Marvin Bagley breaks hand again

indeed a MLE contract from 6 or 7 years ago where good role players would get that type of contract. NBA needs to do something with these absurd rookie contracts but it won't happen so I'm just venting here. Thanks for the clarification.
The alternative was Billy Owens and Steve Francis situations. I believe the NBA was actually ahead of the curve in this regard since JaMarcus Russell happened in 2007 although the NHL did it in the mid 90s after their lockout.

In reality its just the top 3 picks that are dramatically paid more than the rest of the top 10. One more reason that if we wanted Bagley so much we could/should have traded down with Dallas. If he had been picked at 5 and was only making around 6.5 million right now it would be MUCH easier negotiating an extension since you wouldn't start with "pay cut".
 
The alternative was Billy Owens and Steve Francis situations. I believe the NBA was actually ahead of the curve in this regard since JaMarcus Russell happened in 2007 although the NHL did it in the mid 90s after their lockout.

In reality its just the top 3 picks that are dramatically paid more than the rest of the top 10. One more reason that if we wanted Bagley so much we could/should have traded down with Dallas. If he had been picked at 5 and was only making around 6.5 million right now it would be MUCH easier negotiating an extension since you wouldn't start with "pay cut".
Right. Rookie contracts are fine. In most situations, they are still the best bargain in the NBA, aside from a MVP-level superstar that is arguably still underpaid on a max deal.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
The alternative was Billy Owens and Steve Francis situations. I believe the NBA was actually ahead of the curve in this regard since JaMarcus Russell happened in 2007 although the NHL did it in the mid 90s after their lockout.

In reality its just the top 3 picks that are dramatically paid more than the rest of the top 10. One more reason that if we wanted Bagley so much we could/should have traded down with Dallas. If he had been picked at 5 and was only making around 6.5 million right now it would be MUCH easier negotiating an extension since you wouldn't start with "pay cut".
so compared to the top 3, what do the rest of the lottery players get paid?
 
so compared to the top 3, what do the rest of the lottery players get paid?
It's like 8, 7, 6.5 mil per for the top 3 then goes to just under 6m to 3.5 for 10 to 2.9 for 14.

When you factor in the annual raises for first 3 years and the option year are set to a % of that starting salary those compounding raises really add up by year 4. The qualifying offer for year 5 goes up quite a bit for lower picks but you can still give them annual raises without breaking the bank if they aren't worth the maximum allowable increase.