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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the 2013-14 NBA Season

By FanSided User

Feb 12, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons small forward Josh Smith (6) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Earl Clark (6) during the second quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 12, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons small forward Josh Smith (6) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Earl Clark (6) during the second quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Ugly

Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons

Joe Dumars might be the worst GM in recent history. A handful of years ago he spent big money on Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon, and now he’s wasted even more money on Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings. Oh, and he signed Josh Smith despite already drafting Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to play Smith at the 3? I thought they’d make the playoffs just because they have a lot of talent and the East is pathetic, but Smith’s role on this team is worse than anything he pulled in Atlanta. His entire career, all we’ve heard about is that Smith needs to stay away from the perimeter and bang inside. He had a very successful second half of last season because he was doing just that, and then Dumars signs him to play out on the perimeter. Who in their right minds would like to join that team? Luckily Monroe is a restricted free agent after the season, which might force Detroit into moving Smith back to the 4. I think they should get Scott Skiles to whip that undisciplined crew into shape.

The Cleveland Cavaliers

In a way, I feel for the Cavs ex-GM Chris Grant because he drafted poorly in two awful drafts. Tristan Thompson looks like the definition of average and Anthony Bennett’s upside is average (it’s the plight of the 3-4 tweener, man; Bennett, Marcus Fizer, Marvin Williams and Joe Alexander might be on the Mt. Rushmore of 3-4 tweeners). The Dion Waiters pick was absolutely indefensible, as no one had Waiters going that high and for good reason (Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond and Harrison Barnes were all still on the board, and don’t tell me Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard couldn’t have coexisted). To save his job, Grant went out and got Luol Deng, but it’s starting to seem like Deng was a product of Chicago’s system more than anything else (he’s still a great player who will make big money in free agency, but he’s only a third option offensively). Cleveland has absolutely no cohesion, as their 24-38 record sort of indicates, and they exemplify everything that’s wrong with the NBA today. Their youngsters were brought up in a losing environment, and now they have a bunch of bad habits and attitudes. To make matters worse, they have to live in Cleveland.

Anthony Davis’ Supporting Cast

You gotta feel for Anthony Davis. The Pelicans went out last summer and traded two first rounders for Jrue Holiday, and then spent 44 million on Tyreke Evans, but the moves just look near-sighted now. Davis is one of the league’s premier young players, but he’s got nobody to grow up with. Monty Williams obviously has problems with Evans, Ryan Anderson only played 22 games (NO went 11-11 with him), and Jrue Holiday started slowly, started to pick it up, and then got hurt. The good news is that maybe all this losing will convince Davis to shave off that awful unibrow (or we can just wait until he gets a celebrity girlfriend, who will force him to get it waxed).

All of these lists could have been longer, so if I missed anything you think was important feel free to let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading, folks.