[FiveThirtyEight] No Matter How Much They Make, The Best Players In The NBA Are Vastly Underpaid (Ro

Look at Harden...leagues best SG, and 6th highest paid at his position.

 

So you say guys who took biggest available contract are still underpaid?

 

It's true. This is a star driven league. A star player can change the outlook on your team. Look at Lebron. Whatever he is paid, it isn't enough. He can literally make your team a contender by himself.

 

Article only takes into account open market value which is the purpose of Carmelo; however, NBA values are much different than baseball. Brewer cost Rockets cash they couldn't spend on other free agents. Plus he gives the Rockets a tradeable contract in the 8 million range.

 

Umm. Yes. That's obvious. That's what happens when you cap the MAX contract somebody can make - most of the players making said max, are making less than what they worth = underpaid.

 

Leonard is underpaid 134 million?!? Duncan only 27?? Lebron 57?

not sure about this guys formula

 

I said here about 10 years ago the top 15 players are worth more to the NBA than the next 85.

 

I agree. Lebron is probably the most underpaid player in the history of the NBA lol.

 

In regards to Brewer and Bev, board seems to be higher on Brew than Bev but nearly every objective measure on both ends of the court favor Bev; Brew is a replacement level player. Vantage sports had a great piece on why Brew's hustle is so ineffectual on D. Bev at 3/18 or 4/25 is a gem of a signing

 

Also the formula, while not laid out in clear terms, looks to be a career arc estimator - I.e. Generating estimates of wins above replacement or similar catch all metrics over the course of a 4 or 5 year contract. Lebron has already begun declining, while Kawhi should be able to maintain current production easily over the next 5 years. Kawhi is an RPM all star and extremely talented two way player - AND he's on a cheaper max deal. So while Lebron has a higher rpm this year, the odds are good that in 2 years his RPM will have declined - despite that his max deal is still a huge value. Kawhi is just giving you that value or more for 5 years at a cheaper rate.

If you delve a bit the numbers make a lot of sense, including Brew being overpaid - I love brew's hustle and attitude but he's a replacement level player whose hustle often results in gambling or overcommitting and who can't shoot or be effective in the half court. Bev, meanwhile, is a two-way player with his above average 3 point shooting, even if he's only marginally above average on either end.