NBA's worst cap-killing contracts

by Randy Hill

Veteran columnist Randy Hill is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.

Updated: July 4, 2009, 12:54 PM EDT

The Detroit Pistons have reached the home stretch of their free-agent shopping spree, cutting by about 25 percent the NBA's list of potential serious spenders.

The Wizards committed more than $100M to Gilbert Arenas, who has knee problems. (Ned Dishman/NBAE / Getty Images)

Unless those tricky sign-and-trade events are handled with more creativity than we're expecting, there's not much loot to go around. The usual blame is aimed at the economy, which threatens to shrink the luxury-tax threshold for teams that already are trimming support-level payroll at every turn.

But we're also obliged to remind basketball fans about another reason for this troubling lack of debate-stirring player movement. That reason, you may have guessed, is misappropriation of funds. Specifically, several teams currently are suffering for either bestowing or accepting in trade those hideous contracts that may have seemed like a good idea of bestowing or accepting at the time.

Much like the bitter aftermath of acquiring a potentially obsolete tattoo, these handsomely compensated players are hanging around as reminders of an awful lapse in judgment. Unlike the crummy tattoo, these contracts eventually expire.

That's why our upcoming list will not include the names Tracy McGrady (Houston Rockets) and Jermaine O'Neal (Miami Heat) whose dueling bonanzas (both are due to be paid $23 million this season) are in their final seasons of existence. So, instead of serving as trade-or-free-agent-signing catastrophes for their respective teams, those deals may now be worth more while creeping toward extinction than the players attached to them were worth on the floor.

Also exempt from lingering scrutiny are Shaquille O'Neal (going out at $20 million), Ben Wallace ($14 million) and Larry Hughes ($13 million).

It should be noted that the loot owed Darius Miles by the Portland Trail Blazers ($9 million) and the Sacramento Kings' tab for Shareef Abdur-Rahim (more than $6 million) are final-year exceptions because those players continue killing cap flexibility without actually suiting up with those teams for a few years.

Anyway, our focus is on the deals that have at least two more years of payroll-strangling impact on the teams cutting the checks. It's interesting to note that most of the teams with recent on-court success have very few of these contracts on their ledgers.

With that on the table, let's lead off with the Los Angeles Clippers, who - a few years after the golden (goose) days of Donald T. Sterling's unwillingness to spend - recently did a nice thing by unloading Zach Randolph and the final two contractual years (and 33-plus million smackers) they inherited by acquiring him from the thrifty New York Knicks. (The Knicks, with the shrewd Isiah Thomas at the wheel, inherited that paper from Portland.)

But the Clippers still have their mitts firmly around the deal attached to point guard Baron Davis, whose remaining four years and $54 million might seem almost palpable if he played like he did for the Golden State Warriors.

Until he does, Baron will be at lot harder for Sterling to move than the franchise (remember the salad days in San Diego?). Oh, the Clippers also employ a fine, legitimate center named Chris Kaman, who might be worth some of his remaining three years and almost $34 million if he stays healthy.

Let's hop way over to New York, where the previously referenced Knicks are attempting to claw their way out of cap hell. While clearing space for next summer's run at LeBron James seems do-able, their potential inability to keep a couple of decent future playmates right now can be partially credited to Eddy Curry (two years and more than $21 million) and Jared Jeffries (two years and a tad more than $13.2).

It might be easier to woo LeBron if he knew David Lee (a potential cap casualty) would be around to rebound the ball and throw it to him.

The Curry and Jeffries deals - and their cap-gripping status - may be psychologically easier to deal with if Eddy and Jared actually played.

While Donnie Walsh deals with those financial issues, the team he left behind in Indiana is attempting to re-sign point guard Jarrett Jack while paying back-up T.J. Ford a bit more than $8 million per year. But making this a true hayride is the existence of a third point guard named Jamaal Tinsley, who - thanks to Donnie - has two more years and $14.7 million on his Pacers deal.

Another point guard who perspired very little last season was Washington Wizard Gilbert Arenas, who was injured for the first year of a deal that has five years and more than $95 million remaining before taking its last breath. It's interesting that Agent Zero was re-upped for such grand remuneration just months after his cronies finished playing better without him than with him.

That deal, the history of injury and abundant sniping from the point-guard position (not to mention his blog) make Arenas difficult to keep in your lineup or push on someone else. It also should be noted that the Wizards' cap issues include the presence of two-guard Deshawn Stevenson, who has another two years and more than $8 million (total) before going away.

Another big 2008 signing occurred in Philly, where the Sixers backed up the truck for Elton Brand and watched as the team struggled to jell while attempting to play with him. After Elton - who has four years and about $66 million left on what could become an ugly contract - went down with a shoulder injury, the fleet 76ers did much better.

Andrei Kirilenko is being paid like a superstar. (Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE / Getty Images)

By the way, Philly also deserves mention for having to give Samuel Dalembert another $23.5 million over the next two seasons after Samuel gave them 6.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last year.

The center spot is even more well paid in Milwaukee, where the Bucks are prepared to give Andrew Bogut $41 million over the next five years while backup Dan Gadzuric is due more than $14 million over the next two.

Attention, K-Mart shoppers! While the Denver Nuggets attempt to keep Chris "Birdman" Andersen in their cage, Kenyon Martin is set to be paid more than $31 million over the next two seasons. Teammate Nene is no financial slouch, being owed a less-offensive $33 million over the next three. Sure, those two do the dirty work for a really good team, but that really seems a bit pricey now.

In Dallas, where Mark Cuban's free spending usually can be attached to some realistic method, center Erick Dampier (two more years at roughly $23.5 million total) will continue to jam trade and free-agent talks for another year or so.

In Utah, the Jazz are happy that potential free agents Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur have decided a contract in the hand is worth more than the bush-league money available elsewhere. Unfortunately, the $34.2 million Utah owes Andrei Kirilenko over the next two years has contributed to the potential loss of break-out free-agent forward Paul Millsap.

The New Orleans Hornets reportedly are peddling high-paid center Tyson Chandler and his questionable lower extremities; they might be a bit less willing to deal one of the few players capable of guarding Tim Duncan (without sending the double-team cavalry) if Peja Stojakovic had considerably less than $30 million headed his way over the next two seasons. Morris Peterson hardly seems like a Hornets bargain at two years and more than $13 million.

If we haven't listed the player whose contract currently is annihilating the cap flexibility of your favorite team, please accept our apology. We're quite aware that Marcus Banks is sucking more than $8 million from the Toronto Raptors over the next two years, and Martell Webster's health problems could make four more years totaling beyond $20 million a minor mess in Portland.

Eventually, such deals will reach their final seasons and those players could be moved ... probably for a buster with a long-term deal.