Elite Role Players Stuck On Terrible NBA Teams

Andy Hoops

Play Underdog's Keep Your Million! https://play.underdogsports.com/vgwg/p-andy These role players are ELITE, but have been stuck on horrendous NBA teams for most of their careers. Let's take a look. contact@tablerock.com  I make all kinds of long-form NBA content which include player stories, analysis, breakdowns, and historical topics. Make sure to leave a like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video! ► X: https://www.x.com/@andyhoopsyt ► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andyhoopsyt ► Music:  Black Vortex by Kevin MacLeod Movement Proposition by Kevin MacLeod Pure Attitude by Kevin MacLeod Sardana by Kevin MacLeod Inspired by Kevin MacLeod On The Cool Side by Kevin MacLeod Basic Implosion by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 (incompetech.com) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ► Sources: Stats and box-scores from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com, Statmuse.com, PBPstats.com #nba

Transcript

00:01Elite role players stuck on bad teams.

00:04A few years ago, back when Alex Caruso spent three years in Chicago,

00:08he used to be the poster boy for this.

00:19Dude was an absolute stud, a multiple-time All-NBA defender,

00:23and an incredibly tireless workhorse with all the intangibles that are heavily desired around the league.

00:27Yet, his skills were being wasted on a team that was simply not competitive.

00:32But on a championship team like the 2020 Lakers or the Thunder,

00:36those elite role player skills elevated them to a whole different level and became critical to their success.

00:42This got me thinking.

00:44Which modern-day role players have faced an even more severe dilemma than Caruso in Chicago?

00:49I'm talking about highly valuable players who spent most of their careers on teams with no chance to compete.

00:55Some of whom have been stuck in a cycle of rebuilding purgatory for what seems like forever.

01:01Today, let's talk about these guys.

01:04It's hard to get into any actions, it's hard to play fast, but we just weren't able to do that.

01:08We all have to be better. Everybody.

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02:09Alright, let's get back to the video.

02:12Nick Claxton

02:14Before getting traded to Chicago, Nick Claxton had lasted seven seasons on the Brooklyn Nets.

02:20From the day he got drafted in 2019 until the end of 2026.

02:25Honestly, that's impressive when you consider how many major trades and drastic changes the franchise went through during this time.

02:31He somehow survived the disastrous Big Three era, where even Kevin Durant defended him on social media.

02:38At one point, Claxton had some beef with Montrez Harrell in which KD clapped back at Harrell.

02:43Quote, you're an enforcer as a basketball player, but you're not that guy.

02:48Like, come on man.

02:50Clax was having a good year.

02:52So, you know you're legit when even KD doesn't talk smack behind your back.

02:56There's a reason why Claxton remained on the team for so long.

02:59He's an incredibly fast mobile center who's added a different dimension to his game as his career progressed.

03:05Trap comes! Claxton the steal and Claxton the flush!

03:10For example, back in 2023, tracking data from Synergy Sports revealed that Claxton defended by far the most isolations in

03:17the league.

03:18Yet, he held his opponents to just 0.78 points per possession on them, good for the 98th percentile of

03:25isolation defenders.

03:27He also held his opponents to significantly worse shooting splits close to the basket compared to the league average,

03:33and he was basically a positive defender from every area of the floor.

03:37His switchability on defense is also highly desired.

03:42Claxton is a 6'11 center, but moves his feet like a small forward.

03:46And as the years progressed, he was no longer just a rim running pick and roll threat.

03:50He managed to improve his passing skills to make pocket passes in the paint, or from the high post and

03:55elbows too.

03:56Most importantly, the dude is so active whenever he's on the court.

04:06It's unfortunate that up until this point, Claxton spent basically his entire career on dysfunctional rosters.

04:13On a Nets franchise with a very small window to compete, and they couldn't rebuild fast enough to make use

04:18of his unique talent as a center.

04:22Trey Murphy III

04:24I could probably put his Pelicans teammate Herb Jones on here as well, but Murphy has well exceeded his expectations

04:30as a role player, mostly due to circumstance.

04:33The plethora of injuries suffered by the Pelicans opened up the opportunity for Murphy to go from just a three

04:39-point specialist to an all-around offensive weapon.

04:42In fact, in just four and a half seasons in the league, Trey Murphy became the franchise leader in three

04:48-pointers made.

04:49On January 4th, 2026, he broke the record with his 693rd three-pointer.

04:55This one?

04:56Yes!

04:57There it is!

04:58The all-time three-point leader in Pel's history is Trey Murphy III.

05:03And a month later, he broke another franchise record.

05:07The single-game three-point record with 12 threes made against the Milwaukee Bucks.

05:12That's tied for the third-most threes in a single game in NBA history, only two behind the record.

05:18That's quite fitting for a guy with his name.

05:21Trey's jump in scoring coincided with his expanded role and higher usage rate, which pushed him to the brink of

05:27his categorization as a role player.

05:30But I think he's a guy similar to somebody like Anthony Simons in Portland, who may have the ability to

05:36score 20 points a night and lead a bad team in scoring.

05:38But he's much better utilized on a contender as a third or fourth option.

05:43In the beginning, when Murphy got drafted, that's kinda what the Pelicans intended for him to be.

05:48A third-option three-point specialist who can help space the floor and provide a spark offensively.

05:53That was until Zion and Brandon Ingram suffered countless injuries, which forced Murphy into a bigger role.

06:00Heck, he himself has been injured quite a bit, too.

06:03However, as productive as he's been in New Orleans, hardly anyone mentions him and his scoring prowess

06:08because it's been wasted for so long on a team that desperately wants to contend in the playoffs.

06:13But there's always something that happens, some random obstacle that pops up and results in another losing season.

06:19Yet Murphy has attracted so many suitors over the years.

06:23At the 2026 deadline alone, there were reportedly seven different teams calling the Pelicans to see if they were willing

06:29to give him up.

06:31That deadline passed with no trade, though, presumably because the Pelicans were asking a lot for their young stud.

06:37And by the summer, the Murphy trade sweepstakes continued, with even more teams trying to jump in to throw their

06:43offer on the table.

06:45It would be cool to see him on a contender, or at the very least a consistent playoff team.

06:50I think he's the perfect candidate to be the final piece, a player who can push an already established playoff

06:56team into a contender if the right trade happens.

07:03Speaking of playoff teams, White has barely sniffed the playoffs in his entire career.

07:08Since getting drafted in 2019, up until the end of 2026, he only had one winning season.

07:14That was in Chicago, the 2021-22 campaign, where they lost in the playoffs in five.

07:21However, there became an interesting development in Kobe White's career.

07:25They go out and acquire him right now, the hottest team in the NBA.

07:28But I think this is more for a move to re-sign him in the offseason here.

07:32At the 2026 deadline, he got traded from Chicago to Charlotte.

07:36But when it happened, the Hornets used him as a backup guard for Lamello.

07:40Even though he was a starter for many years in Chicago, being a backup guard seemed like the role he

07:45was destined to be,

07:46as the Hornets went on a massive winning streak post-trade deadline.

07:50Lamello was flourishing, and White came off the bench to provide that Lou Williams type of production.

07:55The Hornets had their best season of the Lamello ball era with a top five offense by the end of

08:00the year.

08:01So this seemed like a good plan moving forward.

08:03Until Lamello got traded.

08:06This was a head-scratcher, because when everything looked good for a bit,

08:10they got rid of their main offensive engine.

08:13Then Kobe White got re-signed to a three-year extension, taking over his spot as the starting point guard.

08:18Now this was weird.

08:20Was Lamello such a menace to the streets of Charlotte,

08:23that they had to move on from him even after a good season?

08:26Or did they really believe Kobe White could take over and provide the same qualities he did?

08:31In Chicago, he had his best years playing the two, next to Josh Giddey, a true point guard.

08:37Either way, it's unlikely the Hornets could recapture the same momentum they had with Lamello,

08:42and I worry that White will be, once again, stuck on another bad team,

08:46with a role that might be too much for him to handle.

08:50Trey Jones.

08:58Jones might be the point guard with the strangest skill set in the league,

09:01or maybe the second strangest, next to TJ McConnell.

09:04He's a small 6'1 point guard who can't shoot threes to save his life,

09:08but excels at getting to his favorite spot,

09:11and has such an incredibly tight handle on the ball that he rarely turns it over.

09:15For example, Chris Paul and Tyrese Halliburton are widely regarded as having some of the best assist-to-turnover rates

09:21ever,

09:21but Trey Jones has them beat.

09:24Much like his brother Tyus Jones, they both have among the highest assist-to-turnover rates in NBA history.

09:30Unlike his brother though, Trey is a lot faster,

09:34a lot more athletic with a better knack for attacking and getting to the basket,

09:37which has helped him maintain his relevance while Tyus has bounced around several teams in a short time.

09:43Here's a cool one.

09:44This is a list of players with the highest two-point field goal percentage in the 2025-26 season.

09:50As you can obviously tell, all of the top guys are either centers or power forwards, except Trey Jones.

09:57He recorded the 14th highest two-point percentage in the league as a 6'1 point guard,

10:02which is absolutely insane.

10:04And much of this is driven by his ability to maneuver his way into the paint with his great handles.

10:09Nearly half of his total shot attempts are at the basket.

10:13Then comes the dilemma though.

10:15Trey Jones has not yet made the playoffs in his career.

10:18He was doing well in San Antonio, but then they drafted his replacement.

10:22The San Antonio Spurs select Stefan Kassel.

10:28Stefan Kassel, who was bigger and provided much more defensively.

10:32I mentioned the comparison to TJ McConnell earlier and it wasn't meant to be a slight.

10:37I meant it as a compliment because McConnell maintained a long, illustrious career as a back-up point guard.

10:42I think if Jones eventually finds himself on a playoff team, his eventual fate would be the same role as

10:49TJ McConnell.

10:50A sixth man responsible for running the offense with the bench players and perhaps occasionally closing out games.

10:56But I don't know, maybe I'm wrong.

10:59Trey has ridiculously high basketball IQ and as a point guard, he definitely has a natural feel for the game

11:05that every team desires.

11:06So perhaps there's a world where he could be the starting point guard on a contender.

11:12Bulls coach Billy Donovan also recognized this.

11:15He might be Trey's biggest fan as he claimed, quote,

11:18He always makes the right plays, the right decisions.

11:21And Donovan also heavily influenced the Bulls' front office to give him an extension, which they did.

11:28Malik Monk

11:29I'm probably higher on Monk than most others, but he's had without question a turbulent NBA career.

11:36Monk fires!

11:39Goal!

11:40Drafted by Charlotte in 2017, Monk was once considered a top 10 high school prospect in the nation, with a

11:46phenomenal run at Kentucky.

11:48But when he joined the Hornets, they were in the middle of a transition period.

11:53Kemba Walker had been their franchise player for a while, but he was on his way out when Monk came

11:58in.

11:58You'd expect him to get more minutes and perhaps even a chance to start, but none of that happened,

12:04which brewed frustration from him towards the front office, eventually leading to his departure when he wasn't offered an extension.

12:10That often happens when you're an undersized shooting guard with poor defense, which was the major critique of him coming

12:16into the league.

12:16In fact, he had such an abysmal start to his career, and his time in Charlotte was so uneventful that

12:22hardly anybody offered him a significant deal.

12:24Only the Lakers showed interest, and they managed to get him on a measly one-year, 1.8 million minimum

12:30deal.

12:31This, however, proved to be the prime opportunity for Monk to display his skills on the big stage.

12:36No team gets critically examined as much as the Lakers do, especially with LeBron on the roster.

12:42So all eyes were on Monk to perform, which he did.

12:46The 2021-22 season was a make-or-break year for him, and he made it.

12:51He performed so well as the modern-day sixth man who can take over the offense in a pinch,

12:55which was kind of the player that many playoffs teams desire.

12:59However, it was the Kings who swooped in and offered him a substantial amount of money.

13:03It was a well-deserved payday for a guy who earned it.

13:07Unfortunately, this is where his career hit a roadblock.

13:10Here's the thing, it doesn't matter how good Monk plays off the bench, because apart from the light-the-beam

13:15season,

13:16their starting lineup wasn't good enough to consistently reach the playoffs.

13:19A decade into his career and Monk has only appeared in a single playoff series,

13:24and thus his talents have rotted away on a team with so many other problems to fix.

13:29But imagine how different he'd be perceived if he was drafted to a playoff team right from the start,

13:34and played on one for his whole career.

13:37Now, he wouldn't be the greatest sixth man of all time,

13:39but dude would have way more agency and way more recognition

13:42because his game is perfectly suited to elevate any team with a struggling bench.

13:47If Monk somehow finds his way to a playoff team or any franchise that's more competent,

13:51I think more folks would acknowledge how impactful his game could be, especially running the second unit.

13:58And finally, last but not least, Avica Zubac.

14:02Before getting traded to Indiana, Zubac had been the starting center for the Clippers for many years,

14:08but probably the least appreciated guy on the team for how much he contributes to winning.

14:12Zubac was a mere second-round draft pick by the Lakers as a 19-year-old kid from Bosnia,

14:17but the Lakers traded him to the Clippers in a deal for Mike Muscala.

14:21In hindsight, seeing what Zubac became, this was a horrendous trade for the Lakers,

14:26and they certainly regret it.

14:28This gave him an enormous opportunity as a starter on the Clips,

14:32and you know what? They managed to do the unthinkable.

14:35They actually developed a young player into a stud all by themselves,

14:39which hasn't happened since like the Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan era.

14:51We've gotten so used to the Clippers and Steve Ballmer trying to lure stars and trading away so many assets,

14:57that it's a miracle they successfully developed a young guy like Zubac amidst all this turmoil.

15:02To be fair, he wasn't part of a losing team nearly as much as other guys in this video.

15:07The Clippers did make the playoffs a lot in six of the seven years he was there,

15:12but after 2021, it was clear they couldn't compete anymore.

15:16Zubac started as just a rim-running pick-and-roll threat,

15:19but over the years became an all-NBA defender,

15:22a dominant rebounder, a much better passer,

15:25along with a smoother touch and footwork in the paint.

15:28He became one of the most underrated centers in the league on a team where he was overshadowed.

15:33On an actual contender, Zubac would fit anywhere.

15:36He provides so much versatility at that position that allows him to cover so much ground,

15:41while still being an offensive threat.

15:44Maybe it will happen in Indiana or a different team in the future,

15:48but the basketball world has to understand how good this guy really is.

15:54Anyway, that's all folks.

15:56Those were some of the NBA's most elite role players

15:59who've never gotten the adequate recognition they deserve,

16:02due to being stuck in an unfortunate situation most of their careers.

16:06Let me know your thoughts on these guys in the comment section,

16:08and can you think of any others?

16:10Thank you all so much for watching, I hope y'all enjoyed the video,

16:14and of course, as always, I'll see you next time.

16:17Peace.

16:18Peace.

16:20Peace.

16:22Peace.

16:24Peace.

16:26Peace.

16:27Peace.

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