The summer of 2016 will be remembered for some of the absolutely terrible contracts that were handed out at the time. A rising salary cap combined with the idea that it would continue to climb over the next couple of years led to teams spending big money on free agent players with the idea that there was no such thing as a bad contract. Those moves backfired when news broke that the salary cap climate would come spiraling back down with new limitations on how much teams would be able to spend. That left some players looking like major casualties based on their salary cap situations. Here is a look at the five worst contracts for the power forward position in the NBA right now.
Ryan Anderson, Houston Rockets
Anderson was overpaid when the Rockets handed him a four-year, $80 million contract in the summer of 2016. Now that deal looks like an absolute disaster for several reasons. Houston needs all of the cap space it can find as it attempts to build a roster that can contend with the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference. They simply can’t afford to pay just over $20 million per season for a player that isn’t a superstar. Anderson averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season but it’s impossible to justify the amount of money that the Rockets will pay him. With Houston in dire need of cap space, it’s clear Anderson’s contract is one of the worst in the NBA.
Harrison Barnes, Dallas Mavericks
Mark Cuban’s desire to keep the Mavericks relevant backfired with the decision to sign Barnes to a four-year max contract last season. Barnes averaged 19.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for Dallas. However, the problem is that he isn’t a cornerstone player even though he is being paid like one. Barnes will make $72.3 million over the next three seasons. With the Mavericks nowhere near close to contending for a championship, it’s obvious that money would be better off spend somewhere else.
Serge Ibaka, Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are in a tough spot at this point in their franchise history. They are good enough to contend for the best record in the Eastern Conference but not good enough to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a playoff series. Basketball fans in Toronto have to be hoping that Kyrie Irving is traded to the Western Conference, but even then, Ibaka’s contract would earn a spot on this list. The three-year, $65 million deal won’t move the Raptors any closer to contending for a championship then they were when they were eliminated by the Cavaliers in the second round last season.
While he’s still just 27 years old, Ibaka plays much older than that. At his peak, he averaged 15.1 points per game and 8.8 rebounds. Last year with Toronto, those numbers dipped to 14.2 and 6.8. His blocks are also down as he averaged as many as 3.7 per game one season. He was at 1.4 with the Raptors in the 2016-17 season. The Raptors would be worse without him but this feels like a deal they’ll regret in a couple of years.
Marvin Williams, Charlotte Hornets
The 31-year-old Williams is still owed $42.3 million over the next three seasons. The fact that the Hornets aren’t built for him to be a light-out shooter anymore hurts his overall value. Williams likely won’t hit 40-percent of his three-point attempts the way that he did in 2015-16, and at 31-years-old his defense has slipped to the point where he should be considered a defensive liability. Charlotte might have the talent to contend for a playoff spot this season. However, they are still far from becoming a true championship contender and it won’t help them that they have so much money tied up in Williams.
James Johnson, Miami Heat
Johnson put up decent numbers for Miami last season when he averaged 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 27.4 minutes per game. However, those numbers aren’t nearly good enough to justify the fact that the Heat will pay him $60 million over the next four seasons. Johnson is nothing more than a role player and it doesn’t help that he will turn 31-years-old this season. Miami should regret committing so much money to a depth forward.
The 2017 NBA futures are out. It’s been a wild offseason already, but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest NBA betting lines right here.
