The Worst NBA Contracts of 2016: A Look Back at the Summer of Excessive Spending

2023-07-16 07:37:00

No summer in the recent past has shaken up the NBA like 2016, when the salary cap exploded and the money seemed almost limitless.

We have an overview of the worst contracts from back then.

Platz 13: J.R. Smith (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Contracts: 4 years, 57 million

Was rewarded with a fat new contract for the title once morest the Golden State Warriors. First made 8.6 and then 8.3 points on average, in 2018 LeBron James fled to the Lakers, and JR was no longer needed either. He was fired in 2019, a year later he signed on with the Lakers and won another ring as a part-time employee.

Platz 12: Dwight Howard (Atlanta Hawks)

Contract: 3 years, $70 million

You can’t blame Howard for not being productive. However, he was subsequently traded twice and fired once. He had his happy ending in 2020 with the Lakers and won the title in the bubble. Now active in Taiwan.

Platz 11: Allen Crabbe (Portland Trail Blazers)

Contract: 4 years, $75 million

The Nets forced this far too high contract with an offer sheet – Portland matched. A summer later, Brooklyn actually got him by trade, but in 2019 he was shipped on to the Hawks – and in January 2020 to the Timberwolves. A little later he was released – the end of his NBA career.

Platz 10: Solomon Hill (New Orleans Pelicans)

Contract: 4 years, $48 million

In the first season of his deal, not much was going on, and he almost completely missed the second following thigh surgery. In summer 2019 he was traded to the Grizzlies, in February 2020 he went on to the Miami Heat.

Platz 9: Evan Turner (Portland Trail Blazers)

Contract: 4 years, $70 million

Played the best year of his career in Boston in 2015/16 and promptly became the top earner. But not every team has Brad Stevens on the sidelines: In three years with the Blazers, he never averaged more than 9.0 points. In 2019 he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks with Kent Bazemore. In November 2020 he retired at the age of 32.

Platz 8: Miles Plumlee (Milwaukee Bucks)

Contract: 4 years, $52 million

In his contract year, Plumlee posted 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds. Clear thing: You had to pay properly! The Bucks traded him to the Charlotte Hornets in February 2017, who sent him to the Atlanta Hawks in June of the same year. In October 2019 he was released from his contract, since he was already in the jersey of the Memphis Grizzlies. A little later he signed with the Zhejiang Lions in China.

Platz 7: Nicolas Batum (Charlotte Hornets)

Contract: 5 years, $120 million

The Frenchman is a good player but far from a max player. Michael Jordan and Co. saw it differently in 2016. In the first year he still put on 15, 6 and 6, but these numbers went steadily down. He was released by the Hornets in November 2020 and then joined the Clippers.

Platz 5: Timofey Mozgov (Los Angeles Lakers)

Contract: 4 years, $64 million

After Kobe’s retirement, the Lakers apparently wanted championship experience – a decision that immediately drew a lot of criticism. Mozgov’s deal was then traded twice, first to the Nets and then via the Hornets to the Magic. They fired him in June 2019 and Mozgov went back to Russia.

Platz 5: Ian Mahinmi (Washington Wizards)

Contract: 4 years, $64 million

Mahinmi was a solid backup, the Wizards paid him like a star. He promptly reduced significantly. Surprise: He wasn’t traded once in all four years – but it should also be his last NBA contract.

Platz 4: Bismack Biyombo (Orlando Magic)

Contract: 4 years, $72 million

The deal was devastating. The fact that the Magic already had Nikola Vucevic and also brought in Serge Ibaka that same summer made it worse. In 2018 he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. In 2022 we went to the Phoenix Suns.

Platz 3: Chandler Parsons (Memphis Grizzlies)

Contract: 4 years, $94 million

Due to injuries, the forward made 95 games for Memphis in three years (7.2 points averaging). In 2019, the Grizzlies traded him to the Hawks, for whom he played five more games. Any other year it would be #1, but…

Platz 1: Luol Deng (Los Angeles Lakers)

Contract: 4 years, $72 million

Dropped out of the starting five in his freshman year because the Lakers wanted to give their young players more playing time. After two more than sad years, both games ended the misery in September 2018 with a buyout. He then signed with the Timberwolves and played his final NBA game in February 2019.

Platz 1: Joakim Noah (New York Knicks)

Contract: 4 years, $72 million

Same game as Deng, although it actually went even worse (doping ban 2017, dispute with head coach Jeff Hornacek 2018). Released and stretched in October 2018 because no trade might be found. Cynics dubbed the deal the “Noah Trade Clause.” The Big Man still played for the Grizzlies and Clippers and retired in March 2021.

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