit of the regular season and his super scoring ability.
Although Hiro has recovered against the 76ers, the overall decline in strength is still extremely obvious, and the young man who is a regular season dragon playoff worm still has a long way to go.
So far in the playoffs, Hiro has averaged 13.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, 42% shooting percentage, 27.3 three-point shooting rate, scoring and shooting percentage have plummeted compared to the regular season, and Hiro's poor performance has also become the biggest hidden danger in the Heat's championship journey, after all, as the biggest fire output point on the Heat bench, on the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals and even the Finals, Hiro once dudded, for the entire Heat to win the championship will be a huge hidden danger.
It is reported that after the end of the season, Hiro will be able to sign a 5-year 184 million maximum salary contract with the team in advance, but with Hiro's sluggish performance in the playoffs, and the psychological quality of playing hard battles, the Heat will not renew his contract in advance or even reduce the salary standard, after all, this regular season Dragon, the young man of the playoff worm still needs to fight a hard battle to hone his skills, and Hiro's sluggish playoff performance will also make hundreds of millions of big contracts in vain.
Fourth place: Wiggins, son of the Chosen
Wiggins was selected by the Cavaliers with the 1st pick in the 2014 first round. As another Champion after James and Irving, the Cavaliers sent him to Minnesota to return to the top, thus getting All-Star Big Forward Love. Formed the big three teams of Irving, James and Luck.
Wiggins also started his NBA career with the Timberwolves, but as the son of the chosen man with extremely high physical talent, Wiggins was once entrusted with a heavy responsibility, but due to Wiggins's healthy playing style, he could not cash in on his talent. In the Years of the Timberwolves, Wiggins not only failed to gain a foothold, but was constantly surpassed by rising stars, but also his weakness on the offensive end was constantly exposed.
In 2020, Wiggins was traded to the Warriors by the Timberwolves, and Wiggins also began a new journey. Coming to a new environment, Wiggins's strength on the defensive end continues to be highlighted, and he has also been entrusted with heavy responsibilities by Cole, but on the offensive end, at key moments, Wiggins is still unable to give a tough response, and the ability to fight hard battles is once again worrying.
In the 2021-22 season, the Warriors, who have been dormant for three seasons, have once again ushered in a recovery and outbreak. Klay's return, Green's resurgence and Curry's return to the top have all piled up to make the Warriors a championship-contending team again.
Wiggins also entered the All-Star starting lineup for the first time in his career because of his tough defense, and for a time the scenery was unlimited, and Wiggins also experienced the best period of his career. As the game progressed, after Curry was injured, Wiggins was down again, not only could not score the offensive end, but even the free throws were missed twice. Such a microcosm also runs through the end of the season.
After the start of the playoffs, the Warriors are still soaring, Wiggins as the starting five Tigers, the defensive end is still impeccable, but the downturn on the offensive end is not flattering, especially in the strong rise of Poole, Wiggins actually fell from the second scoring point in the team to the fourth scoring point, and the offensive end was constantly exposed.
Wiggins' weakness on the offensive end is likely to become the biggest weakness of the team at key moments. As the chosen son, Wiggins' attack ability continues to decline due to his healthy playing style, and the weakness of attacking weak and defending is also constantly prominent.
It is reported that Wiggins can sign a 5-year and 200 million maximum salary contract with the team in the offseason, but with Wiggins's sluggish offensive ability, it is difficult to get this big contract, after all, no matter how good the defense, it can not cover up the downturn at the offensive end, so at the end of this season, if Wiggins can not go back, whether the Warriors can win the championship, Wiggins's 200 million contract may not be easy.
Third place: The paranoid singles king Owen
Irving was selected by the Cavaliers with the 1st pick in the first round in 2011. As an offensive kaleidoscope, Irving's talent on the offensive end and gorgeous head-to-head skills are the ceiling of basketball.
In the new season, Irving was once banned for refusing to be vaccinated, the Nets were overwhelmed, Durant was tired, Harden also broke out of the locker room conflict, and forced the Nets management to complete the whistle deal for Harden before the trade deadline.
The Nets' Big Three also completely disintegrated, and although Seth Curry and Zhuang Shen once became the core players of the team, Simmons's refusal to play once again made the Nets lose in the first round of the playoffs. As a championship-winning team early in the season, it is also surprising that the Nets fell into such a situation.
In the playoffs, Irving's performance is also unflattering, although, in the regular season, Irving once played a single 60-point scoring feast, but this extremely talented single-player king, on the playoff stage, facing the former Celtics, lost again, 4 games, Irving in addition to G1 playing out of the performance of the superstar identity match, the rest of the game, completely free, offensive and defensive ends are fans of the existence, completely lost the explosion performance of the superstar.
Irving averaged 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in the playoffs, shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point range. Scoring stats and shooting percentages have declined more than in the regular season.
It is reported that in the offseason, Irving will chase a 5-year 240 million maximum salary contract, but with this season's strange personality and sluggish performance in the playoffs, the Nets have almost given up Irving's appeal, after all, for the Nets and Boss Cai, Irving's value to the team is not worth this heavy salary, and Irving's uncertain off-court factors will completely bury the entire team.
For Irving, once the Nets abandon Irving's appeal, it is difficult for other teams to give Irving a very satisfactory salary, after all, the 30-year-old Irving has been delayed by personality, not only the offensive end has lost the speed of youth, the uncertainty factor is also to make the teams prohibitive, back to the point, the NBA is a business league after all, not a so-called charity, No team will spend nearly $250 million on salary to get a part-time player whose form fluctuates slightly and isn't sure if he'll play for the team tomorrow.
Second place: Young Hollywood Lavin
LaVine was selected by the Timberwolves with the 13th pick in the first round of 2014, and as a dunkman, Lavine bounced amazingly and won the dunk king of the 2015 and 2016 All-Star Contests.
In the new season, the addition of DeRozan once brought the Bulls back to the top, and even promoted to the top of the East. The Bulls also became the hottest super team in the East for a time.
In the middle of the season, LaVine also relied on his super personal ability and the Bulls' top record, and LaVine was also successfully selected for the All-Star Team.
However, in the middle and late of the season, Lavin once forced the palace management to ask for a five-year, 210 million maximum salary contract, which also affected the competitive state at its peak. The data fluctuated slightly.
In the playoffs, LaVine did not usher in an outbreak as expected, but slumped again, and in the first round of the series with the Bucks, LaVine's presence was extremely low, and neither end of the attack nor defense showed a super highlight moment. The All-Star, who made his career into the playoffs for the first time, once again fell under the Bucks' iron-blooded defensive system because of his hard psychological qualities.
In the playoffs, LaVine averaged 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6 assists per game, shooting 42.9 percent from the field and shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range. The ability to average points per game has dropped sharply from the regular season.
It is reported that the Bulls still have no intention of renewing LaVine's contract at the top salary, after all, Lavine is plagued by injuries, which has affected the peak state of the competition, and now, the performance of the playoffs is also another complete disappointment for the Bulls for the leader of the former team.
I believe that with Lavin's overall performance this season, even if Lavin leaves the Bulls, it will be difficult to seek a top-salary super contract with a maximum salary of hundreds of millions of dollars in other teams.
First place: Harden, the almighty god of war who runs for his dreams
Harden was selected by the Thunder with the 3rd pick in the first round of 2009. As the best sixth man to stand up from the bench, Harden not only won the regular season MVP with his outstanding physical talent, as well as keen organizational ability and accurate projection ability, but also became one of the few dual-energy positions in the league.
In the 2020-21 season, Harden broke up with the Rockets, Bing forced the Palace Rockets to trade them, and finally Harden left the Rockets he played for 8 years through a three-way trade, passing through here is not where Harden's dream began, but Harden has embarked on the peak of his life here.
After leaving the Rockets, Harden formed a big three team with Durant and Irving, and the Nets also became the hottest super team in the league for a time because of Harden's arrival.
The spell of hugging and warming up continues on the Big Three, and injuries have once again become the biggest obstacle to the integration of the Big Three. During the regular season, Durant and Irving have truces, making Harden, the person who holds the thigh, become the biggest thigh, Harden is also affected by hamstring injuries, Harden suffered from injuries again in the playoffs, and Irving also entered the truce stage after being stepped on by the alphabet brother in the semifinals. Despite Durant's divine fall, it was still unable to stop the Bucks from moving forward, and the Nets' Big Three semifinals returned home.
In the new season, the Nets made a comeback, but Irving's suspension once again made the two giants physically and mentally exhausted, in the middle of the season, Durant's injury once again became the fuse, when Harden once again faced a single core to lead the team, the superstar who declined in form broke out again, and the contradiction with the Irving locker room was constantly intensified, Harden once again repeated the same trick, forcing the Palace Nets management to seek a trade.
Before the trade deadline, Harden completed the whistle trading and went to Philadelphia to join forces with Embiid. After a very sweet honeymoon with the 76ers, Harden's undulating state was once again exposed.
Embiid has also publicly ridiculed Harden several times, believing that Harden lacks aggression, the contradiction between the two locker rooms is also constantly erupting, and the contradictions between Rivers and Harden are also continuous, it is reported that Harden even suggested that the 76ers management lay off Rivers, invite Enshi De Antoni, so that he can return to the peak, and the 76ers have never stopped in the locker room contradictions. But Harden's arrival has helped the 76ers improve the overall strength of the team to a certain extent. It's just a slight deviation from what you expected.
After the playoffs began, Harden continued to lose, facing the Raptors' G4 and G5 Harden almost disappeared, but also let the opponent chase two consecutive innings, almost completed the earth-shattering reversal.
In the semifinals against the Heat, Harden was completely lost in the second half, the entire series, Harden in addition to the G4 second half to cut 19 points, the rest of the game, the second half are completely lost, the half of the single digits of the score, but also became the 76ers semifinals and the biggest failure.
In the playoffs, Ha debuted 18.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.6 assists, 40.5% shooting percentage, 36.8% three-point shooting rate, the data is lower than the regular season, 18.6 points is only a new low in 5 years, the 76ers semifinals lost 2-4 to the Heat, after two consecutive years of semi-final feathers, Embiid also once again ridiculed Harden, thinking that harden in the Rockets period has gone.
It is reported that in the middle and late part of the season, the 76ers revealed that they hope that Harden will cut his salary to renew his contract, and now, Harden's state is so depressed, the 76ers will naturally not offer a 5-year 270 million contract, for Harden, there is almost no choice but to cut salary.
As a superstar, Harden has completely fallen from the altar in just one season, and with Harden's sluggish competitive state, even if he adjusts in the offseason, he cannot return to the peak, and can maintain the status quo and ensure that he will not continue to decline, which is already a huge relief for Harden.