WHY BOGUT WHY?

Andrew Bogut, like his classmate Alex Smith, came from the University of Utah. He, also like Smith, convinced a league that he was good enough to be drafted first overall even though he played in a shitty athletic conference and was totally mediocre when facing real competition. He, also like Smith was picked before a handful of current superstars and ended up not even being the best player taken in the first round at his position. Unlike Smith however, Bogut plays in the NBA, who ranks only behind Major League Baseball in rewarding mediocrity.

A few weeks ago Andrew Bogut was given a contract extension by the Milwaukee Bucks, which will net him nearly 15 million dollars a year over the next 5 seasons. Lil’ Wayne taught me to never hate on people who are getting paid, so the fact that Bogut is getting paid this much is not what has me hating on him. The issue here is that Andrew Bogut just opened the floodgates for another group of basketball hacks to get paid like all-stars. And so far, the hack prophecy is coming true.

Bogut’s numbers are just ok. They are not great; they are not star-quality. In fact, the best thing Bogut ever did on the court was the infamous air hi-five that he gave his teammates when they refused to shake his hand after he made a free-throw (youtube it if you don't believe me). Bogut has now however set the standard for those numbers.

Emeka Okafor has virtually identical numbers to Bogut, and also is not a star. As of today, he is set to make 12 million dollars a year over 5 years. Andris Biedrins has signed a 6 year deal worth more than 60 million dollars and his numbers are worse than Okafor’s and Bogut. Josh Childress was the hackest of the 4, and he is now getting paid for his mediocrity in the Euro.

The problem is, we are very early in the NBA off-season, and there are a number of free-agents both better and worse than Bogut, who are now looking for that kind of deal. Imagine what is going to happen when all the stars become free agents in ’09 and ’10.

So Andrew Bogut, you seem like a decent enough guy. And I certainly wouldn’t turn down the money that Milwaukee offered you. Perhaps this is just Milwaukee showing that they don’t know how to do contracts. But for now, the massive overpaying in the NBA has your shit-stains all over it…