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NBA teams have a long history of giving hugely overvalued contracts to talents - and there are plenty of awful deals to be found around the league this season.
Players such as Marvin Williams, Allen Crabbe, Ian Mahini, Evan Turner, and Hassan Whiteside are all being paid well north of 15 million dollars for the current season - although luckily enough for their respective teams, all of those names are signed to expiring deals.
Nevertheless, there are also plenty of players signed to bad multi-year deals that will continue to negatively affect their teams going forward, and here we examine the five worst contracts across the league right now:
#5 John Wall - 4 years, $170 million
John Wall is not expected to take to the court this season, although the point guard is still among the NBA's highest-paid players. Wall signed a four-year, $170 million contract extension with the Wizards back in 2017, and the deal only came into effect at the start of the current season.
Since putting pen-to-paper on his huge deal, Wall has made just 73 appearances through serious injuries - with the 29-year-old currently sidelined after rupturing his Achilles tendon, having slipped and fallen at home.
Before his injury problems, Wall was among the most dynamic point guards in the NBA, although it is now doubtful that he will ever return to the form that yielded five consecutive All-Star appearances between 2014 and 2018. With three-and-a-half years left to run on his deal, the Washington Wizards will also struggle to offload the North Carolina native - while the franchise appears to be going nowhere fast.
#4 Kevin Love - 4 years, $120 million
When LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second time last summer, the franchise reacted quickly by signing Kevin Love to a new four-year, $120 contract extension. The Cavs had hoped to build a contending team around their remaining All-Star, although after making an awful start to the 2018-19 season, the team quickly focused on a rebuild.
Nevertheless, Love's extension only kicked into effect earlier this season, and at 31, he doesn't match the Cavs' timeline to win. The former Minnesota Timberwolves man remains a solid performer, although his prime years are fading and a potential trade ahead of the deadline will be impacted due to the length of his contract.
Admittedly, the Cavs could still find a way to move the forward in the coming months, although they may also have to include a first-round pick due to the size of Love's deal.
#3 Terry Rozier - 3 years, $56.7 million
Terry Rozier showed flashes of greatness during the 2018 postseason as he averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists over 19 appearances. However, throughout his four-year spell with the Celtics, the 25-year-old largely played a backup role and averaged just 7.7 points and 2.3 assists over 272 appearances.
Despite Rozier's limited production, the Charlotte Hornets stumped up almost $57 million to sign him as a replacement for the outgoing Kemba Walker earlier this year, and he has yet to justify his salary. Additionally, sophomore point guard Devonte' Graham has been excellent for the Hornets, and it could only be a matter of time before they attempt to offload Rozier.
#2 Nicolas Batum - 2 years, $52 million
The Charlotte Hornets have continually overpaid average talent over the past few years, and there are plenty of bad contracts on the roster. However, Nicolas Batum's deal is especially bad as the Frenchman is offering little production in return for his huge salary.
Batum still has 18 months left to run on the five-year, $120 million contract that he signed back in 2016 - a contract that he earned after averaging just 14.9 points and 6.1 rebounds during the 15-16 season.
Since extending his contract, Batum's performances have been declining and over 14 appearances this term, he's managed just 3.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He's owed $27.1 million for the 2020-21 season and with the chances of a trade marginal, the Hornets will be counting down the days until Batum's contract expires.
#1 Chris Paul - 3 years, $124 million
After being traded to the Houston Rockets from the LA Clippers in the summer of 2017, Chris Paul enjoyed an excellent first year as the Rockets came within a game of the 2018 NBA Finals.
CP3's impact was enough to convince the Rockets to give him a new four-year, $160 million deal, although Paul found himself traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder just a year later as Houston concluded that Russell Westbrook was a better fit alongside James Harden.
Paul has continued to perform well for his new team, although the point guard will turn 35 next year and still has two-and-a-half years on his contract. Due to this, Paul will struggle to secure a trade to a contending team this term, and the 9-time All-Star is set to earn $44.2 million in his age-36 season.
