In the past few weeks, I’ve profited $1,000 playing this fantasy basketball game. I love NBA basketball anyways so the extra research and watching a lot of the games on NBA league pass was fun for me. But besides a 6th fantasy basketball sense, all the scouting has given me a really good idea of who pulls their weight and who doesn’t. Without further adieu, here are the TOP 10 most overpaid NBA Players of 2012.
My criteria for this list is only raw salary vs. 2012 performance. I’m not taking into account past glory years, sentimental fan value, how good they were when they signed the contract, what team signed them, etc. This is only 2012 performance vs. 2012 NBA player salary.
Note: Big men (especially centers) are overpaid across the board compared to other positions (because they’re so hard to find) so I gave them a little more leeway.
The Top 10 Overpaid NBA Players in 2012
1. Rashard Lewis $22,152,000 – Ra-Lew is the second highest paid player in the NBA. For a guy that maxed out as a semi-star on the Sonics, that’s UH-mazing money! Who was his agent when he signed? That guy should get a Christmas card on Easter. Lewis currently averages 9.1 ppg on 37.4% shooting to go with 4.1 rebounds in 28 minutes a game. You think he feels just a little guilty about that money seeing as how he was never close to worth it? Otis Smith summoned his inner Isaiah Thomas on this one.
Devin Harris has no excuses for his poor play. Credit: Sportsrantz.com
2. Gilbert Arenas $19,269,308 – For some reason the Wizards had to max this guy out even after it was out he had a bad knee. He’s no longer mobile on defense which makes him a lame duck, washed up star limited to jacking up shots. As soon as the amnesty clause became available, the Magic dumped Gilbert and his fat $62m remaining on his contract. No team has picked him up and so he remains unemployed for the 2012 NBA season.
3. Baron Davis $15,302,181 – Speaking of lame duck washed up stars who can’t play defense, B-Diddy is in at #3. The difference between Davis and Agent 0 is Baron is actually rostered after being amnestied. When he finally is able to suit up, Baron still won’t be able to play a lick of defense while offering a quick trigger from downtown to go along with severely watered down athleticism. The Knicks just got a lot more mediocre.
Add-in: How about that elephant in the room in New York? They got centerpiece Carmelo to go along with an All-Star power forward and a top 5 center that can rebound and defend and they’re still a .500 team at best. The truth is out: Carmelo isn’t an elite player. If he was, that team is easily .650.
4. Elton Brand $17,059,726 – At one point, Brand was a 20-10 guy. Now he’s a 10 and 7 guy for $17m. Add in the fact that he’s an undersized power forward at 6’7” and that makes his price tag very undesirable since he doesn’t have that coveted big man height. He’s playing solid basketball for the Sixers in only 26 and a half minutes but he’s not a guy in line with a franchise salary.
5. Devin Harris $9,319,000 – Unlike many others on this overpaid list, Devin isn’t way past his prime or riddled with injury. Instead, he just sucks while making $9.3m and being fully capable of playing better. 8.2 points on 35.7% shooting and 4.8 assists just doesn’t cut it. Harris was once considered to be a burgeoning star in the league but fell off the map immediately after being dealt to New Jersey. What I’m noticing is once point guards with razor sharp speed and quickness lose a half a step, their game takes a huge drop. Look at Tony Parker’s sharp decline in San Antonio.
6. Luke Walton $5,680,000 – He’s played in 5 games. In those 5 games, he’s averaged 2 points and 2.4 boards in 10 minutes. I like Luke Walton’s game. He’s a smart player that knows how to fit in and help the team. His past back injury set him back and now he’s last in line between Matt Barnes, Ron Artest, and Devin Ebanks at the Lakers small forward. It’s not like he’s playing bad (Mike Brown just benches him) but $5.7m for riding the bench is overpaid.
7. Tim Duncan San Antonio $21,300,000 – It’s always a shame to see legends break down. Duncan is to the point where he is virtually worthless on back-to-backs and only averages 26 minutes anyways. Every now and then he’ll have a good game but 75% of the time, he plays more like a smart, serviceable power forward. Only foolish teams double team him now. 12.8 points on 47.3% shooting, 6.9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.2 blocks for Duncan. He also still plays good positional defense. Not bad numbers but not in the zip code of $21m.
8. Kevin Garnett $21,200,000 – Garnett’s numbers 13.3 points (46.1%), 7.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists are uncannily similar to Duncan’s. He does give the C’s 31 minutes though. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad since the production is almost the same as Duncan at 5 minutes less per game. I haven’t watched enough Celtics games to know if his defense makes up for the lesser numbers. I put Duncan at #5 because of his restricted minutes.
9. Brendan Haywood $7,624,500 – He’s a true center but he’s just not good. In 20 minutes, he gives the Mavs 4.7 points (49%), 6.1 rebounds, and a block. If Haywood played smarter basketball, he’d easily get 30 minutes a game. Instead, even with Tyson Chandler gone, he still remains a guy the Mavs can’t decide on. While he still starts, the Mavericks play the mistake prone but more athletic Ian Mahinmi almost as much.
10. Mehmet Okur $10,890,000 – As you can see, it pays to be at or near 7 feet tall in the NBA. Okur is averaging 7.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 25 minutes a game. Worse yet is his shooting at 41.8%. The problem is Mehmet doesn’t go to the hoop and he now can’t make outside shots. So no free throws and no efficiency. He’s been in and out of the lineup this year with injuries but he’ll get a shot to produce if he wants to turn it around.
Honorable Mentions: Joe Johnson $18,038,573, Beno Udrih $7,232,500, Metta World Peace $6,790,640, Corey Maggette $10,262,069, Ben Gordon $11,600,000, Chris Kaman $14,030,000, Richard Jefferson $9,282,000.
Read more of my DraftStreet.com article (where I make money on fantasy basketball) and nba player stats.
TT-Timber.com – on Top 10 Overpaid NBA Players in 2012