With the NBA regular season kicking off on Tuesday with the Detroit Pistons-Boston Celtics clash, Monday marked the deadline for teams to get extensions done with their players on rookie-scale deals. Several teams signed players heading into their fourth year in the NBA to long-term extensions, and one of them was particularly noteworthy in light of the contract Detroit signed Jalen Duren to a few weeks ago.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Charlotte Hornets signed Brandon Miller to a five-year, $209 million contract. The 23-year-old small forward will make almost $42 million per season.
Compare that with the five-year, $200 million contract Duren signed with the Pistons, and it becomes a difficult deal to justify.
Jalen Duren was right to ask for more from the Pistons in contract negotiations
Miller is a good player, to be sure, especially offensively. He has an impressive ability to generate threes and hit them at a high rate. He has good positional size and could have some two-way upside. He has the chance to be an All-Star-caliber player.
But he hasn't shown that he is that type of player. He doesn't create good looks for himself or his teammates. For a high-usage player, he is not a good passer and playmaker. Also, despite being a high-level shooter, he is an inefficient scorer. He had 57.4% True Shooting last season, his third straight campaign of below-league-average efficiency.
Miller has never played in the playoffs. He has never sniffed an All-Star team. But he will be making more than Duren.
This is why it was ridiculous for some Pistons fans to think Duren isn't deserving of the contract the Pistons gave him. Duren was right to demand the contract he was looking for, and this deal is proof that he was right to feel disrespected by the Pistons. He is simply better than a lot of players who will be making more money than him.
Amen Thompson, who signed a five-year, $208 million contract this fall, is another such example. Like Miller, he has shown flashes, but hasn't proven himself to be an All-Star-caliber player.
This is just where the NBA contract landscape is. Salaries have gotten to a point where non-All-Star-level starters make $40 million per year.
That's why Pistons fans can't be too worked up about Duren asking for his worth. At the end of the day, a five-year, $200 million contract is a bargain for a 22-year-old who just made the All-NBA team.
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