The NBA has never been more expensive. With the salary cap soaring and supermax contracts becoming widespread, front offices are shelling out the cash. The problem begins when players don’t live up to the paycheck.
Some of these deals belong to aging stars who can’t get it done at a max level. Others belong to players who haven’t elevated their teams enough, and we saw an example in the NBA Finals.
A few remain solid talents, but injuries, fit, or inconsistency have transformed their contracts into nightmares. Several of them are former All-Stars and even MVP candidates.
But reputation is out the window. Heading into the 2026-27 season, these are the 10 worst contracts.
10. Kyle Kuzma – $20,490,152
2025-26 Season Statistics: 13.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Age: 30 Years, 327 Days
At just over $20 million annually, Kyle Kuzma‘s deal isn’t devastating in isolation. The problem is that even a mid-tier contract becomes problematic when the player attached to it struggles to consistently impact winning and isn’t the best locker room presence.
Kuzma still flashes the scoring instincts that helped him carve out a long NBA career, but his decision-making has remained frustratingly uneven. Averaging 13.0 PPG on 34.7% from deep while not exactly being a defensive stopper in 26.2 MPG isn’t ideal.
He’s not efficient enough to be a featured offensive option, nor disciplined enough defensively to thrive as a high-end complementary piece. Kuzma’s tendency to hunt difficult shots often stalls offenses, as well.
Winning teams need role players who know exactly who they are. Kuzma still plays like someone trying to prove he’s a star. The Milwaukee Bucks are in trouble with Giannis Antetokounmpo likely leaving the team, and keeping players past their prime is not the way to go.
9. Jerami Grant – $34,206,898
2025-26 Season Statistics: 18.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Age: 32 Years, 96 Days
Jerami Grant‘s contract felt risky the moment the ink dried, and time has done little to soften that concern. While he remains a versatile forward capable of creating his own offense, his production hasn’t justified being paid like an upper-tier difference-maker.
The issue isn’t that Grant lacks talent. He can score from all three levels and defend multiple positions when engaged. But he is nearly 33 years old and likely won’t repeat the same production he had last season. The Trail Blazers could make use of their money to build around their budding young stars instead.
Even if he still impacts the game, Grant’s salary eats valuable flexibility. Grant shot 45.3% from the field and only appeared in 57 games, so availability and age could be issues moving into next season.
8. Darius Garland – $42,166,510
2025-26 Season Statistics: 18.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Age: 26 Years, 141 Days
Now with the Los Angeles Clippers, Darius Garland remains one of the league’s better offensive guards, but his contract has become increasingly difficult to justify given Los Angeles’ ceiling concerns. At over $42 million, the expectation is to be a franchise-altering force. Garland has been very good, but rarely dominant.
His scoring and playmaking remain strengths, yet his defensive limitations continue to create problems in postseason environments. Smaller guards are frequently targeted in playoff series, and Garland has struggled to consistently offset those issues with elite offensive explosions.
This ranking says more about salary expectations than Garland’s talent. Paying superstar money for sub-superstar impact creates difficult questions for any front office, especially the Clippers, who had to acquire him to get rid of James Harden.
At 6’1″ and 192 lbs with only 45 appearances, Garland is too small and too injury-prone to command such a hefty salary. He is 26 years old, though, so the Clippers are likely hoping to give him a chance next season before making any drastic decisions.
7. Jrue Holiday – $34,800,000
2025-26 Season Statistics: 16.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Age: 36 Years, 4 Days
Few players in the NBA command more respect than Jrue Holiday. He’s one of the greatest perimeter defenders of his generation, a top professional, and a proven champion. Unfortunately, contracts don’t reward past accomplishments.
Holiday enters the 2026-27 season firmly in the back half of his career at 36 years old. The physical decline isn’t dramatic, but it’s noticeable, even if his numbers look great at 45.1% from the field, 37.8% from three, and 83.8% from the free-throw line.
Holiday will be in his 18th season next season for the Trail Blazers, a team that is stuck between trying to make the playoffs and rebuilding around young players. He only played 53 games this season, so his sample size wasn’t the greatest.
Any contender can still benefit immensely from Holiday’s leadership and defensive intelligence. The problem is paying nearly $35 million for what increasingly resembles an elite role player rather than an All-Star.
6. Dejounte Murray – $32,785,071
2025-26 Season Statistics: 16.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Age: 29 Years, 270 Days
Dejounte Murray‘s contract represents one of the more frustrating cases in the league because the talent is obvious. He can do it all from the guard spot. Yet the sum of the parts has rarely matched the expectations.
Questions about fit have followed him throughout recent stops. He’s often most effective with the ball in his hands, but not efficient enough to justify monopolizing possessions. Most importantly, he hasn’t been healthy.
Murray only played 14 games this season and 31 games the season before. He isn’t a great three-point shooter either, averaging 33.9% from three for his career. He only has one season (his rookie campaign) of shooting at least 37% from three.
At nearly $33 million annually, the New Orleans Pelicans expect more. Murray remains a good player searching for the perfect basketball ecosystem. Those are expensive experiments to run, especially since the guard turns 30 years old soon.
5. Jordan Poole – $34,044,642
2025-26 Season Statistics: 13.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 3.1 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Age: 26 Years, 362 Days
Jordan Poole‘s contract just looks ugly across the board. On certain nights, he looks like one of the league’s most explosive scoring guards capable of dropping 35 points with effortless shot-making. On others, he resembles a player actively sabotaging his own team.
The inconsistency is staggering. His shot selection can be reckless, turnovers pile up in bunches, and defensive lapses remain a persistent issue. The guard had an atrocious season in 2025-26, averaging 13.4 PPG on 37.2% from the field and 33.3% from three in 39 games.
At $34 million, teams need reliability. Poole can provide scoring bursts, but he is almost 27 years old, and his peak might have already passed with the Warriors. What he hasn’t consistently provided is winning basketball since the infamous Draymond Green punching incident.
4. Ja Morant – $42,166,510
2025-26 Season Statistics: 19.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 8.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Age: 26 Years, 310 Days
Purely from a talent perspective, the nearly 27-year-old Ja Morant has no business appearing anywhere near this list. He’s one of the NBA’s most electrifying athletes, but concerns about availability and trust have led to widespread trade rumors.
Injuries have interrupted key stretches of his prime, and previous off-court issues complicated Memphis’ ability to build continuity around him. He only played 20 games, shot 41.0% from the field and 23.5% from three, and had more issues on and off the court.
Even in 2024-25, he played 50 games after only playing 9 games in 2023-24. That track record is scary, especially when the point guard has beefed with his own coaches and can’t stay out of trouble due to the troubled persona he wishes to embrace.
When Morant is healthy and focused, he justifies every penny. The problem is that the Grizzlies, paying over $42 million, need to know exactly what they’re getting. Morant is too much trouble to handle at this point.
3. Joel Embiid – $59,539,018
2025-26 Season Statistics: 26.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.2 BPG
Age: 32 Years, 92 Days
Joel Embiid is a future Hall of Fame player, and his numbers alone scream MVP-caliber. But looking deeper, there are huge issues.
Availability matters. Embiid only played 38 games this season and was hobbling up and down the court in the playoffs. As a matter of fact, his track record over the last two seasons looks worse, with 39 and 19 games played. That won’t cut it anymore for a player who is 32 years old and counting.
Paying nearly $60 million annually to a player whose health remains uncertain creates enormous risk. It is no wonder that trades involving Embiid have been floating around all summer.
This isn’t about doubting Embiid’s greatness. The Philadelphia 76ers have had it with beating their heads against the wall trying to keep the ailing Embiid healthy. He will NOT stay healthy, and that is the unfortunate reality.
2. De’Aaron Fox – $51,033,600
2025-26 Season Statistics: 18.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Age: 28 Years, 178 Days
De’Aaron Fox might be public enemy #1 in San Antonio. His poor Finals performances have placed a ton of pressure on the Spurs to trade their starting point guard, who is due max money until 2029-30.
He averaged a putrid 12.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 2.8 TOV on 34.3% from the field and 25.0% from the three-point line. In what world is that going to cut it for a team in the NBA Finals, paying max money?
Fox is a 2-time All-Star who is capable of taking over the scoring when healthy and at his best, but that hasn’t been the case. Fox looks like he has aged more quickly than normal, and that is a huge problem. Don’t be surprised if the Spurs end up trading their guard to retool around Victor Wembanyama this summer.
1. Paul George – $54,126,380
2025-26 Season Statistics: 17.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Age: 36 Years, 45 Days
Nobody questions what Paul George used to be. A 9-time All-Star with Hall of Fame consideration isn’t immune to being criticized thanks to another mistake from Daryl Morey.
The concern is that injuries have become increasingly frequent, which makes it the worst contract in the NBA. George played 37 games this season after 41 games played the year before. His numbers took a hit for someone making superstar money, shooting 43.9% from the field. Any surprise the 76ers are the franchise in question, again?
At over $54 million entering his age-37 season, George owns the NBA’s toughest contract to defend. George can’t get it done at a fringe All-Star level, let alone a superstar level.
His contract demands greatness, and that’s why it tops this list. The 76ers just have to wait out George’s contract, which expires after next season, although the player has a $56,586,670 player option for 2027-28.
The contract nightmare will have to run a little longer, Sixers fans.
