I’ll preface this by saying I like Desmond Bane and he is a good young player. But that max contract at this stage of his career is wild. He is nowhere near a max contract type guy. This would be akin to have given Buddy Hield a max contact after his 2018-2019 season. Obviously Bane is a bit better than that year’s Hield, but production is not too far off.
2023 Bane: 21/5/4 on 48/40/83 splits
2019 Hield: 21/5/3 on 46/43/89 splits
Meanwhile Bane got a 5 year max 210 mil extension while Hield got a 4 year/90 mil contract
Any general thoughts on his contract? Am I being a bit too harsh?
I thought the contract was ludicrous personally but apparently they didn’t have many other options. Not only that but the guy is one of the few players in the league with a negative wingspan so even though he’s 6’4" his functional length is closer to someone 6 feet tall.
His wing span hasn’t stopped him from being an excellent NBA player.
Excellent? Eh. He looks like he can be a solid third option on a decent team. Nowhere near max contract worthy imo.
I guarantee any NBA team would’ve given him that deal if he played the way he has so format for them lol. He was one of the most dynamic and efficient 3 point shooters in the league and his ball handling has been a revelation for the Grizz for a few years now. With Ja out I really don’t think it’s insane this dude can average 25 PPG.
he’s 5 years younger, a way better defender, and you’re comparing to Hield’s contact which was signed when the cap was lower…
I don’t watch the Grizz much, but isn’t Bane a better defender than Buddy?
Part of the equation you have to consider with these small market teams is that they’re not going to attract the best FAs, so it makes sense for them to overpay to retain talent. Just a reality of not being LAL/NYK/BKN/etc.
I don’t think the free agency thing is that big of a player. Any team in the Grizz situation (lots of good young talent) is more concerned with managing future luxury tax than they with expecting to ever have cap space
Those 210 millions aren’t fully guaranteed. If he gets them, it’s because he has earned them, which would make his contract pretty fair then.
It’s $197M guaranteed
Box score watcher. But seriously come on man. What did the Kings do in 2019 and what did the Grizzles do last year? Do you not think the team outcome matters in this type of conversation.
I also think people sleep on Bane as a defender because he has t-Rex arms he is really solid
He’s not worth 210 million
You realize that has more to do with the team than it does them as individuals right ?
20% of your cap for a player thats pretty essential for your success is fine
Worst for who? I feel like if I asked Desmond Bane, he’d say it’s decent.
This thread is a great test of seeing who actually watches games and does a little more research outside of box score stats .
He is 2 years younger than Buddy was with better offensive and defensive potential. Considering the Griz don’t have many young guys it’s better than nothing. He is already borderline Allstar level.
not at all you pocket watcher
He’s a very god player. I wouldn’t call it one of the worst but I do think it is gonna be tough for Memphis to keep building when he’s making that type of money. It’s not a contract I’d want my team paying.
He and Ja are combining for $70m next year. Add JJJ and Smart and that’s over $110m. Is that a championship-level core? I don’t think so personally. As it stands they’ll be over the 2nd luxury tax threshold next year and I don’t think their roster is ready for that. They’ll have to make a lot of moves to cut costs.
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/memphis-grizzlies/cap/2024/
If I’m reading Spotrac right they’ll be slightly under and they have $14M club option on Kennard
He’s gonna be awesome this year, especially with Ja out. I’d expect something like 28 ppg to start the year
I think it’s time NBA fans start using salary cap % instead of actual salary if we’re discussing a contract is an overpay or not
The right comp for Bane is Klay Thompson. His performance the past couple years tracks real close to Klay at the same age, without the all-NBA accolades.
It’s actually a bit unfair to Bane, as while Klay was a better pure 3 shooter, Bane is much better at putting the ball on the floor and driving to the rim. He probably won’t be as limited offensively as Klay (though Klay’s one dimension is pretty unreal).
If you want to nitpick, sure, Memphis could have waited another year to max him, and if he falls off a cliff they’ll look silly. But no, this is not an unreasonable contract for a player of his age and caliber.
2019 Hield 21/5/3 on 46/43/89
2015 Klay 22/3/3 on 46/44/88