This story is available exclusively to Business Insider
subscribers. Become an Insider
and start reading now.
Have an account? Log in .
The key is to make sure you overpay for your important players, not for secondary pieces that will kill your cap space.
To determine the most overpaid player on each team, we divided each player's player efficiency rating (PER) last season by their salary. Only players making more than $5 million per year were eligible.
The conclusion: The best teams typically overpay for elite players, while the worst teams are the ones who spend big money on big-time busts.
Atlanta Hawks — Josh Smith, $13.2 million
Getty Images/Kevin C. Cox
PER: 21.1
Salary per point of PER: $625,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Boston Celtics — Paul Pierce, $16.8 million
Getty Images
PER: 19.7
Salary per point of PER: $852,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Brooklyn Nets — Joe Johnson, $19.8 million
Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
PER: 18.5
Salary per point of PER: $1.07 million
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Charlotte Bobcats — DeSagana Diop, $7.4 million
YouTube
PER: 6.8
Salary per point of PER: $1.09 million
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Chicago Bulls — Luol Deng, $13.3 million
Wikimedia Commons
PER: 14.1
Salary per point of PER: $943,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Cleveland Cavaliers — Luke Walton, $6.1 million
Wikimedia Commons
PER: 3.4
Salary per point of PER: $1.79 million
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Dallas Mavericks — Dirk Nowitzki, $20.9 million
Getty Images
PER: 21.8
Salary per point of PER: $958,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Denver Nuggets — Andre Iguodala, $14.7 million
Getty Images/Doug Pensinger
PER: 17.6
Salary per point of PER: $835,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Detroit Pistons — Corey Maggette, $10.9 million
Corey Maggette as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats
Getty Images/Streeter Lecka
PER: 14.1
Salary per point of PER: $772,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Golden State Warriors — Andris Biedrins, $9 million
Wikimedia Commons
PER: 8.8
Salary per point of PER: $1.02 million
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Houston Rockets — Omer Asik, $5 million
Wikimedia Commons
PER: 13.4
Salary per point of PER: $372,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Indiana Pacers — Roy Hibbert, $13.7 million
Roy Hibbert could have a huge game tonight.
@nba
PER: 19.4
Salary per point of PER: $706,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Los Angeles Clippers — Lamar Odom, $8.2 million
ESPN/Screenshot
PER: 9.3
Salary per point of PER: $881,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Los Angeles Lakers — Kobe Bryant, $27.8 million
YouTube
PER: 22.0
Salary per point of PER: $1.26 million
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Memphis Grizzlies — Rudy Gay, $16.5 million
AP
PER: 17.8
Salary per point of PER: $927,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Miami Heat — Chris Bosh, $17.5 million
Timothy Burke
PER: 18.9
Salary per point of PER: $925,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Milwaukee Bucks — Monta Ellis, $11 million
Getty Images/Chris Chambers
PER: 17.5
Salary per point of PER: $628,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Minnesota Timberwolves — Andrei Kirilenko, $9.8 million
Wikimedia Commons
PER: 16.7
Salary per point of PER: $586,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
New Orleans Hornets — Eric Gordon, $13.7 million
AP
PER: 19.2
Salary per point of PER: $713,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
New York Knicks — Amar'e Stoudemire, $19.9 million
http://twitpic.com/9t95em/full
PER: 17.7
Salary per point of PER: $1.12 million
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Oklahoma City Thunder — Kendrick Perkins, $7.8 million
AP
PER: 8.7
Salary per point of PER: $896,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Orlando Magic — Hedo Turkoglu, $11.8 million
Getty Images/Brett Deering
PER: 11.8
Salary per point of PER: $1 million
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Philadelphia 76ers — Andrew Bynum, $16.5 million
AP Images
PER: 23.0
Salary per point of PER: $717,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Phoenix Suns — Michael Beasley, $5.8 million
AP
PER: 13.1
Salary per point of PER: $443,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Portland Trail Blazers — Nicolas Batum, $12 million
Wikimedia Commons
PER: 17.3
Salary per point of PER: $694,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Sacramento Kings — John Salmons, $8.1 million
Getty Images/Ezra Shaw
PER: 17.3
Salary per point of PER: $900,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
San Antonio Spurs — Stephen Jackson, $10.1 million
YouTube
PER: 10.7
Salary per point of PER: $944,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Toronto Raptors — Jose Calderon, $10.6 million
Wikimedia Commons
PER: 16.7
Salary per point of PER: $635,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Utah Jazz — Al Jefferson, $15 million
ap
PER: 22.9
Salary per point of PER: $655,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
Washington Wizards — Emeka Okafor, $13.5 million
Getty Images/Alex Trautwig
PER: 15.1
Salary per point of PER: $894,000
*Salary figures via HoopsHype
More NBA
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Almost every NBA team overpays for someone.
