Brook Lopez and 5 NBA Free Agents Who Made Most for Doing Least

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Bad contracts are a part of sports and the NBA is no exception.

Some players receive a ton of money on a very short sample size. That's just the nature of the beast. A few games can turn into a few million dollars at the snap of a finger.

This offseason, despite doing very little to earn the dollars that they are about to receive, several players have cashed in a lot.

Here's a look at five guys that have cashed in the most for doing the least.

5. Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers

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I like Hibbert as a player and I think he has a very bright future, but he's a guy whose best season (2012) saw him average only 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

As a restricted free agent, Hibbert was due a big raise, but a max contract is a bit unwarranted at this point in his career.

According to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, the Indiana Pacers are going to match the Portland Trail Blazers' offer sheet and retain the services of their center.

The Pacers are now on the hook for $58 million dollars throughout the next four years.

He's a guy that's never shown the ability to take over a game and was held to 12 points or less in four of six playoff games against the Miami Heat.

That is, a team that had no post presence to speak of.

4. Gerald Green, Indiana Pacers

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Green has been in the NBA for a total of five years, between which he was out of the league for three seasons before a slight resurgence with the New Jersey Nets in 2012. He averaged 12.9 points per game.

Following a disappointing first four years in the league after he was drafted in 2005, Green played abroad. He returned to the NBA last season and turned a few dunks into a three-year, $10 million deal with the Pacers.

Talk about a guy that has't done much to cash in—Green is still a guy who has barely averaged over eight points per game in his career. However, he turned a 31-game stretch into $10 million.

3. Omer Asik, Chicago Bulls

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Asik shows how NBA general managers love size and potential.

He has yet to sign his three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet with the Rockets, but the Bulls are expected to match it anyway, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Asik isn't a proven player, but he's about to be paid like one.

The big man is a great defender and a solid rebounder, but he's still almost inept on the offensive end of the court, as is evident by his career 2.9 point per game average.

Break that down a little further and Asik will sign a deal that will pay him $57,834 per point that he's scored in the NBA so far.

2. Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks

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I'm one of few people who think that Lin can live up to a four-year, $30 million deal when it's all said and done.

However, that doesn't mean that it's not an insane contract for a guy that's started 25 games.

His sample size is too small to be paid that well, but the Knicks have no choice but to match.

Even though Lin practically took over the entire world for a couple of months, looking at the bigger picture, he did very little to earn the type of money he will be from now on.

That's not a knock on the impact he had or his play, it's just a fact. He's played 64 career games and had a legitimate impact in about 30 of them.

As a player, the jury is still out on Lin. Therefore, justifying his contract is very hard to do.

Nevertheless, it's something the Knicks needed to do and hopefully Lin can live up to the massive amount of pressure that will now be on him.

1. Brook Lopez

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I understand that all teams love size, but some teams are bad for a reason and that's because they've always thrown insane amounts of money at big men who aren't worth it.

Only a few big men in the NBA are franchise players, but several are paid like it. That latter group includes Lopez, who just signed a four-year, $61 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets.

Lopez is a decent big, averaging 17.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

Those are good numbers, but nothing that screams max contract.

In addition, Lopez cashed in after playing a total of five games in 2012 due to injury.

He will basically be paid $12.2 million per game played last season.