The first few days of the 2016 NBA free agency period left a number of experts and fans alike shaking their heads. Everybody understood that the new television deal would lead to a major spike in the salary cap but nobody could have predicted the size of the deals that were handed out to some very average players. Here is a look at the four most overpaid players in NBA free agency this offseason.
Timofey Mozgov, Los Angeles Lakers
4 Years, $64 Million
Mozgov’s contract with the Lakers represents the gold standard in terms of the terrible contracts that have been handed out this offseason. It’s still unclear how Mozgov will fit in to the Lakers’ plans under head coach Luke Walton, especially considering the league’s transition to smaller lineups. There is no doubt about Mozgov’s potential to be a solid starter in Los Angeles but the fact that he will make $64 million over the next four years makes him the most overpaid player of this NBA free agency period.
Matthew Dellavedova, Milwaukee Bucks
4 Years, $38.5 Million
Mozgov isn’t the only former Cleveland Cavaliers role player that cashed in big time in free agency as Dellavedova received a ridiculous four-year, $38.5 million deal from Milwaukee. This is a move that won’t make the Bucks a better team in any way, shape or form.
Nearly $10 million per year is a lot of money to pay a player that couldn’t maintain a consistent role in a winning team’s rotation when they were healthy and Dellavedova was limited to just 3.9 points and 2.8 assists in 12.1 minutes per game in the playoffs for the Cavaliers. He looked slow, wasn’t as pesky defensively as he was in previous years and he wasn’t reliable with his shot.
The fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Michael Carter-Williams and Tyler Ennis are already on the roster, made this move that much more surprising for the Bucks as they clearly overpaid for a player that doesn’t necessarily even fit in to a position of need. They’ll end up regretting this signing as he’s already an unmovable piece.
Harrison Barnes, Dallas Mavericks
4 Years, $94.5 Million
The debate about whether or not Barnes would still get a max contract following a lackluster performance in the NBA Finals came to an end in a hurry when the Mavericks handed him a four-year, $94.5 million deal. Barnes averaged a respectable 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds as a member of the Golden State Warriors starting five last season and make no mistakes about, he’s a solid player who is still on the rise. But he came off the bench in the NBA Finals and it’s hard to know for sure just what he brings to the table on his own after he had the luxury of playing in one of the most talented starting five’s in the NBA over the past couple of years. Dallas is banking on that Barnes can become a star for them over the next couple of years but there is no doubt they took a risk by handing him a max contract. Hopefully he can give them more than what Chandler Parsons did, but it’s hard to justify giving a max contract to Barnes in free agency.
Evan Turner, Portland Trail Blazers
4 Years, $70 Million
The journeyman guard bounced around the NBA over the past few years before catching on with the Boston Celtics where he put up decent numbers last season. Turner averaged 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 28.0 minutes per game a year ago but he isn’t a pure shooter and his inability to shoot the three-ball limits his potential at the offensive end of the floor. The Trail Blazers turned a lot of heads when they made the playoffs a year ago with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum leading the way and Portland decided to bring back Allen Crabbe for $75 million over the next four years. That means Turner will be the fourth option in the Trail Blazers’ back court rotation and the one with the most limited upside, which hardly makes him look like a player that deserved to be paid $70 million over four years. Turner can still be a decent contributor off the bench but at such a high price he is now clearly one of the most overpaid players in the NBA.
