The 10 Best Finessed NBA Contracts in the Last 10 Years

Not every player who makes superstar money is a superstar. These are the heroes that maximized their value and finessed absurd contracts.

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Complex Original

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We all know that NBA stars will always make bank, so as long as there are billionaire owners who want to win championships. It makes sense after all—those millions of dollars so effortlessly spent by owners make sure their teams get the best talent and the most attractive stars to draw fans to the stadium, to hopefully win some titles and make even more money. But as the league gets richer the sea level of cash rises, and before you know it you've got scrubs and bench players in free agency getting checks that had previously been exclusively reserved for superstars.

Even though this past summer is the most famous example, NBA players of suspect talent have been earning big paydays for years now, finessing contracts from teams after brief periods of excellence only to prove they probably weren't worth the outlay. No shade at all, though—we're all for these guys getting their slice of the NBA's multi-billion dollar pie. But when Soloman Hill is in the middle of a 4 year, $52 million deal, maybe it's time to pay attention. Not all of these guys are finesse players, but they all certainly finessed their teams.

Ben Wallace

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Gilbert Arenas

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Andrea Bargnani

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Gerald Wallace

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Tristan Thompson

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Joakim Noah

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Timofey Mozgov

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Solomon Hill

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Ian Mahinmi

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Tyler Johnson

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