NBA: Jeremy Lin, Best Bargain Contracts For All 30 Teams

The Best Bargain Contract On All 30 NBA Teams

January 4, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin (7, right) dribbles the basketball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30, left) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Hornets 111-101. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

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Dec 30, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Patty Mills (8) shoots the ball against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

San Antonio Spurs: Patrick Mills

2015-16 Salary: $3.6 million
2016-17 Salary: $3.6 million

Honorable Mention: Tim Duncan, Danny Green

There are a ton of candidates to choose from here. Tim Duncan and David West took paycuts to clear out cap space, and Danny Green’s four-year, $40 million extension was unanimously seen as a team-friendly bargain to help preserve cap room as well. But Patty Mills is entirely underpaid as this team’s vitally important backup point guard.

As a winner of five championships, Duncan was entitled to whatever contract extension he might have wanted. Even with his numbers in decline, he still anchors the interior defense, so you could easily make an argument for him here. But with Mills providing 8.2 points per game on 36.8 percent shooting from deep, that burst he brings off the bench makes him criminally underpaid at $3.6 million a year.

Of course, for a team-first guy like Mills, the winning and the chance at another championship far outweighs the paycheck. At the end of the day, that’s the beauty of a franchise with so many selfless players like the San Antonio Spurs: you could put virtually any of them in this spot and it’d make sense on some level.

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