Top 10 Losers in NBA Free Agency

10) David Stern. The commish took a serious hit to the credibility here, as the league's overall PR took a hit from the LeBron Hubris, and the whole free agency season more or less wrapped in a week. So no one is talking about John Wall in Washington, Amar'e Stoudemire in New York, or any of the other depressed major media markets... and all of Stern's hand-picked GMs in places like New Jersey are SOL. Add to this the tampering nonsense that Mark Cuban is spreading, and it's clear that Stern no longer rules the league the way he used to. I think he's moving on in a couple of years, as soon as the next labor problem is overcome.

9) New Jersey and Mikhail Prokhorov. When the Nets were bought by one of the world's richest men, just in time for the prime free agent season, you'd have to think that the off-season would consist of more than losing in the lottery and getting shut out of the market. But that's what's happened, and right now, it's hard to see how the Nets are going to do more than win 25 games in Newark.

8) Chicago. When you add a max contract free agent, you should be happy, right? Not so much for the Bulls, who got better with Carlos Boozer, but aren't exactly making the world shake. They should be the best team in their division next year, which means a top 4 seeding in the playoffs... and not much more, really.

7) LA Clippers. Not that anyone ever expects good things to happen to the most deservedly cursed team in the Association, but leaving this club off a Losers list is against every law. I put the over/under on Blake Griffin's next season-ending injury at February 10.

6) Dallas. A dark-horse candidate for the LeBronathon, this first-round loser decided, yet again, to keep the same cast of characters and be the perpetual 50-win easy-out. And sure, maybe they'll be better with Rodrigue Beaubois developing, Dirk Nowitzki relaxing with his free-agent status dealt with and more distance from his personal nightmare... but that's not the way you win in the Association. Especially with the roster all getting older, and accumulating playoff nightmares like Mark Cuban picks up fines.

5) New York. Tanking two years for Stoudemire? Not exactly what Knick Fan had in mind when he paid out Broadway prices to see an up-tempo D-League team, even with tolerable replacement point guard Raymond Felton. I'm not even certain that Stoudemire is an upgrade over David Lee in this system, though I do like Anthony Randolph's potential in the sign and trade with Golden State... just not in Manhattan. They'll be better, especially in the terrible Atlantic Division, and maybe even make the playoffs. In the immortal words of Derrick Coleman, whoop de damn do.

4) Phoenix. I actually think they are still a .500 team or better, just because I really do believe in their bench... but when you lose a premier free agent and get nothing back in return, it sets a certain tone with the survivors. You know that this isn't a place to get paid, and with the team's track record of throwing away draft picks to avoid luxury tax, it's become more than a case of rolling the dice and coming up craps. Finally, there's also the fact that Steve Nash and Grant Hill almost have to get hurt at their age and usage rates. They are probably still a playoff team, but they don't scare anyone in a series any more... and since they really did put a scare into the Kobe Lakers, it's something of a tragedy.

3) Atlanta. The most amazing fact of the 2010 free agent class is that the highest paid player is going to be... Joe Johnson, the swingman who quit on his team, alienated the fan base, and more or less set his jersey on fire in the sweep fold against the Magic. He's now got one of the most untradeable contracts in the Association, ties up their salary cap for years, and prevents them from fixing their most pressing problem -- namely, that they still employ Mike Bibby to be their point guard, which is to say, a guy who can't defend, shoot for a high percentage, or even get assists. But, um, they kept their guy. Woo.

2) Minnesota. What do you do with a team that willingly brings in Darko Milicic and Michael Beasley - i.e., two of the biggest draft flops in the past 10 years? The Darko deal was ridiculous on its face, the Beasley move a moment of distressed assets from a team that could not wait to be rid of him... and all of this is supposed to impress Ricky Rubio enough to make him actually want to join this mess. There's a reason they won 15 games last year, and that reason is that GM David Kahn couldn't find his butt with both hands and a map. But on the plus side, Al Jefferson and Kevin Love will put up meaningless numbers, and Bill Simmons will include them in tons of idiotic trade rumors, because Jefferson once played for the Celtics and Love once appeared on his podcast. And you wonder why I call Simmons the Bad Tooth.

1) Cleveland. They still have a team?