Bad contracts in the NBA are very common.
Some players have one good year, then get paid, and then fall off the cliff.
Some get injured, some retire, but others are so bad that it’s more beneficial for
a team to not play them.
Obviously, the players still get paid.
What up guys, Purple Prince here and today I’ll tell you about 9 players who are still
getting paid, but don’t even play.
Number 1.
Dion Waiters.
Dion Waiters career didn’t look so bad in the beginning.
In his rookie season with the Cavaliers, he averaged 14.7 points per game.
Next year he averaged almost 16 and improved his shooting percentages.
It seems funny now how back in September of 2014 Waiters said that he and Kyrie are the
best backcourt in the NBA.
With Lebron James returning to Cleveland in 2014, his role diminished greatly.
His minutes dropped down, he was a pure bench option now.
During the season he was traded to OKC where he also didn’t impress.
He had somewhat of a resurgence with the Miami Heat when he averaged 15.8 points during the
2016-17 season.
That netted him a brand new 4-year $52 million dollar contract with the Heat which he still
cashes in.
He had some problems in Miami, was traded to Memphis where he didn’t play a game,
and was waived.
He signed with the Lakers for the rest of the 2020 season and became an NBA champion.
Not bad.
This year, he is yet to play, as he hasn’t been signed by any team.
But I’m sure he is ok, as he still receives $12.6 million dollars from the Memphis Grizzlies,
which is the 4th highest salary on the Grizzlies roster.
And he receives it for basically not playing in the NBA.
Number 2.
Joakim Noah Just a week ago Joakim Noah retired from the
NBA.
The 2014 Defensive Player of the year, once was really really good.
The bulk of his highlights came playing with the Chicago Bulls
Back in 2014 he was even a candidate for the MVP award.
But that was such a short period.
The very next season he played much worse, then he started to struggle with injuries.
The Bulls didn’t see him in their future anymore, but the Knicks did.
And for some reason, even after playing so bad for 2 seasons, they decided to sign him
to a 4-year $72 million dollar contract in 2016.
Noah played just 2 seasons and a total of just 53 games with the Knicks before being
waived.
Then Signed with the Grizzlies where I guess every over-the-hill player goes at least once
in his career, before finishing last season with the Clippers.
And, since the Knicks cut Noah using the stretch provision they still are paying him $6.4 million
dollars this year.
A cool gift for a retired player.
Number 3.
DeMarre Carroll Once a very versatile player with the Atlanta
Hawks had his last good season in 2019 with the Brooklyn Nets.
After struggling to get meanful playing time for his first 3 seasons in the league, Carroll
really blossomed in his starting small forward role with the Atlanta Hawks.
Well, he never was one of the top small forwards in the game, but his defense and 3-point shooting
was always considered an asset.
Even after 2 breakout seasons with the Hawks, Carroll failed to evolve further and always
was just this 3 and D guy.
After 2 semi-successful seasons with Brooklyn he signed a 3-year $21 million dollar deal
with Brooklyn as a part of sign-and-trade with the Spurs in the summer of 2019.
And then, his 3-point shot started to fail him.
He struggled to get any playing time on the Spurs and just 15 games into his new contract
Carroll was waived.
He finished his 2020 season with the Houston Rockets playing in 9 games and shooting just
25% from the three.
So far this season he’s not on any team, but he will still collect a cool $6.1 million
dollars from the Spurs.
Number 4.
Ryan Anderson
Back in 2014, Ryan Anderson was averaging 19.8 points per game and shooting 40.9% from
the three.
As a power forward coming off the bench he was averaging 17 points per game in his last
season with the Pelicans in 2016.
That performance landed him a brand new 4-year $80 million dollar deal with the Rockets.
Playing on the same team with James Harden his field goal attempts dropped from 14 to
10.7 a game.
Subsequently, so did his averages.
He wasn’t a fit on the Rockets anymore, and after 2 seasons with them he was traded
to the Phoenix Suns.
In Phoenix he played a grand total of 15 games before being traded to the Miami Heat where
he played 10 games before being waived using the stretch provision.
Last season he played in just 2 games with the Rockets at the center spot.
This season he’s out of a job, but he still gets $5.2 million dollars from the Miami Heat.
Not bad.
Number 5.
Luol Deng
The 6th highest paid player on the Lakers this year is none other than Luol Deng.
And he last played for them in 2018.
Back in his Chicago Bulls days Luol Deng was a very good player, a hard nose defender who
could shoot a three and rebound fairly well for his size.
Chicago Bulls or more specifically Tom Thibodeau did milk the guy for all his worth.
He constantly was one of the league leaders in minutes per game.
After milking him to death in Chicago, the Bulls later traded him to Cleveland where
he finished his 2014 season.
Hoping that Deng could return to his previous form, the Miami Heat signed him to a 2-year
deal.
In Miami he was OK, but nowhere near the peak of his career.
The Lakers thought otherwise and signed Luol Deng to one of the worst contracts in recent
NBA history.
4 years, $72 million dollars for some really damaged goods.
They are still paying for their mistake.
In his first season with the Lakers, Deng averaged just 7.6 points per game, and next
year he played for a total of 13 minutes and made $18 million.
Very nice.
The Lakers bought him out and waived using stretch provision.
Deng then signed as a free agent with the Timberwolves, but played in just 22 games
before announcing his retirement in 2019.
He’s still getting paid by the Lakers and will be next year as well.
Almost $5 million dollars for being retired.
Number 6.
Jon Leuer
Jon Leuer was never anything special.
He was basically your fourth big man to fill out the rotation.
For the first 4 years of his career he bounced around the league playing for 3 teams before
finding a bit of footing in Phoenix.
In one season there Leuer averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds on 38.2% shooting from the
three.
Detroit thought they'd be getting a good Stretch 4 option, so they signed him to a 4-year $41
million dollar deal.
He played ok averaging 10.2 points per game, but his three-point percentage dropped considerably
to 29.3%.
With Blake Griffin’s arrival to Detroit, Leuer lost his minutes at the power forward
spot and over the next 2 seasons played in just 49 total games with the Pistons.
After the 2019 season Leuer was traded to Milwaukee Bucks who waived him using stretch
provision.
After failing to find a team for the 2020 NBA season, Jon Leuer announced his retirement
from the NBA on May 25th, 2020.
Thanks to the signed contract back in the day, He’s still getting paid though.
This year he’ll get almost $3.2 million dollars from the Milwaukee Bucks, and he’s
on the payroll for the same amount next year as well.
Number 7.
Dewayne Dedmon Speaking of Detroit giving away money.
They are paying Dewayne Dedmon even though he never played for them.
Dedmon played for 4 teams in the first 4 years of his career before founding his real place
in Atlanta.
There as a starting center he enjoyed some real success averaging 10.2 points and 7.7
rebounds in just 24.9 minutes per game.
2 strong seasons in Atlanta gave him a new 3-year $40 million dollar deal with the Kings.
He never fit in Sacramento so just 34 games into his new contract he was traded back to
Atlanta where he finished the 2020 season.
After the season Atlanta traded him to the Detroit Pistons and just 4 days later he was
waived.
This season he’s not on any team, but his contract is stretched out all the way till
the 24-25 season and every year up until 2025 he’ll be getting up to $2.9 million dollars
from the Pistons.
Number 8.
Andrew Nicholson
9 players on this year's Portland Trail Blazers are getting paid more than Carmelo Anthony
and one of those players isn’t even on the team.
For the first 4 years of his NBA Career, Andrew Nicholson was nothing more than a bench power
forward for the Orlando Magic.
He averaged just 15.1 minutes and scored 6.5 points per game.
Somehow, some way that performance landed him a 4-year $26 million dollar deal with
the Wizards, who traded him just 28 games later to the Brooklyn Nets.
10 games later he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers who then waived him.
His contract was super stretched so even though he’s been out of the NBA since 2017, he’s
still getting paid and will be paid all the way till 2024 when he’ll receive his final
$2.8 million salary from the Trail Blazers.
Number 9.
Monta Ellis.
The original splash brother for Steph Curry was once one of the better shooting guards
in the whole NBA.
In his best seasons with the Warriors he religiously averaged more than 20 points per game with
his best season coming in 2010 when he was the 6th best scorer in the league averaging
25.5 points per game.
With the drafting of Klay Thompson, Monta Ellis became expendable for the Warriors.
He continued his career in Milwaukee and still continued to score, but soon enough everyone
realized that his scoring numbers are somewhat boosted.
He still could score, but did so ineffectively shooting in the lower to mid 40s percentage
wise and his three-ball percentage frequently dropped even below 30%.
After 2 seasons in Milwaukee he went to Dallas where he continued to average 19 points per
game inefficiently.
Before the 2015-16 NBA season
Monta Ellis signed with the Indiana Pacers for 4 years and $44 million dollars.
And it was a nightmare.
His numbers dropped significantly and after just his 2nd season with the Pacers where
he averaged just 8.5 points per game Monta Ellis was waived using the stretch provision.
Indiana Pacers will still pay more than $2,2 million this year and next year for a guy
who’s been out of the NBA since 2017 and is retired.
Such is life.
So here you go guys - 9 players who are still getting paid even though they aren’t playing
at this moment.
Which contract of these do you think is the most egregious.
Which player had the biggest downfall from his glory days?
Which player didn’t even deserve the contract he got?
Whatever your thought is, please leave your comment down below.
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Thank you very much for watching.
This was Purple Prince, and I’m out!