John Wall recently signed signed a max contract, but is he really worthy of it? Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
As is the case with any profession, you can usually gage the worth of an individual through their salaries. The best get paid the most. And the NBA is no different.
As you would expect, the best players tend to get paid the most amount of money and this offseason, players such as Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and John Wall all signed max contract, a status reserved only for the most elite … sort of.
Players such as Amar’e Stoudemire and Joe Johnson haven’t quite lived up to their max contracts thus far thanks to injuries or just simply not playing at the elite level that’s expected with the deal. So that got me thinking which players are actually worth a max contract?
LeBron James is by far the most obvious player worth a max contract because he is in fact the best player in the world right now.
King James could have signed pretty much wherever he pleased in the 2010 bonanza, but instead opted to “take his talents to South Beach” for significantly less money.
However, it all worked out pretty well for him as he led the Miami Heat to the back-to-back championships as he himself gained Finals MVP honors for the second straight season in 2012-13.
To top it all off, LeBron was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the fourth time in his career last season, showing he is the complete package by averaging nearly 27 points, eight rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. All while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 56 percent overall.
Defensively, not only is he a great on-ball defender, he also makes plays on that end as he averaged 1.7 steals and nearly a block per game. Not too shabby huh?
If you want further proof of just how valuable LeBron James is, just look at the Cleveland Cavaliers before and after “The Decision.”
Standing 6’10” with a 7’5” wingspan and one of the sweetest jumpers you will ever see, Kevin Durant is almost impossible to stop.
Even though he is only 24 years old, Durant already has three scoring titles to his name. And in the last four seasons, the Oklahoma City forward’s lowest scoring output is 27.7 points per game.
In 2012-13, he joined the elite “180 club” as he became only the sixth player in NBA history to make at least 50, 40 and 90 percent of his attempts from field goals, 3-pointers and free throws; joining the likes of Larry Bird, Steve Nash and Reggie Miller. Not bad at all.
Plain and simple, Durantula is a scoring machine. But the scary thing is that he is only going to get better.
Plus, his defense is starting to catch up to his offense as he is now utilizing his length and athleticism more often on that side of the court.
Chris Paul
Chris Paul signed a massive $105 million max contract this offseason and quite rightly so. He is arguably the best point guard in the NBA and has completely changed the culture of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Prior to Paul’s arrivals the Clippers had won 39 percent of the regular season games in the 2010-11 season. In the following season–cut short due to due the lockout–that number jumped all the way up nearly 61 percent thanks to the addition of CP3.
Last year, the Clippers took the Pacific Division title for the first time in franchise history, all thanks to Chris Paul running and the show. Heck, there wouldn’t even be a “Lob City” without the All-NBA first team point guard.
Derrick Rose may no longer be the darling of NBA fans all over due to his 2012-13 season, or lack thereof, despite being cleared to play by doctors.
It’s not the fact that he didn’t play in the regular season, but rather that he didn’t participate at all in the playoffs when it seemed like the Chicago Bulls actually had a shot at upsetting the-eventual champion Miami Heat.
Then again, people do seem to underestimate the effects of a busted knee thanks to Adrian Peterson’s (and Jamaal Charles’) spectacular returns to the NFL, way ahead of schedule and still putting in great performances.
Nevertheless, if Rose can return to anything like his MVP winning season (breaking up LeBron James’ dominance), then perhaps all will be forgiven as he continues to prove that he is definitely worth the five-year, $94.8 million max contract he received back in 2011.
Carmelo Anthony has long been the butt of the joke as people constantly make fun of the fact that he is still without an NBA championship ring, unlike the other four of the top five picks from the 2003 NBA Draft.
But don’t get it twisted, ‘Melo can fill up the cup and in a hurry too.
Having only averaged 22.6 ppg in an injury plagued 2011-12 season, Anthony came roaring back to claim the scoring title with 28.7 ppg in 2012-13, derailing Durant’s efforts for a fourth straight scoring title.
He’s not known for his defense, but he is making progress on that side of the ball and is definitely worthy of a max contract.
Dwight Howard
Having recorded 17.1 ppg, 12.4 rpg and 2.4 bpg, Dwight Howard had an off season.
Yes, being in the top five in blocks per game and scoring among centers and leading the league in rebounds per game as well as being second in field goal percentage (58 percent) counts as a bad season. That’s just the standard Superman is held to. Although it is worth noting that he was playing through injuries and was coming off back surgery.
Back in his Orlando days when he was healthy, Dwight Howard was quite easily the best center in the NBA and probably the most dominating big man since Shaquille O’Neal. And this is all before he even had a catalog of post moves to go to.
Now that he is in Houston working with two of the best post scorers of all time in coach Kevin McHale and Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon, I am expecting big things from D12.
The only way he is going to prove people wrong about his character, ability and prove he is worth the four-year, $88 million contract he signed in July is to dominate and win.
Russell WestBrook
They say: “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” and that was exactly the case for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Russell Westbrook’s knee injury early in the playoffs proved just how valuable he is in OKC as they got knocked out of the championship running in the second round after just five games by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Sure, he may be the only one capable of stopping Kevin Durant from scoring by hogging the ball and jacking up crazy shots. But as it turns out, OKC and Durant needs him to do that from time to time because without Westbrook, Oklahoma City go from championship contender to a mediocre team with a really good scorer plus a shot blocker in Serge Ibaka.
Close but no cigar
James Harden had a huge breakout season last year and broke down the door to stardom, but I am not entirely sold of his worth as a max contract guy.
While he was in Oklahoma City, he did play a big part in the team making it to the NBA Finals in 2011-12 but that more as a complimentary piece to Westbrook and Durant.
I won’t be entirely sold until he has more than one outstanding season and takes his team deep into the playoffs.
As pure, pass first point guard and even as a defender, Rajon Rondo’s quality is undeniable and he is easily one of, if not the best, point guards in the NBA.
However, the game is about scoring and just doesn’t do that enough in my books. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he can’t. His mid to outside shooting is less than impressive as the 26-year-old is currently averaging 62 percent and 24 percent from the free-throw line and 3-point range for his career.
Love’s 2012-12 campaign was ruined by injuries – as was the case for the rest of team really– and so it is difficult to gauge is value right now.
However, when healthy, Kevin Love is one of the best power forwards in the business due to his great rebounding and scoring prowess both inside and outside.
It will be interesting to see how much the Minnesota Timberwolves offer him when his deal expires, especially since they just gave center Nikola Pekovic a huge payday with a five-year, $60 million deal.
If the Pekovic deal is anything to go by, then Love will almost definitely get a max contract.