Top 5 Worst Contracts during Pop Era?

[2centsworth]

Manu's contract got me thinking about some of the other less than desirable contracts this Spurs FO has handed out over the years.


1. Richard Jefferson 4/$39
2. Malik Rose 7/$42mm
3. Manu 2/$14 ?
4. Jaren Jackson 3/$9 (?)
5. Jackie Butler 3/$7

[Marrow]

I thought the RJ contract was a great move by the spurs organistaion at the time. They new they had made a mistake in trading for him, they were to convince RJ to opt out of 15 mill, they then restructure his deal in a way that allowed the team to stay below the luxury tax line while adding splitter...and I believe it was always their intent to trade him to some sucker...que warriors FO

[spurraider21]

Also add Luis Scola

0 years 0 dollars. Terrible

[ElNono]

IMO, Bonner

[manufan10]

IMO, we should wait until Manu plays out his contract before we put it in the Top 5 worst contracts.

[Jumi]

Bonner

Ginobili's still worth his money even though he fucked up. Look at what players who can't hold Ginobili's jockstrap make.

[Fabbs]

1. Lewie Scola
We were the class of the NBA, ready to go on a dynasty run.
Instead we got Popped for 7 of 8 years. And will continue to do so.

2. Dick Jefferson.
3. Mike Finleyovich extension
4. Matty Bonbonervich

[Marcus Bryant]

Spurs fan is spoiled rotten. Unreal.

[Blake]

1. Popovich $6 million a year until he dies

-vitriolic Pop hater

[Mel_13]

Manu's contract got me thinking about some of the other less than desirable contracts this Spurs FO has handed out over the years.


1. Richard Jefferson 4/$39
2. Malik Rose 7/$42mm
3. Manu 2/$14 ?
4. Jaren Jackson 3/$9 (?)
5. Jackie Butler 3/$7

If those are the worst contracts over nearly two decades, then you have to conclude that the FO has been really good for a really long time.

[L.I.T]

Thanks for proving how damn good Spurs FO has been over the years.

[TheGoldStandard]

http://i42.tinypic.com/j9vd75.jpg

[dbestpro]

Spurs fan is spoiled rotten. Unreal.

Call it the new age. Everything has a price. Even being a fan. A fan spends his time on a team. Time is money. Investors of Google and Apple still expect returns of the highest value on their investment, and so should a sports fan.

[2centsworth]

If those are the worst contracts over nearly two decades, then you have to conclude that the FO has been really good for a really long time.

the FO is insanely good.

[gnsf0946]

Manu's contract isn't as bad by itself, what makes it bad though is the timing of it, 13-14 season is the most realistic and probably last chance for Tim to win his 5th 'ship and because of that contract we might miss out on signing a solid player for that last run.

oh and, Splitters contract is even worse, Manu atleast did something for the franchise tbh

[tesseractive]

If those are the worst contracts over nearly two decades, then you have to conclude that the FO has been really good for a really long time.
This. The RJ contract was kind of a disaster, but we got out from under it after 2 years. Malik's contract was a mess, but we shipped him off for Nazr. This FO has done epic work over its tenure.

[exstatic]

the FO is insanely good.

The insanely good thing is that they are usually able to get out from under any bad contracts. They dumped Malik, Rasho, and RJ.

[timvp]

Even the "bad" contract have a story behind them.

-RJ was actually more of a renegotiation that freed up room under the luxury tax to sign Splitter. Without that maneuver, maybe Splitter never comes over.

-The Spurs were forced to give Rose that deal. The Lakers were offering him the same money and at the time he was Duncan's best friend on the team. If the Spurs let Rose walk to the Lakers, Duncan probably walks the next time he's a FA.

-Jaren Jackson's deal was right after he was a huge part of the 1999 run. He got fat after he got paid but it was more of a case of him regressing back to his normal level after a spectacular playoff run.

-IIRC, Jackie Butler only had $5M guaranteed. That contract is so small that I can't even classify it as bad.

-I don't think Ginobili's contract will look bad in retrospect.

-Rasho was probably the biggest miss but even he wasn't that bad.

[timmy2003]

If those are the worst contracts over nearly two decades, then you have to conclude that the FO has been really good for a really long time.
Agree. FO has been very smart and cautious. But Tiago's contract ( 4 years 9 m per ) is a bit of gamble.

[Sean Cagney]

Manu's contract got me thinking about some of the other less than desirable contracts this Spurs FO has handed out over the years.


1. Richard Jefferson 4/$39
2. Malik Rose 7/$42mm
3. Manu 2/$14 ?
4. Jaren Jackson 3/$9 (?)
5. Jackie Butler 3/$7

WTF were they thinking with that Malik contract? 7 years? I remember he got it then he added a jumper or thought he did, then he stopped doing what he did well which was scrap inside and turned into a jump shooter then got traded.
1. Lewie Scola
We were the class of the NBA, ready to go on a dynasty run.
Instead we got Popped for 7 of 8 years. And will continue to do so.

2. Dick Jefferson.
3. Mike Finleyovich extension
4. Matty Bonbonervich

Letting SCOLA go for Bonner a mistake but I seriously doubt we go on a dynasty run with him lol, he is or was not that damn good. He is or was better than bonner no doubt, but he is not some guy you go on a huge run with come on now. What did he ever do with the Rockets? They were first round exits every year.

[EIC]

IMO, Bonner

This. A million times, this. Only logical explanation is someone roofied Pop/Spurs FO, tbh.

[coyotes_geek]

-Rasho was probably the biggest miss but even he wasn't that bad.

I don't even think you can call Rasho a miss. Back when the Spurs signed him the Spurs still had the Shaq-Kobe lakers to worry about. The Spurs needed a legit center in the worst way.

[Sean Cagney]

This. A million times, this. Only logical explanation is someone roofied Pop/Spurs FO, tbh.

I am bout sick and tired of him being on the team, and he will be back next year for 4 MILLION! WHIPTY F IN DOO! I agree this is the worst IMO. Sad thing is he is still around when they had several shots to just get rid of him.

[mosdef17]

Manu's contract got me thinking about some of the other less than desirable contracts this Spurs FO has handed out over the years.


1. Richard Jefferson 4/$39
2. Malik Rose 7/$42mm
3. Manu 2/$14 ?
4. Jaren Jackson 3/$9 (?)
5. Jackie Butler 3/$7


Most CURRENT rosters have more bad contracts than this list over the last 15 years...

[pgardn]

Agree. FO has been very smart and cautious. But Tiago's contract ( 4 years 9 m per ) is a bit of gamble.
Maybe so.

But watch the mad scramble for post types, especially afterHoward signs.
Get ready for some severely bloated contracts for bigs.

[MannyIsGod]

If those are the worst contracts over nearly two decades, then you have to conclude that the FO has been really good for a really long time.

[Blake]

Horry's 3 years $10 mill contract at the end kinda sucked too

[EIC]

I am bout sick and tired of him being on the team, and he will be back next year for 4 MILLION! WHIPTY F IN DOO! I agree this is the worst IMO. Sad thing is he is still around when they had several shots to just get rid of him.

Funny thing is that I actually didn't mind him as much this season. I can't tell if its because I've come to quietly accept that we're stuck with him or because he actually had moments where he didn't play like complete dog shit. Stockholm syndrome, tbh.

[Sean Cagney]

Maybe so.

But watch the mad scramble for post types, especially afterHoward signs.
Get ready for some severely bloated contracts for bigs.

No doubt, Splitter would have been offered some crazy contract by Dallas or whoever misses on Howard! I can see that.
Funny thing is that I actually didn't mind him as much this season. I can't tell if its because I've come to quietly accept that we're stuck with him or because he actually had moments where he didn't play like complete dog shit. Stockholm syndrome, tbh.

LOL I can see that.

[DesignatedT]

Rasho is prob up there. McDyess' 3 for 15 also didn't end up working out too well.

[SA210]

1. Bonner

[CubanMustGo]

Call it the new age. Everything has a price. Even being a fan. A fan spends his time on a team. Time is money. Investors of Google and Apple still expect returns of the highest value on their investment, and so should a sports fan.

Considering that there are only a few teams that have done as well as the Spurs over the years, there must be a fucking lot of unhappy 'sports fans' out there.

I really can't believe you seriously compare being a fan of a team to being an investor. What a crock.

[Twisted_Dawg]

Can we include a very bad contract Pop traded for?

Pop's first big trade acquired Charles Smith from the NY Knicks in 1996. I think he was making $10 million per year which was huge money back then and averaged 7.7 pts and 3.4 rebs in his 2 years here in 51 games and 34 starts. He had worn out knees when he got here.

Steve Smith is another player Pop traded for who had a big contract, but at least he did contribute his first season here 2001-2002, before his game went to shit his second and last season with us in 2002-2003.

[spurraider21]

If those are the worst contracts over nearly two decades, then you have to conclude that the FO has been really good for a really long time.

seriously. #'s 3-5 were a combined 8 years, 30 million. those are the 3 of our 5 worst contracts ever? lol

Dick and Rose were clearly pretty bad, but at least they were able to get out of both of them before they dragged the franchise down

[T Park]

The amount of crap takes in this thread is becoming the norm around here..

[silverblk mystix]

Bon Bon & Pop

[Fabbs]

The amount of crap takes in this thread is becoming the norm around here..
You need a raspberry margarita mister.
And i hear they're getting ready to serve em up.

[2centsworth]

Even the "bad" contract have a story behind them.

-RJ was actually more of a renegotiation that freed up room under the luxury tax to sign Splitter. Without that maneuver, maybe Splitter never comes over.

-The Spurs were forced to give Rose that deal. The Lakers were offering him the same money and at the time he was Duncan's best friend on the team. If the Spurs let Rose walk to the Lakers, Duncan probably walks the next time he's a FA.

-Jaren Jackson's deal was right after he was a huge part of the 1999 run. He got fat after he got paid but it was more of a case of him regressing back to his normal level after a spectacular playoff run.

-IIRC, Jackie Butler only had $5M guaranteed. That contract is so small that I can't even classify it as bad.

-I don't think Ginobili's contract will look bad in retrospect.

-Rasho was probably the biggest miss but even he wasn't that bad.
I included Jackie because it allegedly cost us Scola. RJ you let walk after he opted out.
Nevetheless, I see the point that even their sucky contracts have reasonable logic behind them.

[Holden_Caulfield]

lol someone hates manu a little bit too much

[Sean Cagney]

seriously. #'s 3-5 were a combined 8 years, 30 million. those are the 3 of our 5 worst contracts ever? lol

Dick and Rose were clearly pretty bad, but at least they were able to get out of both of them before they dragged the franchise down

..............

They ended up being two of the best trades in our history too lol! Rose got us a title in 05 from that trade IMO! RJ being gone, YES! Jax or not he was gone!

[Boddah]

Who cares! It's not your money! We've stayed in contention for YEARS!!!!! I'm a die hard Spurs fan and what else can you ask from an organization that has made us proud. We have NO championships if Bob Hill was still our coach or an other coach!

[Kidd K]

Are we including contracts we took on via trade?

Because Stephen Jackson belongs on the list if so.

Manu's last contract was really shitty too. The 3 year, 40 million debacle where dude broke his elbow the last day of the season in the first year, missed half the season in 2012, and 25% of it last year. . .sucking for the last half of the year and shitting the bed in the Finals with 5/7 games being awfully played. Gets 40 mil, declines every year, gets hurt every year, misses 25% of the games played over that span.

[BatManu20]

You know, I was going to say either Rasho's or Jefferson's was easily the worst, but since theirs ended well, I'm going to say Bonner. That guy is robbing the Spurs organization blind right now and the worst part is that Pop knows and is enjoying every minute of it.

[Tuddy]

If those are the worst contracts over nearly two decades, then you have to conclude that the FO has been really good for a really long time.

[Baseline]

The year after he should have retired (and we were all begging him to), Michael Finley's corpse signed a 2-year deal. So Manu's 2-year deal has the same shock value to me, because the numbers are so ungodly high.

[poeticism707]

These are all the moves that brought the dynasty down. The difference between 4 titles, and as many as 8.

The Front Office gives, and the Front Office takes away...

And to think, TD could have been the Greatest of All Time at any and every position, if the front office had a clue...

[poeticism707]

Are we including contracts we took on via trade?

Because Stephen Jackson belongs on the list if so.

Manu's last contract was really shitty too. The 3 year, 40 million debacle where dude broke his elbow the last day of the season in the first year, missed half the season in 2012, and 25% of it last year. . .sucking for the last half of the year and shitting the bed in the Finals with 5/7 games being awfully played. Gets 40 mil, declines every year, gets hurt every year, misses 25% of the games played over that span.

All great points, but you forgetting the apex regarding Manu:

after that historically bad three year run you just described, making 14m ish a year, broken from trying to serve two masters in international ball and the Spurs year after year (but only the Spurs are paying him, lol), what Spurs do with mid 30s broke down Manu, do they learn?

Oh they learn all right... to keep overpaying, and make sure TD never sniffs another title, to the tune of 7m year fo Manu for two years.
The front office sure is brilliant! With moves like this, the Spurs don't have to be beaten on the court, they beat themselves.

[Twisted_Dawg]

Even the "bad" contract have a story behind them.

-IIRC, Jackie Butler only had $5M guaranteed. That contract is so small that I can't even classify it as bad.


I included Jackie because it allegedly cost us Scola. RJ you let walk after he opted out.
Nevetheless, I see the point that even their sucky contracts have reasonable logic behind them.

Keep in mind we would not even be talking about Jackie Butler had Pop not trusted the advice he got from his 'lil butt buddy Larry Brown who had high praise for Butler and encouraged Pop to sign that scrub.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Agree. FO has been very smart and cautious. But Tiago's contract ( 4 years 9 m per ) is a bit of gamble.

Not a gamble at all. 8-10mil was Splitter's market value, and the contract starts at 7.8mil. Asik and Gortat have similar contracts. If Spurs want to move him there will be plenty of takers.

Splitter is a good C who had a fine season until Heat's super-smallball rendered him impotent. He's a strong defender, both one-on-one and team, who needs to work on his rebounding and finishing. He's entering his prime and maybe still has some improvement left.

[spurspokesman]

Tough to expect ginobilli who aside from his fall from a cliff these playoffs and 06 has been an integral piece to our success to accept 5 million when near worthless ass bonner is getting 4 mil a season. Oh but.... he stretches the floor smfh

[Baam]

Tough to expect ginobilli who aside from his fall from a cliff these playoffs and 06 has been an integral piece to our success to accept 5 million when near worthless ass bonner is getting 4 mil a season. Oh but.... he stretches the floor smfh

Bonner had a better playoff run than Splitter this season.

[spurspokesman]

Bonner had a better playoff run than Splitter this season. That hole goes deep and I agree, but they both suck when it counts. But manu has done more than both of them put together as far as titles go so the FO was throwing him a bone per say. He'd probably be willing to take less if say bonner was making 2 per year and splitter got 7.5 per, but said to himself "not if those soft scrubs are making that much" lol

[Marcus Bryant]

If Splitter was the big man Spurs fans expect him to be his price would've been $72MM.

[spurspokesman]

If Splitter was the big man Spurs fans expect him to be his price would've been $72MM. Probably so MB but at the rate he got paid you would expect him to rebound slighty better and finish over derek fisher lmao. To tall for that nonsense tbh

[hommeaetage]

All in all, one can find a reasoning behind those contracts as someone earlier posted. But still today, my mind can't still process how Matt Bonner is still around

[Marcus Bryant]

Again that's why market price is $36MM not double.

[Baam]

Again that's why market price is $36MM not double.

Omer Asik; Gortat, Robin Lopez all make less than T-Vag...

And this is a team where players like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker left a lot on the table so that they could have a chance to contend.

[2centsworth]

I think Spiltter's contract is reasonable for a guy who is still improving. Tony Parker use to shit his pants early in his career. Lets see what Splitter can become over the next 4 years.
With Manu the dude is deteriorating fast.

[Obstructed_View]

No Rasho, no Bonner. Faillist.

[Mouth is Bleeding]

Bonner probably one of the best contracts lol

[Obstructed_View]

Probably so MB but at the rate he got paid you would expect him to rebound slighty better and finish over derek fisher lmao. To tall for that nonsense tbh

Why do people keep bringing that up? If Tiago Splitter were the only one in history to get called for a foul on a Derek Fisher flop, you might have a case.

[velik_m]

I don't even think you can call Rasho a miss. Back when the Spurs signed him the Spurs still had the Shaq-Kobe lakers to worry about. The Spurs needed a legit center in the worst way.

And Rasho even took less money back then to not play with Garnett, still - dumping Rasho brought in Bonner :/

[Obstructed_View]

Rasho was a great defender, and a great compliment to Duncan, just not for the money he got paid. The Spurs kept thinking they could turn him into an aggressive offensive player. Trying to motivate a guy like that with a paycheck was a mistake. History tells us that Pop paying a center is a mistake because he's gonna put someone little into the game for them at a critical time.

[Juggity]

Horry's 3 years $10 mill contract at the end kinda sucked too

I dunno...Game 5 of the 2005 NBA finals was probably worth $10mil on its own.

[Obstructed_View]

I dunno...Game 5 of the 2005 NBA finals was probably worth $10mil on its own.

Absolutely.

[FromWayDowntown]

I dunno...Game 5 of the 2005 NBA finals was probably worth $10mil on its own.

I think it would be really hard to characterize any sums ever paid to Robert Horry for his on-court basketball services as a bad investment or an unreasonable expenditure.

[2centsworth]

No Rasho, no Bonner. Faillist.

Rasho was serviceable and we had absolutely no one at the time. I thought Rasho would have been better with what he showed in Minny, but he did get boards, defend ok and was a decent shot blocker. Bonner can gobble up regular season minutes without the spurs missing a beat. Worth 3mm IMO.

[ducks]

horry hip check on nash was worth his contract

[Blake]

If you guys say so.

[SA210]

1. Bonner

[Obstructed_View]

Rasho was serviceable and we had absolutely no one at the time. I thought Rasho would have been better with what he showed in Minny, but he did get boards, defend ok and was a decent shot blocker. Bonner can gobble up regular season minutes without the spurs missing a beat. Worth 3mm IMO.
Rasho was a great defender who could hit 15 foot baseline jumpers all day long. Doesn't change the fact that his contract was too big to keep him. That bad contract is made worse because trading it away brought back Matt Bonner in return.

[2centsworth]

Rasho was a great defender who could hit 15 foot baseline jumpers all day long. Doesn't change the fact that his contract was too big to keep him. That bad contract is made worse because trading it away brought back Matt Bonner in return.
U have a point. That's why I included the ?

[Rogue]

Splitter is gonna have A LOT to do to justify his price imho. He's a good player but he isn't worth anything more than 6m/yr tbh Rasho also had a big contract but he gave you such a strong presence at the defensive end which enabled Duncan to be more efficient in offense, but the current team has to count on Duncan as their defensive hub.

[SpurOutofTownFan]

LOl makes me laugh Manu is on the list - clueless

[ThaBigFundamental21]

I think Spiltter's contract is reasonable for a guy who is still improving. Tony Parker use to shit his pants early in his career. Lets see what Splitter can become over the next 4 years.
With Manu the dude is deteriorating fast.

LMFAO. Parker "USED" to shit his pants??? The Miami Heat and OKC Thunder have a couple of thank you cards for him. He is the youngest of the big 3 but he gets a pass because hey, he was so darn good in the regular season. SMFH.

[Juggity]

LMFAO. Parker "USED" to shit his pants??? The Miami Heat and OKC Thunder have a couple of thank you cards for him. He is the youngest of the big 3 but he gets a pass because hey, he was so darn good in the regular season. SMFH.

Injured hammy tbh. Can't very well dominate with an injury holding you back.

Fact remains, though, that you can't win a championship with a PG-led team. Not Parker's fault, necessarily. Just a fact.

[TMTTRIO]

Hedo Turkoglu

[2centsworth]

LMFAO. Parker "USED" to shit his pants??? The Miami Heat and OKC Thunder have a couple of thank you cards for him. He is the youngest of the big 3 but he gets a pass because hey, he was so darn good in the regular season. SMFH.

Parker did enough to win us the title. Miracle shit in game 1, leading scorer game 5, miracle shit end of game six to put us in position to win. Guy was fn amazing this year.

[therealtruth]

Injured hammy tbh. Can't very well dominate with an injury holding you back.

Fact remains, though, that you can't win a championship with a PG-led team. Not Parker's fault, necessarily. Just a fact.

Parker doesn't blame his struggles on his hammy.

[Obstructed_View]

U have a point. That's why I included the ?

It was your point. I was agreeing. Rasho was a good player.

[senorglory]

Letting SCOLA go for Bonner a mistake but I seriously doubt we go on a dynasty run with him lol, he is or was not that damn good.

I thought we let Scola go in order to keep Oberto.

[Sean Cagney]

I thought we let Scola go in order to keep Oberto.

Nope. Bonner was resigned right after that. Either way Scola to me is not the answer for no big run, some act like he would have some huge difference maker but thats not the case. He was or is better than Bonner though.

[Mel_13]

I thought we let Scola go in order to keep Oberto.

They basically chose Bonner plus Oberto over Scola plus Jackie Butler.

[senorglory]

Nope. Bonner was resigned right after that. Either way Scola to me is not the answer for no big run, some act like he would have some huge difference maker but thats not the case. He was or is better than Bonner though.

Keeping oberto, avoiding costly buyout of scola's tau ceramics contract, unloading Jackie butler, concern over scola's fit in the rotation (minutes)... These are reasons I've heard for the Scola trade; I've never heard it before linked to bonner. I think you're breaking new ground.

[senorglory]

Either way Scola to me is not the answer for no big run, some act like he would have some huge difference maker but thats not the case.

Didnt the rockets go on a huge run the year Scola started for them?

[Obstructed_View]

Keeping oberto, avoiding costly buyout of scola's tau ceramics contract, unloading Jackie butler, concern over scola's fit in the rotation (minutes)... These are reasons I've heard for the Scola trade; I've never heard it before linked to bonner. I think you're breaking new ground.

Not really. If Pop didn't have Bonner pegged as a starter/Robert Horry replacement, Scola wouldn't have been used as a tool to dump Butler's contract.

[Kingsly Alexander]

What's with this rigid "what have u done for me lately mentality", concerning Ginobli. Having him for his first ten years with us for 10 mil and under was a serious paycut on his part. Where's the loyalty at? 7 mil for two yrs is nothing compared to what he should've been paid along the course of his career. Never mind the revenue the spurs org. get from him because of his iconic status amongst Hispanics and internationals.

[Obstructed_View]

Manu went into the playoffs and finals perfectly healthy as the team's highest paid player, and may have been the worst guy in the rotation for seven games. Did Boston have to leave a starting spot open for Reggie Lewis in '94?

[Kingsly Alexander]

Well I'm not etching out on epitaph for him yet, despite what u may believe. He was the spurs highest paid player in the last yr of his contract. Manu being a legend, it's not exactly having a Tom gugliatta or penny hardaway nearly max contract on your books circa suns '04.

[Kingsly Alexander]

And no, I wouldn't really have called that healthy or even relatively healthy being at the age he is.

[Sean Cagney]

Didnt the rockets go on a huge run the year Scola started for them?

Yeah, I think they ran to a first round exit too.
Keeping oberto, avoiding costly buyout of scola's tau ceramics contract, unloading Jackie butler, concern over scola's fit in the rotation (minutes)... These are reasons I've heard for the Scola trade; I've never heard it before linked to bonner. I think you're breaking new ground.
They resigned Bonner that year man, do the math there. I am not breaking new ground it's obvious they didn't think they had a spot for him in the rotation SO they trade him and RE-SIGN RED!!!!!!!!!! :(

BTW the buyout was not nearly as costly as originally thought.

[Obstructed_View]

And no, I wouldn't really have called that healthy or even relatively healthy being at the age he is.

You know that he's not going to get younger over the next two years, right? If you're expecting him to be more healthy than he was for this season's playoff run, you're going to be disappointed.

[unforeseen]

You forgot to add the 3-year extension that Manu got for $39 million in 2010. Dude just became fat and happy.

[Kingsly Alexander]

You know that he's not going to get younger over the next two years, right? If you're expecting him to be more healthy than he was for this season's playoff run, you're going to be disappointed.

I'm not gonna go as far as to say that he won't a have an injury or two throughout a year, but I can certainly hope they'll be at more fortunate times then at the seasons end, so at least he's in a rhythm and has a better feel of his limitations. A person doesn't seemingly forget how to dribble a ball because of injury, but because of the latter.

[exstatic]

Bon Bon & Pop

SBM and The Great Yawn.