David Lee and 5 Players Whose Poisonous Contracts Will Prevent Deadline Deal

The NBA is a league with a salary cap, which means that getting certain players is easier said than done. If you can't sign them without going over the cap, then you have to find an alternative plan. Still, it doesn't stop some owners from doling out some contracts that are just plain stupid.

Take Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee, for example. He was a double-double machine as the Knicks' top dog during Mike D'Antoni's first two years in New York, but then he hit free agency, and the Warriors signed him to a six-year deal worth $80 million.  He hasn't been bad with the team and is averaging 19.1 points and 9.8 boards this year, but his level of play is nowhere near worth $13.3 million a year.

Seeing as how the Warriors are looking to dump salary and bring in more depth as the deadline approaches, Lee is proving one of their harder pieces to move, as no other team wants to take on his contract. Let's have a look at similar deals that could prevent teams from making deadline moves.

Brendan Haywood

After the 2010 season, the Dallas Mavericks re-signed Haywood to a six-year deal worth $55 million. He is a solid seven-footer to have in the middle, as his large frame makes it hard for opposing players to score in the paint. Yet, the contract itself is ridiculous.

Sure, Haywood is solid on defense, but he has only averaged 7.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for his career. For a seven-footer, that's unacceptable. And yet, Mark Cuban is paying this guy nearly $9.2 million a year.

Seeing as how the Mavs are looking to defend their title and need an upgrade at the 5, they're going to need to roll a lot of dice if they want to get back to the NBA Finals without moving this contract off of the books.

Tyrus Thomas

Ever the example of poor team management, the Bobcats signed Thomas to a five-year, $40 million deal prior to last season. Though he is primarily a defensive power forward who has talent, his greatest strengths are shot-blocking and dunking, and thus, $8 million a year seems a bit much.

The team is also currently the worst in the NBA and needs to start from scratch yet again.  That means shedding bad contracts such as those of the oft-injured Thomas. Unfortunately, no team is interested in picking up that kind of tab.

David Lee

David Lee is a talented power forward who can do fine work scoring from either side of the basket, and his toughness on defense is commendable. Yet in a balanced system, he's someone who can average maybe 16 to 17 points and MAYBE 10 rebounds a game.  Besides that, he isn't exactly what one would call a pest.

Still, the Warriors see something special in him, and he is getting paid $13.3 million a year.  As a result, the Warriors are basically screwed with their salary cap and can do next to nothing to bring in new talent that will improve the team, unless of course, they trade away a bigger contract.

Naturally, no team wants to take on that much money.

Monta Ellis

Ellis is currently in the fourth year of a six-year contract worth $67 million. He's one of the most talented players in the league, but he's not much more than a scorer with a decent passing game and some solid defense. In the three seasons since the extension, the Warriors have been part of the draft lottery each year. Call me crazy, but that's very telling.

He has about $27.9 million remaining on the contract, but teams would be smart to shy away from discussing Ellis in potential trades with Golden State. Despite his one-sided game, Warriors GM Larry Riley will surely demand a king's ransom for his star player.

Sadly, he just isn't worth that.

Rashard Lewis

Well, where do I begin with this one? Let's start during the summer of 2007, when Lewis opted out of his deal with the Seattle SuperSonics and signed a six-year, $118 million deal with the Orlando Magic. He averaged 18.2 points per game his first season with the team, but it all went downhill from there.

Lewis' scoring dropped each of the next two seasons as his knees started to go, and last year, GM Otis Smith finally traded him and his contract to the Washington Wizards for Gilbert Arenas and his awful contract. Since then, Lewis has basically become a joke.

This year, he has alternated between the bench and the starting lineup and has missed a lot of time with his sore knees. His 7.8 points per game are his lowest average since his second year in the league, and his 24 percent shooting from long range is his worst since his rookie campaign.

Ready for the really messed up part? This "production" from Lewis is netting him about $29.5 million over the next year and a half.