NBA free agency is one of my favorite times of the year. So many players on the move, trades left and right, championship contenders being built, free agency has it all.
While there’s so much good that can come out of free agency, there’s also a lot of controversy.
Much of that controversy stemming from teams handing out ridiculous contracts to players who fans and executives alike can agree are way too much money. I understand the NBA is a business at the end of the day and each organization has millions upon millions to shell out however they want.
But there are just some ridiculous numbers being thrown to players who I think simply don’t deserve it. I guess I’m pocket watching but whatever.
Here are some contracts handed out within the first 24 hours of agency that I think are way too much money for the player being signed.
Jerami Grant
I’ll start with the Portland Trail Blazers and Jerami Grant.
We all know by now that a few days ago franchise superstar Damian Lillard was debating whether he was going to stay or not and much of his decision was based upon who the organization brought in during free agency. According to various sources, Dame was a fan of bringing Grant back to the Blazers and Portland did just that in efforts to retain their franchise cornerstone.
So, just how much did the Blazers give Grant to run it back with Dame Time?
$160 million over five years.
Wow. Just wow.
I like Grant a lot, don’t get it twisted. Over the last three seasons he’s improved dramatically in scoring and his shooting percentages, is a great defender and brings a certain tenacity to a team who may lack it.
He’s a very solid basketball player. Worth $160M though? I would argue against that.
I understand the Blazers were just trying to please Dame and lure him back to the team but you can’t expect to hand out that type of money to a player like Jerami Grant and expect Dame to stay. That is simply way too much for a player that you can honestly replace with someone else of lesser value and still get similar output from.
I miss the days when teams handed out contracts like this to strictly superstars or players who were on the verge of becoming superstars. Not a 28-year-old forward who is seen as a role player and is maybe the third scoring option-second at best on a bad team-for his club.
Given that Dame has now formally requested a trade, I think we can all agree they overpaid and laugh at the Blazers for giving Grant this contract.
Fred VanVleet
The rumors around VanVleet going to Houston really started to heat up in the few days leading into free agency and the Rockets got the deal done immediately.
They signed the 2019 NBA Champion and former All-Star to a three-year $130 million max contract to come play down south with Jalen Green. Similar to Grant, I like VanVleet and I’m glad he’s getting a huge payday.
But that doesn’t mean I will justify players making way more money than they should. I don’t even know what the Rockets plan to do with their team. They just drafted Amen Thompson so maybe he comes off the bench for VanVleet while they try to build their team up?
The Rockets have a great young core already so in my mind it doesn’t make sense for them to go after a 29-year-old and throw him $130M for three years. Granted, they have the most cap space in the league so there is flexibility in that regard.
I just still can’t wrap my head around giving VanVleet that much money. They’re not going to be a contender by any means. I mean I guess since they have the cap they might as well use it on a guy who won’t take too much away from their young core, but VanVleet? I don’t know.
I’m all for VanVleet getting the bag that’s great for him but this was just another one of those deals that I was like ‘alright that is a lot of money for a guy of this caliber.’ To be fair he was in LeBronto, AKA The 6, so my good friend Drake could have played a role in him getting the bag.
End of the day though, I still think this was a lot of money.
Desmond Bane
Memphis… Memphis, Memphis, Memphis.
Now I know anyone reading this article will agree with me on this one. Dishing out a whopping five-year $207 million max extension for DESMOND BANE is absolutely insane.
At 25-years-old, Bane is coming off of his best career year scoring 21 points-per-game on 48% shooting. He’s also shot over 40% from three in each of his three seasons in the league so he’s very reliable from beyond the arc.
Given the Grizzlies have a superstar duo in Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. this tells me that they think Bane is ‘the guy’ they’re going to move forward with in terms of being their sidekick. Bane isn’t a bad player by any means, he’s very solid and I think if things go his way could potentially become an All-Star once in his career.
In my humble opinion though, I certainly don’t think he’s worth $207M on any team in the NBA. You really have to have the most amount of faith in a guy to dish out those kinds of M’s and I guess the Grizzlies really back him to become an All-Star or just a star in his own right.
All power to them.
I’m a Grizzlies casual so maybe fans of the franchise think he’s worth every penny, but I think the general consensus about this deal is that it’s a crazy overpay. We’ll see what these next five years hold for Memphis, especially considering they acquired Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics.
I think they will improve on the court for sure. Can’t really say much about how they’ll act off the court. Ja Wick might continue to make poor decisions which could lead to the demise of the franchise but that’s neither here nor there.
Bane is not a guy I’m a fan of in general so I’ll wholeheartedly say he doesn’t deserve that contract and I’m not glad he is getting paid.
Max Strus
The last contract I’ll touch on is that of Max Strus to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Strus agreed to a $63 million sign-and-trade to head to Cleveland and while I think Strus has a great story and all, $63M is still-in my eyes- too much for a player like him.
You’re talking about a pure role player who will get you 10 points per game and the occasional game he’ll pop off for over 20 or something. He definitely showed flashes in Miami of what he’s capable of when he’s hot but I don’t think those were enough to warrant $63 million.
He also played in 80 games last season which is amazing in terms of reliability so the Cavs are definitely getting a guy they can count on throughout the entire season. Whether that be off the bench or in the starting lineup, they got a good fourth option scoring wise. Maybe third?
I mean who knows though right? The Cavs also signed Caris Lavert on a two-year $32 million deal and I think he’s better than Strus. Granted I’ve been a fan of Lavert since his Nets days in 2017-18 but genuinely speaking here, he’s definitely more of a hooper than Strus.
I will argue Lavert is a better option down the stretch to get you a bucket than Strus and I don’t think many people would disagree.
I’m going to be totally biased here also so don’t take this one seriously: Emoni Bates could be a better option to go get you a bucket than Strus. That’s right, I said it. Eastern Michigan legend Emoni Bates.
Anyways, I just simply don’t see what the Cavs see in Strus. They had a great regular season last year and many backed them to make a deeper playoff run than they did. The lights were simply too bright for them.
I don’t see how Strus makes them a better team at all so this deal continues to amaze me.
All in all, there have been a handful of bad deals and there will most likely be more as free agency continues.
Will I be pocket watching those? Absolutely.
Photo Credit: NBA on ESPN. @nbaonespn
Writing Roundball 
Leave a comment