Saturday, July 27, 2013

Top 10 Best Bargain Contracts in the NBA 2013/2014

Written by Rafael Hagopjanian (@RafaelHagopjani)

With the new CBA, it is very important for any type of NBA team to have a good GM who could hold back his money and get the best bargain he can when signing free agents. Players who are on their rookie deals do not count with regards to this article. All stats included are from the 2012-2013 season. 

1. Chandler Parsons, 2 years/ $1.9 million, 15.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.5 APG
For the stats he has, Chandler Parsons has the best value contract in the NBA by far right now and it doesn't surprise me with Daryl Morey looking like a financial magician each and every day. With Chandler Parsons only making $926K this year and a team option of $964K for the Rockets (basically a given the Rockets pick that one up), the Rockets seem to have found a necessary building block in their road to the championship this year with James Harden and Dwight Howard at the helm.
2. Andrei Kirilenko, 2 years/ $6.5 million, 12.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 51% FG
In reality, this might not be a bargain contract at all with suspicions of Kirilenko taking a lot of money on the side from Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov. The bargain price of 2 years/6.5 mil for a player of Kirilenko's caliber speaks for itself though since Kirilenko was usually commanding at least $7 million a year from every other team he has signed with. Brooklyn certainly snatched away a player at a bargain of a price on their way to a possible championship berth.

3 & 4. Shane Battier, 1 year/$3.27 million, 6.6 PPG, 43% 3PFG;
Ray Allen, 1 year/ $3.23 million, 10.9 PPG, 42% 3PFG
Battier and Allen are a couple of the most well respected players in the NBA and once they both signed up with the Heat, it seemed like it was a foregone conclusion that the Heat would win a bevy of championships with their Big 3 and ability to convince players like Battier and Allen to take less money so they could chase the championships that have eluded them for most of their careers (other than Allen's 2008 championship). With both of these players contributing so much to Game 6 & 7 of the Finals, it seems like yet again the Heat might have another championship in their hands next June.
5. Darren Collison, 1 year/ $1.9 million, 12 PPG, 5 APG
When Collison was a rookie, he was getting tutored by Chris Paul as a Hornet on how to be a good point guard. It seems like Collison really wanted to come back and get some more teaching done from CP3, because Collison's contract is an outright steal. After trading away Bledsoe, the Clippers got a point guard who would be very serviceable in the backup position at a complete bargain. Darren Collison is still a young player who does not have a lot of wear and tear on him, and it seems with this signing and several other bargain contracts the Clippers are in the championship hunt.
 
6. Anthony Morrow, 1 year/ $1.02 million, 5.2 PPG, 89% FT, 40% 3PFG
Morrow is an absolute steal for the Pelicans considering that their new additions of Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans are not necessarily known for their shooting (Evans is atrocious). Morrow gives Tyreke and Holiday someone to pass out to once Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson sit down. Morrow is a player who is useful for any team because of his wonderful shooting ability. With the Pelicans looking more and more like playoff contenders, they should be happy a pure shooter like Morrow signed on for a "cents on the dollar" contract.
7. Thabo Sefolosha, 1 year, $3.9 million, 7.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 42% 3PFG
Thabo is the oft-forgotten player on the Thunder considering that the Harden trade caused an outrage in the Oklahoma community after it figured he was a franchise player. He's the Bruce Bowen of the Thunder and if you want proof that he's worth more than the price he's paid, ask the players he guards on a nightly basis, they'll agree $3.9 mil for a defensive stalwart like Sefolosha is too low.

8. Danny Green, 2 year, $7.87 million, 10.5 PPG, 43% 3PFG
 I know what you're thinking, Danny Green only gets paid this much?!!! The guy who set the finals for most threes in a finals series with 27 three pointers is only paid around $4 million a year (this is "only" in NBA financial terms). Danny Green made Manu Ginobili look like an unnecessary luxury to have after his playoff performance, and that kind of price the Spurs should be in contention for at least another 2 years if Duncan decides not to retire next year.
9. Luis Scola, 2 year, $9 million, 12.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 47% FG
With news of Scola being traded to the Pacers for Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a 1st round pick its hard to believe how badly underpaid Scola is. After he got amnestied by the Rockets last year, he signed with the Suns, and now that he's with the Pacers, Scola can add to an already formidable frontcourt of David West, Roy Hibbert, and Ian Mahinmi. Will Scola be the final piece the Pacers need to beat the Heat? Maybe not, but it will certainly help the Pacers' case.

10. Paul Millsap, 2 year, $19 million 14.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 49% FG
Millsap is severely underrated by the media, and apparently by the GMs as well. Danny Ferry certainly pulled out his bag of tricks for this one, because this kind of contract for a player of Millsap's caliber is unbelievable. Millsap is a rebounding machine at 6'8 and the idea of Horford and Millsap in the frontcourt is probably giving opposing frontcourts nighmares of never getting an offensive rebound ever again. If Danny Ferry puts the right pieces together over a few years like he did with Millsap the Hawks look like they could soon become a big free agent destination.









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