2010 NBA Preview: The Top 10 Most Overpaid Players in the NBA
It seems that every year we invariably label several NBA superstars as overpaid ego-maniacs who are not worth half of the salary that they annually collect.
This year is no different, as several mid-tier players cashed in with big bucks. With a lot of uncertainty regarding the soon-to-be expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams are looking to start spending dollars more wisely and move away from the Eddy Curry type of contract.
Despite the most structured rookie pay scale in professional sports, it's no surprise that the NBA is in serious financial trouble when you take a quick glance around the league.
Thanks to these athletes making outlandish salaries, expiring contracts have become more valuable than gold in the NBA, so let's take a look at the ten most overpaid players currently in the league.
10. Andrew Bynum, C Los Angeles Lakers
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2010 Salary: $13,842,332
At the time he signed his contract extension, it was thought that the Lakers locked up a premier talent at a discount price. If Bynum could ever stay on the court, the aforementioned sentiment would be shared by many more people than it is currently.
Over the last three seasons Bynum has played just 35, 50, and 65 games respectively due to recurring knee troubles. As most fans know, any player over 7'0" with those types of injuries can quickly see their careers derailed.
Thankfully for Bynum, youth is still on his side as he's just 22 years old. Right now, the Lakers can afford to still invest in his potential, because he's certainly proved he's no slouch on the court.
But with the recent news that he will sidelined (again) to begin the upcoming season, maybe the Lakers are beginning to think that they could be spending more wisely.
9. Vince Carter, SG Orlando Magic
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2010 Salary: $17,300,000
Posting his worst numbers since the 2004-2005 campaign where he was limited to just 20 games, Carter spent his inaugural season in Orlando toiling in medicority as he failed to carve out a defined role on offense.
Brought in for his dynamic scoring ability, Carter averaged just 16.6 ppg, a full 4.2 lower than his previous season in New Jersey.
Although not entirely his fault, VC saw his offensive role shrink as the season wore on and found himself on the bench more than ever before, posting the lowest average court time totals of his career (30:48).
Now in his second season with the Magic, Carter will look to prove that he's still worth his top-dog salary even if he is forced to play second-fiddle to Dwight Howard. At 33 years old, even if he wins comeback player of the year, his productivity won't match his salary.
8. Tyson Chandler, C Dallas Mavericks
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2010 Salary: $12,750,000
Every year it's the same story with Chandler: a disappointing regular season, an off-season of getting healthy and re-dedicating himself to the game, and finally culminating with another disappointing regular season.
Standing 7'1", Chandler has never been known as much of a scorer. In addition, he has an unusually tough time collecting the big rebound numbers that his teams have expected (career average 8.8), and doesn't do much in the way of shot-blocking either; so what does he do?
Although he shoots the rock at a rather high clip, that's fairly easy to do when all of his shot attempts come from four feet or closer.
Another big man who has a tough time staying on the court, there are about 13 million reasons that Chandler comes in at No. 8 on the list.
7. Mike Dunleavy, SF Indiana Pacers
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2010 Salary: $10,561,984
After taking his game to an unforeseen level in '07-'08, Dunleavy has really taken a step back and regressed to the mean. Limited to just 85 games over the last two seasons after playing the full compliment in his breakout year, Dunleavy averaged single-digit points last season for the first time since his rookie campaign.
Playing for a Pacers team that still lacks a true identity, Dunleavy is going to have a tough time ahead of him as he continues his road back from injury. Without any peripheral statistics to bank on, if Dunleavy doesn't come out scoring in bunches this season he'll be sure to draw extremely quick criticism.
While the addition of exciting point guard Darren Collison can only serve to help his outlooks, Dunleavy's inability to create his own shot is just another example of why he is so overpaid.
Playing Larry Bird's old position probably doesn't help him much either, as No. 33 is sure to be evaluating him with an extra critical eye.
6. Kenyon Martin, PF Denver Nuggets
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2010 Salary: $15,959,099
K-Mart has never played a full NBA season since he came into the league. Although he has had a few seasons of 70+ games where he has stayed mostly healthy, Martin's knee woes are well-documented and have forced him to miss a substantial amount of time over his playing career.
An undersized power forward, Martin's career field goal percentage (48.1%) and free throw percentage (64.1%) are abysmal, at best. Additionally, his career rebounding numbers (7.3 rebs/gm) are nothing to get excited about, either.
Most famous for the pair of lips tattooed on the side of his neck, Martin's talent has been masked by both injury and underachievment, two very negative traits that have followed him his entire career.
Now in line to collect $16 million from the Nuggets this season and having undergone at least one knee surgery this summer, it could be yet another headache for a very busy Denver front office.
5. Elton Brand, PF Philadelphia 76ers
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2010 Salary: $15,959,099
If it weren't for LeBron's televised free agent "decision" this summer, we may still be talking about how dirty Brand did the Clippers.
After signing a ridiculous contract with the Sixers as a free agent prior to the '08-'09 season, Brand has been absolutely horrendous and has provided zero return on investment for the team.
In his first year, EB42 managed to appear in just 29 games, and although he averaged close to 14 pts and 9 rebounds, those are not the 20/10 numbers Philly thought they were getting after his signing.
The second go around wasn't much better for Brand, although he did manage to at least stay relatively healthy for the majority of the season. Another player who saw his playing time dip to a new carer low, Brand averaged 13.1 pts and just 6.1 rebounds.
Based on his performance over the last two seasons, anything over $5 million per season would seem outlandish, but he's set to make more than three times that figure.
4. Andrei Kirilenko, SF Utah Jazz
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2010 Salary: $17,822,187
A player who does a little bit of everything, Kirilenko was once viewed as a mainstay and partial identity of the Jazz, but those days seem like a long time ago.
No longer living up to his nickname of AK47, Kirilenko's game is just not what it once was. His game has regressed significantly over the last few seasons, as the statistics below indicate:
2005-2006: 15.3 ppg, 8.0 rebs, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 3.2 blks
2009-2010: 11.9 ppg, 4.6 rebs, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.2 blks
He's never been an image of perfect health, either, as he's played the full compliment of games just once in his career and that was his first year in the league.
Still relevant thanks to his unique skill set, Kirilenko is going to have to get it together if he hopes to be worth even half of his payday.
3. Peja Stojakovic, SF New Orleans Hornets
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2010 Salary: $15,336,000
A candidate for buyout earlier this offseason, Stojakovic's bloated contract has been a crippling blow for one of the league's most financially troubled franchises.
Formerly a perennial all-star, Stojakovic has seen his skills dip considerably in recent years. While some may make the case that his ailing back has led to decreased performance, Peja is now 33 and almost a decade removed from his best NBA season.
The sharpshooter had one of his worst years in '08-'09, and saw his numbers move even lower last season.
No longer a featured player on a youthful, re-built Hornets squad, Stojakovic may have another tumultuous tenure in store as he looks to re-vitalize his game and figure out what happened.
2. Michael Redd, SG Milwaukee Bucks
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2010 Salary: $18,300,00
Allow me to introduce Mr. Michael Redd, the most valuable trade chip in the NBA this season. With his ridiculous contract set to expire at the conclusion of the year, Redd's value hasn't been this high since 2005.
After suffering two ACL tears in the same knee in back-back seasons, Redd's on the outside looking in on what was a very promising future.
With his career at an uncertain crossroads, Redd will have to overcome not only the physical aspects of the injury but the mental ones as well, as one never knows how this may affect his confidence moving forward.
Knee injuries are a hard thing to rebound from in the league, just ask Tracy McGrady. GM John Hammond has done a nice job of assembling a team that makes Redd an afterthought in most people's minds, but just imagine how good they'd be if they had invested that $18 million elsewhere.
1. Rashard Lewis, SF Orlando Magic
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2010 Salary: $20,514,000
No, that figure is not a typo.
Number one on the list and the most overpaid player in the NBA, Rashard Lewis has not been the same player with the Orlando Magic that he was in Seattle.
Lewis is making the second-most (Kobe Bryant No. 1) money in the entire league this season. That means he's earning more than LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, and even Chris Paul.
Anyone who can make an argument that Lewis is worth more to his team than any of the aforementioned are to theirs, please approach the bench and let your voice be heard.
Last year, Lewis was 77th in the NBA in scoring and 134th in rebounding. Additionally, he settled for way too many jumpers which led to him tying his previous career-low mark for field goal percentage.
Anyway you slice it, Lewis' numbers don't support his being the second-highest paid player this year, no matter what he may bring to the table.
