Daily Babble: The Best Bargain In Basketball
by Steve Weinman on Jan 22, 2008 11:01 PM EST
in NBA Articles
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PrintSorry, Monta.
That's right: This column was supposed to be about Monta Ellis and what a bargain he is. Ellis is giving the Warriors 17.1 points, 4.1 boards and 3.3 assists per game as well as invaluable energy from the off-guard spot for less than $771,000 this season. Seems like a reasonable enough price. In fact, it is one of the most reasonable prices in the league for any productive player.
Of course, it also bears noting that Ellis will require a whole lot more money next season, and as of yet he remains unsigned by the Warriors past the end of this campaign, as the former second-round draft pick is playing out the final year of his rookie deal.
On the other hand, a little bit of HoopsHype scouring revealed that one of the NBA's best young players isn't in the last season of his rookie contract. In fact, his team won't have to give him a new deal until the end of the 2009-2010 season, by which point he will have likely gone from one of the league's best young players to being one of the league's best players, period. If he hasn't done so already, that is.
The best bargain in basketball is currently the best active player on the league's most pleasant surprise. He is also the eleventh highest paid player on his own team. And he won't make so much as $4 million in a single season between now and 2010.
All of Steve's daily posts can be found in the CelticsBlog: NBA blog. Check him out!
The best bargain in basketball is already the captain of his team at age 23. He is the classic player whose game is far greater than the sum of his numbers. The numbers aren't bad either: 19.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game to go with 45.6 percent shooting from the field.
The best bargain in basketball gets in the lane very well and sees the floor even better. He can hit the pull up jump shot. He can get to the rim with ease. He is as unselfish as a solid scoring swingman can be. He has some size, plays some defense and gives everything he has every time on the floor.
For those looking to write off his bargain nature because he was probably some sort of surprise late-round pick that came to play early in his career, here's the thing: He isn't. In fact, he was picked sixth overall and was consistently called the most polished player in his draft class going into the draft.
He was a landslide winner in the Rookie of the Year contest. Chances are, he couldn't have cared less. This kid wants to win. And thus far, he seems to be getting what he wants. He took a team that lost its supposed best player ('supposed' only because he hadn't played an NBA game yet when he received the 'best player' label) and was expected to be fortunate to win 30 games this seaosn, and he pushed it to 25 wins before January was into its last week.
This individual might not strike everyone as spectacular, but he works as hard as anyone and makes everyone around him better. He could be a cornerstone of his franchise for the next decade and a half. And after next season, when his team gets its savior-to-be back, it could begin a run of Western Conference terror for years to come.
And until 2010, Brandon Roy -- the heart and soul of the Portland Trail Blazers -- won't make more than $3.91 million in a season.
I can't help myself. I'm in awe of what is going on in Portland in every possible regard. This realization regarding Roy's contract situation is just icing on the cake.
And in the long term, I couldn't be happier that Portland is a few thousand miles -- and more significantly, a conference -- away from Beantown.
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Another guy who is an absolute bargain is Rudy Gay, who makes slightly less than Roy. Roy is still the better bargain, due to his winning percentage, but check out how close the stats are:
Roy: 19.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.7 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.2 bpg, 33.9% 3pt, 45.6 fg, 79.1 ft% in 37.0 minutes
Gay: 19.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.9 bpg, 37.9% 3pt, 46.5 fg, 76.8 ft% in 37.0 minutes
Ah you can’t include rookie contracts for best bargains! Everyone has to start there. Only contracts after their rookie deals end should count. No max contracts allowed either, both are cop-outs.
Stephen Jackson is a worthy nominee (6.6m)
David West (10.6m)
Caron Butler (8m)
TJ Ford (8m)
Marcus Camby (8m)
Richard Hamilton (10m)
Jeff Foster (5.7m)
Chris Kaman (8.6m)
Derek Fisher (4.3m)
Boki Nachbar (2.5m)
Hedo Turkoglu (6.3m)
Reggie Evans (4.3m)
Barbosa (5.6m)
Raja Bell (4.6m)
Okay lot’s of Spurs love here – Oberto (3m), Parker (10.5m), Manu (9m), Bowen (4.3m), Udoka (1m)
Carlos Boozer (11.6m)
Kyle Korver (4.3m)
Brendan Haywood (5m)
There’s a couple of others like Ron Artest too.
Alright they’re my nominees, pick a few winners:
1m-3m Boki Nachbar
3m-5m Oberto
5m-7.5m Stephen Jackson
7.5m-10m Manu Ginobill – this one was tough, Manu or Kaman or Butler. Tough.
10m Carlos Boozer
looking at Who’s bargain list, I’d have to say Barbosa looks like the best bargain imo. Though you can never tell on a team skippered by nash.
by jackson_34 on Jan 23, 2008 3:45 AM EST reply actions
At the opposite extreme, Shaq at $20 million for three more years has to be among the worst.
by halfman/halfoyster on Jan 23, 2008 5:41 AM EST reply actions
they are all overpaid. look at the economy folks, look at the ticket prices. look at the world series and super bowl on at late night when kids have to get up the next am for school. as much as i am a junkie, the seasons need to be shortened and the payrolls cut. it would probably cut down on injuries.we all like these players and put them on pedestals they don’t deserve, but whenever i get too rhapsodic about someone, i try to remember they are never actually worth what they get paid, no matter what anyone says or they do or don’t do.
Nice read Steve, I too am happy for Portland.
It’s messed up that they’re doing so well and Oden is riding the pine.
And Exactamundo halfman/halfoyster.
Miami is strapped beyond recognition with Shaq’s fat contract.
Maybe he can, but I don’t think Shaq can be effective again.
He was born in March of 1972 for heaven’s sake, so big and heavy.
It’s got to be an effort just to move some days.
He should do Miami a favor and retire, but I don’t see that happening.
They should sit him for the season.
I just love to watch portland play, they are such an unselfish team and they just want to win. Brandon Roy’s jumper is so silky smooth, I love to watch that kid play. If it’s not Celtics-Lakers Finals, I would like to see Celtics-Blazers in the end.
by bringbackcousy on Jan 23, 2008 8:49 AM EST reply actions
Roy,
Thanks for dropping the knowledge — I didn’t realize how close the numbers were on those two. To supplement your point about winning percentage being a deciding factor, I would also add the fact that Roy is the captain of his team and considered one of the best leaders in the game in year two, whereas Gay has long been known for his work ethic issues, although he hasn’t been the liability many expected in the pros. Two fun players to watch as they continue to develop regardless.
-sw
Who,
Figured you might jump on me for my use of a rookie contract.
Thanks for putting together your list as well.
I have to admit, much as he still scares me as someone who could go nuts at anytime, Jax at $6.6 (at least this season) is an absolute stud. As long as he keeps behaving. Sadly, that isn’t a given.
-sw
I like Gay, and as similar as his stats are to Roy’s in many categories, the most telling stat is assists: Gay: 1.8 APG, Roy: 5.7 APG. Roy makes his teammates better, and from what I’ve seen you can’t necessarily say that about Gay.
by PaulBonner on Jan 23, 2008 12:14 PM EST reply actions
nazzbo said:
they are all overpaid. look at the economy folks, look at the ticket prices. look at the world series and super bowl on at late night when kids have to get up the next am for school. as much as i am a junkie, the seasons need to be shortened and the payrolls cut. it would probably cut down on injuries.we all like these players and put them on pedestals they don’t deserve, but whenever i get too rhapsodic about someone, i try to remember they are never actually worth what they get paid, no matter what anyone says or they do or don’t do.
Sad, but true. Never gonna happen though. I’d wager that leagues are more likely to lengthen the seasons even though they should be shortened. To me, it should simply be, how long does it take to firmly establish who the best teams are? It doesn’t take 82/162/16 games games to establish the worthy playoff teams and seeding. I think each could be cut by about 15% and the overall order of which teams make the playoffs would not be disrupted. People might say, “but look how often it comes down to the final games!”… well, it would work out that way regardless of the amount of games, unless your getting into the law of large numbers and playing 500 game seasons.
Becoming the 7th (I think) biggest industry in the country was one of the worst things to happen to major sports. Yeah, it’s great for the wallets of the players, owners, GMs, TV presidents, etc, but it comes at the expense of ticket prices, salaries, incentives for players/refs/owners to cheat, players health from longer seasons, and more.
I’m really interested in this type of stuff because I got my degree in Economics and also took several classes in Sport Sociology, Sport Management, Sport Psych, etc, so the inner workings of Sports as a business and it’s place in the economy fascinates me.
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