Blake Griffin

Five NBA players that deserve coal for Christmas in 2016

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:13 p.m. ET

Fansided, Weldon Jones/FanSided via Blue Man Hoop

Each NBA roster has a player or maybe two of them that simply don’t do enough or get the job done whether it be because of injury, fit, or effort.

In the spirit of Christmas and basketball, we are going to talk about players that deserve a bad gift for the holidays, based on their on-court production. While we can’t be perfect, there is expectations that teams hold players to. Numbers can be an indicator of this, advanced stats, and many other metrics, but for the sake of fun we won’t dig to far into that.

Honorable Mentions

Next: Solomon Hill, New Orleans Pelicans

Nov 14, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) handles the ball as he is defended by New Orleans Pelicans forward Solomon Hill (44) at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Solomon Hill is probably one the most overpaid players in the NBA for his value and production

Solomon Hill was a player on the Indiana Pacers before signing a massive contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. Now in all fairness, he is young and could get better over time, however it isn’t happening in 2016. He is a solid defender which is good.

The issue becomes the massive black hole he puts in the Pelicans’ offense. His corner three ball has become a little better, but to those who are keeping track, it is hard to see that he does anything else.

It is a day and night difference for the New Orleans Pelicans with Tyreke Evans and that much we do know. The biggest thing that would easil put Solomon Hill on this list is that he makes so much money to not be productive on one side of the ball. He is pretty athletic and big for his position, however he does not do much with it to foster on-court production.

On a team that didn’t desperately need help scoring the ball, Solomon Hill would not get coal. Because of his expected role and not filling it, he does earn himself a lump of coal this Christmas.

Nov 18, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell (7) steals the ball from Memphis Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons (25) during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Chandler Parsons can be one of the mid-tier players… If he ever can stay on the court

Chandler Parsons is a very nice guy from what we have seen. It almost pains me to put him this list, because when is on the court he actually produces decent numbers. This was the case for him in Dallas, where he barely played due to injury and now in Memphis the same trend is starting in Memphis.

We obviously hope to see Chandler Parsons be healthy for at least one season at some point because the fact still remains that he is actually a good player. The lack of production or absence is just one thing, the part making this worse is how large his contract is.

He is making max money for the Grizzlies in his current contract and team has been through the season largely without him. Mike Conley also has a large contract ($150 million), however he elevates the Grizzlies to contender status and has done so for years.

Since this particular young player hasn’t proven that or been much help in playoff contention and is never available to play out his large contracts up to date, we have to give him coal. Hopefully we won’t have to again next year, when healthy he is a good player that can get better.

Nov 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Tony Snell (21) drives into Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) during the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Some NBA Players have more talent than their focus can actually handle.

Lebron James can bring out the best out of players like J.R. Smith. It still doesn’t change who J.R. Smith is at times to a fault. With some players, talent is not there to produce huge numbers consistently and it can’t be held against them. In Smith’s case he just simply doesn’t focus enough. To be fair he is a defending champion and has improved his defense.

So far this season, his production has plummeted. Then we have the Jason Terry incident in Milwaukee that led to him giving up an open dunk on an inbound play. The funniest part was his explanation afterwards. Don’t get this mixed up with J.R. Smith being expendable to Cleveland. We are sure he will be locked in when the time comes.

He is a rare breed of few players who can get extremely hot and win you games. At the same time he is a very easily distracted player who can cost you more regular season games than other players of his stature talent wise.

The biggest reason J.R. Smith deserves coal for this holiday season is because of his numbers and production thus far. The bottom line is that we have seen less talented players do more up to this point. The Cavaliers’ guard will get it together for sure, but so far it hasn’t happened. Championship hangover? Possibly so.

December 12, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) shoots against the defense of Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner (1) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Blake Griffin is a star… but not much else at this point

Can we all agree that Blake Griffin is one the most talented players in the NBA? He literally has it all. Athleticism, a decent post game, ball-handling, passing, and high volume scoring ability. For someone who does all that, the results should be much better.

The Clippers have slid from first to third in the west. The main reason for this is the play of Blake Griffin. For someone to be as dominate on the inside as he is, he takes a lot of jumpers and doesn’t try to get to the foul line. He is a stat sheet filling talent much like Lebron James or Russell Westbrook, however his intangibles this season especially have been sorely lacking.

The moment is never too small for Griffin, but like players with half his ability, the moment can definitely get too big. Just watch the Clippers and Warriors game all over again and you will see that.

He is a top 5 talent that garners results of the middle tier and he has a great team, co-star in Chris Paul, and coach in Doc Rivers. Yet, he hasn’t elevated to the level that is needed this year. For this, Blake Griffin is one of the players that deserves coal.

December 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) moves to the basket against New York Knicks center Joakim Noah (13) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Joakim Noah had some high expectations following his huge contract, he hasn’t nearly lived up to them.

There was once a time where Joakim Noah used to be in the upper echelon of NBA players. Fast forward through injuries and the evolution of the NBA, and you have a highly overpaid veteran who has not helped his team in any aspect.

The hope for Knicks fans was that by getting Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah together in the big apple, their careers would somehow rejuvenate. Rose has been pretty good. Noah, not so much. Let’s not forget he is making almost 13 million a year to not be productive.

Hopefully, he picks things up because he has a good skill set built for the team’s personnel. The burning issue is that it just hasn’t happened. Noah has been around a long time. His defense and rebounding have for some reason deteriorated.

He was never much of a scorer (just look at his jumpshot) and he doesn’t seem to be putting in the effort to produce. Sad thing is that if he ever decided to even give just a little bit, the Knicks would be big time. He can be an inspirational player, just ask Tom Thibodeau. For this year, we haven’t quite seen the magic from Noah or any other players on this list. So for Joakim Noah, coal is also deserving.