NBA Free Agency: 5 Worst contracts offered this offseason

The 2019 NBA off-season changed the landscape of the league dramatically. The decision which Kevin Durant made in joining the Brooklyn Nets has effectively ended the dominance of the Golden State Warriors and has brought back some sort of equilibrium in the NBA.

There is now an emergence of power duos in the league, where a lot of contenders and dark horses have two star players and a bunch of good role players around them to push for a championship and the path to the NBA title has not been this open in a long time.

While there have been some great moves made by teams, there are also some really bad ones. Here are 5 of the worst contracts offered this off-season.

#5 Tobias Harris (Philadelphia 76ers): 5 years, $180 million

Philadelphia 76ers re-signed Harris this off-season

This ranking does not reflect that Tobias Harris is a bad player, it is reflecting the value of his contract, which is too high, even for a player of his caliber. But, once the 76ers had traded for him, they knew that he will command a maximum contract or simply join another team which would pay him that money.

Harris is an exceptional player and played like one last season, narrowly missing out on an All-Star berth. He averaged 20 points and 7.9 rebounds last season, shooting just under 40% from beyond the 3-point line, making him a very valuable asset, especially given how well he fits in a team like the 76ers.

But then Harris will earn the same amount as Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson and Kemba Walker, which puts this contract in perspective. That is money that superstars get and Harris will at best be the 3rd option on this 76ers roster.

Given Harris' struggles in the playoffs last season and the fact that apart from scoring and rebounding, Harris is just an average defender and does not bring much apart from his shooting to this team, making this contract feel bloated.

Harris is exactly what this team needs, a big man who can play a variety of positions and is amazing at stretching the floor and creating space for his teammates. But 3 years down the line, the 76ers might regret giving such a huge contract to Harris.

#4 DeAndre Jordan (Brooklyn Nets): 4 years, $40 million

DeAndre Jordan moved to the Brooklyn Nets this offseason

While Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been the biggest free agency signings for the Brooklyn Nets, the franchise also signed DeAndre Jordan to a massive 4-year, $40 million deal, with most suggesting that both Kyrie and KD wanted to play with Jordan, thus forcing the Nets' hand.

This might be one of the more absurd deals of the 2019 NBA off-season since Jordan's prime is long gone, as the 30-year-old failed to make any sort of impact at both the Dallas Mavericks and then the New York Knicks, where he was benched in favor of starting center Mitchell Robinson.

He has not been at the same level defensively ever since he was moved by the Clippers and his athleticism, which made him such a force to reckon with, has declined too. With a young, rising star like Jarrett Allen waiting to break out, Jordan might become a hindrance rather than a helping hand.

But do not count Jordan out, a player who has been an elite rim protector his whole career and has averaged more than 10 points and 10 rebounds for the last 7 seasons. Yet, a $10 million per year commitment to a player past his prime might be one of the most puzzling decisions that this franchise has made in the off-season.

#3 Terry Rozier (Charlotte Hornets): 3 years, $58 million

Rozier joined the Hornets in a sign and trade involving Kemba Walker

The Hornets failed to trade Kemba Walker in the last 2 seasons and also failed to offer him a maximum contract after a stunning season with the Hornets, which led to Walker joining the Celtics in a sign-and-trade and the Hornets getting Terry Rozier on a huge deal.

Rozier will now get paid just under $20 million in 3 years with the Hornets, a team that is so down in the dumps that Rozier might just be their best player. Lamb too has moved on, which has left a void that the Hornets tried to fill up by paying Rozier.

While Rozier is only 25 years old, he can grow into a good player, as we saw during the 2018 NBA Playoffs. He is a good defender and can score the ball once he gets into a rhythm. He always had good games when given a chance to start with the Boston Celtics.

Yet, the Hornets overpaid a player who has averaged double-digit points just once in 4 seasons and has a career average of 35% from the 3-point line. The Hornets basically replaced one of the best point guards in the NBA with Terry Rozier and they will be hoping that Rozier grows into a better player each season and justifies his price tag.

#2 Ricky Rubio (Phoenix Suns): 3 years, $51 million

The Phoenix Suns finally managed to sign a point guard, a good one that too, in the form of Ricky Rubio. The Suns wasted no time in getting their man, although they probably paid too much money for a player who will just keep the ball out of Devin Booker's hands.

After Booker's amazing season last year, where he developed into a superb playmaker, there were signs that the Suns will make Booker their primary ball-handler and build a team of shooters around him, sort of like what the Rockets have done with James Harden.

Instead, the Suns signed Rubio, who is now 28 years old and has not had the best record with injuries. Rubio has shot below 35% from the 3-point line in all but one season in his career and has been able to play 82 games only once. While he has returned stronger from his last major injury, he is still not the most reliable player on a roster.

There are a lot of positives from this deal as Rubio is an elite passer and a great defender, causing all sorts of trouble for the opposition. Pairing him with elite scorers like Booker and Ayton will only boost his value. But he is never going to be a shooter that the opposition respects.

Age is not with Rubio and he will either stay at his current production levels or get worse. It was also reported that Rubio was not heavily in-demand, so paying $17 million a year for him is confusing considering they could have invested elsewhere and built a team around Booker.

#1 Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings): 4 years, $85 million

Sacramento Kings seemed to have made a blunder

Harrison Barnes is a player who is entering his prime, at the age of 27. Last season, Barnes was traded for by the Sacramento Kings, who gave Zack Randolph and Justin Jackson. This trade provides them with some veteran presence in a young team trying to reach their first playoff series since 2006.

Barnes declined his player option for $25.1 million, hoping to get a better deal and he did, as the Kings paid Barnes to keep the player they traded for last season. While Barnes has been a consistent player throughout his career, it could turn out to be a horrible investment.

Barnes had a good 2018-19 season, averaging 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and shot just under 40% from the 3-point line. Yet, he is going to be just a role-player with the Kings, since Fox, Hield and Bagley are clearly the core of this team with Bogdanovic as another player who would want a slice of the pie.

This rank does not mean that Barnes is a bad player. On the contrary. Barnes is a solid role-player and a consistent scorer. But Barnes does not offer anything else and if he is having a bad shooting night, then he cannot redeem himself elsewhere. For a Kings team that is trying to get out of a rebuild and become a playoff contender, this is bad news.