With the new NBA season roughly one and a half months away, it’s the best time to look at the teams’ respective rosters and find which players will be earning more than what they actually worth inside the court. Part 1 of this series will feature players from the Western Conference.
In most cases, these are former or current stars or superstars earning franchise player money even though they can’t (past seasons) and won’t (upcoming seasons) lead their respective teams to playoff appearances or postseason success.
READ ALSO: Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire Among Worst Contracts In The NBA (Part 2 - Eastern Conference)
In even rarer cases, expectations are high and that they should lead the team to the promised land, an NBA championship. There are even a few players that are just role players but still earn double-digit multi-million dollars even if they are just that, role players!
In short, these are the bad investments in the NBA. On paper, they are called stars or superstars but in reality their contributions are not good enough for their teams to be called successful. On paper, they deliver respectable stats but in reality, these are empty numbers that doesn’t necessarily bring the W.
(All salaries via spotrac.com, a website dedicated to recording salaries in the American sports leagues)
Who are the most overpaid players in the NBA? Check the slideshow to view our Top 5 worst contracts in the league in the NBA Western Conference.
5. Jeremy Lin ($14,898,938)Jeremy Lin (12.5 PPG and 4.1 APG in 2013-2014), who was recently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2014 offseason, could rank higher in the overpaid list but only around half of his salary counts against the team’s salary cap. Still even at $7-$8 million, Lin has not yet established consistency with his play in the league and can’t even hold on to his starting spot in Houston.Lin has a chance to prove his worth in Hollywood this season.Reuters4. David Lee ($15,012,000)David Lee (18.2 PPG and 9.3 RPG in 2013-2014) is the highest paid player among all the Golden State Warriors players. He’s earning more than Stephen Curry ($10.6M) and Klay Thompson ($3M) combined for the 2014-2015 NBA season. Lee is a double-double machine but his limitations on defence has hurt the team— not exactly the two-way player needed for a player who earns maximum salary.
Reuters3. Eric Gordon ($14,898,958)Eric Gordon (15.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 3.3 APG in 2013-2014) of the New Orleans Pelicans is injury-prone and yet the N.O. franchise decided to give him a long-term deal nearly worth the max. The good news for the Pelicans is that they have the real franchise player in Anthony Davis in the line-up; Gordon has still time to prove his worth but the writing is on the wall: the Pelicans has a new face and leader in Davis and Gordon will be shipped out if his play, or health, can’t justify his nearly $15M per year contract.Reuters2. Rudy Gay ($19,317,326)Rudy Gay (20.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 2013-2014) is the epitome of the “empty stats” kind of player in the NBA. His previous team, the Toronto Raptors, improved a lot after his departure. Gay has fared better in Sacramento where he turned in more efficient numbers but he remains a chucker however and still not worth nearly $20M.
Reuters1. Kobe Bryant ($23,500,000)Everyone knows that Kobe Bryant’s (13.8 PPG and 6.3 APG in 2013-2014) value to the Los Angeles Lakers is more off the court— marketing, brand and selling seats— than actual on-court. After two major surgeries, Bryant still got the $48.5M extension from the L.A. brass to make him the highest-paid player in the NBA.It’s not wrong to reward previous franchise players but it comes with a price: the Lakers won’t be title contenders with Bryant owning much of the cap space.Reuters
