NBA 2018-19: 5 Overpaid players

The state of a team's NBA contracts often make or break their chances of pursuing an NBA Championship. Franchises have been known to be unwilling go into the luxury tax, most notably the Oklahoma City Thunder who lost James Harden for virtually nothing. The biggest challenge for franchises, however, is avoiding overpaying one of their stars, as this can result in the teams hands being tied for up-to five years.

Having one or two overpaid players can completely cripple both a teams chances of winning, and their trade options for a number of years. Due to this, teams are increasingly looking for draft picks over higher earners, however, a number of notable huge salaries exist around the league. Here we will count down the five most overpaid NBA players for the 2018-19 season.

#5 Chris Paul ($35,654,150)

The Rockets overpaid for Chris Paul when they gave him a max-deal in 2018

Chris Paul remains among the best point guards in the NBA, however considering his age, the 33-year-old is arguably overpaid.

The Houston Rockets were forced into offering Paul a max deal, as they want to win a Championship whilst James Harden is in the prime of his career. CP3 will continue to be a star performer in Houston, however, he could soon decline in form and health, and his current max deal takes him until he is 37.

#4 Bradley Beal ($25,434,262)

Bradley Beal has been a consistent performer for

The Bradley Beal and John Wall partnership look like it is finally coming to an end, as ESPN recently reported that the franchise were willing to trade both of the stars. Bradley was the 3rd pick back in 2012, and he earned his first All-Star team selection in 2018.

Despite this, the 25-year-old has not fully lived up to expectations and the Washington team seems to be heading in the wrong direction. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that the Wizards are looking to get rid of his long and expensive contract via trade.

#3 Blake Griffin ($32,088,932)

The Clippers gave Griffin his huge contract before he was traded to the Pistons

After years of injury problems, Blake Griffin is finally re-emerging as one of the best players in the NBA. His current form makes is deserving of a max deal, but there is still a question mark as to whether the 29-year-old's best days are behind him.

The Clippers obviously believed that it was a huge mistake to hand Griffin a max deal, and quickly did everything in their power to trade away his huge salary to Detroit. It is now up to Blake to prove his longtime employers wrong.

#2 Andrew Wiggins ($25,467,250)

Jimmy Butler should have perhaps got Wiggins' contract

Whereas all the other players on this list can still bring something special to their team, Andrew Wiggins remains a moderately average NBA player.

The 23-year-old has failed to push on since being drafted as the number one pick in 2014, and Wiggins doesn't specifically excel in any area. His reported lack of passion also caused an array of issues with Jimmy Butler, who was recently traded to Philadelphia.

Wiggins averaged just 17.7 points last season, which was close to his rookie year numbers. The Timberwolves have a lot of money tied up on Wiggins, and unless he rediscovers his early flashes of brilliance, the franchise will struggle to compete in the stacked Western Conference.

#1 Mike Conley ($30,521,116)

Memphis Grizzlies have a lot of cap space invested in Conley

Mike Conley is a perfectly good NBA player, however, he is currently paid more than both James Harden and Kevin Durant. The 2017-18 season was the first time that the 31-year-old has averaged over 20 points per game, and despite having the 9th highest salary in the NBA, Conley has never made an All-Star appearance.

His contract still has another three years to run, so let's hope that Conley can continue his excellent start to the season and show his doubters that he deserves his huge salary.

Edited by Abhinav Munshi