Hoops Rumors Polls News & Rumors

The Olympics can be a career-altering experience, even for the world's greatest players. It's a time when work ethic is observed, and little bits of helpful advice are shared. Team USA is loaded with several young, up and coming talents, but beside them even the greatest of superstars, like LeBron James, are currently finding themselves in new roles that could help the rest of their professional careers. Here, we're asking which player on the 2012 Olympic team's 12-man roster will benefit the most from playing in London. 

We recently asked you, the reader, which free agent signee is the most overpaid player of the summer—a list from which there are plenty of worthy options. Now we’re flipping the question around, asking who may have signed for less than what was expected. 

Each time it negotiates a new CBA, the league seems to prioritize finding ways to limit ways for teams to overpay players. Yet as the first offseason under the latest CBA demonstrates, there's really no way to completely eliminate deals that seem regrettable from the start.

Of course, many of the players listed below could exceed expectations and live up to their contracts, but it seems likely they all owe thank-you cards to their agents. Some, like Omer Asik, Landry Fields and Jeremy Lin, benefitted from the Gilbert Arenas Provision in an unprecedented fashion. Others, like Gerald Wallace, Jameer Nelson and Jason Thompson re-signed with their own teams for amounts of money and lengths of time that raised eyebrows. Feel free to use our Free Agent Tracker to compare these signings with others and see if there's another player out there who seems even more overpaid to you. 

Last week we asked which team has had the best offseason. Tonight, we go the other way by asking which team has grabbed the shortest end of the stick. 

There are still two months left until training camps open and three months until the regular season, but many of the offseason's highly anticipated moves have already happened. There's plenty, including a Dwight Howard trade, that can happen between now and the fall, but it seems like an appropriate time to take stock of what we've seen so far.

The five teams listed in the poll have been in the news a lot this past month. The Nets landed the top free agent target in Deron Williams and pulled off a trade for Joe Johnson. Their crosstown-rival Knicks loaded up on veterans, but let go of Jeremy Lin. The Heat snagged Ray Allen from the Celtics, pilfering from a key rival. The Lakers got a top-flight point guard in Steve Nash. The Timberwolves missed out on Nicolas Batum, but added Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko.

Of course, you may think someone else is doing better, like the Hornets, who added a pair of top-10 picks, retained Eric Gordon, and today acquired Robin Lopez in a sign-and-trade. Others, like the Hawks and Mavs, deftly cleared cap space for next summer's free agents.

So, tell us which team you believe is having the best summer. For a cheat sheet, at least as far as free agents are concerned, consult our free agent tracker.