NBA Biggest Pay Raises 2015 Restricted Free Agents Show Patience, Get Paid

It pays to be patient.

That is the financial lesson of the NBA’s offseason, which saw the biggest pay raises go to players who turned down contract extensions and gambled on themselves.

Among the top 11 pay increases this summer, five went to players who felt like they were being lowballed by their teams — and proved it when they cashed in with bigger deals as restricted free agents this summer.

Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Orlando’s Tobias Harris, Detroit’s Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma City’s Enes Kanter and Phoenix’s Brandon Knight all signed multi-year deals with first-year salaries of at least $13.5 million, generating personal pay raises of anywhere from nearly $10 million to more than $14 million.

Jackson, Kanter and Knight all changed teams at the trading deadline and got their big contracts from their new teams.

There’s no need to play any violins for the members of the 2011 draft class who did accept extension offers last offseason. Looking at their raises, the top five – Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Kenneth Faried, Kemba Walker and Nik Vucevic – are getting an average bump of $9.485 million, with no one getting an increase of less than $8.5 million.

Only time will tell if any of those players become egregiously underpaid in comparison to what they provide, also known as the Stephen Curry factor. The reigning MVP will make $11.3 million in 2015-16 and $12.3 million in 2016-17 before he gets a sniff of the max money he deserves.

But the raises of the five players mentioned above average out to just over $12 million. And that doesn’t include the huge raise that went to San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, another restricted free agent who never received an extension offer from the Spurs last offseason. The strategy behind that was to preserve cap space, and San Antonio ended up signing LaMarcus Aldridge while giving Leonard a max deal. So I guess you could say it worked out.

As was the case a year ago, the biggest pay raises almost always go to the players moving from their rookie scale contract to their second deal, whether through restricted free agency or an extension. However, there are a couple of unrestricted free agents on the list, including some who are moving on to their third contract.

And if you look back at our list of this summer’s biggest pay cuts, you will some parallels among teams. For example, Leonard received one of the biggest pay raises, but the Spurs also signed David West at one of the biggest pay cuts.

With the salary cap expected to jump to $90 million next season and a staggering $107 million in 2016-17 – just in time for a possible lockout – these numbers shouldn’t alarm you. In fact, you should be more alarmed by the Denver Nuggets paying Jameer Nelson $4.7 million in 2017-18, when he will be a 36-year-old backup point guard.

But if you are somehow on the side of ownership when it comes to NBA salaries, just wait until next summer, when Anthony Davis gets a pay raise of $18 million through his extension. Imagine what the restricted free agents will get.

Here’s the list.

1. Jimmy Butler, Chicago (pay raise of $14.31 miilion). The NBA’s Most Improved Player also has the most improved contract. A year ago, he turned down a four-year, $40 million extension offer from the Bulls. Then he went out and led Chicago in scoring with a career-high 20 points per game, secured his first All-Star berth and was named to the All-Defensive Second Team for the second straight year – all for the low, low price of $2.1 million. His new five-year, $92 million max deal starts at $16.41 million this season.

2. Khris Middleton, Milwaukee ($13.78 million). He was one of just two players on the list who made less than $1 million last season, so you knew he was going to get a big raise after averaging 13.4 points and shooting 41 percent from the arc. But even the wildest optimists could not have figured him for $70 million over five years, starting at $14.7 million this season. The best part is he is just 24 and may not be at his ceiling. Another, ahem, great trade by Joe Dumars, who made him a spare part in the Brandon Knight-Brandon Jennings deal two years ago. Now Middleton makes more money than both of them.

3. Tobias Harris, Orlando ($13.62 million). He was smart to turn down Orlando’s extension offer of $36 million over four years, practically doubling that by inking a four-year, $64 million deal as a restricted free agent. He could have cashed in even bigger had he worked his way to New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, which would have activated a kicker in his Nike deal. However, I’m really not sure how many kids are saying, “I wanna wear the sneakers Tobias Harris wears.” And he has to start making 3-pointers (career 32 percent) to justify his status as Orlando’s highest-paid player.

4. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio ($13.52 million). Everyone saw this coming after Leonard was named MVP of the 2014 NBA Finals. Despite an injury-plagued 2014-15 campaign that saw him miss 18 games, he still snagged Defensive Player of the Year honors and a maximum five-year, $94 million deal starting at $16.41 million this season. By not offering him an extension last offseason, the Spurs kept his cap hold at a much lower figure, which helped create the room necessary to sign Aldridge. Don’t be surprised if Leonard leads San Antonio in scoring this season.

5. Draymond Green, Golden State ($13.34 million). The other player who made less than $1 million last season. Both Green (35th) and Middleton (39th) went in the second round of the 2012 draft and received identical minimum contracts that paid them just $920,000 last season. Green was second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and actually had more first-place votes than Leonard. He also was second to Butler in Most Improved Player balloting. And he did it for the champs, resulting in a five-year, $82 million deal starting at $14.26 million this season.

6. Klay Thompson, Golden State ($12.42 million). It’s funny how quickly things change. Just over a year ago, he was almost part of a deal for Kevin Love. Then there was the question of whether he was worth a max extension, given that the Warriors were able to secure Stephen Curry at a discount. But Thompson received a near-maximum four-year, $69 million deal, then began justifying it by claiming his first All-Star berth and helping Golden State win the title. Just 25, he will be a top-three shooting guard for the duration of the contract.

7. Reggie Jackson ($11.71 million). He followed in almost the same footsteps as James Harden in Oklahoma City, producing like a starter while coming off the bench, seeking starter money, getting lowballed for an extension ($48 million over four years) and ultimately being traded, where he found the minutes and money he was looking for. No one can deny his production; he averaged 18.5 points and 8.7 assists in 40 games as a starter last season for Oklahoma City and Detroit. But $80 million over five years – beginning at $13.91 million this season – means you have to do more than start and produce. It means you have to lead and win. Harden was up to the task. Will Jackson be?

The list continues below the chart.

PLAYER	2014-15	2015-16	PAY RAISE
Jimmy Butler, CHI	$2,100,000	$16,410,000	$14,310,000
Khris Middleton, MIL	$920,000	$14,700,000	$13,780,000
Tobias Harris, ORL	$2,380,000	$16,000,000	$13,620,000
Kawhi Leonard, SAS	$2,890,000	$16,410,000	$13,520,000
Draymond Green, GSW	$920,000	$14,260,000	$13,340,000
Klay Thompson, GSW	$3,080,000	$15,500,000	$12,420,000
Reggie Jackson, DET	$2,200,000	$13,910,000	$11,710,000
DeMarre Carroll, TOR	$2,440,000	$13,600,000	$11,160,000
Greg Monroe, MIL	$5,480,000	$16,410,000	$10,930,000
Enes Kanter, OKC	$6,010,000	$16,410,000	$10,400,000
Brandon Knight, PHX	$3,550,000	$13,500,000	$9,950,000
Kyrie Irving, CLE	$7,070,000	$16,410,000	$9,340,000
Paul Millsap, ATL	$9,500,000	$18,670,000	$9,170,000
Wesley Matthews, DAL	$7,245,000	$16,410,000	$9,165,000
Kenneth Faried, DEN	$2,250,000	$11,235,000	$8,985,000

8. DeMarre Carroll, Toronto ($11.16 million). The first unrestricted free agent on this list, he had to change teams to get the $58 million over four years that he received from the Raptors. The Atlanta Hawks wanted to keep him but were hamstrung by Carroll’s Early Bird status; they had to fit Carroll under the cap if they wanted to pay him eight figures annually, and Paul Millsap’s free agency (and cap hold) made that impossible. Carroll almost cost himself millions with an injury in the playoffs that luckily looked more serious than it was. His salary this season of $13.6 million dwarfs the $9 million he made through his first six NBA seasons. It also gave hope to role players and glue guys everywhere.

9. Greg Monroe, Milwaukee ($10.93 million). Very few first-round picks actually play for their fifth-year qualifying offer salary. Most have moved on to new contracts, either through extensions or releases. But Monroe did, becoming the first since (we believe) Nick Young in 2011-12. And as an unrestricted free agent, Monroe chose the young, competitive spirit of the Bucks over the bright lights of Broadway and the New York Knicks and signed a three-year, $51 million contract with a player option for the final year. Agent David Falk insisted Monroe was a max player and ultimately was proven right. He is trying a similar strategy with Jared Sullinger, which we don’t expect to work as well.

10. Enes Kanter, Oklahoma City ($10.4 million): Kanter wasn’t exactly lining up for government cheese last season; as the third pick in the 2011 draft, he made $6 million between Utah and Oklahoma City in the fourth year of his rookie deal. But with Derrick Favors locked up and Rudy Gobert emerging, the Jazz felt like they could cut bait with Kanter, whose defense makes him look like a maitre’d – “Right this way to your table, sir.” Of course, the penny-pinching Thunder made him wait in restricted free agency, then got burned when Portland offered the maximum $70 million over four years. Kanter averaged 18.7 points and 11.0 rebounds in 26 games with the Thunder, numbers that will go down now that Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka are healthy. But here’s the question that needs to be asked: The Thunder would be paying luxury tax this season whether they gave an extension to Harden, Jackson or Kanter. Which of those players would you rather have?

11. Brandon Knight, Phoenix ($9.95 million). After failing to come to an agreement on an extension with Milwaukee, he elevated his game to the cusp of All-Star status and put the Bucks in a bind. GM Jon Hammond wanted to re-sign Middleton and be active in free agency, so he kicked the can down the road by trading Knight to Phoenix and acquiring Michael Carter-Williams, who doesn’t come due until next summer at the earliest. After being forced to trade Goran Dragic and dealing Isaiah Thomas, the Suns could not allow Knight to get away and gave him $70 million over five years, even though they are also paying fellow point guard Eric Bledsoe roughly the same amount.

12. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland ($9.34 million). The top pick in the 2011 draft signed a five-year, $94 million extension at the beginning of last summer that was announced before LeBron James had committed to returning to Cleveland. He will make $16.41 million this season, which makes him the third on the Cavs in salary behind James and Kevin Love. He also almost certainly will start the season on the sidelines as he recovers from the broken kneecap suffered in last season’s playoffs. Irving is a former Rookie of the Year, three-time All-Star and World Cup MVP who could become the team’s fourth highest-paid player if the Cavs decide to keep Tristan Thompson.

13. Paul Millsap, Atlanta ($9.17 million). For a brief moment, it looked like the Hawks were going to lose Carroll and Millsap from their 60-win squad. The Orlando Magic offered the All-Star forward a maximum $80 million over four years, an offer the unrestricted free agent strongly considered before re-
signing with Atlanta for $60 million over three years – and the ability to opt out two summers from now. Millsap, 30, will be Atlanta’s highest-paid player this season at $18.67 million, essentially doubling his salary.

14. Wesley Matthews, Dallas ($9.165 million). The last six months have been a roller coaster ride for Matthews. Heading into unrestricted free agency, he was in position for a huge pay raise as a top-10 shooting guard before he tore his Achilles tendon in March. The injury strangely didn’t impact his bargaining position, however, as he was offered $64 million over four years by the Sacramento Kings. The Dallas Mavericks countered with $52 million for four years, plus the allure of no state taxes, playing alongside DeAndre Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki and in an environment that didn’t resemble Ringling Bros. When Jordan backtracked on his agreement with Dallas and re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban offered Matthews the chance to back out of the deal. When Matthews chose to stay, Cuban rewarded him with a maximum $70 million over four years.

15. Kenneth Faried, Denver ($8.985 million). Last summer, he was in the right place at the right time, making Team USA as an energy rebounder and defender, collecting a World Cup gold medal and parlaying that into a four-year, $50 million extension. But Faried has been mentioned in trade rumors since the end of the season, with the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors two of the speculated destinations. Faried is still in Denver with a new coach (Mike Malone) and new point guard (Emmanuel Mudiay). At just 25 with career numbers of 12.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 54 percent shooting, he should be part of Denver’s youth movement – if he rediscovers his defensive energy.

ET CETERA: It’s hard to envision anyone getting bigger raises next summer than Davis and Portland’s Damian Lillard, who have already signed maximum extensions. Barring injury, Davis is a shoo-in for a bump to 30 percent of the cap via the “Derrick Rose Rule” while Lillard has an outside shot at the same increase if he can start the All-Star Game or snag an All-NBA nod. … It looks like the Cavs are going to roll the dice on Tristan Thompson and force him to take his $6.78 million qualifying offer. Agent Rich Paul wants a max deal for his client, and there has been talk of the Raptors pursuing the Canada native next summer, when he would be an unrestricted free agent and could commandeer an eight-figure raise. … The next five largest raises went to a combination of unrestricted free agents and rookie scale guys scoring extensions. The free agents are Jordan, the Clippers center who got a raise of $8.25 million to $19.69 million in the first year of his four-year, $87 million deal, and Heat guard Goran Dragic, who nearly doubled his salary from $7.5 million to $14.78 million, the first year of a five-year, $85 million package. The extension guys are Charlotte’s Kemba Walker ($8.73 million raise), Orlando’s Nik Vucevic ($8.5 million) and Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio ($8.04 million).