2015/16 Salary Rankings: Point Guards

Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. I previously ran down the point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center salaries for the 2014/15 season. Next on the agenda will be a look forward at the salaries for point guards for the 2015/16 campaign.

All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $364,309,784 in cap hits so far for next season to the men who facilitate the offenses around the league. The average hit for the one spot so far for next season is a respectable $6,281,203, with Chris Paul of the Clippers topping the list for the second straight year with an impressive $21,468,696 coming his way. Though it should be noted that the list and rankings will change greatly depending on how the free agent market develops next summer.

It should also be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out until the January 2015 deadline. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of that season.

Most salaries align with cap hits, but that’s not the case for players like Jeremy Lin , who’s receiving close to $15MM from the Lakers during the 2014/15 season even though his cap hit was little more than half that amount, because of the contract he signed through the Gilbert Arenas Provision. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.

The league’s point guards are listed below, in descending order of cap hit for next season:

    1. Chris Paul (Clippers) $21,468,696
    2. Deron Williams (Nets) $21,042,800
    3. Derrick Rose (Bulls) $20,093,064
    4. Russell Westbrook (Thunder) $16,744,218
    5. Kyrie Irving (Cavs) $15,856,500
    6. John Wall (Wizards) $15,851,950
    7. Eric Bledsoe (Suns) $13,500,000
    8. Tony Parker (Spurs) $13,437,500
    9. Ricky Rubio (Wolves) $12.7MM
    10. Ty Lawson (Nuggets) $12,404,595
    11. Kyle Lowry (Raptors) $12MM
    12. Kemba Walker (Hornets) $12MM
    13. Stephen Curry (Warriors) $11,370,786
    14. Jrue Holiday (Pelicans) $10,595,507
    15. Mike Conley (Grizzlies) $9,388,426
    16. Brandon Jennings (Pistons) $8,344,479
    17. George Hill (Pacers) $8MM
    18. Jeff Teague (Hawks) $8MM
    19. Goran Dragic (Suns) $7,500,000 [Player Option]
    20. Jose Calderon (Knicks) $7,402,812
    21. Isaiah Thomas (Suns) $6,912,869
    22. Greivis Vasquez (Raptors) $6.6MM
    23. Jarrett Jack (Nets) $6.3MM
    24. Shaun Livingston (Warriors) $5,543,725
    25. Darren Collison (Kings) $5,013,559
    26. Mario Chalmers (Heat) $4.3MM
    27. Damian Lillard (Blazers) $4,236,287
    28. Devin Harris (Mavs) $4,053,446
    29. Raymond Felton (Mavs) $3,950,313 [Player Option]
    30. Dante Exum (Jazz) $3,777,720
    31. Patrick Mills (Spurs) $3,578,947
    32. Marcus Smart (Celtics) $3,431,040
    33. D.J. Augustin (Pistons) $3MM
    34. Jerryd Bayless (Bucks) $3MM
    35. Kirk Hinrich (Bulls) $2,854,940 [Player Option]
    36. Brian Roberts (Hornets) $2,854,940
    37. Luke Ridnour (Magic) $2,750,000
    38. Trey Burke (Jazz) $2,658,240
    39. Elfrid Payton (Magic) $2,505,720
    40. Shelvin Mack (Hawks) $2,433,333
    41. Michael Carter-Williams (Sixers) $2,399,040
    42. Steve Blake (Blazers) $2,170,465 [Player Option]
    43. Jordan Farmar (Clippers) $2,170,465 [Player Option]
    44. Ramon Sessions (Kings) $2,170,465
    45. Beno Udrih (Grizzlies) $2,170,465
    46. Zach LaVine (Wolves) $2,148,360
    47.  Dennis Schröder (Hawks) $1,763,400
    48. Pablo Prigioni (Knicks) $1,734,572
    49. Tyler Ennis (Suns) $1,662,360
    50. Shabazz Napier (Heat) $1,294,440
    51. Isaiah Canaan (Rockets) $947,276
    52. Ray McCallum (Kings) $947,276
    53. Phil Pressey  (Celtics) $947,276
    54. Nate Wolters (Bucks) $947,276
    55. Jordan Clarkson (Lakers) $845,059
    56. Spencer Dinwiddie (Pistons) $845,059
    57. Erick Green (Nuggets) $845,059
    58. Russ Smith (Pelicans) $845,059

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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