NBA’s “Dead Money”: Players Still Collecting Paychecks from Former Teams

The 2023/24 season is underway and some players are still collecting money from their old teams. There are even cases where players haven’t played a game in over five years! We show the sunk costs of the teams.

How can NBA teams have dead money on their payroll? After all, contracts in the league are usually fully guaranteed. Where in the NFL salaries are stretched many years into the future with various bonuses and contract years that only exist on paper, this is not possible in the NBA.

But here, too, players from former teams can continue to cash in, for example if they are not needed immediately after a trade, all available roster spots are occupied or their contract is terminated due to private incidents. According to HoopsHype, the 30 NBA franchises will pay a total of over $110 million in the current 2023/24 season to players they no longer have on the contract list. We give you an overview of the most expensive card files.

PS: Last season there was even significantly more “dead money”: Thanks to fat contracts from Kemba Walker to John Wall, it was an impressive $182 million in 2022/23!

Platz 15: Taj Gibson (Washington Wizards) – 2,02 Mio. Dollar

The 38-year-old veteran, who had his best time with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, played for the Wizards in 2022/23 and was used in a total of 49 games. This was rewarded by the team: In September, the “full professional and loyal teammate” (General Manager Will Dawkins) received a new one-year contract for the veteran minimum. Shortly before the start of the season, the Wizards had 17 players under contract, a maximum of 15 is allowed. Gibson and Xavier Cooks fell victim to this rule.

Platz 15: Montrezl Harrell (Philadelphia 76ers) – 2,02 Mio. Dollar

As a free agent, Harrell signed a one-year contract in Philly in the summer, where he had already acted as a backup in 2022/23. At the beginning of August, the former sixth man tore a cruciate ligament in his right knee. The 29-year-old was finally released at the end of October; the squad spot was too valuable for the Sixers. After all, they still want to continue to support Harrell in his rehabilitation.

Platz 14: TyTy Washington Jr. . (Oklahoma City Thunder) – $2.27 Million. Dollar

Washington was drafted 29th in the 2022 draft by the Houston Rockets. This year and the year before, the Rockets drafted a total of seven players in the first round – there was simply not enough room for everyone when a few free agents were added in 2023. In the sign-and-trade deal for Dillon Brooks, Washington first went to the Atlanta Hawks and then in another trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who released him in August. A little later he signed a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks – but the checks from his rookie contract are still flowing in.

Platz 13: JaVale McGee (Dallas Mavericks) – $2.35M. Dollar

The three-year, $17.2 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2022 turned out to be a disaster for the franchise, to say the least: McGree was initially intended for the starting five, but soon soured on the bench. In August, the Mavs decided to release the now 35-year-old and “stretch” the remaining $11.7 million of his contract. This means: You will pay almost $2.35 million per season for the center up to and including 2027/28. He is now under contract with the Sacramento Kings.

Platz 12: Josh Christopher (Memphis Grizzlies) – 2,49 Mio. Dollar

The winger was drafted 24th by the Houston Rockets in 2021 and, like TyTy Washington Jr. (see above), had to leave as part of the signing of Dillon Brooks. The Grizzlies released him in September, and Christopher was then given a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz.

Platz 11: Usman Garuba (Oklahoma City Thunder) – $2.6 million. Dollar

And another pick from the Houston Rockets: The big man from Spain was drafted 23rd in 2021, two years later he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks and later to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was released there in August and was then signed to a two-way contract by the Golden State Warriors.

Platz 10: Dewayne Dedmon (Detroit Pistons) – 2,75 Mio. Dollar

There is $2.9 million each through 2025 – Detroit stockpiled bigs in the 2021 offseason, but they didn’t want to keep Dedmon. He joined Miami and even received an affiliate contract. From there he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in February 2023 and released there – so Dedmon signed in Philly until the end of the season. He is currently a free agent.

Platz 9: Keon Johnson (Phoenix Suns) – 2,81 Mio. Dollar

Came to the Phoenix Suns from Portland as part of the Damian Lillard trade and was also given a chance by Phoenix. However, Johnson was unable to make a lasting impact in the preseason and was the final cut. Now the 21-year-old can try his hand in Brooklyn, where he has signed a two-way deal.

Platz 8: Andrew Nicholson (Portland Trail Blazers) – 2,84 Mio. Dollar

Next summer the Blazers will be redeemed and the Nicholson contract can finally be removed from the books. In 2016, Washington gave the Canadian a four-year contract worth $26 million, only to hand him over to Brooklyn after just 28 games. Then Portland came into play, having also handed Allen Crabbe a terrible contract that same summer and trading him for Nicholson.

The big man wasn’t supposed to play a game for Portland, and over the summer Nicholson was released via waive-and-stretch. This also meant that the Canadian received $2.84 million from Portland for seven years in a row. Most recently active in various Asian countries, Nicholson played his last NBA game on April 12, 2017 for Brooklyn in Chicago.

Platz 7: Kai Jones (Charlotte Hornets) – 3,05 Mio. Dollar

The Hornets once even paid a pick for Jones in the draft to get their hands on the athletic big, but he was never able to assert himself. In the summer, Jones caused a stir with numerous strange videos on social media; it is likely that drugs also played a role.

At the same time, Jones criticized his own teammates on X and called for a trade via social media. A little later, the Hornets pulled the ripcord after Jones had previously not been allowed to appear for pre-season training.

Platz 6: Josh Primo (San Antonio Spurs) – 4.34 Mio. dollar

Primo was released as the Spurs’ 12th pick in his second season. The reason for this was allegations that the Canadian had exposed himself in front of several women, including hotel employees. A little later, a sports psychologist also complained against Primo and the team that the guard had insulted her several times.

In the meantime, Primo has been given a new chance; the LA Clippers signed the 20-year-old in the summer, but Primo is primarily expected to gain match practice in the G-League.

Platz 4: Rudy Gay (Oklahoma City Thunder) – 6,48 Mio. Dollar

Now 37 years old, his time finally seems to be over. In 2021, Utah gave the forward a three-year contract, but Gay was unable to convince him and so the oldie was passed around in the summer. The Collins trade went to Atlanta, who traded him less than a week later to OKC, who immediately released Gay. Gay then tried to get a roster spot with the Warriors, but they also released the forward shortly before the start of the season.

Platz 4: Cam Payne (San Antonio Spurs) – 6,5 Mio. Dollar

The trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were expensive or put such a strain on the books that the Suns sent Payne to San Antonio along with a second-round pick. But they had no use for the guard and fired him in September. So Payne now gets double because he signed in Milwaukee a little later for the minimum.

3rd place: Khem Birch (San Antonio Spurs) – $7 million

What the Raptors were thinking when they gave Birch $7 million a year remains their secret. Birch used to be a solid backup, but recently declined significantly and no longer played a role after the trade to San Antonio (for Jakob Pöltl). Accordingly, the Spurs released the Canadian after the season without Birch ever playing for the Texans.

2nd place: Reggie Bullock (San Antonio Spurs) – $11.01 million

The Bullock trade was collateral damage for Dallas to pull off the sign-and-trade deal for Grant Williams in the summer. The Spurs, somewhat surprisingly, planned without Bullock, who is actually a solid 3-and-D player. It was no less surprising that Bullock decided not to be a contender after his release, but instead went to Houston for the minimum. Where: Was it surprising? Bullock hardly sees any minutes in Houston either (10.4 minutes on average in five games).

Platz 1: Kevin Porter Jr. . (Oklahoma City Thunder) – $15.86 Million. Dollar

Porter Jr. was not without controversy as a point guard in Houston, then allegations of domestic violence emerged against his girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick. The Rockets then suspended the guard before executing a trade with OKC. They immediately fired KPJ, who will also receive one million from the Thunder in the coming season for doing nothing.

2023-11-19 10:18:00
#players #cashing #teams