The NBA is a star-driven league—for better or worse. Over the past few years we have seen that play out time and time again. A team brings in a big-named player and he either elevates them to playoff and in certain circumstances, even championship contention or devastates the franchise, a la Ben Simmons in Philadelphia or Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn.
How about we project out into 2023 and look at 8 NBA stars that could wreck their team’s season.
Jordan Poole, Washington Wizards
Let’s face it, Jordan Poole has never seen a shot he didn’t like. Now that he is in Washington, Poole will have more than his fair share of opportunities to shoot the basketball, which at some point will fall victim to the law of diminishing returns.
Poole will put up numbers as a Wizard, but there’s serious reason to doubt his ability to be efficient—and Wizards fans will need to keep their fingers crossed that he doesn’t end up feuding with his new teammates like he did with Draymond in Golden State.
Chris Paul, Golden State Warriors
Okay… Chris Paul to Golden State? Talk about a square peg in a round hole. After years of public spats with Steph Curry, the Warriors are now betting on a mercurial aging vet, to play understudy to his long-time rival. What could possibly go wrong?!
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Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics
The man formerly known as “the unicorn” had a career revival in 2022 playing for Washington. He played 65 games for the first time since 2016-17—and set a career best in PPG. He will, however, be stepping into a completely different role in Boston. Not to mention the reality that to acquire him, Boston had to trade Marcus Smart, who had been a staple in the franchise for years.
If things go wrong for Kristaps early, both the fans and even his teammates will turn on him fast and it could get ugly.
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
For a guy that has been a fan-favorite in Philly since they drafted him, Embiid sure manages to find a number of creative ways to ostracize his fans and teammates—and he always seems to get a pass for it.
2023 may be the year that the rubber meets the road for Joel in Philadelphia. The 76ers are coming off another disappointing playoff exit and he’s already talked about winning a championship somewhere else this offseason.
James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers (Or Some Other Team)
Though it is still not 100% clear where James Harden will play basketball in 2023, one truth you can set your watch to is that he will find a way to wreck the season for whatever team he plays for.
With Harden, this devastation can come in a number of ways. We’ve seen him become disgruntled and demand a trade and appearing completely detached and disinterested during pivotal postseason games for multiple teams.
Whether he remains with Philly or goes elsewhere, whatever team he lands with will no doubt find itself in Harden’s chaotic crosshairs as well.
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant is undeniably one of the most exciting young stars in the game, but man has he hit a rough patch. If his 25-game suspension doesn’t wreck the Grizzlies 2023 season, it seems like a safe bet that his antics will continue in some form or another and he’ll find some other way to do so.
Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Clippers
To his credit, Westbrook actually fit into his new role with the Clippers fairly well last year—and he deserves props for swallowing his pride and playing on such a small contract, but let’s see how he and Los Angeles fairs once Paul George and Kawai are back in the lineup full-time.
Once the usage needs to be spread around that’s when it generally starts to get hairy for Westbrook’s teams.
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
Well, this has not been a good offseason for Zion Williamson. He has found himself in a rather messy love triangle that is better suited for TMZ than NBA TV.
Beyond the distraction that has caused, the star player simply has not been available for the Pelicans in the way that they envisioned when they used the first overall pick on him. And even if he does manage to play a respectable amount of games for the Pelicans this year, who is to say that he’ll even be in shape?
Smart money says that Williamson’s troubled offseason spills over into next year and his cup runneth over in the Big Easy, prompting wholesale changes for the Pelicans organization.
