For a look at the worst trades of the McHale era, check out Part I of this three-part series.
As hard as it is to believe, no Kevin McHale transaction can compare to the Atlanta Hawks signing 
John Koncak (career averages: 4.5 points, 4.9 rebounds ) to a six-year, $13 million deal in 1989. Sure, that doesn’t sound like a lot of money today, but at the time, it made him one of the highest paid players in the league. Only in the NBA could Jon “Contract” be making more than Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. Say what you will about McHale, but he never overpaid a stiff and talentless white center. Well, unless you count Mark Madsen, but he gets a pass for simply being awesome. Narrowing down the list to the ten worst contracts of the McHale era (1995 - 2008) proved to be incredibly difficult, and some horrific moves from the likes of Billy King and Isiah Thomas failed to make the cut. Let’s get to it.
1. Jim McIlvaine (5 years, $33.6 million), Seattle SuperSonics: After backing up Gheorge Muresan for two years in Washington, McIlvaine, fresh of a
season in which he averaged 2.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game, received a staggering contract offer from the Sonics. He responded with career-highs of 3.8 points and 4.0 rebounds the following season, and then declined statistically for the next four years while battling injuries. More importantly, the signing angered superstar Shawn Kemp, who had asked for an extension after leading Seattle to the NBA Finals. Can you really blame him when Jim McIlvaine was making more money? The locker room rift caused Seattle to trade Kemp to Cleveland for Vin “Hiccup” Baker (more on him later), where the former ‘Reign Man’ took his frustration out on defenseless pastries (and all the single ladies). The Sonics were never able to fully recover, and ended up moving to Oklahoma City this season…it’s all McIlvaine’s fault, Seattle fans.
2. Travis Knight (7 years, $22 million), Boston Celtics: Ah, one of Rick Pitino’s finest moves as the Celtics GM was there when Travis Knight walked through
that door. Apparently, 4.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and being 7′0″ tall, was enough to hand Knight a ridiculous seven-year contract in 1997. He was traded back to Los Angeles after one mediocre season in Boston, and fittingly spent his final three years in bad contract heaven, New York. He finished his career with averages of 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds, though he does hold the NBA playoff record for quickest disqualification…seriously, he does.
3. Bryant Reeves (6 years, $61.8 million), Vancouver Grizzlies: Wait a minute — another goofy white guy getting crazy money
for no discernible reason? I’m sensing a theme here. “Big Country” put up respectable numbers in his first two seasons (a few more blocks would be nice from a seven-footer, but hey), and the Grizz decided he was in line for a huge extension. Reeves had his best statistical season in 1997, before discovering the local buffet specials. He reported to training camp 40 pounds (!) overweight prior to the 1998 season, and shockingly developed back problems. His team-eating contract made him impossible to trade, and devoured much of Vancouver’s limited cap space. He retired during the 2001/02 season after being unable to fit into his warm-ups.
4. Tariq Abdul-Wahad (6 years, $43 million), Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets rewarded Abdul-Wahad, who played all of 15 games for the team after
being acquired from Orlando, with an extension prior the start of the 2000/01 season. He averaged four points in 29 games the following season, and was then traded to the Mavericks. So what did Mr. Abdul-Wahad do in Dallas? He put up 3.2 points in 18 games over two seasons, and hasn’t even put a uniform since 2003. The Mavs paid him — you might want to sit down for this — $24.75 million for those valuable services through 2007.
5. Allan Houston (6 years, $100 million), New York Knicks: Although Houston’s deal is slightly more justifiable than some of the ones above, any
player who gets a rule named after his awful contract belongs high on the list. And besides, the effect on the already dreadful Knicks’ cap situation can’t be overstated. In 2001, GM Scott Layden inexplicably handed him a maximum extension through the 2006/07 season, when Houston would be 35. He’d play one full season and parts of the next two, before retiring due to a chronic knee condition (he’d also fail at two subsequent comebacks). Houston’s $19-million per year salary was among the highest in the league in 2005/06 — when he didn’t play a single game. In fact, he “earned” nearly $40 million for barely stepping on the court. Speaking of which…
6. Jerome James (5 years, $30 million), New York Knicks: As we’ve seen, NBA GMs have 
overpaid for size above skill on numerous occasions (several more are listed in the dishonorable mentions below), but few can top the curious case of Jerome James. After averaging 5 points and 3 rebounds during the regular season, James exploded for 13 points and 7 rebounds in 11 games in the playoffs. Every blogger in the world joked that Isiah Thomas would be dumb enough to sign him…and, of course, he did. James put up 3 points and 2 rebounds in 44 games the following year, and has actually regressed since then. He played a total of 5 minutes in two games during the 2007-08 season, making his only field goal attempt and two free throws, which gave him the best field goal and free throw percentage the entire league. So, there’s that.
7. Juwan Howard (7 years, $105 million), Washington Bullets: Howard earned his first All-Star
berth in 1996, and signed a $101-million contract with the Miami Heat. Unfortunately (for Washington), that deal violated salary cap rules and was disallowed by the NBA. So, the Bullets — bidding against no one — decided to make Howard, the first $100-million-man in NBA history. He averaged a semi-respectable 18 points and 8 rebounds in five seasons in DC, but was booed mercilessly for never living up to expectations of being one of the league’s highest-paid players, and tied up much of the team’s cap space. In one of Michael Jordan’s best moves as GM (no sarcasm!), he was traded to Dallas for Christian Laettner and the poo poo platter with three years left on his deal. Howard would finish out the last two seasons in Denver, before bouncing around more area codes than Ludacris.
8. Howard Eisley (7 years, $41 million), Utah Jazz: I’m not sure how being a mediocre, 28-year-old backup point guard equates to $41 million of guaranteed
money, but I guess that’s why I’m not an NBA GM. Eisley was signed by Utah and traded to the Mavericks prior to the 2000 season. After one season in Dallas, he was dealt to the one team that would agree to take back his cap-killing contract. Any guesses? Yep, New York, where Eisley averaged 7 points and 4 assists for the duration of his deal. At least they didn’t sign a one-dimensional shooting guard to a nine-figure extension around the same time — oh, right.
9. Vin Baker (6 years, $86.7 million), Seattle SuperSonics: Baker put in a career season with Milwaukee
in 1997, and was acquired by Seattle in a sign-and-trade for Kemp. He played well in his first year as a Sonic (19 points, 8 rebounds), before packing on the pounds — reportedly ballooning up to 300 lbs — and getting his Goose on during the NBA lockout. Baker’s alcoholism ruined his career and turned him into the league’s biggest disappointment and running joke. He was traded to the Boston Celtics (for Kenny Anderson and Vitaly Potapenko), and entered into the alcohol treatment program. Boston ended up terminating his contract after Coach Jim O’Brien smelled alcohol on his breath during practice. I’m taking it easy on the drunk jokes here, because I really do feel kinda bad for the guy…especially now that his house and restaurant have been foreclosed.
10. Raef LaFrentz (7 years, $70 million), Dallas Mavericks: LaFrentz averaged 13 points and 7 
rebounds over his first four seasons with Denver. And then Mark Cuban gave him an enormous extension after acquiring him midway through the 2001/02 season in the same trade as Abdul-Wahad (good one, Cubes!). LaFrentz didn’t fit in well with Don Nelson’s system, and his statistics declined across the board the following year. He’s become more known for his salary than on-the-court contributions, getting shipped to Boston and then Portland strictly as cap filler. LaFrentz has appeared in 65 games over the last three seasons combined (zero games in 2008/09), and is currently in the final year of that same contract — he’s entitled to $12.7 million for warming the Blazers bench. What a life.
Dishonorable Mention (by total contract value): How sad is it that none of these contracts — especially Cardinal and Foyle — can crack the top-10 worst of the last 13 years?
The NBA: Where Amazingly Bad Contracts Happen!
*Rashard Lewis (6 years, $110 million), Magic
*Grant Hill (7 years, $93 million), Magic
*Kenyon Martin (7 years, $91 million), Nuggets
*Penny Hardaway (7 years, $84 million), Suns
*Brian Grant (7 years, $84 million), Heat
*Erick Dampier (7 years, $73 million), Mavs
*Tim Thomas (6 years, $67 million), Bucks
*Austin Croshere (7 years, $51 million), Pacers
*Adonal Foyle (6 years, $42 million), Warriors
*Brian Cardinal (6 years, $37 million), Grizzlies
*Todd MacCulloch (6 year, $34 million), Nets
*Calvin Booth (6 years, $34 million), Sonics
*Vitaly Potapenko (6 year, $33 million), Celtics
Brian Scalabrine, Nets (2004): While Scal’s contributions in Boston are giving hope to all chubby white guys who haven’t picked up a ball since middle school, his greatest achievement came in Game 5 of the semifinals against Detroit. After Chauncey Billups hit a half-court buzzer-beater to send the game into OT, Scalabrine, who averaged 3.4 points and had never scored more than 16 points in his career, put in seventeen points in triple-overtime. Now those are some highlights that deserve their own black and white “It’s Amazing” commercial.
Jerome James, Sonics (2005) : Sure, his subsequent contract immediately became one of Isiah Thomas’ top-30 worst decisions, but James came out of nowhere to lead the Sonics to a near-upset of the Spurs in the semifinals. He averaged 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 11 playoff games (nearly 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first round) after putting up less than five points and three rebounds during the regular season. In the four years since, James has scored a total 223 points, earning slightly over $1 million per point…or extra pound.
P.J. Brown, Celtics (2008): In a game seven against the Cavs that featured a Paul Pierce-LeBron James shootout, Brown, a 15-year veteran who came out of retirement to bestow leadership, provided a surprising boost off the bench. He scored 10 points (4-4 FG), grabbed 6 rebounds, and made made several difference-making plays late in the game. The 38-year-old drilled a 20-footer with under two minutes left, a shot he later called the biggest of his career. And he didn’t even knock down an obnoxious Cavs fan as he jogged down the baseline.
Tayshaun Prince, Pistons (2003): Prince played 42 regular season games in his rookie season, averaging just 3.3 points per contest. But when he received increased playing time in the postseason, Prince became the first and only player in NBA history to score more points in the playoffs (141) than in the regular season (137). He put in a career-high 20 points in the deciding seventh game victory, and became my then-girlfriend’s favorite player because he reminded her of Curious George.
Jack Haley, Bulls (1996): The proud owner of the least-deserved championship ring in NBA history, Haley didn’t play a second in the playoffs after appearing in one game during the regular season. And yet, he made an intangible contribution to Chicago’s playoff run — he “controlled” his best buddy Dennis Rodman (perhaps the least-likely friendship ever?), who didn’t head-butt a single referee or kick any cameramen in the junk during the postseason.
Steve Kerr, 2003 (Spurs): Kerr was a key role player on the Bulls, knocking down a memorable game-winner in the 1997 NBA Finals. But playing in his final season in 2003, he scored a total two points in 13 minutes over the course of five playoff games. In Game 6 of the conference finals against the Mavericks, however, Kerr exploded for 12 points on four clutch three-pointers in a comeback win, triumphantly ending the long-running internet debate over who was the better player between him and Tim Legler.
