There are certain situations where the value of an NBA contract can be debated based on talent, term, fit and how it affects a team’s salary cap situation. Then there are the situations where there is zero doubt that a contract is a bad one. We decided to focus on the latter situation for this column with a list of the worst contracts handed out to small forwards over the past couple of seasons. Here is a look at the five worst contracts for the small forward position in the NBA right now.
Chandler Parsons, Memphis Grizzlies
Parsons was considered a rising star at his position when he averaged a career-high 16.6 points including 2.0 three-point shots per game while hitting 37-percent of his shots from beyond the arc in 2013-14. Fast-forward four years later and he is clearly a major casualty for the Grizzlies. Memphis overpaid him when they signed him to a $94 million deal knowing he suffered season-ending knee injuries in each of the previous two seasons. Now he is set to turn 29-years-old and there is no guarantee he will be able to stay healthy this season. Parsons averaged just 6.2 points in 19.9 minutes per game over 34 appearances last season. The Grizzlies still owe Parsons $72.3 million over the next three seasons. That is one of the worst contracts in the NBA regardless of position.
Luol Deng, Los Angeles Lakers
Deng averaged just 7.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game for the Lakers last season. He is now 32-years-old. The lack of production and age likely don’t add up to the $54 million the Lakers still owe him over the next three seasons. There were reports that Los Angeles offered teams an unprotected future first-round pick in an effort to try to move Deng’s contract over the summer but it didn’t work. That speaks volumes about just how bad of a deal the Lakers are committed to with Deng.
Evan Turner, Portland Trail Blazers
Turner’s four-year, $70 million with the Trail Blazers was almost guaranteed to be a major bust. The fact that Turner averaged just 9.0 points and 3.2 assists last season reinforced that theory. Portland undoubtedly regrets handing Turner that contract now. On its own, it’s one of the worst contracts in the NBA among small forwards. Considered in tandem with the next deal on this list, it clearly looks even worse.
Allen Crabbe, Brooklyn Nets
As if paying Turner $70 million wasn’t bad enough, the Trail Blazers doubled down by handing Crabbe $75 million. While it might not have been their idea in the first place, Portland still matched the massive offer sheet that the Brooklyn Nets gave Crabbe last summer, which further crippled their salary cap situation.
The good news is that the Nets obsession with Crabbe continued and they took him off Portland’s hands for basically nothing this offseason. The Trail Blazers did get a player back they immediately waived him.
The issue for Portland was that with Crabbe and Turner set to make a combined $110 million over the next three seasons, they simply couldn’t maneuver and also would have ended up paying plenty of luxury tax. However, the analytics show that they were a better team with Moe Harkless at the three last year, so that’s why they made the move to dump Crabbe and his costly contract.
Kent Bazemore, Atlanta Hawks
The final spot on this list belongs to Bazemore and the $54.3 million the Hawks still owe him over the next three seasons. Bazemore signed following a productive 2015-16 season, but his play regressed last season and the changes to the NBA salary cap situation made his poor play stand out even more. Atlanta looks like a team that will commit to a rebuild, which makes it even more ridiculous that they will pay Bazemore so much money over the next three years. Bazemore can still help the Hawks both with his production and his leadership. However, it will be almost impossible for him to justify the amount of money that the Hawks will pay him moving forward.
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