Ranking 15 worst starters of the Dwyane Wade era
By Tyler Watts
6. Mark Blount
Blount played nine years in the NBA for four different teams. He was a second-round pick in 1997 and spent three years overseas before seeing the floor. The Sonics and Clippers both waived him before Blount got an offer from the Celtics. The 25-year-old found a home in Boston and was even a starter for two and a half of his six years with the franchise.
Blount was traded three times before landing in Miami in 2007. The Heat swapped three players and a first-round pick for Ricky Davis and Blount. The seven-footer was coming off the best year of his career in Minnesota, but things went south in Miami.
Blount was in and out of the rotation in the early going, but injuries and roster shuffling caught up to the Heat. Shaquille O’Neal played just 33 games before being traded to Phoenix, and Udonis Haslem was limited to 49 games because of injury. There was a massive hole for Blount, and he seized it.
The seven-footer made 46 starts as he averaged 8.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game. Miami won just 15 games and missed the playoffs. Mark Blount played in 20 contests the following season and retired from the NBA in 2009. He should not have been a starter for the Heat and goes down as one of the worst around Dwyane Wade.