3. Lorenzen Wright
LA Clippers stats: 7.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 0.9 bpg
The LA Clippers were expecting far more than what they actually got out of Lorenzen Wright. During his brief time on the collegiate level, Wright was a polished big man with an array of moves down on the block. Left-hand hook shots, turnaround jumpers, and just brute force inside pushed Wright to the top of nearly everyone’s draft boards in 1996.
LA, unsurprisingly, was sick and tired of spending their days near the bottom of the Western Conference doldrums. With Wright officially onboard, everything seemed perfect. He was a foundational piece, not a franchise savior but a franchise pillar. Nevertheless, after a disappointing rookie season in which Wright averaged just 7.3 points per game, they quickly realized that they were bamboozled.
The slick and destructive moves that Wright used in college were rendered ineffective against the bigger and stronger defenders housed in the NBA. Year after year, the Clippers brass began moving away from Wright. In year one, the former number seven overall pick started in 51 games, year two – 38. During his final season in LA, Wright started on just 15 occasions.
Eager to cut their losses, Wright was eventually moved to the Atlanta Hawks. He would then spend the rest of his career playing on various teams.