Post by shaunkol on Jul 2, 2010 13:44:24 GMT -5
The 10 Worst Contracts in UOSLR
We all know that a bad contract has the ability to crush a team for many years. A mistake in free agency can result in year after year of fighting the hard cap, or potentially take a team out of the running for any future free agent signing to help the team. We’ve all made mistakes with a bad signing, and we all know how painful it can be. I compiled a list of the 10 contracts hurting GM’s at the present time.
After careful analysis of each roster, I think GM’s overall have done an impressive job keeping contracts reasonable. There are only a handful of truly awful contracts, and teams seem to have a better handle on how to manage their cap. Without further ado, here is the list
(No pictures included for all those of you on mobile devices!)
The “Yeah, he’s awesome, but you’ll be paying him HOW MUCH when he’s HOW OLD???” Contracts
10) Dwayne Wade
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Contract: 7 years, $170M, Final year: $31M
Yes I know, it might seem absurd to have a stud like Wade on the list. He is still a top 5 player in the league, and I’m sure Kru isn’t killing himself for this contract. HOWEVER, Wade is 31 years old, and will represent 39% of the hard cap in the final year of his contract. That is essentially like having 3 max players in the first year of their contracts. If Kru can’t support Wade with enough talent now, its only going to get more difficult when the contract ramps up. And don’t get too confident with the “he will retire before then” argument, we’ve seen players play until 37-38 in UOSLR already.
9) Amare Stoudamire
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Contract: 6 years, $144M, Final year: $30M
Similar to Wade, Amare is a great player. However, his contract becomes exhorbitant at the worst time. 30 years old right now, Trunks is looking at paying Amare a whopping $30M when he’s 36 years old. Just like Kru, Trunks will need to be very careful with the players he surrounds Amare with going forward
The “OK, I know he’s a rookie, but that’s just lighting money on fire!!” Contracts
8) Karron Johnson
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Contract: 4 years, $8M, Final year: $2.2M
No knock on James here, but Karron Johnson sports the downright awful abilities of B- C+ C- C+ C+ C. There is zero chance Johnson will ever even be a role player, and in all likelihood will be a thorn in James’ side for the next 4 years. Even though these contracts aren’t killer, they do often require a team giving away a 1st round pick, just to get him off the books.
The “Yeah they may have marginal ability, but they are LOSERS, plain and simple” Contracts
7) LaMarcus Aldridge
Team: Golden State Warriors
Contract: 3 years, $37M, Final year: $13M
Would you be happy paying $37M for 14/10 with 41% shooting and only 1.5 blocks per game? I didn’t think so. LaMarcus has never been able to live up to his hype, and is now just a marginal player on a marginal team. LaMarcus was on losing team after losing team in Boston, and he was as much to blame as anyone. I’d be surprised if Aldridge and his large salary remain on the Warriors for much longer.
6) Louis Williams
Team: Detroit Pistons
Contract: 5 years, $53M, Final year: $13M
Louis Williams is widely renowned around UOSLR. The only problem is, he’s renowned for being a turnover whore on horrible teams. Williams is one of those players who looks fabulous on paper, but just doesn’t win games for his team. At 5 years, $53M, Williams will be tough for the Pistons GM to move, and with a record of 4-20, I bet that’s exactly what the GM would like to do.
The “That contract wasn’t that bad before an atrocious TC. Damn you Ducky!!!”
5) Raul Lopez
Team: Orlando Magic
Contract: 4 years, $43M, Final year: $12M
Lopez was a very solid PG last year, and for many years before that. When he offered to re-sign in the offseason, I thought this deal was a bargain. Then comes TC … and …. Yea …. Contract doesn’t look so good anymore. He’s not a terrible player, but I can honestly say, if I could nullify this contract I would. The tough part about this category of players is that there is not much a GM can do about it. Its part of UOSLR, and it could happen to you next!!
4) Chris Paul
Team: Phoenix Suns
Contract: 5 years, $84M, Final year: $20M
Who would have thought when UOSLR began that a 28 year old Chris Paul would be on the worst contract list? Not me (I had high hopes for him myself). When Jah traded for Paul last year, he likely envisioned Paul regaining his form and being a capable PG. Well … he was wrong. Paul had one of the worst TC’s in UOSLR the past 2 seasons, and it has completely killed his trade value. With the Suns struggling at 11-22, this $84M contract will not be easy to move.
The “No way around it. That’s just an ATROCIOUS deal!”
3) Eddie Griffin
Team: Miami Heat
Contract: 4 years, $85M, Final year: $23.6M
Yes, my old friend Eddie Griffin. Once a dominant bigman on the glass and with his shotblocking, Griffin has been slowly declining, while his contract has been ramping up. There is just no way around it, paying around $20M a season, for 5.8pts 10.3rbds 3.2blks is waaaay to much. The problem the Heat GM will have is that to deal Griffin, he will have to give up some young talent, which is never what a GM wants.
2) Amir Johnson
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Contract: 4 years, $30M, Final year: $7.5M
Who?? Amir Johnson?? 7.5M per year??? Yikes. Johnson contributes to the Mavs to likes of 3.5pts 6.6rbds 2.4blks with a robust 30.5% FG. He’s absolutely nothing more than a role player, who, from his minutes played, appears to have been relegated to the bench already. Johnson is the Brian Scalabrine of UOSLR, and being compared to Brian Scalabrine is never good.
1) Monta Ellis
Team: Toronto Raptors
Contract: 4 years, $60M, Final year: $17M
Ew, just ew. Monta Ellis: 12pts 4.5 rbds 5.6 ass on 44% shooting. Yeah, that’s worth $60M. The worst part about Ellis is that his abilities can make GM’s salivate. B- B+ B A- C- C looks very serviceable indeed; and his potential used to be A. Dan knows first hand the ineptitude of Ellis, and his Knicks team was mired in mediocrity year after year. If there is one positive to come out of this, its that if Ellis is the worst contract in UOSLR, that’s a tribute to the work of GM’s in the league, keeping contracts reasonable.
We all know that a bad contract has the ability to crush a team for many years. A mistake in free agency can result in year after year of fighting the hard cap, or potentially take a team out of the running for any future free agent signing to help the team. We’ve all made mistakes with a bad signing, and we all know how painful it can be. I compiled a list of the 10 contracts hurting GM’s at the present time.
After careful analysis of each roster, I think GM’s overall have done an impressive job keeping contracts reasonable. There are only a handful of truly awful contracts, and teams seem to have a better handle on how to manage their cap. Without further ado, here is the list
(No pictures included for all those of you on mobile devices!)
The “Yeah, he’s awesome, but you’ll be paying him HOW MUCH when he’s HOW OLD???” Contracts
10) Dwayne Wade
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Contract: 7 years, $170M, Final year: $31M
Yes I know, it might seem absurd to have a stud like Wade on the list. He is still a top 5 player in the league, and I’m sure Kru isn’t killing himself for this contract. HOWEVER, Wade is 31 years old, and will represent 39% of the hard cap in the final year of his contract. That is essentially like having 3 max players in the first year of their contracts. If Kru can’t support Wade with enough talent now, its only going to get more difficult when the contract ramps up. And don’t get too confident with the “he will retire before then” argument, we’ve seen players play until 37-38 in UOSLR already.
9) Amare Stoudamire
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Contract: 6 years, $144M, Final year: $30M
Similar to Wade, Amare is a great player. However, his contract becomes exhorbitant at the worst time. 30 years old right now, Trunks is looking at paying Amare a whopping $30M when he’s 36 years old. Just like Kru, Trunks will need to be very careful with the players he surrounds Amare with going forward
The “OK, I know he’s a rookie, but that’s just lighting money on fire!!” Contracts
8) Karron Johnson
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Contract: 4 years, $8M, Final year: $2.2M
No knock on James here, but Karron Johnson sports the downright awful abilities of B- C+ C- C+ C+ C. There is zero chance Johnson will ever even be a role player, and in all likelihood will be a thorn in James’ side for the next 4 years. Even though these contracts aren’t killer, they do often require a team giving away a 1st round pick, just to get him off the books.
The “Yeah they may have marginal ability, but they are LOSERS, plain and simple” Contracts
7) LaMarcus Aldridge
Team: Golden State Warriors
Contract: 3 years, $37M, Final year: $13M
Would you be happy paying $37M for 14/10 with 41% shooting and only 1.5 blocks per game? I didn’t think so. LaMarcus has never been able to live up to his hype, and is now just a marginal player on a marginal team. LaMarcus was on losing team after losing team in Boston, and he was as much to blame as anyone. I’d be surprised if Aldridge and his large salary remain on the Warriors for much longer.
6) Louis Williams
Team: Detroit Pistons
Contract: 5 years, $53M, Final year: $13M
Louis Williams is widely renowned around UOSLR. The only problem is, he’s renowned for being a turnover whore on horrible teams. Williams is one of those players who looks fabulous on paper, but just doesn’t win games for his team. At 5 years, $53M, Williams will be tough for the Pistons GM to move, and with a record of 4-20, I bet that’s exactly what the GM would like to do.
The “That contract wasn’t that bad before an atrocious TC. Damn you Ducky!!!”
5) Raul Lopez
Team: Orlando Magic
Contract: 4 years, $43M, Final year: $12M
Lopez was a very solid PG last year, and for many years before that. When he offered to re-sign in the offseason, I thought this deal was a bargain. Then comes TC … and …. Yea …. Contract doesn’t look so good anymore. He’s not a terrible player, but I can honestly say, if I could nullify this contract I would. The tough part about this category of players is that there is not much a GM can do about it. Its part of UOSLR, and it could happen to you next!!
4) Chris Paul
Team: Phoenix Suns
Contract: 5 years, $84M, Final year: $20M
Who would have thought when UOSLR began that a 28 year old Chris Paul would be on the worst contract list? Not me (I had high hopes for him myself). When Jah traded for Paul last year, he likely envisioned Paul regaining his form and being a capable PG. Well … he was wrong. Paul had one of the worst TC’s in UOSLR the past 2 seasons, and it has completely killed his trade value. With the Suns struggling at 11-22, this $84M contract will not be easy to move.
The “No way around it. That’s just an ATROCIOUS deal!”
3) Eddie Griffin
Team: Miami Heat
Contract: 4 years, $85M, Final year: $23.6M
Yes, my old friend Eddie Griffin. Once a dominant bigman on the glass and with his shotblocking, Griffin has been slowly declining, while his contract has been ramping up. There is just no way around it, paying around $20M a season, for 5.8pts 10.3rbds 3.2blks is waaaay to much. The problem the Heat GM will have is that to deal Griffin, he will have to give up some young talent, which is never what a GM wants.
2) Amir Johnson
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Contract: 4 years, $30M, Final year: $7.5M
Who?? Amir Johnson?? 7.5M per year??? Yikes. Johnson contributes to the Mavs to likes of 3.5pts 6.6rbds 2.4blks with a robust 30.5% FG. He’s absolutely nothing more than a role player, who, from his minutes played, appears to have been relegated to the bench already. Johnson is the Brian Scalabrine of UOSLR, and being compared to Brian Scalabrine is never good.
1) Monta Ellis
Team: Toronto Raptors
Contract: 4 years, $60M, Final year: $17M
Ew, just ew. Monta Ellis: 12pts 4.5 rbds 5.6 ass on 44% shooting. Yeah, that’s worth $60M. The worst part about Ellis is that his abilities can make GM’s salivate. B- B+ B A- C- C looks very serviceable indeed; and his potential used to be A. Dan knows first hand the ineptitude of Ellis, and his Knicks team was mired in mediocrity year after year. If there is one positive to come out of this, its that if Ellis is the worst contract in UOSLR, that’s a tribute to the work of GM’s in the league, keeping contracts reasonable.
