Last week, we listed the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2018/19 season. While that list presented a clear picture of the highest earners for the upcoming season, not every NBA team was represented.
The Hawks, Nets, Knicks, and Kings didn’t have any players crack the top 50, which isn’t a huge surprise, considering none of those teams are expected to be championship contenders during the 2018/19 season. Atlanta and Brooklyn will actually be carrying dead money hits larger than any of their actual players’ salaries, thanks to Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, respectively.
That list of highest-paid players for 2018/19 also only provided a snapshot for the coming year. It included veterans like Jabari Parker, Paul Millsap, and Ryan Anderson, all of whom will be well compensated for the coming season, but aren’t on long-term deals.
Today, we’re shifting our focus to the highest-paid players by team. This will allow us to check in on those clubs that weren’t represented on our initial list, as well as exploring teams’ most lucrative multiyear commitments — we’ve included each club’s highest-paid player for the 2018/19 season and its highest-paid player in total.
Let’s dive in…
Atlanta Hawks
- 2018/19: Kent Bazemore ($18,089,887)
- Note: Carmelo Anthony has a $25,534,253 cap hit for the 2018/19 Hawks, but the team is paying that salary over three seasons.
- Total: Kent Bazemore (two years, $37,359,549)
- Note: Bazemore’s final year is a player option.
Boston Celtics
- 2018/19: Gordon Hayward ($31,214,295)
- Total: Gordon Hayward (three years, $98,102,070)
- Note: Hayward’s final year is a player option.
Brooklyn Nets
- 2018/19: Allen Crabbe ($18,500,000)
- Note: Dwight Howard has a $18,919,725 cap hit for the 2018/19 Nets, but the team is paying that salary over three seasons.
- Total: Allen Crabbe (two years, $37,000,000)
Charlotte Hornets
- 2018/19: Nicolas Batum ($24,000,000)
- Total: Nicolas Batum (three years, $76,695,651)
- Note: Batum’s final year is a player option.
Chicago Bulls
- 2018/19: Jabari Parker ($20,000,000)
- Total: Zach LaVine (four years, $78,000,000)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2018/19: Kevin Love ($24,119,025)
- Total: Kevin Love (five years, $144,521,197)
Dallas Mavericks
- 2018/19: Harrison Barnes ($24,107,258)
- Total: Harrison Barnes (two years, $49,209,770)
- Note: Barnes’ final year is a player option.
Denver Nuggets
- 2018/19: Paul Millsap ($29,230,769)
- Total: Nikola Jokic (five years, $142,710,045)
Detroit Pistons
- 2018/19: Blake Griffin ($32,088,932)
- Total: Blake Griffin (four years, $142,306,920)
- Note: Griffin’s final year is a player option.
Golden State Warriors
- 2018/19: Stephen Curry ($37,457,154)
- Total: Stephen Curry (four years, $166,476,240)
Houston Rockets
- 2018/19: Chris Paul ($35,654,150)
- Total: James Harden (five years, $201,333,854)
- Note: Harden’s total is based on a $109MM salary cap projection for 2019/20. His extension will start at 35% of the cap in that season.
Indiana Pacers
- 2018/19: Victor Oladipo ($21,000,000)
- Total: Victor Oladipo (three years, $63,000,000)
Los Angeles Clippers
- 2018/19: Danilo Gallinari ($21,587,579)
- Total: Danilo Gallinari (two years, $44,203,138)
Los Angeles Lakers
- 2018/19: LeBron James ($35,654,150)
- Total: LeBron James (four years, $153,312,848)
Memphis Grizzlies
- 2018/19: Mike Conley ($30,521,116)
- Total: Mike Conley (three years, $97,534,872)
- Note: Conley’s final year is a player option and is currently only partially guaranteed. He’s currently owed $85,459,123 in guaranteed money.
Miami Heat
- 2018/19: Hassan Whiteside ($25,434,263)
- Total: Hassan Whiteside (two years, $52,527,281)
Milwaukee Bucks
- 2018/19: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($24,157,304)
- Total: Giannis Antetokounmpo (three years, $77,528,089)
Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2018/19: Andrew Wiggins ($25,467,250)
- Total: Karl-Anthony Towns (six years, $165,889,435)
- Note: Booker’s total is based on a $109MM salary cap projection for 2019/20. His extension will start at 25% of the cap in that season unless he earns All-NBA honors in 2018/19, in which case this six-year total will increase to as much as $197,499,435.
New Orleans Pelicans
- 2018/19: Jrue Holiday ($25,976,111)
- Total: Jrue Holiday (four years, $104,793,333)
New York Knicks
- 2018/19: Enes Kanter ($18,622,514)
- Total: Tim Hardaway Jr. (three years, $54,450,000)
- Note: Hardaway’s final year is a player option.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2018/19: Russell Westbrook ($35,654,150)
- Total: Russell Westbrook (five years, $206,794,070)
- Note: Westbrook’s final year is a player option.
Orlando Magic
- 2018/19: Aaron Gordon ($21,590,909)
- Total: Aaron Gordon (four years, $76,000,000)
Philadelphia 76ers
- 2018/19: Joel Embiid ($25,467,250)
- Total: Joel Embiid (five years, $147,710,050)
Phoenix Suns
- 2018/19: Ryan Anderson ($20,421,546)
- Total: Devin Booker (six years, $161,364,365)
- Note: Booker’s total is based on a $109MM salary cap projection for 2019/20. His extension will start at 25% of the cap in that season unless he earns All-NBA honors in 2018/19, in which case this six-year total will increase to as much as $192,974,365.
- Note: Booker’s total is based on a $109MM salary cap projection for 2019/20. His extension will start at 25% of the cap in that season unless he earns All-NBA honors in 2018/19, in which case this six-year total will increase to as much as $192,974,365.
Portland Trail Blazers
- 2018/19: Damian Lillard ($27,977,689)
- Total: Damian Lillard (three years, $89,406,963)
Sacramento Kings
- 2018/19: Zach Randolph ($11,692,308)
- Total: Marvin Bagley III (four years, $36,137,474)
- Note: Bagley’s final two years are team options. Bogdan Bogdanovic (two years, $17,529,386) leads team in total guaranteed money.
San Antonio Spurs
-
2018/19: DeMar DeRozan ($27,739,975)
- Total: DeMar DeRozan (three years, $83,219,925)
- Note: DeRozan’s final year is a player option.
Toronto Raptors
- 2018/19: Kyle Lowry ($31,200,000)
- Total: Kyle Lowry (two years, $64,696,296)
Utah Jazz
- 2018/19: Rudy Gobert ($23,241,573)
- Total: Rudy Gobert (three years, $74,275,281)
Washington Wizards
- 2018/19: Otto Porter ($26,011,913)
- Total: John Wall (five years, $190,081,800)
- Note: Wall’s total is based on a $109MM salary cap projection for 2019/20. His extension will start at 35% of the cap in that season.
Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Absurd—absolutely absurd—amounts of money for these guys. Guess the market dictates that though.
You have to look at it that way, McDonald’s, Coca~Cola, Pepsi, many big banks & so on, all of this companies have got at least 80 guys earning that much or even more. The question is what do they do for us or society? Very little if anything (apart of creating big economic crises). At least this guys do entertain us & bring happiness to a lot of people… so really I would never think or say that sportsmen are overpaid, CEO’s & execs are.
Wiggins’ deal looks worse and worse..
What’s even worse, a guy like Westbrook could blow his ACL tomorrow, never play again, and STILL collect the entirety of his $200MM+ contract. Kinda puts LeVeon Bell’s dispute with Pittsburgh in prospective.