Krizko Zero wrote:I don't get it. Who sets the barometer for what player is worth what amount? Surely more than 90% of the players who are paid MAX $$$ don't deserve it. Isn't that more of a problem with the system? I mean, I gather that most of you think only the Top 5 players in the league should get MAX money, and you all seem to think said player should be traded immediately or outright cut (CBA changes permitting) should they incur an injury.
I don't get it. If everybody who gets MAX money is considered overpaid, the only choice a player like Gilbert for instance, has is to turn down the money when it's offered to them and say you know what, I think I'm only worth X amount. Do you really expect that to ever happen?
How is it that every one can be overpaid? If every one is overpaid, isn't that just the average?
Yes, many of the people who are paid max salaries are indeed overpaid.
Because of the max salary limitation, there are a handful of max players who are underpaid. Guys like Lebron, Wade, Dwight, Kobe, Duncan, etc. are bargains relative to their salary.
There's also a tier of just-over-the-MLE players who are bargains because they are worth more but nobody besides their existing team had the cap flexibility to exceed the MLE to sign them. So their existing team went slightly above the MLE to retain them, or they agreed to go somewhere else for an MLE salary, knowing that they were being underpaid. Guys like Anderson Varajeo, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, John Salmons fall into this category.
Finally, there's a tier of successful rookies who are worth much more than what they are paid. Those guys are obvious. Basically, any good player on a rookie contract.
If you argue that the league as a whole is paid exactly what is worth, then there must necessarily be a group of overpaid players who offset the underpaid players I mentioned above. The clusters of overpayment generally occur at the MLE and at the max salary.
