Photo by Rochink via Flickr
This is the 4th installment of the Amnesty Tango series, where I allow one player per team to wiggle out of his underpaying contract.
Previous Tangos: Northwest Division – Pacific Division – Southwest Division – Southeast Division
(Note: All salary information provided by Hoops Hype. Furthermore, it will be assumed all player and team options are in full effect.)
The Big Four are due a combined $56 million next year. The Corpse of Jermaine O’Neal has $6.2 million coming its way to help spruce up the mausoleum. And little Avery Bradley will make $1.5 million. Um, yeah, no one’s underpaid here. Did I also mention Jeff Green’s qualifying offer of $6 million? Yep, no one’s underpaid here. Moving on…
Brook Lopez makes $3m. Brook Lopez also stinks at rebounding. Brook Lopez is also a fine offensive center and shot blocker. He should be the first in line to get his renegotiating papers. By the way, Johan Petro makes $3.25m next year and Travis Outlaw will make $7m a year through eternity. That ain’t right.
Much like the Celtics and Nets, the Knicks are laden with with contracts that don’t come near to being described as bargains. There is one shining exception for New York, the $788,000 Man, Landry Fields. He’s a scrappy, hustling swingman who provides some desperately needed pellmell grit for the Knicks. By the way, he makes as much as Andy Rautins. That ain’t right, either.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXLby6zDVG8 w=400 h=240]
Despite the Elton Brand albatross strangling their neck, the Sixers actually have some bargain deals. Marreese Speights is getting $2.7m. Thaddeus Young’s qualifying offer will be for $4m. Jodie Meeks only strokes it from downtown, but he does it so well $900,000 is a steal and even Evan Turner may turn out to be underpaid with his 3 years and $17m deal. However, there can only be one player set free and it’s Jrue Holiday. I suspect he’ll never be more than a good starting PG, but good starting PGs make more than $1.7m.
Truthfully, I don’t know what to make of the Raptors situation. Clearly, Jose Calderon and, at this point in his career, Leandrinho Barbosa are overpaid. Linas Kleiza was a bust $4.5m bust. Andrea Bargnani teeters up, down and all around the categories of under-,over-, and rightly paid. Then there’s the stable of young talent like Sonny Weems, Ed Davis, DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson where you honestly just don’t know what the value really is yet. In case you’re wondering, this is the perfect example of why there is a rookie scale. Gives a decent window at a decent cost to observe a player’s value. Some like Blake Griffin put any questions to bed early, while others like the Raptors cavalcade leave you wondering.
