Assessing NBA’s worst contracts: Three-time All-Star hamstringing Suns, more

Bad contracts are an unavoidable part of the NBA landscape. Savvy front offices consistently navigate this challenge, while struggling organizations can find themselves financially handcuffed for years by a single ill-advised max deal.

Before we dive into the three contracts that stand as the absolute worst in the NBA, let’s address a few notable considerations.

Zach LaVine: You might expect to see his “untradeable” max deal — five years, $215 million — on this list. Yet, despite a recent injury-plagued season, LaVine remains a player in his prime, just a few years removed from making the All-Star team. It’s too early to write him off.

Paul George: Some might point to Paul George’s hefty four-year, $210 million deal with the 76ers, topping out at a $57 million payday in his age-37 season. However, this season, he could very well be the catalyst that delivers Philly its first championship since 1983.

Ben Simmons: His five-year, $177 million pact is one of the most burdensome deals in league history, but it expires at the end of this end season, taking away some of the sting from the Nets.

Now, let’s unveil the three contracts that are truly weighing down their teams.

No. 3: Cade Cunningham

It might raise some eyebrows to see 23-year-old Cade Cunningham on a list of the NBA’s worst contracts. But consider this: He’s locked into the eighth-richest deal in the league — a five-year, fully guaranteed $224 million behemoth that runs through 2030, culminating in a $51 million payday. That’s a staggering sum for a player who has a .232 winning percentage through his first three seasons and was the Pistons’ top player during their NBA-record 27-game losing streak last season.

Cunningham’s 2023-24 averages of 22.7 PPG and 7.5 APG are solid, but he connects at a mediocre 35.5% from deep and a dismal 61.8% at the rim, limiting his offensive value. Defensively, he’s been inconsistent at best, often appearing disengaged. At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, he has the physical tools to smother opposing point guards, yet last season, he finished 23rd in defensive rating on a Pistons squad that was fifth worst in the league in points allowed (119 per game).

Roster makeup matters. However, it’s hard to imagine other maxed-out young guards like Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton or Ja Morant, in their third seasons, allowing their teams to suffer through a 27-game losing streak at the start of the campaign before tanking was even a factor. Even the oft-maligned Trae Young led a mediocre Hawks squad to the Eastern Conference finals in his third campaign, averaging 29.8 PPG and 9.5 APG in the playoffs.

No. 2: Jerami Grant

The Trail Blazers made a significant investment in Jerami Grant, acquiring him from the Pistons and then inking him to a five-year, $160 million deal. His contract instantly placed him among the 50 highest-paid players in the league, with the expectation that he would be a cornerstone 3-and-D wing.

Grant’s scoring has been steady, averaging 21.0 PPG while shooting 40.2% from deep. However, the other aspects of his game raise concerns. With a career average of 1.6 assists per game, Grant offers minimal playmaking. And while he’s paid to be a top-tier perimeter defender, his impact on that end has been underwhelming in Portland. Opponents shot 2.9% better than their usual average in 2023-24 when guarded by Grant, and he averaged a mere 1.7 deflections and 3.8 contested shots per game.

No. 1: Bradley Beal

This one is a no-brainer. Bradley Beal’s five-year, $251 million behemoth of a contract — the fourth highest in the league — runs through 2027 and is weighing down the Suns’ cap like a two-ton anchor on a rowboat.

Beal hasn’t played in over 60 games since 2018-19, and it’s been years since he’s looked like an All-Star. Last season was particularly disastrous. Beal once again struggled to stay healthy, and even when he was on the court, he averaged a pedestrian 18.2 PPG despite playing alongside two superstars with black-hole gravity, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

Defense was also a struggle. The Suns, lacking a true lockdown perimeter stopper, desperately needed Beal to step up, but he often got lost on screens, allowing his assignments to shoot 48.2% on pick-and-rolls (55th percentile). Overall, he finished with a -0.6 Defensive Box Plus Minus, one of the worst marks on the Suns.