After a summer of eye-popping free agency signings and re-signings, here’s a look at 15 NBA players who are not 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, either validating those significant investments or making them look foolish.
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In order to sort out the bad free agency signings and re-signings of the past summer, here’s a look at the top 15 players who are not 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: Players who have not lived up to their contracts due to injury — Wilson Chandler, DeMarre Carroll, Brandan Wright, Mike Dunleavy, etc. — are not included here, since there’s not really much they can do about being unlucky. 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: Marco Belinelli, Alexis Ajinca, Kyle O’Quinn, Mo Williams, C.J. Watson
TBD: LaMarcus Aldridge. He may be an All-Star (somehow) while putting up 15.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game on a 39-7 team, but he’s disappeared at times and the jury’s still out on whether he can help the Spurs beat the Warriors in a seven-game series — the whole purpose of his signing. The first meeting was not an encouraging sample, and his four-year, $84 million contract is no small deal. It’s far too soon to slot him in our top 15, but all is not as hunky-dory as the Spurs’ record suggests.
Next: No. 15
15. Rodney Stuckey
Signed to a three-year, $21 million extension this past summer, Rodney Stuckey was supposed to be something of a sixth man for the new-look Indiana Pacers. With the team going small, Stuckey was going to get his chance to play with smaller, quicker lineups and light up opposing defenses with his patented heat checks.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, it hasn’t exactly worked out that way, with Stuckey shooting just 41 percent from the floor and a dismal 20.8 percent from three-point range. He’s averaging 9.8 points in 25.0 minutes per game and opponents are shooting 3.2 percent better from the field when defended by Stuckey.
The Pacers are 2-6 in their last eight games with Stuckey sidelined by an ankle injury, but a season after he averaged 12.6 points per game on .440/.390/.819 shooting splits, his scoring punch off the bench hasn’t been very potent.
Next: No. 14
14. Monta Ellis
This might feel out of place after Monta Ellis put up a 25-6-5 stat line Thursday night, but there’s no denying that he hasn’t “had it all” since signing on with the Pacers for four years and $44 million. In fact, his 14.0 points and 5.0 assists per game are the lowest numbers of his career since his rookie season.
Ellis is only shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from three-point range this season. Head coach Frank Vogel has mixed up his lineup so much that playmaking duties have vacillated to and from Ellis, especially when point guard George Hill is on the floor.
However, Ellis’ newfound commitment to the defensive end fits in perfectly with the Pacers’ new yet familiar identity. “He works his tail off on that end,” Vogel said before playing the Suns in January. “He’s enhanced our ability to force turnovers with his pressure. He’s got great hands and great defensive instincts in the passing lane.” Ellis’ defensive pressure has helped Indiana turn defense into offense, but the Pacers’ marquee free agency acquisition has yet to find a more lasting offensive groove.
Next: No. 13
13. Paul Pierce
It’s kind of surprising Paul Pierce‘s demise has not been a bigger story. Remember less than a year ago when he was the knocking down clutch baskets to decimate the Toronto Raptors for the second straight postseason? Remember when he was the driving veteran force between the Washington Wizards’ success?
Remember when he called game?
Unfortunately, the Wizards’ collapse in the wake of Pierce’s departure has not been indicative of what he’s brought to the table for the Los Angeles Clippers. It was bound to happen eventually with Pierce turning 38 last October, but the decline in his game has been unexpectedly steep.
Coming into the season, it seemed ridiculous to think Pierce would be anything less than a clutch basket-maker as sixth man, and some even protested the idea of him coming off the bench. Now he’s averaging 5.7 points in 17.5 minutes per game while shooting 34.4 percent from the floor and the Clippers are starting Luc Richard Mbah a Moute over him.
This is either the greatest bluff in NBA history — you could totally picture the Truth coming alive for the postseason out of nowhere, possibly after being wheeled out of the tunnel in his trademark wheelchair for pregame intros — or it’s a waste of a three-year, $10.5 million contract.
Next: No. 12
12. Aron Baynes
With Brandon Jennings on the mend and Jodie Meeks needing foot surgery two games into the season, nobody was expecting the Detroit Pistons‘ bench to be one of the league’s premier second units. But Detroit’s bench is the lowest-scoring group of reserves in the NBA, and it’s starting to look like three years and $20 million was quite an overpay for Aron Baynes.
Contrary to what his Basketball-Reference page says, Baynes has not been much of a “Banger” in the paint for the Pistons, averaging 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game. He’s shooting 50 percent from the field and has been productive in limited minutes, but the team’s defense is 5.3 points stingier per 100 possessions with him off the floor.
This wasn’t a disastrous signing by any means, but committing even that much money to a player who has done little to stem the tide that’s drowning Detroit’s bench can’t be considered a “good” move either.
Next: No. 11
11. Kyle Singler
Call me crazy, but committing five years and $25 million to a player averaging 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game doesn’t seem like a sound investment. Throw in his 36.8 field goal percentage and his 31.4 three-point percentage and there’s really no area of the stat sheet you can point to and say Kyle Singler has had a positive impact.
To be fair, Singler had a decent stretch of games last week when he scored 11 points and 10 points in back-to-back contests, but those were the only two times this season he’s reached double figures in the scoring column.
For the month of January, Singler has been very efficient on a limited number of shots, converting 50 percent of his attempts from the field and 47.4 percent of his three-pointers. But the first year of a lengthy five-year deal hasn’t looked great for Singler, a player who has had little to do with the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s success thus far.
Next: No. 10
10. Tobias Harris
To be fair, Tobias Harris hasn’t been “bad” this season. He’s taken on a lesser role for the good of the team, and his improvement on the defensive end under head coach Scott Skiles shouldn’t be ignored. But after signing a four-year, $64 million extension last summer, his offense has left something to be desired.
In his fifth season, Harris hasn’t exactly made the leap, with his numbers dropping from 17.1 points per game on .466/.364/.788 shooting splits last year to 13.7 points on .463/.311/.780 shooting splits this year. The Orlando Magic have also lost 11 of their last 12 January games, which has damaged the narrative that Harris doing less is doing more for the team.
With Harris averaging a meager 11.8 points on 43.2 percent shooting from the floor and 26.8 percent shooting from deep in January, the Magic’s offense sorely needs him to get his shot back on track. He has plenty of time to live up to his contract extension, and no one in Orlando should be regretting that move, but Harris has yet to deliver here in 2015-16.
Next: No. 9
9. Wesley Matthews
It’s great that Wesley Matthews is playing right now after a depressing Achilles injury sabotaged Portland’s hopes of making a playoff run less than a year ago. But as enjoyable he’s been to watch on the nights when he looks like prime West Matthews, those nights have been few and far between in his post-Achilles tear era.
In his first season with the Dallas Mavericks, Matthews is averaging 12.8 points in 33.0 minutes per game. Those numbers are a steep drop-off from last year’s 15.9 points per game, as is his field goal percentage (44.8 percent last year to 38.9 percent this year) and three-point percentage (38.9 percent last year to 35.5 percent this year).
Matthews’ numbers were somewhat bound to decrease given the balance on Rick Carlisle‘s roster, but even with the Mavs having extra money to blow thanks to DeAndre Jordan‘s summer backtracking, that four-year, $70 million extension is quite an inflated price tag so far.
Next: No. 8
8. Kosta Koufos
It’s kind of odd that the Sacramento Kings have committed four years and $33 million to a backup center who is probably the third-best center on the roster, isn’t it? But with DeMarcus Cousins obviously holding down the 5-spot and rookie Willie Cauley-Stein coming on strong, Koufos’ role on this team is diminishing.
On the season, Koufos is averaging 6.9 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game, but over the team’s last 19 games, he’s only reached the 20-minute threshold three times.
The NBA’s new salary cap obviously helps soften the blow of this overpriced deal, but Koufos has a -4.1 point differential and the Kings’ defense is 2.7 points better per 100 possessions with him off the floor. It feels like only a matter of time before this backup-caliber center finds a home elsewhere.
Next: No. 7
7. Tristan Thompson
The Cleveland Cavaliers sit atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 32-12 record, they’ve overcome Kevin Love‘s summer rehab on his shoulder and Kyrie Irving missing the first month and a half of the season, and they’re the overwhelming favorites to represent the East in the 2016 NBA Finals. So what’s the problem?
Well, even with Tristan Thompson averaging a semi-respectable 7.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in 27.4 minutes per game, there’s no way in hell anyone is buying that that kind of production is worth the massive five-year, $82 million extension he received this summer. Simply put, Thompson got paid by having the same agent as LeBron James. There’s no other way around it.
Thompson is holding opponents to 3.7 percent worse shooting on shots inside of 10 feet, according to NBA.com, and the Cavs’ defense has been stellar since he was inserted into the starting lineup over Timofey Mozgov. But LeBron and the Cavs are in it to win titles, and Thompson is rendered virtually useless against the Warriors, one of the two teams Cleveland is likely to meet in the Finals. Add that to a massive overpay and this is still a major head-scratcher.
Next: No. 6
6. Goran Dragic
When Pat Riley traded for Goran Dragic midseason last year, it was a power move designed to give the Miami Heat a starting five as formidable as any in the Eastern Conference. But with Dwyane Wade being so ball-dominant and the Heat playing at such a slow pace, the former one-man fastbreak has been shackled to a pedestrian 12.3 points and 5.0 assists per game.
However, fit hasn’t been the only problem here, with Dragic struggling to shoot as efficiently as he did in Phoenix not so long ago. The Dragon is shooting 46.6 percent from the field, but he’s only converting 32.7 percent of his attempts from three-point range and has looked extremely passive alongside Wade.
Even worse, right when it looked like he and Flash were developing some chemistry — with Dragic averaging 15.4 points per game on .538/.500/.714 shooting splits in his last 10 games — a calf strain sidelined him for the next eight games and he’s still not back. Though Miami’s 3-5 record without him indicates Dragic’s importance, that five-year, $86 million extension has been a hefty price to pay for a point guard who turns 30 in a few months and hasn’t really been an actual point guard.
Next: No. 5
5. Greg Monroe
With a young, promising nucleus of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker, the Milwaukee Bucks had a legitimate reason to be excited over the summer after landing one of the most high profile free agents in franchise history. Greg Monroe was a 25-year-old double-double machine and was set to join the NBA’s second ranked defense, which would supposedly help compensate for his flaws on that end.
Unfortunately, Monroe’s presence and the departure of veterans like Jared Dudley and Zaza Pachulia has turned Milwaukee’s once stingy defense into the league’s third worst D. Moose is averaging 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game on 51.8 percent shooting, but those numbers aren’t nearly large enough to distract from his flat-footedness when patrolling the paint.
Monroe was one of the biggest feel-good signings of the summer among smaller market teams, but Monroe’s three-year, $51 million extension looks like a mistake at this point. There’s still plenty of time for this team to come together and change that narrative, but based on this half-season sample size, the results haven’t been pretty.
Next: No. 4
4. Danny Green
The San Antonio Spurs are rolling. They have the league’s stingiest defense by a Boris Diaw-sized margin, they’re only three games behind the Warriors in the standings for the best record in the league and they’re on pace to post one of the best point differentials in NBA history (+13.9).
But at the top of the very short list of problems with this team is Danny Green‘s season-long shooting slump. After shooting at least 41 percent from three-point range in each of his last four seasons, Green more than earned his four-year, $45 million extension this past summer — an extension that many deemed to be a hometown discount to help the Spurs preserve cap space.
That may still be true, but with Green only averaging 7.1 points per game on 37.0 percent shooting from the field and 35.2 percent shooting from three-point range, San Antonio would certainly benefit from him busting out of his slump. Green is still an excellent wing defender, so it’s not all bad, but the Spurs will need him to rediscover his stroke to have any hope of dethroning the Warriors in May.
Next: No. 3
3. Brandon Knight
If you were to look only at his basic stat line, you’d think Brandon Knight was having a career year. He’s averaging a career high 19.7 points per game along with 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds, he’s had a 30-15-10 triple-double and he set a new career high in scoring with 38 points in November.
But Knight has failed to step up for the injured Eric Bledsoe, and those paying close attention have realized that he should not play the point guard position. Not only is he converting a career-worst 3.5 turnovers per game and shooting an underwhelming 33.3 percent from downtown, but his horrendous defense and inability to throw Tyson Chandler a single lob have made the Phoenix Suns even more painful to watch.
It might be too early to give up on Knight just yet (unless general manager Ryan McDonough decides to blow the roster up), but that five-year, $70 million extension looks like a massive overpay with Knight visibly struggling on both ends of the floor.
Next: No. 2
2. Tyson Chandler
Suns fans may get some source of entertainment from the Steve Nash-produced “Rookie/Vet” series staring Tyson Chandler and the 19-year-old Devin Booker, but they certainly haven’t enjoyed what they’ve seen from Chandler this season after he signed a massive four-year, $52 million contract over the summer.
Not all of this is Chandler’s fault, since a hamstring injury sidelined him for eight games and visibly hindered his play in several more, but what were the Suns expecting when they signed a 33-year-old seven-footer to a four-year deal? The problem lies in the length of the contract that was meant to lure LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency, not the annual salary.
Chandler is averaging only 5.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game, and though he had back-to-back 20-rebound games last week, he’s largely been a disappointment aside from his mentorship of youngsters like Booker and Alex Len. That’s an awful lot of money to pay someone just to provide a veteran presence, especially since Len is probably ready to start anyway.
Next: No. 1
1. Omer Asik
This contract is an albatross, pure and simple. It is easily the poster child for what a bad contract looks like in this new era where nearly every contract looks better with the NBA’s skyrocketing salary. Even worse, Omer Asik has a ton of work to do to boost his trade value enough for the New Orleans Pelicans to be able to move him elsewhere.
Until that time, the Pellies are stuck with a 29-year-old seven-footer who is averaging 3.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 16.8 minutes per game. What happened to the Omer Asik who averaged 10.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game for the Houston Rockets in 2012-13? THAT guy might have deserved the five-year, $60 million Asik got over the summer, but not this guy.
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This version of Asik, who has been outscored by 6.6 points per 100 possessions in lineups where he plays alongside Anthony Davis, represents a horribly bad contract that needs to be moved. It looked bad at the time, but now that everyone knows he’s completely incompatible with the team’s franchise player, it’s somehow gotten even worse.