Detroit Pistons
1 Player who has been a disaster: Isaiah Stewart
After signing Isaiah Stewart to a large contract extension during the 2023 NBA offseason, the overwhelming expectation was that he was going to evolve into a big role for the team moving forward. Over the past two seasons, that has proven to be the case. However, something has drastically changed this year. Stewart's role on the team has starkly changed and, as you would expect, his overall production has plummeted. It's not a great situation for either side at this point.
The momentum of Stewart's career has quickly stopped and from the team's perspective, the argument can be made that where they're going to hurt the most is when it comes to his trade value. Even if Stewart didn't emerge as a foundation piece for the franchise, the hope was that he could evolve into a valuable trade piece. However, with his play recently, all of that may now be off the table. He may not even be that anymore for the Pistons.
Golden State Warriors
1 Player who has been a disaster: Brandin Podziemski
With the way that many were speaking about Brandin Podziemski before the start of the season, there was an expectation that he was going to be in line for a huge year. However, as the Golden State Warriors have gotten off to an exceptional start to the season, Podziemski has almost been an afterthought for the team. He's been semi-productive so far this season but the offensive efficiency hasn't been best and with the way the likes of Buddy Hield and Andrew Wiggins are playing this season, he's kind of camouflaged into the background.
So far this season, the argument can be made that Podziemski hasn't lived up to his expectations heading into this year. And, for many, especially considering he was a big reason why the Warriors didn't end up pulling the trigger on a deal for Lauri Markkanen, his start to the season will be labeled a disaster. The Warriors needed Podiemski to have a big year for their decision to hold him out of trade discussions to be validated. So far this season, that simply hasn't happened.