The most disappointing NBA players so far this season

Once thought of as a difference-making rim protector, New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik can barely sniff the court these days. With only 11 wins on the season, it’s too bad because the Pelicans could really used another big man to play off of rising star Anthony Davis.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Andrea Bargnani’s NBA career has taken a nosedive. Bargnani is averaging a career-low seven points per game in his first season with the Brooklyn Nets and is a lost cause on the defensive side of the floor. Bargnani’s NBA career may be coming to a close sooner than later.

After several successful seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, the Kings brought in three-point specialist Marco Belinelli is help space the floor in Sacramento. Unfortunately for Sacramento fans, Belinelli is shooting a career low from beyond the arc in a Kings uniform and is no longer playing with the confidence he played with in San Antonio.

He might be a living legend, but from a statistical standpoint, Kobe Bryant’s final season in the NBA has been a disaster. Although he has played better of late, “The Black Mamba” is shooting an atrocious 34.1 percent from the field, and his Lakers are the worst team in the Western Conference.

Although you probably wouldn't guess it by the way he looks, Clippers guard Jamal Crawford is actually 35 years old. That age is beginning to show on the court. Crawford is averaging just 11.7 points per game on 37.8 percent shooting and has trouble keeping up on the defensive side of the floor. Crawford’s days as an elite player off of the bench appear to be over.

Acquired during the offseason, guard Monta Ellis might not be the best fit with the Indiana Pacers. Ellis, whose game is largely predicated on scoring, is averaging 13 points per game, his lowest total since his rookie season. Shooting 42.5 percent from the field, Pacers fans have to be a little disappointed with the lack of production Ellis has given Indiana.

Although he is still a decent rim protector, Lakers center Roy Hibbert has had a disappointing season in every other facet of the game. Despite being seven feet, two inches tall, Hibbert is shooting just 43 percent from the field and only grabbing six rebounds per game. A free agent at the end of the season, expect this to be Hibbert’s lone season in L.A.

Truth be told, Dwight Howard hasn’t been the same player since he forced his way out of Orlando in 2012, but it just keeps getting worse for the big man. Hampered by a bad back, Howard is averaging his lowest point total since his rookie season and appears to have left his better days behind him.

After being selected for his first All-Star team last season, Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver is having a forgettable start to the 2015-16 season. Korver is shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc, the second worst mark of his career, and is averaging less than 10 points per game for the first time in his career as a Hawk.

So much has gone wrong for Ty Lawson over the past year. After two DUI-related arrests, the Denver Nuggets grew tired of his act and traded him the Houston Rockets, where the embattled point guard has failed greatly to catch on. Lawson is averaging career lows across the board, has been benched, and the Rockets are already looking to trade the point guard. Ty Lawson’s NBA career is currently on life support.

Selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, Suns center Alex Len appears nowhere near figuring how to play NBA basketball. Len is averaging just 18.6 minutes in his third season in the NBA and shooting well below 50 percent from the floor. With each passing game, Len is looking more and more like a bust.

With the void left by LaMarcus Aldridge’s departure, the Blazers needed new players to step up and fill that void. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Meyers Leonard isn’t one of those players. A former lottery pick, the seven-foot Leonard is averaging just 8.8 points per game on 43 percent shooting from the field. Leonard looks destined for a career as a backup in the NBA.

After having a breakout season last year in Milwaukee, the Bucks re-signed forward Khris Middleton to a five-year, $70 million contract this offseason. So far, Middleton has failed to live up to the contract. On top of shooting just 43 percent from the field, Middleton was also recently called out by head coach Jason Kidd for going to a strip club the night before the Bucks lost to the dismal Lakers.

After lighting up the scoreboard as a rookie with the Bulls last season, power forward Nikola Mirotic now looks lost on the court. Mirotic has struggled to adjust to new head coach Fred Hoiberg’s offense and often finds himself hoisting up ill-advised shots in attempt to gain some momentum. He is the midst of a painful sophomore slump.

Ever since the team traded his twin brother Marcus away, nothing has gone right for disgruntled Suns forward Markieff Morris. Morris has played terribly this season, shooting 38.1 percent from the field, and was just suspended by the team for throwing a towel at head coach Jeff Hornacek, among other transgressions. Morris’s days in Phoenix appear to be drawing to a close.

A former Defensive Player of the Year, Bulls center Joakim Noah has somehow found himself on the bench in Chicago. Noah is averaging a career-low 4.5 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting and now expected miss several weeks of action with a shoulder injury. It has been an extremely disappointing season in Chicago thus far for Noah.

Although the Magic appears to be headed to the playoffs for the first time in years, guard Victor Oladipo has taken a step back this season. After averaging 18 points per game last season, Oladipo is now averaging 12.5 points a night on 39 percent shooting. The second overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, Oladipo now finds himself coming off Orlando's bench.

The Milwaukee Bucks were expected to take a major leap forward this season in the Eastern Conference, but instead the team has struggled immensely. Part of the reason why is the fact that forward Jabari Parker is developing slower than expected. Parker, the second overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, is averaging less than 11 points per game for the Bucks and constantly gets lost on defense. Although he still has All-Star potential, Parker is off to a disappointing start in the 2015-16 season.

When the Minnesota Timberwolves traded a first-round pick to acquire power forward Adreian Payne, they though they were getting a stretch four with serious potential. Instead, Payne has been a major disappointment for the Timberwolves, as he can barely sniff the floor. Averaging just 2.8 points per game, it appears the 24-year-old Payne is in need of a fresh start somewhere new already.

Paul Pierce has had a Hall of Fame career in the NBA, but the time has come for the Clippers forward to hang up his sneakers. Pierce is simply a shell of the player he used to be, and he can no longer keep up with younger players at age 37. What makes Pierce’s fall most disappointing, however, is that he played quite well in the postseason for the Wizards just seven months ago.

Let's keep it real. Derrick Rose simply hasn’t been the same player since he tore his ACL in the 2012 playoffs. Still, you would surely expect that a former MVP player who is still in his 20s would be able to be a quality NBA player. Instead, Rose had been downright awful at times this season. The 27-year-old is averaging a career low 14.4 points per game and shooting just 38.6 percent from the field. It’s sad to say, but Derrick Rose’s days as an All-Star point guard may be over.

This past offseason, the Thunder re-signed sharpshooter Kyle Singler to a five-year, $25 million contract. It is a contract Oklahoma City has quickly come to regret. Singler is shooting an abysmal 28.6 percent from the field, including a shooting percentage of 22.9 from beyond the arc. Keep getting those checks, Kyle.

The sixth overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, Celtics guard Marcus Smart continues to find himself in purgatory between being a point guard and shooting guard. While no one questions his tenacity on the defensive side of the floor, his 34.5 percent shooting from the field has to have the Celtics brass worried about Smart’s development.

One of the most frustrating players in the NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith has yet to find his rhythm in 2015-16. Despite having players like LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to lessen his offensive burden, Smith is shooting a career-low 38 percent from the field. The Cavs will need Smith to find his range if they want to make a run at an NBA title this season.

Buried on the depth chart with the Sacramento Kings, a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers appeared to be just the move to get shooting guard Nik Stauskas’s NBA career going. It hasn’t happened. Despite having no shortage of opportunities, Stauskas can’t even start for a 76ers squad that may turn out to be the worst in NBA history. The former lottery pick has been a major disappointment.

After a disastrous lone season with the Charlotte Hornets, swingman Lance Stephenson hasn’t fared too much better with the Clippers. Expected to be key rotation player, Stephenson has struggled immensely to find his groove with the Clips, as he only averaging 4.2 points and 1.6 assists per game. If the Clippers want to have any shot of competing in the postseason, they’ll need Stephenson to regain the form he had when he was with the Indiana Pacers.

Brandan Wright’s 2015-16 NBA season has been a disappointment for one very simple reason: He can’t stay healthy. Brought in by the Grizzlies to provide depth behind Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, Wright has appeared in just seven games so far this year.

After averaging nearly 18 points a night for the Lakers in the 2013-14 season, small forward Nick Young in the midst of his second straight disappointing season in Los Angeles. “Swaggy P” is averaging less than 10 points per game and just can’t seem to earn the trust of head coach Byron Scott. With one year left on his contract, the Lakers could look to trade Young before the February deadline.