Money Shot

In between games, I thought this may be of interest to Sonic fans; a breakdown of this year's salaries (in millions):

Ray Allen, $14.6
Rashard, $7.8
Potato, $6.1
Fort, $5.9
James, $4.5
Radman, $2.3
Daniels, $2.2
Collison, $1.7
Ridnour, $1.5
Swift, $1.6
Kutluay, $1.6
Evans, $0.9
Murray, $0.7
Wilkins, $0.4
Cleaves, $0.4

What those numbers don't tell you is production. So, listed below is how much the Sonics paid each player for a point in the Tendex rating system (a complicated measure that incorporates almost every aspect of performance). For example, the Sonics currently pay Jerome James $16,140 dollars for each tick on the rating system he produces (note that the Tendex system is on a per game basis, hence the money paid in this chart is as well):

Swift, $97560
Potato, $82650
James, $16140
Fortson, $8560
Allen, $8240
Collison, $5450
Lewis, $4780
Cleaves, $4570
Wilkins, $3050
Radman, $2440
Murray, $2030
Daniels, $2010
Ridnour, $1390
Evans, $1020
Kutluay, incomplete

Obviously, Reggie Evans is the best deal on the Sonics, and, I would guess, one of the best deals in the NBA. I found two items surprising:

1. Rashard is a great bargain
2. Da Fort isn't as great a bargain as we would have thought

Of course, Fortson's lack of minutes is the reason here, and not his production. Still, the Sonics are paying him a full salary, not a "we'll just pay you for the 1st and 3rd quarters" salary, so Fortson must take his share of criticism for his quick fouls.

One last item. The Sonics pay Ibo Kutluay $19,512.20 every game. So far, he's played in one game, lasted two minutes, and contributed a turnover. Since the Sonics have played 26 games, Ibo has received $507,317 so far this season.

Or, put another way, $253,658 per minute.