Yesterday, we asked you to join us in a discussion on what NBA offseason move has been the saddest. At the time, Rashard Lewis being traded for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza held the top spot in the Sadness Rankings, but that was quickly surpassed by the Knicks signing Jason Kidd.
This morning, though, Marc Stein reported that the Philadelphia 76ers plan to use the league's amnesty clause to release Elton Brand and get out from under his $18 million salary. That's not the sad part, though. Even though Brand is still a serviceable player, he's not worth $18 million and is a good target for the amnesty clause.
No, the sad part comes when you learn that the Sixers made this move in order to free up the necessary cap space to re-sign Spencer Hawes and add free-agent shooting guard Nick Young. Nick Young.
Just in case you weren't aware, Nick Young is not a very good basketball player. After four and a half indifferent (in every way) seasons, the Wizards sent Young to the Clippers last year, where he managed to shoot .394 with Chris Paul feeding him the ball.
According to Basketball Reference, Young has a career win shares per 48 minutes mark of .045, placing him well below the league average mark of .100. Young's player efficiency rating last year was a 12.93, by John Hollinger's numbers. The league average in that category is 15. Young does possess some NBA-worthy skills, but no team, under any circumstances, should ever make a roster decision that is even in part designed to land them Nick Young. Nick Young should fall into a team's lap after being unable to find a decent gig in China.
Congratulations, Sixers. You used to have an overpaid yet effective power forward, and now you have a terrible shooting guard and a center who tweets stupid shit like this. Welcome to the top of the Sadness Rankings.