We are going to look at five players who are a bargain for the 2009-10 season today. We are not including former first-rounders on the rookie pay scale because every team would love to pay Blake Griffin’s and Derrick Rose’s $5M contracts. Please check out yesterdays article Five Ridiculous NBA Contracts and The Top 10 Dunks by the Top 10 Dunkers.
1. Anthony Morrow, Golden State Warriors – $736,420
He went undrafted last year then led the NBA in 3-point shooting (46.7%) and dropped 37 points in his first start. Playing a little less than half the game for 67 games, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 10.1 points & 3.0 rebounds for a young Warriors squad. For a taste of what’s to come, he set an NBA Summer League record with 47 points this July.
2. Anthony Parker, Cleveland Cavaliers – $2,644,230
Also known as the brother of Candace Parker, this underrated guard was hidden in Canada for the past several years before signing with the LeBrons. Had the Salary Cap not dropped and the economy not plummeted, he probably would have been one of many players handed way too much money, but that is not the current situation. Over the past three seasons for the Toronto Raptors, he has averaged 11.9 points & 4.0 rebounds, while only missing 11 games total. He has also shot 42.4% from the 3-point arc averaging 114 3s per season over that same stretch.
3. Carl Landry, Houston Rockets – $3,000,000
An undersized power forward that epitomizes heart, Landry averaged 9.2 points & 5.0 rebounds last year for the Rockets, while shooting 57.4% from the field. With the loss of Ron Artest and most likely Yao Ming for the entire season, the Rockets will rely heavily on Landry down in the low post.
4. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies – $3,240,000
The younger brother of Pau Gasol is only 24 and is 7-foot-1. He played in every game last year putting up 11.9 points & 7.4 rebounds and saw his offensive numbers really increase the last couple months of the season. With a great older brother to learn from and being able to play with Spain’s Olympic team, Gasol should continue to improve and help O.J. Mayo & Rudy Gay turn the Grizzlies into a playoff team.
5. Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic – $6,138,888
You might ask how a recently injured 6-footer that is making over $6M per year is a bargain, but Nelson is legit. Before getting injured, Nelson was chosen to the East All-Star team and was averaging 16.7 points & 5.4 assists, while shooting over 50% from the field and over 45% from behind the arc (2nd best in the NBA). He has improved consistently since his rookie year and is still only 27. Plus, he is the distributor to Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Vince Carter who are all making over $15M per year.
Let me know what you think and check out 5 Ridiculous NBA Contracts and The Top 10 Dunks by the Top 10 Dunkers.
Special thanks to Hoops Hype & Basketball Reference.
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[...] Owners), they claimed it was for financial reasons. While they did get two first round draft picks, Marc Gasol (Pau’s lil’ bro), Kwame Brown, Kwame Brown’s horrible ability to catch a ball, [...]
Steve Nash has to be on any bargain contracts list. 2 MVP’s and he’s only getting like $60 million? It’s like 1/2 what Kobe Bryant gets.
Well, Nash is actually getting over $20M per year and he is 35 with several years left on his contract. I wouldn’t rate that as a bargain.