15 NBA players certain to be overpaid in free agency

8. DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan is a very useful NBA player, to the point where he has been able to average 20+ points per game in three consecutive seasons. What DeMar DeRozan is not, though, is a “max”-level player in today’s NBA.

That won’t stop him from being paid according to that distinction.

Individual scoring has always been overvalued by the casual fan and, contrary to the belief of some, that also extends to NBA front offices. There is no question that some organizations in the league will examine a player with a scoring average of 22.2 points per game over three years and say “max!” without doing a deep dive. That, in the simplest of terms, is what is going to happen here.

DeRozan put together the most efficient season of his NBA career in his walk year, posting a 55% true shooting on the strength of 33.8% from three and 8.4 free throw attempts per game. In the playoffs, though, “bad” DeRozan has emerged, consistently settling for jump shots while eschewing the parts of his offensive game (attacking the rim with athleticism) that increase his value. For example, the soon-to-be 27-year-old wing shot just 37% on mid-range (16-23 feet) jumpers this season, and given the incredible volume of nearly 500 attempts, that is a considerable problem.

Defensively, things aren’t much better, as DeRozan fails to use his high-end athleticism to act as anything more than a below-average wing defender. Players with high usage on offense are often given a pass, but DeRozan doesn’t quite meet that threshold given his shortcomings, and the combination makes him considerably less valuable.

On one hand, it makes some sense for a team with a scoring need to take a crack at DeRozan at an immense salary. On the other, this is probably the best that he will ever be and, to be clear, his best isn’t worthy of a $25-30 million per year contract.

Next: 7. Festus Ezeli