NBA free agency: 30 worst free agent signings in NBA history

Worst free agency signings in NBA history: 23. Jon Koncak, Atlanta Hawks

Jon Koncak is a well-known name in SMU Mustangs history with his No. 53 jersey hanging in the rafters. His reputation carried him into the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks, where he spent most of his career. He was selected as the No. 5 overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Hawks after making noise with the Mustangs on the college stage.

As a rookie, he performed well, putting up 8.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. By his fourth season, he developed into quite the role player in the paint with rebounding and blocking ability and was a restricted free agent entering the 1989 NBA offseason.

Back in 1989, million-dollar contracts were almost unheard of. So when the Hawks matched an offer of six years, $13 million from the Detroit Pistons, it took the league by storm. Koncak was then more of a reserve player than anything else as a member of the Hawks.

It earned Koncak the new moniker “Jon Contract” for all the money he was making at the time. His salary made him a higher-paid NBA player than Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan at the time.

For a player that hadn’t averaged more than 8.3 points per game, he was quite the defender during his time, but it came as a shock to many when the Hawks matched his offer sheet with the Pistons.

Koncak would go on to play six more seasons for the Hawks and averaged 4.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game across 717 appearances. During the 1995-96 NBA season, he decided to sign with the Orlando Magic, where he appeared in 67 games. Following that stint in Central Florida, he retired from the NBA.