The season of overspending has for the most part come to an end. Across the NBA, there are a number of front offices slapping high-fives while draining most of their cap space for the foreseeable future following the initial frenzy of free agency.
To add insult to injury, some of those same teams will be desperately looking for a way to move on some of those deals a few months into the season. Teams like the New York Knicks (though they always find themselves at the bottom of the barrel) had the unfortunate luxury of having an excess amount of money to spend in a saturated free agency market.
While some, like the Knicks, could've held strong to their cap space for the 2021 offseason, most clubs didn't disappoint in the overspending department, leaving a lot of pundits shaking their heads as the alerts of signings spread across the NBA.
Here are some of the worst signings in free agency.
4. Marcus Morris (4 years, $64 million)
The Los Angeles Clippers struck out on multiple key free agents that could've drastically improved the overall shape of their roster coming into next season. They still have a backcourt problem that still needs addressing, and Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell elected to walk across the hallway to the Los Angeles Lakers, which was arguably their greatest lost of the offseason.
Still, they made time to retain Morris on a four-year, $64 million deal that further eats into their cap space going forward. Compared to his twin, Markieff Morris, who signed a veteran-minimum deal, Marcus Morris' stats don't suggest that he should've commanded such a heavy contract coming into this season.
If the Clippers are banking on his overall potential, then sure. He averaged 19.6 points with the Knicks earlier last season before being traded while connecting on 43 percent of his 3-pointers. The problem with Morris may end up being a style clash rather than his overall game. He wasn't able to make it happen last season with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, which means LA could've just overspent on Morris this go around.
3. Davis Bertans (5 years, $80 million)
Every executive around the league knew that the Washington Wizards were going to protect Bertans this offseason by any means necessary. They'd declined the notion that they were trading him unless it was for a massive haul in return. They even went so far as to sit him for the remainder of the season during the NBA bubble under the assumption that the two sides would work out a deal shortly after free agency commenced.
Still, no one expected Bertans to commit highway robbery in the nation's capital.
Bertans siphoned $80 million over the next five years from the Wizards, which means he's now a core piece to their group going forward. The Latvian Laser turned heads after being traded to the Wizards last season with his impressive marksmanship. After spending his first three years with the San Antonio Spurs, he nearly doubled his scoring averages from eight points to 15.4 per game with the Wizards. He also became an even deadlier threat from deep, attempting 8.7 3-pointers per game on a 43 percent shooting clip.
Even so, Bertans hasn't necessarily shown the capabilities to become an all-around forward in today's game. He's a lengthy sniper that can stretch the floor of course, but not one that commands the price range of $80 million. He has his agent to thank for that.
2. Joe Harris (4 years, $72 million)
There was always speculation into Harris' long-term commitment to the Brooklyn Nets after they were able to secure Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. While Irving did speak highly of Harris after signing with the Nets, the addition of two superstars was bound to take away from the 6-foot-6 scorer's abilities.
With so much shot-creation and ball-handling bound to transpire from Irving, Durant and even Spencer Dinwiddie, that leaves Harris primarily as an off-screen shot creator in most instances. So, locking Harris up to a four-year, $72 million contract in free agency just doesn't seem ideal.
The Nets front office made it perfectly clear that Harris was their first and foremost priority in the offseason, and yes, they couldn't afford to let his skills fall into another club's hands that were ready to make full use of them. Yet in this particular instance, the Nets bit off more than they could chew when re-signing Harris. He's coming off a 14.5-point average through 30.8 minutes of play last season. The numbers he was able to put up largely are due to both Irving and Durant's absence in most cases.
Taking that into account, this could turn out to be a deal that the Nets could've definitely walked away from in cheaper fashion and still retained Harris.
1. Gordon Hayward (4 years, $120 million)
The moment alerts began to spread of Hayward's massive deal with the Charlotte Hornets, immediate displeasure circulated amongst chat heads and commentators alike. The Hornets reportedly weren't on Hayward's radar, which could've caused team owner Michael Jordan to ante up his buying price for the All-Star's services.
While he doesn't necessarily deserve the label “injury prone,” Hayward is still coming off of two significant injuries. His broken hand he suffered earlier this year doesn't look to carry over any lingering effects, but the horrific leg injury he suffered in 2017 still has its rainy days, according to Hayward. He's also entering his 30's, which is around the time that most athletes outside of the A-list category begin their decline before eventual retirement.
The Hornets were in a bit of a pinch. They're a small market NBA team that must overpay in free agency in order to bring in talent. More so, no one was willing to come close to the four-year, $120 million deal that Charlotte made happen. Hayward will be a viable option for a young Hornets squad this season. His averages could and should increase from his days in Boston, but they're still not worth $120 million given his age, ceiling, and injury history.
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