#4: Allen Iverson
You could say that the modern decline of the Detroit Pistons started when they traded franchise icon Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson and you’d be right. The Pistons have not won a playoff game since and have been the worst team in the NBA in that stretch.
Iverson had some moments for Detroit, but didn’t take kindly to the notion that he should come off the bench and pouted away for the end of his one season in the Motor City.
He was never the Iverson the Pistons thought they were getting, though that is mostly on the team, who traded for a guy who was past his prime in an ill-fated effort to stay relevent.
Iverson later called his season in Detroit the “worst of his career” and claimed he was lied to by coach Michael Curry.
I love AI, and loved watching him play, so I am going to cut him some slack here, as it wasn’t his fault the Pistons made that disastrous trade.