Bad, Bad Contracts

Quickly, name the top five qualities you look for in a person. If you're even half human, you listed "loyalty" as one of those qualities. It appears that the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics have taken their displays of loyalty a little too far. Of course, I'm speaking of the contracts both teams have offered to Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce. Both good players, both not worth the money they are going to be paid.
Johnson has reportedly agreed to a six year 119 million dollar contract to stay with the Hawks. Johnson was one of those guys that I kept hearing was going to get a max contract, but I just couldn't allow myself to believe it. Johnson is 29, and the best player on a middle of the pack team in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have already proven that they can't advance beyond the second round with Johnson as their best player. In fact, the book on Johnson is that he has historically disappeared in the playoffs. Save from a few baskets, his Hawks career regular season numbers (21.8/4.3/5.6) are pretty similar to his playoff numbers (17.8/4.6/4.2). What concerns fans is his penchant for disappearing during critical stretches of playoff games. Hardly a quality associated with a max level player.
Let's consider the ramifications of Johnson's contract. The Hawks will have roughly 23 million a year tied up in Johnson and Marvin Williams for at least the next three years. Jordan and Pippen? I think not. An intriguing situation will arise when Jamal Crawford's contract is up next year. Do the Hawks let an overpaid back up point guard walk, or do they resign him, unload Bibby's 6 million from the salary cap, and make Crawford the starting point guard? Crawford is 30, but the Hawks have already shown they aren't scared away by age.
The Hawks would have been better off in letting Johnson walk and suffer through a miserable year next season. They'd have plenty of money to offer contract extensions to their two young players, Josh Smith, Al Horford, or both, in addition to a top free agent next year.

If paying 15 million a year to a 29 year old shooting guard isn't smart in my eyes, guess how I feel about paying the same to a 32 year old shooting guard? Paul Pierce has reportedly agreed to a 4 year 61 million dollar deal to resign with the Celtics. To be fair, Johnson and Pierce's situations are different. For one, Pierce will never be criticized for playing poorly in the playoffs. The Celtics are also coming off of a surprising run to the NBA Finals.
The Celtics already have Garnett signed through the next two years, and Rondo for the next four. The contracts of Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis will expire this upcoming year. Both will be due for salary increases, and the Celtics will likely accommodate them. The combination of Garnett, Pierce, Rondo, Perkins, and Davis will likely account for anywhere between 55 and 57 million in 2011after the extensions of Perkins and Davis. This number will eliminate them from being major players in the free agent market.
The question is, would you rather have a declining Paul Pierce in his mid 30s, or a chance at signing Carmelo Anthony during next year's free agent period? Imagine the combination of Rondo, Anthony, and a desperate-for-one-more-ring KG. Instead the Celtics opted for Pierce. Pierce's signing also makes it likely that they will not resign Ray Allen, seeing as they could only offer him about 6 million for next year. He'll get 10 million somewhere else.
Moral of the story: loyalty has its bounds. In a friendship or relationship, loyalty is one of the most important qualities to possess. In the ultra-competitive, cut-throat business of the NBA where teams are expected to contend every year, not so much.