15 NBA Rookies Who Have Been Huge Busts So Far

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15. Jamaal Franklin - Memphis Grizzlies

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The Memphis Grizzlies landed Jamaal Franklin in the second round, but I believed he was a first round talent and would prove that right away. When reports came out that he was under the wing of Tony Allen, that only strengthened my opinions. Almost halfway into the season, though, and my assumptions seem rather off-base. Franklin hasn’t proven to have much value at all and has been little-used this season. As a second rounder, it’s hard to put him high on this list—but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t expect more from him.

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14. Glen Rice Jr. - Washington Wizards

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Glen Rice Jr. didn’t take a conventional road to the NBA and the Washington Wizards, nor did I have conventional expectations for him as a second-round pick. Rice came into the NBA after spending a year in the D-League, experience that I thought would allow him to contribute. However, that hasn’t been the case this season. Rice has made only 11 appearances and has been near-silent in those appearances. I thought he’s be an underrated piece for the Wizards making a playoff push, but that seems far from the truth as of right now.

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13. Sergey Karasev - Cleveland Cavaliers

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One of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ several draft picks, Russian wing Sergey Karasev was thought to be a possible steal as the 19th pick. After all, he’s been playing professionally and against international competition for a while now and has shown great talent in those roles. However, Karasev has had issues with adjusting to the faster NBA game and, in limited time, has been lost in the shuffle more often than not. He’s incredibly young and has time to come along, but he’s not been nearly as quality as expected in his inaugural season.

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12. Shane Larkin - Dallas Mavericks

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Point guard Shane Larkin has had his troubles with injuries this season and with breaking the rotation with the Dallas Mavericks, but his minutes on the floor have been a bit lackluster. In 12.2 minutes per contest, the rookie has put up only 3.2 points and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 35.9 percent from the floor. Larkin has potential, but his size and decision-making have certainly been shortcomings this season. Now he seems to have a tough task in overcoming those shortcomings ahead of him.

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11. Tony Snell - Chicago Bulls

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The Chicago Bulls have had a disappointing season as a team this year, largely due to the Derrick Rose injury. However, they’ve also not had the luxury of their offseason additions on the wing all contributed like they’d hoped they would, one of whom is rookie Tony Snell. With the depleted Bulls Snell keeps getting run, but hasn’t done much with his chances. Playing 18.5 minutes per game, he’s averaging only five points, 1.8 rebounds and one assist while shooting well below 40 percent from the floor and just over 30 percent from three. The Bulls are in an interesting place right now in terms of their direction and it’ll be interesting to see if Snell remains a part of their long-term plans.

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10. Archie Goodwin - Phoenix Suns

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Phoenix Suns rookie Archie Goodwin was a guy that I was higher on than most. However, his opportunities have been limited this season in a crowded Phoenix backcourt. At just 19 years old and with him being picked at the end of the first round, calling him a bust may be a little strong. However, his paltry numbers have fallen short of what I thought he was capable of this season, even if opportunity has been a big factor in that. Regardless, Goodwin hasn’t met at least my expectations this season, which lands him on this list.

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9. Reggie Bullock - Los Angeles Clippers

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The Los Angeles Clippers have been without rookie Reggie Bullock for several weeks now, but Bullock has really been lost in the shuffle among several sweet-shooting wings. I thought coming into the year that Bullock could possibly find minutes because of his potential as a three-and-D guy, but he hasn’t really shown much of that potential yet this season. Bullock could still be a solid contributor in this league, but I’m not sure he’s going to see much success this year in L.A.

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8. Dennis Schroder - Atlanta Hawks

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After playing in Summer League, there were a ton of people high on Atlanta Hawks rookie point guard Dennis Schroder. However, the German 20-year-old has been up against it from day one in the regular season. In 15 appearances this season, Schroder has put up only 3.3 points and 2.1 assists per game on 37.3 percent shooting while also not being that great of a defender. Schroder has been shuffled between the Hawks and the D-League this season, but it’s clear that Summer League was more of a possible sign of things to come than a premonition of what he’s going to accomplish this year.

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7. Ben McLemore - Sacramento Kings

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Ben McLemore has to look at the Sacramento Kings’ roster around him and just shake his head. This is a team currently in transition, but with questionable direction at the present. As a result, McLemore has seen his role fluctuate and hasn’t been able to settle into a groove. In 25 minutes per game, the rook is putting up eight points, 2.9 rebounds and one assists per game, but he’s shooting just 36 percent from the floor and 33.6 percent from three, numbers that paint him to be much worse of a scorer than he actually is. Considering how hyped his talent was coming into the draft, you have to be disappointed in his rookie year thus far—even if it’s not entirely his fault.

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6. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope -Detroit Pistons

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The Detroit Pistons had to be salivating when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope fell to them in the draft, but this situation has been terrible for the rookie. He’s not playing in a role that really allows a young shooter on the wing and his performance has reflected that. He’s getting 24.3 minutes per game, but he’s averaging only 7.3 points on 40 percent shooting and just 33.7 percent three-point shooting. It’s clear that KCP has the skill-set to succeed, but he’s a bust as far as his success in Detroit goes.

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5. Alex Len - Phoenix Suns

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Alex Len suffered an ankle injury early in the season and just recently returned to the Suns in the beginning of January. When he’s been on the floor, though, he’s been struggling to do much of anything positive. However, the early lower body injuries seem to scream bust to me. He was injured this summer—once again dealing with the lower body—and has already suffered another. For a young big man already dealing with those types of injuries, that’s a pretty big red flag. If he can stay healthy, he has work to do in terms of development, but his health is the most concerning part as of right now.

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4. Kelly Olynyk - Boston Celtics

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In the preseason and in Summer League, Kelly Olynyk looked like a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. Now that his rookie season with the Boston Celtics has been underway for a while, though, those dreams seem a bit far-fetched. Olynyk has had his moments, but he’s struggled overall. Playing 18.7 minutes per game, the rookie has averaged just 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while hitting only 40.7 percent of his shot attempts. Olynyk has skill and could theoretically find success in this league, but it’s going to take him longer than this year.

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3. Cody Zeller - Charlotte Bobcats

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I’ve been on a personal roller-coaster ride with Cody Zeller since the Charlotte Bobcats selected him with the fourth overall pick. I hated the pick initially, but he won me over in Summer League. Now I’m starting to wonder, again, if he has what it takes to make it in this league. His production hasn’t been awful at 5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.5 steals in 16.9 minutes per game, but his 36.9 percent field goal percentage is rough and he has a tendency to look timid whenever he’s on the floor. Zeller has the raw tools, but he’s clearly not been the asset that Charlotte expected him to be.

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2. Otto Porter - Washington Wizards

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Otto Porter started out the season with the Wizards injured, but some people expected the third overall pick to be a spark for this team. That’s hardly been the case, though. In the 16 games that he’s been active, Porter has put up just 2.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 steals per game while shooting only 33.3 percent from the floor and missing every three-point attempt that he’s taken this season. Porter was supposed to be close to the final piece to this Washington team making the postseason, but he’s only been a non-factor thus far.

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1. Anthony Bennett - Cleveland Cavaliers

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No rookie in the league has struggled more than Anthony Bennett has with the Cavs this season. Part of his struggles may be due to the lens that we view him through as the number one overall pick from this draft class, but that doesn’t change the fact that his production has been sub-par. In 31 games playing 10.4 minutes per game, Bennett has averaged 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting an unbelievably poor 26.9 percent from the floor and 14.3 percent from three. Throw in the fact that it took him an eternity to score his first NBA bucket and it’s pretty obvious that Bennett is at the top of this list.