After a summer of eye-popping free agency signings and re-signings, here’s a look at 15 NBA players who are living up to their summer contracts in 2015-16.
With the NBA salary cap jumping to $70 million this season and projected to skyrocket to $89 million this summer, the concept of a max contract has greatly changed. Once reserved for superstar players who served as the face of a franchise, now those gaudy extensions are handed out to crucial role players or anyone young and promising enough to merit a long-term commitment.
For NBA players, their contract situations and the influx of incoming money from the league’s massive TV deal could really be summed up by the incomparable Drake: “What a time, to be alive!”
This past summer, our concept of what an appropriate amount was to spend on a quality NBA player drastically changed. With everyone and their mothers getting contracts that would’ve made general managers faint 10 years ago, it’s become harder to judge the value of a signing without automatically resorting to, “With the way the salary cap is going up, it won’t look so bad down the road!”
While this go-to response still holds true for the vast majority of the contracts signed in 2015, there are certainly a few players who stand out based on their performance this season, validating those significant investments. For example, Omer Asik‘s five-year, $60 million extension is still an albatross no matter how high the salary cap climbs, while someone like Cory Joseph has quietly lived up to his four-year, $30 million extension as sixth man in Toronto.
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In order to sort out the good from the bad among the free agency signings and re-signings of the past summer, here’s a look at the top 15 players who are living up to their new or extended contracts from 2015 (with preference being given to the max deals over the bargain bin contracts since those massive signings can make or break a franchise).
NOTE: Extensions from rookie contracts (i.e. contracts that jumped the gun before a player on a rookie-scale deal tested restricted free agency) were not included in this list, which is why you won’t see names like Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard or Jonas Valanciunas despite their highly publicized offseason extensions. We also excluded first-year players who just signed their rookie contracts and anyone who was traded over the summer rather than signed/re-signed in free agency.
Honorable Mentions: Rajon Rondo, Cory Joseph, Arron Afflalo, Mirza Teletovic
Next: No. 15