Fansided

15 NBA players certain to be overpaid in free agency

By Brad Rowland

Mar 1, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) controls the ball while Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner (11) defends during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) controls the ball while Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner (11) defends during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 27, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) guards Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) as he drives to the basket in the second half of game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Trail Blazers won 108-98. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) guards Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) as he drives to the basket in the second half of game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Trail Blazers won 108-98. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

9. Jamal Crawford

Without diving through a full-blown rabbit hole, Jamal Crawford had no business winning 6th Man of the Year in 2015-2016. The now 36-year-old guard continues to do what he does in that he can score on command with low efficiency, but this season was Crawford’s worst in some time, and his age isn’t going to allow him to “improve” from this point.

Crawford lands on this list for two main reasons. First, the premium on shooting and, to some extent, scoring continues to be real, and as voting for the 6MOY award showed, folks in the NBA world still greatly value his skill set. The more important reason, though, is that the Clippers may just overpay to keep him out of necessity.

Los Angeles is, effectively, “capped” out in terms of their roster spending, and they hold Crawford’s Bird Rights. In short, that means that the Clippers can pay Crawford anything he wants to keep him around, and given that Doc Rivers (and Roc Divers, as a general manager) loves Crawford, the recipe for overpayment is fairly clear.

At this point in his career, Crawford isn’t a great shooter (34% on threes this season), he isn’t efficient in any way and, to put it frankly, he is a horrid defensive player. That won’t stop a team from paying him handsomely, and it will be a (very) bad contract.

Next: 8. DeMar DeRozan

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