The Real Reason NBA Players Are OVERPAID

#nba Welcome back to the show. Today we're talking about NBA contracts and more specifically the mentality of players and owners when it comes to money. There's a lot of money in professional sports and everyone is getting rich, but for some strange reason no one is ever rich enough. Micah Nori just signed the worst coaching contract in 20 years with the Portland Trailblazers. One year, below market rate, with two team options attached. JB Bickerstaff called it a slap in the face to NBA coaches and he's not wrong, but his frustration should really be directed at Nori for accepting it. By shaking hands on that deal Nori set a new standard for what owners can offer, and Tom Dundon knew exactly what he was doing. The only person who seems fine with it is Nori himself, who says he's just grateful to finally get the opportunity after being seven different teams' second choice. If Bickerstaff is so mad he can always take the job. I bet he won't. Bickerstaff is upset because Nori just ended the coaching gravy train. Salaries had exploded after Tom Gores handed Monty Williams 6 years and 78 million dollars in 2023. Williams literally admitted he took it for the money. The Pistons then had the worst season in franchise history, set the record for the longest losing streak in NBA history, and fired him after one year. He's still getting paid 13 million a year through the next three seasons without coaching a single game. This kind of thing is completely normal in the NBA. Teams routinely pay two or three coaches simultaneously. The Bucks were paying Budenholzer, Adrian Griffin, and Doc Rivers at the same time. Budenholzer was double dipping, collecting checks from both Milwaukee and Phoenix. It's been an absolute gravy train, and Dundon just derailed it. Player contracts are a different animal entirely. Dead cap, stretches, and extensions shape the entire league. When a team waives a player they often still owe him millions that count against the cap. The Bucks stretched Damian Lillard's remaining 112 million over five years just to create enough space to sign Myles Turner, but they're still taking a 22 million dollar cap hit every year until 2030. And star players have made it clear they cannot function without maximum financial security at all times. Jimmy Butler had over 100 million dollars guaranteed and still checked out the moment Pat Riley declined to extend him early. He sat out, pouted, got suspended, and torched the organization publicly. Trae Young did the same thing in Atlanta when the Hawks wouldn't commit to a max extension. The team went 13 and 10 without him, traded him to Washington for zero draft picks, and the Wizards turned around and gave him 4 years and 211 million dollars that nobody else was offering. They did it because they were desperate for a name, and because Trae needed his ego validated. Once a player reaches star status he will spend the rest of his career chasing whatever situation reflects that version of himself back at him.