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There are multiple factors to consider when assessing the list of worst NBA contracts 2022-23. Is the contract bad because the player is bad or because he’s not that good? Is it bad because the team was forced to overpay or because they bid against themselves? Was it always a bad contract? And on it goes.
Worst NBA contracts 2022-23
It’s not a secret that NBA players make a ton of money. But some of them actually back that up on the hardwood. That’s why some teams often end up at the bottom of the standings (and our NBA offseason grades) when they spend way too much money on players that can’t live up to their contracts.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top 10 worst NBA contracts currently:
10. Markelle Fultz
Markelle Fultz opens up our list of worst NBA contracts 2023. Once considered an elite prospect, Fultz is the star in one of the most bizarre stories in NBA history. He literally forgot how to shoot and has failed to live up to those expectations ever since. He’s still young, but he may never be that guy.
Fultz has shown glimpses of great play when he’s been on the court, but that hasn’t happened very often. Moreover, he’s set to make nearly $17 million next season for a team that has a major logjam in the backcourt. That’s why too much money to back up Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony.
9. Evan Fournier
Evan Fournier will make $18,000,000 next season. He’s making more than one million per point per game (14.1) he averaged last season. Also, the New York Knicks were actually a negative four points per game when he was on the floor. Yikes.
Don’t get me wrong, Fournier is a solid role player, just not an $18 million-a-year kind of guy. He shouldn’t even be a starter at this point in his career, and the Knicks would be wise to try and offload one of their many picks to get his big contract off their books.
8. Eric Gordon
As much as the Los Angeles Lakers would love to have him, Eric Gordon is under one of the worst NBA contracts right now. He’s not getting any younger, and paying $19.5 million for a shooting, injury-prone veteran seems way over the top.
Gordon has played 36, 27, and 57 games in the last three seasons. He’s not a starter, has lost a step on defense, and it’s not like he can give you a lot besides his shooting. He’d be a great pickup for any championship contender, just not at that price.
7. Spencer Dinwiddie
The fact that Spencer Dinwiddie is under one of the worst NBA contracts currently is kind of hilarious. This was the guy who tried to turn his contract into cryptocurrency and failed miserably before the league banned his attempt. So, this seems kind of ironic.
All jokes aside, Dinwiddie is a solid backup point guard, and not much more. He’s been mediocre at best when asked to be a starter, so he has no business making $18 million a year next season. Dinwiddie is injury-prone and not a good defender, and the Dallas Mavericks could do better there.
6. Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson will enter the long list of overpaid players in New York Knicks history. With all due respect, the only reason why he got such a massive payday is because of his ties to the front office, as no one in the league was going to offer him anywhere near what he got.
Brunson will make $27,733,332 next season. His four-year, $104 million contract is fully guaranteed, and he’s averaged 11.3 points per game in his career. He’s not a scrub by any means, but he’ll have to ball out to justify that steep salary.
5. Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert has one of the worst NBA contracts 2023 and it’s not even close. He’s vastly overpaid and is fresh off being exposed in the playoffs again for not being able to guard the perimeter, at all. While he’s perhaps the best rim protector in the Association, there’s just no reason why he should be making north of $41 million next season.
Notably, the Gobert trade was such a massive haul that it pretty much broke the market for Kevin Durant. Simply put, the Nets would never get past the PR hit of taking the same or less for KD than the Jazz got for Gobert. Also, how will he fit next to Karl-Anthony Towns? That’s a big concern.
4. Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward nearly makes the podium of NBA bad contracts 2023. He’s been quite good when healthy, but he’s rarely healthy, and quite good isn’t enough to justify his salary. He still has two years left on his deal and is a prime trade candidate by the Charlotte Hornets, especially if he starts balling out to start the season.
Hayward is a versatile scorer and defender. He can score from all three levels, and even create for others. But he’s not close to being the All-Star he once was and hasn’t played more than 52 games in any of the past three seasons. It’s hard to justify paying him $30,075,000 next season.
3. D’Angelo Russell
What once looked like a bargain is today one of the worst NBA contracts 2022-23. D’Angelo Russell looked like a superstar in the making after a breakout season with the Brooklyn Nets, but he couldn’t keep up that pace when he joined the Golden State Warriors. The Dubs flipped him to get picks and Andrew Wiggins, so they can’t complain at all.
Russell will never be the explosive scorer we thought he’d be coming out of college, and his playmaking isn’t exactly elite. He’s not athletic and struggled to get his shot off in the playoffs, yet he’s going to make $31,377,750 next season before his contract runs out.
2. Tobias Harris
Tobias Harris is a good player but he’s judged by the massive contract he signed, so he’ll never look good by that standards. Harris is a good shooter, a solid rebounder, and a guy who understands his role. He also came up huge in the playoffs last season.
But averaging 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game shouldn’t be enough to get $37,633,050 this season and $39,270,150 next year, making this one of the worst NBA contracts in 2022-23. He’s not to blame for the major payday he got, so maybe people should take that criticism somewhere else.
1. Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook has the worst among the worst NBA contracts right now. His deal is so bad that other teams want not one but two future first-round picks just to take him off their hands. He’ll make $47 million next season and is coming off arguably the worst campaign of his career, not to mention he refused to be held accountable and make adjustments.
Westbrook is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, a future MVP, and one of the greatest players of his generation. Still, no one wants anything to do with him or his big contract. To put his downfall into context, he’s likely to be bought out if he’s traded, and then he could sign a veteran-minimum deal.
You forgot to include Kristaps Porziņģis maximum contract in the list. The guy is always injured!!
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