When a franchise dishes out a contract, the team is always looking for value in return. While we can be enamored with the athleticism of these players, the league is a business at the end of the day. Teams must negotiate with players and their agents on what are the appropriate terms for the team investing in that player. For superstars, those contracts can work their way up to $60 million in salary. With inflation, who knows what the next record for a single-season salary will be?
When a player doesn’t live up to standards, it can cause a fuss among the fans and the team. After all, it’s like buying a product. If the product you buy is ineffective, you look to return it or find something new. The issue is that this is real life. When the player signs the contract, the team has agreed to give a lump sum of money. For players like Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Damian Lillard, one can justify their large salaries. For others, they are not living up to the standard of their deal. One would say that contract is the worst in the NBA.
There are multiple players in that situation. We will take a look at that right now. These are the worst contracts in the NBA right now.
10. Gordon Hayward (4 Years, $120 million)
Credit: Brian Westerholt-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $30,070,000
2023-24: $31,500,000
Regular Season Stats: 13.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Altogether, this contract has been one of the worst in recent years. Hayward hasn’t played over 50 games once in his tenure with the team. In his first season, Hayward averaged 19.6 points and 5.9 rebounds. It looked like former All-Star Gordon Hayward from his days of the past. However, it’s been in a steady decline since two years ago.
Hayward played 44 games that season and then 49 games last year. Hayward played 34 games this season, but his scoring is consistently going down. His three-point shooting percentage is nearly 9% worse than last year. Hayward’s contract is finally coming to an end soon with one more year. Next year, Hayward’s salary will likely be dealt, and he will enter a buyout situation.
9. Tobias Harris (5 Years, $180 Million)
Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $37,633,050
2023-24: $39,270,150
Regular Season Stats: 15.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Harris is getting paid the type of money that Khris Middleton gets, but he doesn’t make any All-Star Games. Harris has never made an All-Star appearance and is getting paid like one. He is going to be pushing $40 million in salary next year, and Harris is easily the third-best player on the 76ers.
While Harris brings a solid outside shooting percentage, paying $39 million for a player that averages around 15 points and six rebounds is a lot. There are quite a few players that average what Harris brings to the floor for 80% less of the cost.
8. Rudy Gobert (5 Years, $205 Million)
Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $38,172,414
2023-24: $41,000,000
2024-25: $43,827,587
2025-26: $46,655,173 (Player’s Option)
Regular Season Stats: 13.3 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.3 BPG
This doesn’t have as much to do with the money owed to Gobert but more with what his contract does to the Timberwolves. Right now, the fit between Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns doesn’t look like it is meshing. There is time for this to work itself out, but the team is 31-10 on the year.
If the Timberwolves are just an average team, the money, plus the draft picks sent to the Jazz, is going to be hard to justify. Gobert is supposed to be the best defensive player in the league, but his rebounds have decreased by three per game, and his blocks are nearly down one whole block. Injuries have paid a toll, but if this is the version of Gobert that the team is getting, the money is going to cause a problem.
7. Zach LaVine (5 Years, $215 Million)
Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $37,096,500
2023-24: $40,064,240
2024-25: $43,031,940
2025-26: $45,999,660
2026-27: $48,967,380 (Player’s Option)
Regular Season Stats: 24.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG
This is another situation of putting a team in purgatory. The Chicago Bulls are 26-33. Nikola Vucevic could come back next year. DeMar DeRozan has one year left and could stay with the team rolling the dice on him and staying healthy. Lonzo Ball could finally play. It appears that the Bulls want to run it all back, but the issue is that LaVine’s salary and play don’t match the numbers.
LaVine has proven time and time again that he cannot lead a contender. When DeRozan is not playing, LaVine owns a great stat line, but the team ends with a loss the majority of the time. LaVine proved that before DeRozan was brought to the team as well. In the end, LaVine owns the largest contract in team history but owns one first-round playoff appearance. His salary could leave the team hamstrung now and in the future.
6. Bradley Beal (5 Years, $251 Million)
Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $43,279,250
2023-24: $36,741,590
2024-25: $50,203,930
2025-26: $53,666,270
2026-27: $57,128,610 (Player’s Option)
Regular Season Stats: 23.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Beal is in a similar position as the Bulls. The Wizards are 28-30 and haven’t figured out if this is a team that can contend or not. In theory, the team wanted to contend when they acquired Kristaps Porzingis. However, this duo hasn’t yielded the results. Like LaVine, Beal has proven that he has been unable to lead a team far into the playoffs.
The talent has always been there. Beal means a lot to this franchise. The team wasn’t going to let him walk. He could be the all-time leading scorer one day. The issue is that Beal is set to make over $50 million in two seasons. The Wizards are already having issues winning games. When his salary gets higher, and the team can’t find pieces, the depth will shrink, and the Wizards will remain in this world where the team is good enough to finish right in the middle with no lottery pick.
5. John Collins (5 Years, $125 Million)
Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $23,500,000
2023-24: $25,340,000
2024-25: $26,580,000
2025-25: $26,580,000 (Player’s Option
Regular Season Stats: 13.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.2 BPG
When Collins signed this contract in 2021, he was coming off of a season where he averaged 17.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and shot 39.9% from three-point range. Last year, Collins looked like he regressed when he averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and shot 36.4% from three-point range, but it wasn’t enough to panic.
This year, Collins is averaging his worst scoring per game total since his rookie season. His three-point shooting percentage (24.8%) is the worst in his career and very alarming. It’s possible that a coaching change could help, but if Collins is going to average this line and shoot this badly, that does not justify a player getting $25 million a season.
4. Kyle Lowry (3 Years, $85 Million)
Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $28,333,334
2023-24: $29,682,540
Regular Season Stats: 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.4 BPG
When the Heat acquired Lowry, he was supposed to be the third piece to help the team get back to the NBA Finals. The Heat nearly made it last year, but the team has been hovering in the middle of the Eastern Conference. With a 32-27 record, the team could make it back to the top-4, but Lowry’s contract made it hard to improve the team. Lowry is shooting his worst three-point percentage since the 2009-10 season. His assists total is 2.2 down from last year and his lowest total since the same 2009-10 season. At 36 years old, regression is expected.
Not too many players get this much money this late in their 30s. Those players are like LeBron James or Chris Paul. Lowry’s production is a tad down compared to those players. The Heat have a limited window right now, and the $29.6 million owed to Lowry next year is tough to deal with. Jimmy Butler is 33 years old and has just a few years left of playing All-Star ball himself. Lowry’s contract and lack of production could kill this contention window quickly.
3. Davis Bertans (5 Years, $80 Million)
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $16,000,000
2023-24: $17,000,000
2024-25: $16,000,000 (Player’s Option)
Regular Season Stats: 4.1 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG
When Bertans signed a contract extension, Bertans was coming off a season where he averaged 15.4 points and shot 42.4% from three-point range. Looking back, that contract was a mistake. Bertans averaged 11.5 points and shot 39.5% the following year, but it’s been rough ever since. Last year, Bertans saw his playing time slashed in half. Now, he is playing a career-low 10.6 minutes.
The appealing part of Bertans is that he is a career 39.7% shooter from deep. The issue is that he is not good enough to play over 20 minutes a game, and he is a one-trick pony. The fact that Bertans is truly a back-of-the-end bench player and he is getting paid over $15 million really hampers a team’s financial flexibility. It also makes it tough to trade him because of his player’s option, which he is going to take in 2024.
2. Duncan Robinson (5 Years, $90 Million)
Credit: Jason Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $16,902,000
2023-24: $18,154,000
2024-25: $19,406,000
2025-26: $19,888,000
Regular Season Stats: 6.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.0 BPG
When the Heat locked Robinson up, it was the most money guaranteed to an undrafted player in league history. It seemed like a great idea. Robinson had averaged 13.1 points and shot 40.8% from three-point range. Last year, there was some cause for concern when his numbers dropped to 10.9 points and a three-point shooting percentage of 37.2%. Now, it’s absolute panic as Robinson’s average is his lowest since his rookie season, while his three-point shooting is at 32.9%.
This is bad for the Heat for two reasons. One, the Heat have about $50 million locked up in Lowry and Robinson, two players that are not making legitimate impacts on the floor. Second, Robinson has three more years on his contract. That is not going to be moved unless some serious draft capital is traded to package the salary for a player on a bad team. With the Kevin Durant sweepstakes over, Robinson is here to stay. The only hope Heat fans have right now is that he returns to his former self. If not, the team is paying him a lot of money and not getting a lot in return.
1. Ben Simmons (5 Years, $177 Million)
Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Remaining Years Left
2022-23: $35,448,672
2023-24: $37,893,408
2024-25: $40,338,144
Regular Season Stats: 6.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG
This is easily the worst contract in the NBA right now. We can call this the grace year for Simmons. He was coming back from taking a year off as well as coming back from a back injury. Regardless, Simmons is getting All-Star money. The kind of money expected of a player that will change the game. Instead, Simmons has more personal fouls (139) than field goals (133). Simmons is more likely to foul the opposing player than put the ball into the hoop.
The Nets have lost Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving in the last year. The team still has Simmons. If anyone can figure out the plan here, by all means, share it. What we do know is that the Nets are paying top-tier money for a player that owns five career 3-point field goals. Simmons was once a prime All-Defensive player, but he is not bringing that either. The only hope is that he comes back with a full offseason to prepare. Even so, his numbers are what some veterans that play garbage time would average, and Simmons is playing 26.3 minutes per night. This contract is untradeable, and this is rock bottom for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Source: fadeawayworld
