8 Worst free agent signings in Philadelphia 76ers history

6. Kwame Brown

Coming in at number 6 is Kwame Brown. Brown was drafted first overall (1,1) by the Washington Wizards in the 2001 NBA draft directly out of high school. This was prior to the one-and-done rule that is in place today and Brown was an exceptional high school talent at Glynn Academy in Georgia. In his final year in high school, he averaged 20.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 5.8 blocks.

Brown struggled during his early years in Washington and only had one season where he averaged more than 10 points and more than 6 rebounds per game. This is probably more proof that there are only a handful of players that can jump from high school sports to the professional level, i.e. LeBron James, and Kevin Garnett.

Once leaving Washington he bounced around to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Detroit Pistons, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Golden State Warriors. In those five stops, he battled injuries and never again averaged more than 9 points or 7 rebounds per game in those cities. The expectation of players drafted with the top overall pick is much higher than this and Brown could be categorized as a bust at this point in his career.

After 11 seasons in the league and clearly on the decline, the Philadelphia 76ers for some reason decided to sign Brown to a 2-year, $5.8 million contract. Brown appeared in only 22 games for the Sixers in the 2012-2013 season, starting 11 of those games. He averaged 1.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game and was a non-factor.

Heading into the 2013-2014 season, it was clear Brown would likely not be a contributing member of this team, and following a hamstring injury, he was waived by the Sixers prior to the start of regular season games. It still baffles me why the Sixers brought Brown in for those two years. He was out of the league after his time with the Sixers, a parallel to Bayless on the previous slide.

There must be something about a player towards the end of his career that the Sixers think has value and that they can get more out of him than the rest of the league. As has been seen so far, that has not worked out so well for them.