It's quite an accomplishment to make it as an NBA player. Just 0.00000006% of the Earth's population are actively in the league. Even the relative “worst” NBA players are world-class athletes, but some players are better than others.

Carmelo Anthony, Rockets
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There are a group of players who are past their prime, or just never really had a prime to begin with, and don't really belong in the league anymore. Here are five players who should be out of the NBA.

5. Udonis Haslem

There is a very good chance that Haslem decides to hang up his sneakers along with Dwyane Wade following the season. At this point, he is better suited to be an assistant coach, as he has played in only three games this season and has not been effective in nearly eight years. Haslem was always an undersized power forward, and now, at 38 years old, he lacks the athleticism and quickness to make up for what he lacks in height.

Udonis Haslem

He last started a game in 2014-2015 and his games played and minutes per game have only decreased since then. It is clear that Haslem is nearly finished, and he is just taking up a roster spot currently. However, his locker room presence and leadership is worth that sacrifice, and is a reason why he should have a role with the Miami Heat organization moving forward, just not as a player.

4. Luol Deng

Before the season, Deng was still a solid veteran player who just wasn't worth anywhere near his $18 million salary and without a role on a young and rebuilding team. The Los Angeles Lakers desperately tried to find a trade partner for him, but weren't willing to give up the draft capital that was required to convince a team to take on Deng's albatross of a contract. After LeBron James signed with Los Angeles, the Lakers redoubled their trade efforts, but settled with reaching a buyout agreement which freed up enough cap space for a max contract in the 2019 offseason. Deng reunited with his former coach Tom Thibodeau, where he was not promised any playing time, but had a chance to carve out a role for himself.

Derrick Rose Luol Deng

That has not happened, as Deng has appeared in just four games this year, bringing his total to only five over the past two seasons. His performance in 2016-2017 was not great, but it was good enough for a role player. He must have fallen off in a major way since then if he is unable to see the floor as even the third small forward. Deng was run into the ground during his days with the Chicago Bulls, and it appears as if that has finally taken a toll on his body.

3. Quincy Pondexter

Quincy Pondexter, Charles Barkley, Spurs
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On his fifth team in nine seasons, Pondexter has yet to show why he should be considered a solid role player, except for the half-year he spent with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2014-2015, when he averaged nine points per game on 45% shooting and 43% from beyond the arc. He would not play in the NBA again until 2017-2018, where he rode the bench for the lowly Chicago Bulls. His playing time has dipped even further this season with the San Antonio Spurs, as he has averaged 2.4 points in 6.3 minutes while playing in 27 games. He will turn 31 in March so he has most likely already reached his peak as a player. There are surely better options than Pondexter for a team attempting to make the playoffs.

2. Lorenzo Brown

Journeyman Lorenzo Brown will be 29 in August, and has started a grand total of seven games since 2013-2014, all of which came for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014-2015. For the Raptors this season, he has appeared in 22 matches, averaging 2.4 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on 34% shooting (22% from three-point range) in nine minutes. Fred VanVleet has the backup point guard position locked up, and Brown has done nothing in his career to warrant much playing time at the NBA level. He appears to one of many players stuck in purgatory between the G-League and the NBA.

1. Joakim Noah

In all honesty, Noah could have been done as a player after the 2014-2015 season. A major part of the excellent Bulls teams from the late 2000's/early 2010's, Noah built his reputation on physical defense and post scoring. As a result, he was never the most durable player, and after missing 15 games in 2014-2015, it appeared as if he were on his way out. His numbers were down across the board, and things got even worse the next season. He played in only 29 games, starting two, and averaged 4.3 points in 22 minutes.

The Bulls did not retain Noah, as his injuries and ineffectiveness made him no longer a fit for the team's timeline. So naturally, in spite of his injuries and sub-par play, the New York Knicks, in an attempt to remain somewhat relevant, signed Noah to a four-year contract worth $72 million. In his 46 games with New York in 2016-2017, Noah played very similar to his previous campaign. In other words, he wasn't even close to worth the $18 million he was being paid.

Injuries and an exodus from the team limited Noah to just seven games in 2017-2018, and it was abundantly clear that he had no future in the big apple. He had developed into a major distraction and a locker room cancer (a drug violation didn't help matters), and the Knicks decided to waive him on October 13th. New York will continue to pay Noah through the 2021-2022 season as a result.

Joakim Noah, Knicks, Timberwolves

In December, Noah latched on with the Memphis Grizzlies, and in his nine games with the team, looks like the exact same player he has been for the past three seasons. Noah was once a defensive powerhouse who was feared by other teams. Now, injuries have stripped that effect from him, and he has been delegated to a role player, with a very small role. Noah's body cannot take much more of the pounding it has endured through Noah's career, and it may be in his best long-term interest to call it quits after this season, for his own health.

No NBA player wants to think about their career ending, but that expiration date exists for everyone, from the LeBron James' to the Kwame Browns'. That date is just closer for some than it is for others.