3. Ben Gordon/Charlie Villanueva
Ben Gordon contract: 5 years, $55 million
Charlie Villanueva contract: 5 years, $35.7 million
What do you do with almost $100 million in newly acquired cap space? If youâre the Pistons, you blow it on Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon.
Gordon and Villanueva werenât designated starters on their old teams. Why would you throw all that money on players who were the sixth men on their previous teams?
Villanueva and Gordon were the Pistonsâ go -o options. If that was their plan thatâs fine, but they shouldâve waited a week or two instead of pulling the trigger prematurely and blowing $35.7 million on Villanueva and $55 million on Gordon. Chances are pretty high they wouldâve still be sitting around waiting for the phone to ring in late July.
The Bucks and Bulls werenât going to re-sign Villanueva or Gordon
Bleacher Report, USA TODAY, ESPN, and the Detroit Free Press all tout the combined signing of Gordon and Villanueva as two of the worst free agency signings in the franchiseâs history.
USA TODAY listed the moves as two of the10 worst free agent signings in the last decade by all 30 NBA teams combined.
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The Pistons cut ties with Gordon after three years. Villanueva started a mere 27 games over his five-year contract with Detroit. If youâre counting (and we are), thatâs a whopping  $1.4 million per start over a five-year period.
Interestingly enough, the Chicago Bulls didnât even attempt to re-sign Gordon, and the Milwaukee Bucks decided to let Villanueva become an unrestricted free agent. The Bucks didnât even extend him a qualifying offer.
Villanueva told ESPN how optimistic he was when he agreed to terms with the Pistons. In reality, who wouldnât be with someone handing you a $35.7 million payday?
"âBen and I, weâre two very good offensive players,â Villanueva said. âThe last time I played with Ben, we won a championship so that made my decision a little easier. Iâve never been in the playoffs,â he said. âIâm tired of losing. I have a great chance in Detroit to win some games.â"
The Pistons didnât make the playoffs at all during the five years Villanueva played for them, and 2009 marked the first time they missed the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade.