The 25 Worst Free Agent Signings in NBA History

Intro

The NBA free agent signing period begins on Friday, and while the new Collective Bargaining Agreement clearly favors ownership, it's inevitable that some League general manager won't be able to help himself, and will ink some middling player to a ridiculous contract (Max deal for Nene? Going once, going twice... Sold to...!)

It's as sure as LeBron James' receding headband: some fat, weak-ankled, dunked upon player is going to be unjustifiably rich in a couple weeks. After all, this is the National Basketball Association. Where failed decisions happen. From Allan Houston's inexplicable $100 million deal to Jon Koncak's franchise-crippling contract, we here are the 25 Worst Free-Agent Signings in NBA History.

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Jermaine O'Neal

25. Jermaine O'Neal

Year: 2003
Contract: $126.6 million/7 years
Team: Pacers
What They Got For The Money: $8,624/field goal made with IND

Even if we catch some heat, it needs to be said: Jermaine O'Neal is a good player. If it weren't for the injuries that plagued a majority of his career, we wouldn't be discussing O'Neal's $126.6 million contract as being one of the worst ever. At least Jermaine can be thankful that the injuries struck him at the perfect time: right after he inked that huge deal.

Antonio Davis

24. Antonio Davis

Year: 2001
Contract: $60 million/5 years
Team: Raptors
What They Got For The Money: $22,727 per rebound with Toronto

You know who deserves $12 million/year in the NBA for 5 years? Quite a few players it turns out, but definitely not 33-year-old rebounding specialists. After getting his first and only All-Star appearance, Antonio Davis hit it big with a $60 million contract. Good timing considering he never reached the 10 rebound per game mark ever again.

Peja Stojakovic

23. Peja Stojakovic

Year: 2006
Contract: $64 million/5 years
Team: Hornets (via sign-and-trade w/ Pacers)
What They Got For The Money: $104,159/three-point field goal made w/ NO

If it weren't for all the injuries, Peja Stojackovic would probably not be on this list. But after signing the lucrative deal, Peja suffered an injury that sidelined him in his first season with the Hornets for 69 games. The following year, he was back to his original form but in the ensuing season, Stojakovic had another setback that forced him to miss 21 games.

Mitch Richmond

22. Mitch Richmond

Year: 1999
Contract: $40 million/4 years
Team: Wizards
What They Got For The Money: $10,621/point with WSH

Mitch Richmond was in the twilight of his career. The Wizards were in denial, so they offered the 34-year-old guard a huge 4-year, $40 million contract. Eventually, Washington realized the error of their ways after two mediocre seasons and bought out the remainder of Richmond's contract for $10 million. Well, at least they saved themselves some money (money they would put away for a rainy day Gilbert Arenas.

Tim Thomas

21. Tim Thomas

Year: 2000
Contract: $67 million/6 years
Team: Bucks
What They Got For The Money: $11,227/point with MIL

Tim Thomas was never the type of player that you would associate with elite. So there is no plausible reason for him to receive such a huge amount of money from the Bucks in 2000. Thomas would never live up to the contract but he would travel a lot. And we're talking about his journeyman status.

Vin Baker

20. Vin Baker

Year: 1997
Contract: $86.7 million/7 years
Team: Sonics
What They Got For The Money: $12,253/point with SEA

After making one bad decision in keeping an overpaid Jim McIlvaine and trading away Shawn Kemp, the Sonics followed that up by acquiring Vin Baker in the deal and signing him to max contract. While it wasn't numbers or injuries that forced a decline in Baker's career, it was the off-the-court issues that homie just couldn't shake that put a stop to his time in the NBA.

Jim McIlvaine

19. Jim McIlvaine

Year: 1996
Contract: $33.6 million/7 years
Team: Sonics
What They Got For The Money: $16,298/rebound with SEA

Initially, Jim McIlvaine was anointed the role of "Shaq Stopper." It overshadowed his lack of offensive skills (i.e. a slim 2.3 points, 2.9 rebounds per game for the Washington Bullets). But that former title must have blurred the senses of the Sonics who offered him $33.6 million and traded away Shawn Kemp. And you wonder why there's no team in Seattle these days?

Austin Croshere

18. Austin Croshere

Year: 2000
Contract: $51 million/7 years
Team: Pacers
What They Got For The Money: $14,417/point scored with IND

One good postseason can make a world of a difference in a player's income. Austin Croshere averaged 6.8 points per game in his entire NBA career, but during the Pacers' 2000 playoff run, Croshere put up good enough numbers to hit a huge payday in the offseason with Indiana. The following season, Croshere went back to his crappy playing days and the Pacers management were stuck with a $51 million problem.

Emeka Okafor

17. Emeka Okafor

Year: 2008
Contract: $72 million/6 years
Team: Bobcats
What They Got For The Money: $14,510/rebound with CHA

In one of the most public cases of buyer's remorse ever, the Bobcats signed Emeka Okafor to a lucrative contract—and then proceeded to include him in every trade discussion they ever had ("You have a Nolan Ryan rookie card? We'll take it—for Okafor!"). Charlotte was actually able to deal him for Tyson Chandler in 2009 and, surprise, surprise, Okafor has continued to provide a mediocre 10 and 9 game.

Brian Grant

16. Brian Grant

Year: 2000
Contract: $86 million/7 years
Team: Heat
What They Got For The Money: $18,516/rebound with MIA

In 2000 the Heat gave Brian Grant, a guy who averaged less than 10 points and 10 rebounds per game, a deal worth $86 million. The following year, Grant did post his best career numbers but it was a seven-year deal and every year after that was a forgettable one. When Grant signed, Miami boss Pat Riley called the forward the missing piece to the championship puzzle. Sadly for Grant, he was traded to the Lakers in 2004, a year after the Heat got the real missing piece to their championship puzzle, Dwyane Wade.

Joe Johnson

15. Joe Johnson

Year: 2010
Contract: $119 million/6 years
Team: Hawks
What They Got For The Money: $222,846/three-pointer made in 2010 season

In a free agency period that included big-name stars like LeBron James and Amar'e Stoudemire, the Hawks made fireworks on their own by re-signing Joe Johnson to a $119 million deal on July 4th. While the jury is out on how Johnson will fare under the huge contract, one thing is certain, if he averages less than 20 points per game, it's unacceptable.

Gilbert Arenas

14. Gilbert Arenas

Year: 2008
Contract: $111 million/6 years
Team: Wizards
What They Got For The Money: $412,946/three-pointer made with WSH

Did Gilbert Arenas have pull in the Wizards organization or what? After getting the team to re-sign his friend Antawn Jamison to a nice $50 million dollar deal, Arenas followed that work of magic by getting the Washington front office to offer him a ridiculous $111 million contract. Now, we don't wanna believe that Agent Zero had to resort to using firearms and making threats to get his way but we already know that dude has a track record...

Stephon Marbury

13. Stephon Marbury

Year: 2004
Contract: $76 million/4 years
Team: Knicks
What They Got For The Money: $12,055/assist with NYK

Another Knicks head-scratcher. In his first major idiotic of many bone-headed decisions, Isiah Thomas acquired Stephon Marbury from the Suns. Eventually, Marbury went the same route as fellow Knicks acquisitions Jerome James and Eddy Curry: lots of time on the bench, no production, and eventually, Vaseline eating (OK, we're only assuming James and Curry ate Vaseline too, but it makes sense, right?).

Kenyon Martin

12. Kenyon Martin

Year: 2004
Contract: $92.5 million/7 years
Team: Nuggets
What They Got For The Money: $5,115/rebound with DEN

Do you know what posting 16 points and snatching 8 rebounds per game gets you? A maximum contract worth $92.5 million! Of course, Kenyon Martin doesn't score these points in the conventional post-up or jump shot way, so we can't help but wonder what the Nuggets were thinking when they offered K-Mart this contract. Since signing the deal, Martin has averaged 12.1 PPG and 7.1 RPG. Eh, it's close enough, right?

Erick Dampier

11. Erick Dampier

Year: 2004
Contract: $70 million/7 years
Team: Mavericks
What They Got For The Money: $18,315/block with DAL

In another case of Mark Cuban trying to fill the void with a big-name, high-contract player, the Mavericks signed Erick Dampier for an unreal $70 million. Dampier had a long, mediocre stay with the Mavs before bolting to the Heat in an attempt to capture that elusive 'chip. How'd that turn out for ya big fella?

Larry Hughes

10. Larry Hughes

Year: 2005
Contract: $70 million/5 years
Team: Cavaliers
What They Got For The Money: $16,714/point with CLE

Initially, Larry Hughes was given a lucrative deal in an effort to make him the Robin to LeBron James' Batman. What eventually happened though was Hughes' bout with injuries turned him into something similar to Robin in the most recent Dark Knight flicks. That is, nonexistent.

Anfernee Hardaway

9. Anfernee Hardaway

Year: 1999
Contract: $87.7 million/7 years
Team: Suns
What They Got For The Money: $19,281/point with Phoenix

Back in the day, Anfernee Hardaway was a great player. But when his career was on the decline, the Suns offered him a contract that he would never be able to return in value. Eventually, Penny landed in the stomping grounds where many players go when their career is almost done for: the Knicks. Known fact: when you're in your 30s and playing for New York, you're as good as retired.

Raef LaFrentz

8. Raef LaFrentz

Year: 2002
Contract: $70 million/7 years
Team: Mavericks
What They Got For The Money: $30,303/rebound in one season w/ DAL

From his deal with the Mavericks worth $70 million to the one-year contract he signed with the Trail Blazers for $12.7M, Raef LaFrentz has suckered the NBA into believing that his talent is worth the high price-tag. How's that saying go again, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, let's lock the players out so we can save ourselves from ourselves..."

Jon Koncak

7. Jon Koncak

Year: 1989
Contract: $13 million/6 years
Team: Hawks
What They Got For The Money: $7,072/rebound with ATL

If you want to trace the origins of the most recent NBA Lockout, look no further than this contract, signed 22 years ago. The Hawks paid Koncak just over $2 million per season starting back in '89. That's chump change these days, but back then it was more than Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird made. Those three guys are top 5, dead or alive. Koncak? Yeah, he juuuuuussssst missed the cut.

Bobby Simmons

6. Bobby Simmons

Year: 2005
Contract: $47 million/5 years
Team: Bucks
What They Got For The Money: $12,263/point scored w/ MIL

After being named the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 2004-05 season, Bobby Simmons entered free agency at the right moment. Eventually, the forward signed with the Milwaukee Bucks after they offered him a ridiculous $47 million contract that the Clippers weren't going to match. While in a Bucks jersey, Simmons scored a pedestrian 10.6 points per game and never returned to that old form that Milwaukee invested so much in.

Ben Wallace

5. Ben Wallace

Year: 2006
Contract: $60 million/4 years
Team: Bulls
What They Got For The Money: $17,828/rebound with CHI

We all know that defense wins championships, but did you know that it also nets certain players outlandish contracts as well? Ask Ben Wallace, who is known strictly for picking up boards and blocking shots, and received an uncalled for $60 million offer from the Bulls. Wallace quickly signed on the dotted line and went into autopilot for the rest of his career. Honestly, that's the only way to describe his less-than-spectacular rebounding and shot-blocking numbers.

Eddy Curry

4. Eddy Curry

Year: 2005
Contract: $60 million/6 years
Team: Knicks
What They Got For The Money: $7,722/rebound with NYK

When it was all said and done, Eddy Curry was known more for his bloated contract and bloated waistline than his actual skills on the court. And even with all that money, dude ended up owing millions in debt payments. But Eddy, look on the bright side...uh, there's really no bright side.

Darius Miles

3. Darius Miles

Year: 2004
Contract: $48 million/6 years
Team: Trail Blazers
What They Got For The Money: $11,695/point scored w/ POR

The Trail Blazers felt that they had something special in Darius Miles when they signed him to a 6-year deal worth $48 million when he was only 22-years-old. What they got was "special" all right. From getting into verbal altercations with former coach Maurice Cheeks to making Portland pay him $18 million without playing a single game, Miles made a whole lot of money for being an sitting on his ass. He lived Homer Simpson's version of the American Dream.

Allan Houston

2. Allan Houston

Year: 2001
Contract: $100 million/6 years
Team: Knicks
What They Got For The Money: $40,526/field goal made w/NYK

There are many mysteries in life that will probably never be answered. One of those questions has to be why in the world did the Knicks offer Allan Houston a $100 million contract over the course of 6 years? At the age of 30, Houston didn't have the type of standout year that would warrant getting anywhere in the range of $20 million per year, but Scott Layden blew every dime that New York had on a player who would be forced to retire five years after signing the deal. After a few failed comeback attempts, Houston finally called it quits for good, but dude left a lasting imprint on the organization—for all the wrong reasons.

Jerome James

1. Jerome James

Year: 2005
Contract: $30 million/5 years
Team: Knicks
What They Got For The Money: $147,239/rebound w/NYK

It only took 10 days of 2005 NBA Playoffs competency to convince then Knicks general manager Isiah Thomas that Jerome James and his career averages of 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds a game were worth $30 million. To no one's surprise, James showed up to camp out of shape, and ended up playing a total of 5 minutes in his first season with New York. The following year, he played 2 games before suffering a season-ending injury. In some strange way, the Knicks actually got what they paid for.