#nba
This episode we're talking about the Designated Veteran Player Extension, Also known as the Supermax contract. This contract enables teams to pay players 35% of the salary cap.
What is the super max contract or the designated veteran player exception?
It’s a contract that allows a team to spend 35% of their salary cap on one individual player for 5 years.
That’s a large portion of your resources as a team. This player better be one of the three best players in the league.
Typically a max contract is between 25% and 30% of the salary cap depending on how many years the player has been in the league.
A team can’t give just any player a supermax contract. They have to be going into their 7,8 or 9th.
Have made an all nba team the previous season or made an all nba team 2 of the 3 previous seasons
Were the defensive player of the year the previous season
were the NBA MVP in one of the three previous seasons.
This rule was introduced to incentivize superstar players to stay on their teams and not join up with other superstars in an attractive city.
This came after Kevin Durant left the okc thunder and joined the 73-9 warriors.
The exception is actually having an opposite effect. It’s doing what it’s supposed to. players are staying on their teams
but these contracts eat up so much of the payroll for these teams that it stifles them from putting together a quality roster around these superstars.
Let’s take the example of kemba walker. Kemba made third team all nba in 2019 and was at the end of his second contract.
This was truly unfortunate for Charlotte. They probably didn’t want their star player to get this accolade because the supermax wouldn’t have been on the table for them. Management could have said to Kemba we really wanted you to make all nba so we could pay you all that money.We totally would have done it.
Kemba was not offered the supermax and he left for boston to make more money than what he was offered by Charlotte.
If he would have gotten the supermax he would still be on that contract and it would undoubtedly be the worst contract in the league and a lot of Charlotte fans were mad that they didn’t give it to him.
This same year Klay Thompson was also up for a contract renewal.
I think teams feel pressure to sign their players to these giant contracts because the fans have grown too attached to them.
So in an attempt to please the fans the management snuffs out any potential growth the team was having by signing a player whose peak is most likely coming to an end to an expensive long term deal.
Let’s take John Wall and Russell Westbrook. Both of these players were stars of their franchise and stuck around because of super max contracts. Swifty after signing these contracts both players' performances suffered. Wall because of injury and Westbrook just fell off I guess. Both of these contracts were busts, but fortunately okc and the wizards were able to finesse their way out of paying the entirety of these contracts by suckering other teams to take them off their hands.
The Bulls did this with Jimmy Butler in 2018, they traded him to minnesota. It’s a lot easier for a team who just acquired you to tell you can’t have 250 million dollars than the team that drafted you and you’ve spent the last 7 years with.
A lot of times the truly elite players who the super max should go to won’t even take it. They’ll demand a trade before they’re even eligible.
Like Kawhi Leonard or anthony davis.
The only players that I think are worth their supermax contracts are giannis, jokic, and steph. Those are expensive contracts and I could see them being problematic when it comes to signing free agents in the future, but if you’re the bucks, nuggets, or warriors you gotta pay them. These players are 1 of 1s
The contracts that are not going to hold up are the karl anthony Towns, bradley beal’s contract.
I personally think Beal’s contract is bad for both him and the team. He has a no trade clause and I don’t think any team wants that contract anyway. Beal is a great player, but that is the biggest overpay I’ve ever seen since I’ve been making basketball content. I think that’s a huge mistake for the wizards.
This may be controversial but I don’t think damian Lillard should have gotten the supermax. I think they should have seen if he’d take a regular max contract and if he wouldn’t take it they should have traded him.
Dame is great but he’s not supermax great and it has sentenced the blazers to being just below finals contenders every season.
I think the extension he signed at 32 years old is only extending their life as an above average team.
Blazers need to trade dame right now while his value is still high for some young players and draft picks.
24 июл 2024
