Sound the alarm on these 5 grossly underachieving NBA teams

Excuses continue to mount for Brooklyn Nets, the NBA’s greatest sideshow

The Brooklyn Nets have championship aspirations, but their 5-7 start is a tough pill to swallow. The off-court distractions are finally starting to wane after Steven Nash was let go as the head coach, Kyrie Irving was suspended, and Ben Simmons finally got back into the lineup after hurting his back.

There’s a totally unfair amount of pressure on Jacque Vaughn, who was just named the team’s permanent head coach after serving as the interim for a few games this season. If the team can’t start getting into the win column more frequently, General Manager Sean Marks may be forced to make some moves by exploring the trade market for help.

Los Angeles Lakers wasting NBA superstar LeBron James’ last remaining seasons

Things are looking extremely bleak in Los Angeles, with LeBron James and the Lakers on pace to have the worst season in the 75 years of the franchise. The Lakers are currently 2-9 (.182) and are on pace to finish worse than the 2015-16 Lakers, who ended up with a 17-65 record (.207). On top of that, the New Orleans Pelicans have the right to swap picks with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The Lakers have little-to-no shooting on their roster, no depth, and no relief in sight for King James. And things won’t get better unless they attach their 2025 and/or 2027 first-round picks to a Russell Westbrook trade or trade Anthony Davis to recoup assets to salvage the 2022–23 season.