Thursday, June 18, 2009

How Much Is Ben Gordon Worth?

So after digesting the most exciting first round series ever and the Bulls loss that came with it, I’ve finally decided on what the Chicago Bulls should do with Ben Gordon. First, the ‘n million dollar question’ (where n = Ben Gordon’s yearly salary), is how much is Ben Gordon worth?

I’ve taken the liberty to create a chart of all the notable 2-Guards and Combo Guards in the NBA to determine where I’d place Ben Gordon on this list. I have highlighted the salary for each player based on his contributions to his team, his NBA experience, his size, and his age. Please note that this is just a quick assessment with the sole purpose of weeding out any poor salary decisions that fallible GM’s have made in their day.



Green if he is underpaid.

Red if he is overpaid.

Blue if he is correctly paid.



Name

Salary

Exp.

Height

Weight

Age

Team

Kobe Bryant

$21,262,500

13

6-6

205

30

LAL

Tracy McGrady

$20,370,437

12

6-8

223

30

Houston

Ray Allen

$18,388,430

13

6-5

205

34

Boston

Michael Redd

$15,780,000

9

6-6

215

29

Milwaukee

Vince Carter

$14,724,125

11

6-6

220

32

New Jersey

Dwyane Wade

$14,410,581

6

6-4

216

27

Miami

Joe Johnson

$14,232,567

8

6-7

240

27

Atlanta

Jason Richardson

$12,222,221

8

6-6

225

28

Phoenix

Andre Iguodola

$11,300,000

5

6-6

207

25

Philadelphia

Monta Ellis

$11,000,000

4

6-3

180

23

Golden State

Richard Hamilton

$10,812,500

10

6-7

193

31

Detroit

Kirk Hinrich

$10,000,000

6

6-3

190

28

Chicago

Manu Ginobli

$9,905,248

7

6-6

205

31

San Antonio

Jason Terry

$9,196,000

10

6-2

180

31

Dallas

Mike Miller

$9,028,575

9

6-8

218

29

Minnesota

Quentin Richardson

$8,685,500

9

6-6

235

29

New York

Marquis Daniels

$6,864,200

6

6-6

200

28

Indiana

Leandro Barbosa

$6,100,000

6

6-3

202

26

Phoenix

Jason Kapono

$5,784,480

6

6-8

215

28

Toronto

Morris Peterson

$5,592,240

9

6-7

220

31

New Orleans

Mickael Pietrus

$5,300,000

6

6-6

215

27

Orlando

Raja Bell

$5,000,000

9

6-5

215

32

Charlotte

J.R. Smith

$4,985,001

5

6-6

220

23

Denver

Kyle Korver

$4,956,818

6

6-7

212

28

Utah

Sasha Pavlovic

$4,500,000

6

6-7

235

25

Cleveland

Kevin Durant

$4,484,040

2

6-9

215

20

OKC

O.J. Mayo

$3,875,040

1

6-4

210

21

Memphis

Delonte West

$3,850,000

5

6-3

180

25

Cleveland

Rasual Butler

$3,630,000

7

6-7

205

30

New Orleans

DeShawn Stevenson

$3,616,072

9

6-5

218

28

Washington

Roger Mason Jr.

$3,500,000

5

6-5

212

28

San Antonio

Brandon Roy

$3,084,240

3

6-6

211

24

Portland

Eric Gordon

$2,623,200

1

6-3

222

20

LAC

Francisco Garcia

$1,983,454

4

6-7

195

27

Sacramento

Ronnie Brewer

$1,834,680

3

6-7

227

24

Utah

Courtney Lee

$1,176,240

1

6-5

200

23

Orlando

Key Free Agent 2-Guards or Combo-Guards or Point Guards

Ben Gordon

Free Agent

5

6-3

200

26

Free Agent

Dahntay Jones

Free Agent

6

6-6

210

28

Free Agent

Anthony Parker

Free Agent

6

6-6

215

33

Free Agent

Bobby Jackson

Free Agent

12

6-1

185

36

Free Agent

Stephon Marbury

Free Agent

13

6-2

205

32

Free Agent

Mike Bibby

Free Agent

11

6-2

195

31

Free Agent

Allen Iverson

Free Agent

13

6-0

180

33

Free Agent



Before I get into the Free Agents, allow me to briefly explain my assessments on player salaries.



Overpaid: T-Mac, Vince Carter, JRich, Mike Miller, QRich, Marquis Daniels, Jason Kapono, Morris Peterson



These guys either have chronic back problems and injuries, can’t lead their teams to the playoffs, can’t play defense, or a combination of the three. Only MoPete might be questionable, but he’s 31 and hardly played all season due to injury. I wouldn’t pay him $5.6 Mil.



Underpaid: Kevin Durant, Delonte West, Brandon Roy, Courtney Lee



Except for Delonte, these guys can’t currently get paid more due to the restrictions on Rookie Contracts, but let’s just say they will get huge contract extensions when eligible because they deserve them. Remember all that talk about Delonte West and his depression problems at the beginning of the year? Well, he looks A-Okay to me and winning has probably helped. This guy is a true combo-guard who can D up and nail big jumpers. He is not getting paid enough for what he brings to the table.



Correctly Paid: Everyone else.



Argue if you want, but I think the rest of the batch gets the right salary. Hey, there are some GM’s who know what they’re doing…



So this brings me to the Free Agent Guard Class of 2009…



Personally, I’d pay Dahntay Jones and Ben Gordon the most out of any of these guys, and I’d pay DJ more because he’s the only one on that list under 30 years old who’s not an “I Gotta Get Mine” player. He can play lock-down defense, as illustrated this year with the Denver Nuggets, he has great size at 6-6, and he can score as well. Ben Gordon is a much better offensive player, and his defense has improved a bit, but the fact remains he’s an undersized streak player who doesn’t make his teammates better. Many say 6th man, and that just depends on which team he lands, but if he is a 6th man, I’ll say I’d rather have JR Smith on my team, who is also at 6-6, and has a higher ceiling that Ben Gordon. Smith’s improvement this year alone has been very notable, especially in shot selection, help defense, and ball control. As you can see, Smith gets paid just under $5 Mil, and both JR and Ben have been in the league for 5 years.



Just below JR in the salary table are Kyle Korver ($4.95 Mil) and Sasha Pavlovic ($4.5 Mil), who both have great size and can bring the defensive presence to the table that Ben Gordon can’t. Right below Sasha are Kevin Durant, O.J. Mayo, and Delonte West, who all deserve big raises when eligible, so let’s look even further down, where we have Rasual Butler ($3.63 Mil) and DeShawn Stevenson ($3.61 Mil). I’d definitely take Ben Gordon over Butler or Stevenson, so the price floor for Ben Gordon is Sasha Pavlovic at ($4.5 Mil).



Now, let’s move up the ladder to determine Ben Gordon’s price ceiling. Above J.R. Smith we have Raja Bell ($5 Mil) and Mickael Pietrus ($5.3 Mil). BG can argue his case against these guys, so let’s look further up to the next properly paid player, who is Leandro Barbosa ($6.1 Mil). Now, the Spanish Sensation is very similar to BG in that both are 6-3, both are great at offense, and both are not so great at defense. But Barbosa is faster and more consistent, even as a sixth man. Let’s keep that in mind while we look even further up, to Jason Terry ($9.2 Mil) and Manu Ginobli ($9.9 Mil). Ben Gordon is not better than Manu, and Jet makes a few million more because he has been in the league longer, not to mention he can still be a deadly sixth man as he showed this year. Ben Gordon is not better than anyone above Manu and Kirk Hinrich deserves his $10 Mil per year because he is the best back-up point guard in the NBA and was impressive in the Boston-Chicago 1st Round series, with remarkable contributions, both offensively and defensively.



So, I’d have to say Ben Gordon’s price ceiling is at the $9.2 Million that Jason Terry makes. In all honesty though, my first hunch of placing BG at J.R. Smith’s $4,985,001 level is where I’d like to keep him. (But J.R. Smith is better, so take away that last dollar!)



I think there are some GM’s who don’t know what they’re doing and may flaunt him more money, but in this economy, and with so few teams under the cap, it may be difficult for Gordon to find the contract he seeks. Turning down the 2 Bulls contracts was a huge mistake and if I’m John Paxson, I’ll offer BG even less this time around, or another 1-Year contract to see if he can redeem himself in next year’s playoffs (for all the shots that he missed in Game 7 and all the clutch shots he attempted in the series that didn’t fall through the net).



I hope these GM’s can do algebra because n = $4,985,000, and not a penny more.

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