After hearing rumors that these two guys’ contracts were untradeable, the unthinkable happened. Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul were traded for each other! Now look, Westbrook made 3rd Team All-NBA this past season, so he at least still has some talent, which makes his contract easier to stomach. Chris Paul on the other hand, that guy stinks, and provided absolutely nothing in the playoffs outside of one quarter in Game 6 against the Warriors. He’s old, he’s grumpy, he’s injury prone, he thinks he can still play, and has an atrocious contract.
But is it the worst contract in the NBA right now? Lets have a look, rules are that it is a current contract, but I will look back to when it was signed, and the value of the full contract. I’m also taking into account whatever injuries or terrible play these guys have displayed since signing. I didn’t include contracts signed this summer because we haven’t seen any results from it, and if a team contends right away, who cares if down the road the contract sucks. (If I did though, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Khris Middleton, and Harrison Barnes would be in this blog). Now, the worst NBA contracts:
Chris Paul – 4 yr(s) / $159,730,592 – (2018-2019)
This contract is a prime example of why using service time as the benchmark for increases in max extensions makes no sense. But Chris Paul is the president of the players association and he is playing chess while everyone else plays checkers, and got himself PAID. If you’re the Rockets, the move made sense because you almost beat Golden State the year before, so you have to run it back and take one last crack at it. If you get by the Warriors and win the title, Chris Paul could make $300 million the next season and nobody would care. The raptors can win 20 games next season and it won’t matter because Kawhi brought them a title. Unfortunately, the Rockets didn’t really even come close to a title, and then had to attach assets to Paul’s contract just to get the former All-Star off of their roster.
Russell Westbrook – 5 yr(s) / $206,794,070 – (2018-2019)
This extension was a no brainer for OKC. You previously lost Durant to free agency, Westbrook was coming off of an MVP season (signed it in 2017, kicked in in 2018), and was the only bright spot the franchise had left. Westbrook will be 33 in the last season of his contract, for most NBA players that is not THAT old. But the way Westbrook plays, he puts so many hard miles on his body, and once his athleticism goes, you are left with an absolutely broken, career 30% 3-point, jump shot. His first season when he still has the athleticism will be super interesting, but after that, oh boy. Hopefully the trade to Houston allows him to take more spot up jumpers and his percentages go up, but as they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and I have feeling Westbrook will continue to be Westbrook.
Nic Batum – 5 yr(s) / $120,000,000 – (2016-2017)
This was the 5th largest contract given out that summer (total value) behind Conley, Derozan, Beal, and Drummond. While those guys aren’t elite superstars, they are all significantly better than Nic Batum. My reaction to this contract was the same one I had to Wes Matthews signing for 5 years $35 million in Portland in 2010. “Wait is he even good? And he signed for how much???” The only problem is $7 million a year vs $24 million a year is a major difference. My favorite part of this contract is Michael Jordan showing that for exactly how good he was at PLAYING basketball, he is equally worse at being a talent evaluator.
Bismack Biyombo/Ian Mahinmi – 4 yr(s) / $72,000,000/4 yr(s) / $64,000,000 – (2016-2017)
I could also include Mozgov with these guys but he’s already been stretched and waived. These contracts were a disaster the moment they were signed, the cap went up that summer and teams freaked out and started throwing money like it was Atlanta during Super Bowl week. That 2016 summer had so many bad contracts and these two were in the running for worst. I’ve already wasted too many words on these guys, so onto the next.
Gordon Hayward – 4 yr(s) / $127,829,970 – (2017-2018)
Is it Hayward’s fault that his ankle detached from his body 6 minutes into his first game as a Celtic? That’s not for me to decide, but at a young age, I was taught to practice walking around intentionally rolling my ankles in order to strengthen them. If I had to guess, Gordon did not get this same ankle saving advice, hence why his contract is so outrageously bad now. He will have the ball in his hands more often this season, and does have two more years to turn this around and show he was worth that contract. However, that seems unlikely, and I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Andrew Wiggins – 5 yr(s) / $147,710,050 – (2018-2019)
This one is tough, because if you’re the T’wolves, what other option did you have? Let your 23 year old, former number 1 pick coming off a season averaging 23.6 points a game test free agency the following summer?? Nobody is coming to Minnesota in free agency so they had to do it, but he has only gotten worse since signing the extension, and the craziest part, Wiggins didn’t even sign it right away. He let the contract sit there for two months before signing it, and looking back, the Wolves definitely wish he hadn’t. His only skill is scoring inefficiently, and you’re paying $29,542,010 a year for that? Go get Melo for the minimum and you’ll see the same results. YIKES.
Chandler Parsons – 4 yr(s) / $94,438,523 – (2016-2017)
I don’t really know what happened with this one. It doesn’t even feel real considering he played like 4 total games after signing it. That 2015-2016 team went 42-40, and were bringing back Conley, Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen. Adding Parsons didn’t quite feel like the missing piece for a contender, but definitely an improvement from the 7 seed the year before. And about a week into Parsons’ first season of this contract everyone agreed, “yeah, sunk cost, it sucks Memphis has to eat all that money. But who cares it’s not like they can spend it anywhere else.” I felt bad for Memphis for about ten seconds and then went back to worrying about what I was gonna order for lunch that day.
But none of these contracts compare to the grand daddy of them all. I present the award for by far the worst contract in the NBA to:
John Wall – 4 yr(s) / $171,131,520 – (2019-2020)
My goodness a $42,782,880 average per year, and the extension doesn’t even begin until this upcoming season!! There were rumors Wall showed up to camp last year out of shape, and tearing your achilles half way through the year doesn’t exactly convince me those rumors weren’t true. So now you expect an out of shape, 29 year old, fresh off an achilles tear to somehow return value over the next four years on this deal? There is a reason the Wizards currently do not have a GM, and its because the last guy was giving out contracts like this, when they should have been rebuilding around Bradley Beal. They have gotten rid of most of their other bad contracts, but Wall’s contract is truly untradeable. A guy who relies on speed and quickness for his success, then tearing his achilles, spells absolute disaster for this franchise. Move the team to Seattle, get a new owner, and actually hire a GM.
Honorable Mentions: Worst/Best Contracts (General):
Lou Williams – 3 yr(s) / $24,000,000 – (2018-2019)
A year after averaging 22.6 points per game, and winning 6th man of the year, Lou Will signed a MASSIVE $8 million a year extension. Chandler Parson’s agent had a heart attack after seeing that, and Lou Will’s agent should have been fired immediately. I understand wanting to stay in LA after spending half a year in Houston the season prior, but there are two teams in LA, try negotiating one time for me. If he is only getting $8 million, what kind of contract can I expect when Lebron calls in February looking for a 3-and-(no)D guy?
Rick Dipietro – 15 yr(s) / $67,500,000 – (2006-2007) / Ilya Kovalchuk – 15 yr(s) / $100,000,000
Both of these contracts are hysterical and I have no idea why the NHL allows 15 year deals. Dipietro’s career ended early because of injury, and the Islander had to pay 2/3rds of the remaining 8 years on his deal when he walked away. Two years into Kovalchuk’s deal there was a lockout, so he went to play in Russia and just never came back to play for the Devils (he did return to the NHL to play for the Kings in 2017-2018). They didn’t end up having to pay his remaining salary when he didn’t come back to the team, so I guess that’s a win?
Justin Verlander’s Friend – 1 yr – $3,120
When Justin Verlander was in high school, he wanted a $0.50 chocolate milk so bad, he signed away 0.001% of his future signing bonus for it. I guess it’s not that bad when you end up signing for $3.12 million, but realizing you paid $3k for a chocolate milk is a real kick in the nuts on the day you sign your first MLB contract.
Bobby Bonilla
The Mets paid Bobby Bonilla $1.19 million just this past July 1st…and they will do so again…every year…until 2035…I am a Mets fan…End of blog…
The Jackpot 