The Detroit Pistons are currently two games above .500, in the 6th seed and have an All-Star in Cade Cunningham leading the way.
What a difference a year can make.
At this time last year, Detroit was mired in the worst season in franchise history. They had the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history and there wasn’t much hope, especially after they once again dropped to 5th in the draft.
There was a whole lot of talk that the only way to fix the problem was to blow up the team and start over again, which no one wanted to hear after five years of tanking.
But things can change quickly in the NBA. The Pistons fired their front office, ate Monty Williams’ contract and looked for a fresh start. They added some veteran talent, got a big leap from Cade and everything fell into place to where we are now with a team exceeding all expectations and playing entertaining basketball.
Last year the Pistons were the most hopeless and miserable team in the league, but they have been dethroned this season and no longer hold the title. Here are the top-4 most miserable franchises in the NBA right now.
I should preface by saying this isn’t all about record, it’s about expectations and amount of hope they have for the future, so I’ll be leaving a team like the Wizards off, as we knew they were tanking, knew they’d be horrible and they at least have a couple of young players to be excited about not to mention the best odds of winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
#4: New Orleans Pelicans
I thought about putting the Pels higher, but they at least have Zion Williamson (not sure if that helps the misery or not) and Trey Murphy III, as well as top odds for the #1 pick.
They do still have draft assets and at least a starting point, but you have to imagine Trajan Langdon is ecstatic that he got emancipated from that team when he did.
The Pelicans' top two guys have been hurt most of the season....again. Their big offseason acquisition is hurt and they have the second worst record in the NBA after losing nine straight.
I don’t think any team has been decimated by injuries as much as the Pels, a team I used to cover. And when they had Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, JJ Redick and Josh Hart back in 2019-20, I thought they had a real shot at the title, but injuries ensured they never got close.
I feel for their fans (shout out to the Pels 12), who have stuck with this team and been treated to nothing but disappointment and heartbreak. Now they've just traded one of their top guys too late and barely got anything in return.
They have a smidge of hope, but when that hope rests on Zion staying healthy, it’s not much to cling to.
#3: Dallas Mavericks
I thought about putting them #1 simply because no fans have had to endure what the Mavs’ fans just did when the team traded Luka Doncic less than a year after he took them to the NBA Finals.
I’ve had several fans arguing with me that it was actually a good trade. Please stop. Being contrary does not necessarily mean you are smarter than everyone else, and if you think that was a good trade, you may have a serious case of Dunning Kruger syndrome.
Sure, Anthony Davis is good, he’s also six years older and ALREADY HURT. Shocker.
The Mavs still have some hope with AD and Kyrie but would you be shocked if one or both of them demanded a trade this summer? I wouldn’t.
Dallas at least has their own picks and two-star players, but man, what a punch in the gut to fans who thought Luka was going to be the next Dirk, the guy who would be with the team his whole career.
They aren’t the worst team, nor in the worst situation, but it’s hard to find fans more miserable than the ones in Dallas right now and you can’t blame them.
#2: Charlotte Hornets
Perpetual feature of this list, the Hornets are once again awful and it’s hard to see how they won’t be anytime soon.
They do have LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, so it’s not completely hopeless, but they are both hurt and in the case of Ball, this is a chronic problem that doesn’t seem to be going away. LaMelo has only played 91 games total over the last two full seasons plus this one.
Many picked the Hornets to make the kind of leap the Pistons did this year, but that hasn’t happened. They couldn’t even trade away their starting center after the Lakers hit return to sender when Williams failed his physical.
#1: Chicago Bulls
My vote for the worst owner in all of sports goes to the Reinsdorf family, who run the Bulls, one of the premier franchises in the NBA and one of the most recognizable logos in the world, like they are running the Windy City Thunderbolts instead.
Tell me one thing Bulls’ fans have to be excited about. I'll wait.
They just traded away their best player for practically nothing, but not even good nothing, as they took on $36 million of dead money NEXT SEASON for crap players, which is only 10 less than they would have had to pay LaVine. If you aren't going to get a lucrative trade package, could you at least not take on future money? Indefensible.
They aren’t good, but not bad enough to get a top pick (unless they get very lucky), they have a GM/VP team that has lost every single trade they've made and signed some of the sneakily worst contracts in the NBA. Not the biggest, but inexplicable deals that no one else would have given these players.
$90 million for Patrick Williams? WITH A PLAYER OPTION. The player option has been the cornerstone of the Bulls’ strategy, which is convenient for guys like Williams and Jevon Carter, as no other team would pay them.
They have very little young talent unless you believe in Matas Buzelis, who could end up being good but is hardly a projected superstar. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu’s contracts make it likely they will leave the Bulls for nothing unless Chicago wants to drastically overpay them, which is what will probably happen. White and Dosunmu are mid players but they aren't the only ones.
Do you want to pay Josh Giddey a max contract? Me either.
Their executive VP Arturas Karnisovas recently said that you don’t need stars to win a title, just 9-10 pretty good players, something that can be easily disproven just by looking at rosters, as no team in NBA history has won a title without stars.
Do you want this guy running your team? Me either.
Even if the Bulls did get lucky in the draft and free agency, they never go into the luxury tax even though they lead the league in attendance nearly every season, so it’s not like they will ever truly go for it.
Reinsdorf’s plan is to get the 9th or 10th seed with the cheapest team possible so that it looks like they are trying to make the playoffs even though they really aren’t. They won’t blow it up, they won’t tank and had to give away their best player just to get their 2025 pick back, which currently has a 6% chance of being number one.
There isn’t another large market team in all of sports that behaves like the Bulls, who aren’t worthy of the great fans in Chicago, who get tortured by their various teams every year.
So, this year’s misery belt has changed hands from your Detroit Pistons to the Chicago Bulls, who have exactly nothing to be excited about.