The 4 Most Overpaid Players

Kobe Bryant (1 year, 25 Million) As the highest paid player in the league, Kobe is grossly overpaid.  At this point in his career, Kobe is simply getting paid for his past accomplishments. Kobe alone takes up 35% of the Lakers payroll. That’s a high price to pay for a guy that ranks 30^th among small forwards with a PER of 12.8. That’s not exactly what you’re looking for from a player whose usage rating is up there with LeBron James and Stephon Curry. While Kobe makes way more than his play dictates, the deal isn’t all bad for the Lakers. The amount of revenue they’re bringing in due to Kobe’s retirement tour will easily pay for his contract. Even with the added revenue of Kobe’s farewell tour, his season averages of 16.7 pts, 4.3 rebs, and 3.4 asts, with a slash line of .34/.25/.79 makes him one of the least efficient players in the league.

Derrick Rose (2 years, 41.4 Million) When the Bulls gave Rose his extension; it looked like a contract that would be great for both parties. However, that was 4 years ago, when Rose was coming off his MVP campaign. Since then, Rose has been riddled with injuries and is a shell of his former self. Since 2012-2013, when his deal kicked in, Rose has suited up for only 45% of the Bulls regular season games. This year Rose has only missed two contests, but his play has been tough to watch. The Bulls and Jimmy Butler are tired of Rose’s ball demanding yet inefficient play. As the second highest payed point guard in the league, Rose ranks 58^th among point guards in PER and 16^th in usage rate.

Enes Kanter (4 years, 70 Million) I’m not sure if Kanter is overpaid or under used. The big man played great last season after being acquired from the Jazz. With injuries to Ibaka and Durant, Kanter played a starting role for the Thunder and was able to show off his fine-tuned offensive game. Kanter’s play and the market demand for high volume rebounders led to his max deal this past offseason. However, with Durant and Ibaka being healthy, Kanter’s minutes have been slashed. The former 3^rd overall selection has been limited to 20 mpg this year. Kanter is still averaging a highly efficient 11 and 8, while shooting over 55% from the field. If Kanter can develop into a decent defender, he may be able to find increased minutes.

Joe Johnson (1 year, 24.9 Million) The combination of Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez basically guaranteed that the Nets would be over the salary cap this year. Brooklyn is nearly $14 MM over the salary cap, which has translated to the team being 12 games under .500. The Nets are a train wreck, which can be attributed to over spending and poor personnel decisions under owner Mikhail Prokhorov. Johnson is having just about as bad of a season as Bryant. With a PER under 10 and his worst scoring output since 2002, Johnson looks done. He’s shooting an atrocious 36% from the field yet due to lack of depth; he’s still getting 34 minutes per game. Jonson is washed up and the Nets have no choice but to eat his terrible contract.

  

*Statistics provided by basketball-reference.com and NBA.com

*Image provided by redticketblues.com

Grayson Gold-Garvey, Twitter @TheGraygo