Eric Gordon was actually a really good basketball player for New Orleans, when he was healthy.
After joining the team via trade in December of 2011, Eric Gordon became a restricted free agent in the following offseason. It was there that the Phoenix Suns signed Gordon to an offer sheet of four years and 58 million dollars.
Being that Gordon was a restricted agent, the Pelicans had the right to match that offer sheet, and as I’m sure you probably guessed, that’s exactly what they did.
When he played, Gordon was actually a pretty good offensive piece for the Pelicans, averaging 15.3 PPG on 39% three-point shooting during his time with the franchise. Also, in four of his five seasons with the team, his on/off splits suggested that the Pelicans were generally better when he was on the court (unlike our friend Stiemsma).
The problem, and the reason he is on our list, is that there were plenty of times when he didn’t play. He never once played over 64 games in a season for New Orleans. And overall, he missed 173 games over the course of his five seasons with the team.
To make matters worse, upon his departure, he immediately resurrected his career as a member of the Houston Rockets, managing to stay healthy and become an essential ingredient to their title-contending group.