Van Damme strikes again!

[xaoshaen]

John Hollinger has ranked the worst ten signings of the NBA's '05 offseason. Number one? Our man Isaiah and his inexplicable signing of Jerome James.

[Arlos]

Updated: Aug. 9, 2005, 1:35 PM ET


Free money: Sixers, Knicks get played by marketBy John Hollinger
ESPN Insider
Archive Related Video:
13 players shift between 5 teams

We've seen it two summers in a row now: Too much money chasing too few good players.

The giddy free-agent market of 2004 wasn't supposed to repeat itself in 2005, but if anything, it got worse. With several teams hoarding cash for a free-agent market that didn't contain a single superstar, the conditions were ripe for panic-stricken general managers to grossly overpay second-tier performers. They didn't disappoint us.

Out of all the millions committed to players with modest career accomplishments, it was my job to find the 10 most abominable contracts of the 2005 offseason.

So, starting at No. 10, here are the worst of the worst. Next to each, I've listed the player's contract dollars, stats per 40 minutes for 2004-05, and Player Efficiency Rating (PER, my rating of a player's per-minute statistical production). The league average PER is 15, but nine of these 10 players were below that mark last season.


10. Keyon Dooling, Orlando Magic (three years, $10 million; 12.9 pts, 4.5 ast, 10.04 PER)
Sometimes I wonder whether general managers watch any games during the regular season. Yes, Dooling played very well in the playoffs, but didn't anyone look at his four regular seasons? Orlando wants somebody to play the point next so Steve Francis can move to the two, but Dooling is even less qualified to play point than Francis. His assist numbers are terrible (only 4.5 per 40 minutes last year) and he can't shoot. This would rank higher if there were more money involved, but Orlando at least avoided breaking the bank for Dooling. Which is good, because they still vastly overpaid.

9. Raja Bell, Phoenix Suns (five years, $24 million; 17.3 pts, 4.5 reb, 12.14 PER)
Bell is this year's Kevin Ollie -- a dependable role player in his late 20s who inexplicably got a multiyear deal because a GM took a shine to him. Bell isn't a bad player … he's just not somebody you give $24 million to. Moreover, by the last year of the deal he'll be 33, and role players who aren't great outside shooters tend to sink like a stone once they hit 30.

8. Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia 76ers (six years, $58 million; 13.2 pts, 12.1 reb, 14.37 PER)
Unlike some of the other guys on this list, Dalembert can really play. I just doubt he's worth $10 million a year, especially if he stays hell-bent on goaltending every third shot. He's not going to provide post scoring, so the Sixers get their money's worth only if Dalembert defends and rebounds like crazy. He's done it in spurts, but that's it.

7. Cuttino Mobley, Los Angeles Clippers (five years, $42 million; 19.0 pts, 3.8 ast, 14.98 PER)
I guess that extra $5 million to keep Bobby Simmons was too much of a stretch, huh? Only the Clippers would go years as the NBA's biggest tightwads and then, when they finally commit money to a free agent, end up overpaying. Mobley is an average player even now, and by the end of the deal he'll be 34 and making more than $9 million a year.

6. Mark Madsen, Minnesota Timberwolves (five years, terms undisclosed; 5.9 pts, 8.5 reb, 6.76 PER)
I don't care what the terms are. A five-year deal for Mark Madsen? C'mon. He's barely worth the minimum based on his recent performance. Madsen's inability to score is well known, but some may not realize he's also a terrible rebounder. Last year he pulled down only 8.5 rebounds per 40 minutes, well below the norm for an NBA frontcourt player. Coming from the same club that gave Wally Szczerbiak $66 million, Troy Hudson $35 million and Trenton Hassell $26 million, this is further proof that the Timberwolves are far too in love with their own free agents.

5. Willie Green, 76ers (six years, $20 million; 16.4 pts, 36.6 FG%, 9.54 PER)
Speaking of teams that overspend to keep their own free agents: This one would rank higher except the Sixers might back out of the deal now that Green hurt his knee in a pickup game. It's hard to put into words what an abominable decision this was. Green's numbers last season suggested he'd have trouble staying in the NBA for one year, let alone six, and the Sixers already seem to have met their quota of shooting guards in point guard bodies. Besides, better players can easily be had for the league minimum.

4. Kyle Korver, 76ers (six years, $27 million; 14.1 pts, 5.7 reb, 12.84 PER)
Yes, the Sixers again. My colleague Bill Simmons was killing Billy King the other day for all the ludicrous contracts he's signed as Sixers GM, but these three might take the cake. In Korver's case, he's a great shooter, but he's not much of a basketball player. Between his defensive shortcomings and his near total inability to convert a field goal, he's well below average for a starting small forward and would be playing 10 minutes off the bench for most teams. Unfortunately, King's other moves included trading Keith Van Horn for Glenn Robinson and letting Matt Harpring walk as a free agent, so the Sixers are stuck with Korver as their starter at the three.

3. Brian Scalabrine, Boston Celtics (five years, $15 million, 11.6 pts, 8.4 reb, 11.01 PER)
Here's what I don't get about Danny Ainge's "brain-typing" craze: Didn't Scalabrine have the same brain last year? And hasn't he shot 39.3 percent for his career with that brain? If his brain type allowed him to become a good player, shouldn't it have happened by now? Thus far, Scalabrine's most enduring contribution has been as the league's best Michael Rapaport look-alike.

2. Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks (five years, $70 million, 17.3 pts, 5.2 reb, 15.18 PER)
Assuming this deal happens, it was bad enough for the Hawks to offer to pay Johnson roughly double what he's worth by giving him $14 million a year. It was bad enough that Atlanta's "plan" involves Johnson playing the point full-time, even though he gets into the paint about as often as Shawn Kemp gets into a leotard. But the real kicker for me is that the Hawks are now willing to fork out two No. 1 picks to Phoenix for the right to overpay Johnson so badly. Johnson's numbers have been inflated by all the minutes he's played, but on a per-minute basis he's a pretty ordinary player.

1. Jerome James, New York Knicks (five years, $28 million, 11.8 pts, 7.2 reb, 9.83 PER)
Of all the bad deals over the summer, this one takes the cake. It's one thing to overpay for a player who can play a little, like Johnson or Mobley. But what if you commit your full midlevel exception to a guy who can't play at all? That's what the Knicks did with James, rewarding him for the five good games he played in the Sacramento series and pretending the previous 82 games never happened. Between the inconsistent effort and the constant swooning over his alleged potential, James has become the new Michael Olowokandi, except that he's a worse player and even more egregiously overpaid.

-Arlos

[Zanchief]

If I were a Knicks fan I think I'd kill myself.

[xaoshaen]

It's one thing to overpay for a player who can play a little, like Johnson or Mobley. But what if you commit your full midlevel exception to a guy who can't play at all? That's what the Knicks did with James

That's just brutal... not that I'm disputing its accuracy, mind you.

[Tadpole]

How is Joe Johnson number 2? Explain please.

[xaoshaen]

How is Joe Johnson number 2? Explain please.

The vast amount of money being shelled out for a league-average player, coupled with a plan to utilize him in a role that doesn't suit him.

[Malluas]

tad.. he is avg at best. his stats were inflated cause of the type of ball they played. He was worthless before nash got there. Its like if Dallas payed Shawn Bradly ungodly amounts of money for many years ... oh wait hehehe

he is at best a 5 mil a year player.. 14? wtf there aren't many even worth that.

[Malluas]

oh yea forgot about him playing point.. they tried that.. he sucked at it in Pheonix. how will he be better with less talent? makes no sense

[Tadpole]

Ah, I was going to say. I thought that he had played quite good in Phoenix.

[Zanchief]

Quite good != 14 mill a year

[xaoshaen]

Ah, I was going to say. I thought that he had played quite good in Phoenix.

He did put up some impressive numbers, but they're diluted by the facts that Phoenix had one of the highest paces in the league, and Johnson got a ton of floor time. His PER was less than a point above league average.

[Zanchief]

AND they're giving up 2 1st round picks in a sign and trade.

Whoever the owner is that's getting taken to court because he refuses to let the deal go should kill the other owners with a baseball bat. (Because it requires no skill)

[xaoshaen]

AND they're giving up 2 1st round picks in a sign and trade.

Whoever the owner is that's getting taken to court because he refuses to let the deal go should kill the other owners with a baseball bat. (Because it requires no skill)

Well, in Atlanta's defense, they were Atlanta's first round picks. If the Hawks could get good players via their perennially high draft selections, they wouldn't be the Hawks.

[EDIT: Both picks are lottery-protected. I guess the Atlanta owners figure they'll all be dead by the time Phoenix actually gets to use the picks.]