5. Chris Paul: 4 years, $160 million (Houston Rockets)
This is a really tough one, and it’s difficult to include Chris Paul on this list due his sheer talent. He is one of the best point guards to play the position — surely re-signing him can’t be a mistake? As always, things are never as simple as they seem.
On the one hand, what were the Houston Rockets supposed to do? They nearly eliminated the Golden State Warriors last season, and running it back with James Harden and Chris Paul seems to make the most sense given their success last season.
At the same time, last season was the time to win. If the Rockets couldn’t win then, with a 3-2 lead over the defending champions, then let’s face it: they are never going to beat the Warriors. It was probably the best Rockets team we’ve ever seen, and general manager Daryl Morey himself was open about the team being constructed specifically to beat the Warriors.
It didn’t happen, and if you think it’s going to happen next year or the year after, then you’re lying to yourself. The thing that makes this a bad signing is the length and amount of the contract, which is four years and $160 million. Paul may be worth $40 million this year, but he’s aging and he certainly won’t be worth that amount for the remaining three years of his contract.
Then of course there is the added fact that he can’t stay healthy. He managed only 58 games last season, and consistently has shown that he can’t make it through the playoffs without sustaining injuries.
The Houston Rockets signing Chris Paul to a max deal will end up being a terrible mistake. He is way too injury prone at this point in his career, and is nowhere near the player he used to be. This move will backfire.
— Justin Rimpi (@jrimp803) July 1, 2018
Houston is paying a big price to try to win now, and after losing two important defenders in Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, their team is not even as good as it was last year. Keeping Paul around at all costs makes sense on the surface, but when you actually think about the situation and the financial implications, you can see that Houston is making a huge mistake here.
Their efforts would have been better spent letting Paul go somewhere else and trying harder to bring over LeBron James or Paul George — or even Kawhi Leonard. As it is, they are setting themselves up for a massive financial burden and another disappointing, injury-marred season.