Top Ten Overpaid Players in the NBA

Written by Max Gates (@mgates93)

Before the new CBA, teams were handing out ridiculous contracts like grocery store coupons. There are so many horrible contracts in the NBA it’s unbearable.  Every team has at least one overpaid player that makes you think, “If only that team didn’t have him, they could go out and sign the guy they really need.”  Let’s take a look at some of the worst contracts today.  All contracts are based on the time that they actually signed their respective contracts.

10. Gerald Wallace, Boston Celtics, (4 year, 40$)

This just didn’t make sense.  It made just as little of sense as trading their first round pick to Portland, which turned out to be Damian Lillard.  Someone else they could have taken: Harrison Barnes.  Ouch…  The Nets, who were digging really deep into their pockets to pay the rest of their starting five, went out and signed Gerald Wallace for 4 years. His defense has deteriorated and he’s a shell of himself offensively.  Then again, it’s not exactly easy to play offense with Williams, Lopez, and Johnson surrounding you.  It only took one year for the Nets to ship him to Boston, along with Humphries, so that they could try building another super team to contend in the East.  As for Boston, they’re in the rebuilding process whether Danny Ainge says they are or not.  A lot of Boston fans don’t love this move because they have to live with Wallace for three years, but if they want to be bad then this is what they needed to do.  The upcoming draft is the best in years, so taking Wallace’s remaining $30 million makes some sense.  Here’s a bright side for Wallace: There won’t be the “win this year or else” pressure he had in Brooklyn now that he’s on a rebuilding team.  I think he’ll play more efficiently than he did in Brooklyn, but nothing special.  If he can just play some defense and not shoot 40% from the field like he did this year, it won’t be so bad for the Celtics.

9. Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers (5 year, 60$)

Anything can happen with Granger at this point.  He can either turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Pacers, or almost worthless like this last season.  He only played in five games this year and was completely irrelevant for all of them.  When they first signed him, the Pacers believed they found their star of the future.  He actually was a really good player when they first inked him.  He put up 25 points and 5 rebounds a game before he signed, and still put up 24 and 5 the following year.  But his low field goal percentage and slowly decreasing stats became glaring as the years went on.  Before he got injured, he was averaging 18 points a game, 5 rebounds, but shooting a low 41% from the field.  The year before he was shooting 42% while putting up 20 a game.  Unless you’re Allen Iverson, the best player on the team can’t be shooting that low for so many seasons.  At this point I’m not sure what will happen to Danny Granger.  Some think he’ll come back and have a very good year.  The only time he’s played 82 games was his second year in the league, so that’s not a good sign.  Regardless, he’ll be taking a backseat to Paul George and possibly Roy Hibbert (if he can still average 17 ppg like he did in the playoffs).  That is unless he’s traded, which is a real possibility.  Rumors floated around that an Eric Bledsoe / Danny Granger swap was being discussed.  The Pacers would’ve definitely been my Finals pick if that trade went through.

8. Nene Hilario, Washington Wizards (5 year, 65$)

At one point he had the highest field goal percentage in the league (61.5% in 2010 – 2011) while putting up 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds (he also shot 71% from the line).  He was a difference maker for the Nuggets and a very valuable player for their team.  However, when Washington was finally fed up with the Javale Mcgee experiment he was involved in a trade that sent Nene to Washington.  In my opinion, this was a huge win for the Nuggets and for a few reasons.  They first got out of almost all the $65 million they owed him by trading him at the deadline.  In return they got a young, athletic, but boneheaded (emphasis on boneheaded) center.  His only real offense is getting the finishing passes on pick and rolls from Andre Miller and dunks, but his enormous wingspan and athleticism make him valuable.  I’m surprised George Karl didn’t feature him more in such an “up and down the floor” offense as opposed to using Nene.  For the playing time Mcgee got, he’s a little overpaid.  But I’d rather pay him than Nene at this point in their careers.  I have more faith in the young and improving Mcgee rather than the aging Nene.  His field goal percentage dropped to 48% and he was constantly out injured.  He won’t even be featured much with the newly signed John Wall, up and coming Bradley Beal, and their new small forward Otto Porter.  He’ll be taking a backseat for $13 million a year.  He’s being paid like the second best player on a good team, except the Wizards haven’t proven anything.  If he can at least play solid defense and shoot a high percentage from the field, he won’t be doing Washington an injustice for the next several years. 

7. Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors (5 year, 60$)

Bogut is somewhat of a different situation than the rest of the players on this list.  His $13 million was ridiculous last year and his $14 million is even worse this year.  He’s always out injured so not only are the Warriors overpaying him but they only got 32 games out of him (44 including playoffs).  Once in a while we see some sparks of his offensive game, but that’s once in a very long while.  However, Golden State needs him.   Trading away Monta Ellis to the Bucks was the right thing to do.  They got rid of the often ball hogging Ellis for the low post defender they needed.  This also allowed Steph Curry to control the ball more as well as Klay Thompson becoming the starting shooting guard.   Instead of Ellis jacking up a ridiculous amount of shots, they now have the perfect floor spacer to compliment Steph Curry.  Although Bogut is highly overpaid, he is a great fit for their team.  Yes he only puts up 6 points a game but with the Splash Bros., David Lee, the emerging Harrison Barnes, and the newly acquired Andre Iguodala surrounding him, his last job is to score.  His shot blocking and defense are what Golden State relies on, and they won’t be getting very far in the playoffs without him.  Bogut may only have 1 year left, but it was still a “Bo-gus” trade (see what I did there?).

6. Kendrick Perkins, Oklahoma City Thunder (5 year, 39$)

To be honest, GM Sam Presti was just really excited to get the low post presence he needed to contend in the West.  Durant and Ibaka were limiting Jeff Green, so it only made sense to address their most glaring weakness.  But why would Presti extend him for five years at $39 million?  The once known “Dwight Howard stopper” was able to give headaches to Howard and other great centers around the league, but in return gave his own team headaches with his horrific offense.  He could only score points from getting wide open dunks, shots within four feet of the basket, and the charity stripe and maybe not even that. HE ALSO NEVER SMILES! He can still grab rebounds efficiently and his offense really isn’t needed when you have Durant and Westbrook running the show, but he’s being paid like the third or fourth best player on a team.  There are many more cost efficient centers that could step in and take Perkins’ role.  At one point, Sam Presti was regarded as one of the smartest general managers in the league.  But ever since he traded away James Harden, his reputation has been damaged more than Greg Oden’s knees.  The trade was without a doubt one of the worst in NBA history since they gave up Harden for practically nothing.  If only they had dealt Perkins and his horrible contract there could have been at least one bright spot for Oklahoma City.  Darryl Morey would have still gone through with the trade. 

5. Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic (5 year, 53$)

Remember how important Hedo was to the 2009 Magic’s playoff run?  He and Rashard Lewis were Dwight’s most valuable teammates since they were capable of spacing the floor so well.  Turkoglu is being paid like a star but is without a doubt far from one.  In fact, Hedo has been completely insignificant (and more of a problem) this entire year. After stints in Toronto and Phoenix, he found his way back to Orlando, but now more expensive than the first time (originally he signed with them for 6 years, $36.7 million.  Toronto signed him for the 5 year deal).  This last year he only played in eleven games and averaged 2.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists.  He could have played in twenty more if he wasn’t caught juicing, but I guess he did Orlando a favor by saving them 3 million dollars. 

4. Andris Biedrins, Utah Jazz (6 year, 54$)

The final year of Andris Biedrins’ head-scratching contract has finally arrived.  It’s still baffling and nearly impossible to understand why Golden State would offer the skinny, offensively atrocious seven footer $54 million.  Yes, at one point he was a good rebounder, averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds in 2008 – 2009.  But that’s literally it, and he was still overpaid.  As the years went on he has progressively gotten worse.  This last year he played in 53 games and grabbed 3 rebounds and put up 0.5 points.  Wait, what?  He couldn’t even put up one point a game and he was collecting $9 million?  He should have been thrown in jail for robbing the Warriors the last several years!  Let’s not ignore his free throw shooting either.  The last four years he’s averaged 16% (’09 – ’10), 32% (’10 – ’11), 11% (’11 – ’12), and 30% (’12 – ’13).  Sorry if that made you queasy.  I actually can’t wait to see what happens now that he was dealt to Utah (so that the Warriors could sign Iguodala).  I’m either going to be surprised with what he’ll do with the minutes he’ll receive from the tanking Utah Jazz, or I’ll laugh for a solid two hours as I watch him play without one post move in his arsenal.  Actually, Biedrins will be the one laughing the most since he’ll be $9 million richer than all of us for just being 7 feet tall. 

3. Andrea Bargnani, New York Knicks (5 year, 50$)

What more can we possibly say about Andrea Bargnani and his horrible contract?  Actually, a lot!  The former number one overall pick has been nothing short of a bust since 2006.  Defense and rebounding have never been his M.O. and he’s constantly out because of injury.  Besides his 2009 – 2010 and 2010 – 2011 seasons, he’s been a huge disappointment.  At 7’0 he can stretch the floor, but he hasn’t been able to the last two seasons.  Last year he only played 35 games (started in 25) and the year before he only played 31.  He’s never shot over 47% from the field in his career, and somehow managed to shoot 40% AS A 7’0 CENTER (39.9% to be exact).  That’s completely inexcusable especially if you can’t defend a parked car or box out if your life depended on it.  For Masai Ujiri to somehow deal him to the Knicks for Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, Marcus Camby, and three draft picks is beyond me.  I will never understand the mind of James Dolan, especially since he’s pushing himself deeper into the luxury tax.  If you’re thinking “maybe Glen Grunwald has something up his sleeve,” don’t kid yourself.  This trade has Dolan written all over it.  The Knicks needed defense, rebounding, and health from their big men.  Instead, they got an injury prone, subpar floor spacer (the exact opposite of what they needed) for 22 million dollars. Sid Seixeiro from Sportsnet 360 referred to Masai Ujiri as “Messiah Ujiri,” and it totally fits.

2. Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets (6 year, 119$)

Since he was a four time all star at the time, Atlanta was so desperate to keep Johnson they shelled out a monstrosity of a contract.  Soon after he signed, his numbers began to slip.  He went from 21 ppg to 18 the next two seasons, as well as his field goal percentages dropping as well. It didn’t take long for Danny Ferry (his first week as general manager) to send him and his remaining $90 million to the newly relocated Brooklyn Nets in exchange for multiple expiring contracts.  At times it felt as if Joe Johnson was out of place on the Nets, but then he’d bounce right back and prove how dominant he could be.  There were stretches where he would shoot below 40% somewhat often and almost be hard to find in the Nets’ offense.  Here and there he’d have some really great games, but they weren’t very often.  One of them was his 24 point, 5 rebound, 5 assist game against Milwaukee when he hit the game tying three to send it to overtime as well as the midrange dagger to win it.  However, his “clutch gene” doesn’t make him worth 69 million dollars over the next three years.  How can he actually live up to his salary when Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce surround him (Andrei Kirilenko is the sixth man too)?  Last year he was regarded as the third best player on the Nets and only put up 16 points a game with a low field goal percentage (42%).  He’s 6’7 and weighs 240 pounds.  LeBron James is 6’8, 250 pounds.  Of course I’m not saying he should be more playing like LeBron, but I am saying he has, is, and will continue to underperform.  He’s not getting any better and I’d even put the ball in Garnett and Pierce’s hands more often than his.  He’s a fifth option on this roster and he’s the sixth highest player in the league.  The worst part about his contract?  He makes almost $25 million in his last year, and that’s not until 2015 – 2016.  Think about Joe Johnson now, and then imagine paying him that much in three years.  That’s just horrible.  But then again, the luxury tax bill Mikhail Prokhorov will receive for the next several years will just be pocket change for him. 

1. Amare Stoudemire, New York Knicks (5 year, 99$)

Amare is without a doubt the king of bad contracts. But before I even talk about his salary, let’s just look at his career so far in New York.  When he first arrived in 2010-11, he put up 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks a game.  He was able to stretch the floor really well and even went on a nine game, 30+ ppg tear where he averaged 34.4 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. Until Carmelo Anthony arrived towards the end of that season, he was undeniably the best player on the Knicks. The following year was a rollercoaster in New York.  The emergence of Linsanity and the tension between Melo and D’Antoni overshadowed the new frontcourt of Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler.  The team was centered around Melo, forcing Amare to take a backseat to New York’s face of the franchise.  During that lockout season, Amare played 48 of the 66 games and put up 17.5 points and 7.8 rebounds.  Questions concerning Carmelo and Amare’s chemistry began to surface.  But then the 2012-13 season happened.  Amare was constantly plagued by injury, only playing in 29 games without one start.  His numbers dropped dramatically again, averaging 14.2 points and 5 rebounds.  His absence from the Knicks roster was no problem for the team either, who placed second in the East and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000. The Knicks shockingly played BETTER without Amare on the floor.  His defense was just atrocious in those 29 games, but then again was his defense ever good?  Just take a look at these two clips if you need a quick reminder: 

I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Manu and Kristic aren’t notorious around the league for setting screens. Now about that salary… As bad as paying Bargnani $22 million over two years sounds, Amare’s $21.6 million next year would make me sick if I was a Knicks fan.  Oh, and let’s not forget the last year of his contract which pays him $23.4 million!  James Dolan must have a thing for overpaid, injury prone, defensively lackluster big men, because why else would he deal for Andrea Bargnani!?  It’s a shame they can’t even put him to use now that Carmelo has moved over to the 4.  If they could even get some productive, consistent minutes off the bench it wouldn’t be so bad.  I actually wish he was amnestied instead of Chauncey Billups, and not for the Knicks sake but Amare’s.  No it wouldn’t have been pretty to go from the face of the New York Knicks to being claimed by a subpar team, but it would have been far better in the long run.  He could have still earned a hefty paycheck from wherever he ended up and would actually be one of the focal points of that team. Hopefully next year Woodson can put him in a role where we see glimmers of the old Amare.  If only he and Melo could actually work together, then his 44 million over the next two years wouldn’t sound that bad.