The NBA's salary cap jumped from $70 million to roughly $94 million this offseason and with teams forced to pay a minimum salary of 90% of the cap, players across the league are reaping the benefits.
Free agents across the league have been signing massive deals, including Memphis point guard Mike Conley, who inked the largest contract in NBA history- 5 years, $153 million. Conley is a nice player, but he's never made an All-Star team and the Grizzlies have only made it past the second round of the playoffs once in his 9-year tenure.
That said, Conley is far from the only player that has benefitted from the bloated cap this offseason.
Timofey Mozgov got a 4-year $64 million deal.
Evan Turner inked a contract worth $70 million.
Nick Batum signed for $120 MILLION!
Additionally, there are a handful of guys that you probably wouldn't be able to pick out of a lineup that will be making upwards of $45 million thanks to the new player-friendly contracts. Guys that literally averaged under five points and a few rebounds per game are slated to make nearly twice as much as Larry Bird ever made during his entire NBA career.
In total, more than $3 billion was spent during the NBA's free agency, and nobody was more happy than these five, largely unknown players who, whether they're worth it or not, are getting PAID over the next couple of years.
Solomon
Solomon Hill
Team: New Orleans Pelicans
Deal: 4 Years, $48 Million
Solomon Hill, a dude who averaged 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds for the Indiana Pacers during the 2015-16 season, stands to make $12 million annually for the next four years. To be fair, he had an ALL-TIME series against the Raptors in the playoffs, averaging 7.7 points and 4 rebounds per game, so maybe that's worth $48 mil nowadays?
If a casual NBA fan heard the name "Solomon Hill" would they able to distinguish if he was an NBA player or an author of a science fiction novel? I doubt it.
And even if you knew about the 4 & 2 powerhouse, paying him FORTY EIGHT MILLION is pure insanity. Somebody tell Karl Malone to get back in the gym because there's no doubt he could hit 4 free throws and grab two rebounds a half for that type of coin. Hell, he probably wouldn't even need to get back in the gym he could do that in a robe and some slippers.
What's more, Larry Bird told this kid at the beginning of the season "I'll see you in the D-League." Chalk this up as a major win for Solomon.
#Pacers Larry Bird was brutally honest about Solomon Hill's play coming into the 2015-16 season. pic.twitter.com/IBZ4ERwrmO
Jon Leuer
Jon Leuer
Team: Detroit Pistons
Deal: 4 Years, $42 Million
Who TF is Jon Leuer? He's the epitome of a University of Wisconsin basketball player. He's also the guy who will be robbing the Pistons organization of, on average, over $10 million a year for the next four season.
The 6'10 forward has bounced around the league in his first five seasons, never averaging more than 8.5 points or 5.6 rebounds in a season, but that hasn't stopped him from exploiting the NBA's new salary cap.
Be honest, how many of you knew Jon Leuer was an NBA player and not just some politician with a hard stance against the Environmental Protection Agency?
The Detroit Pistons just gave Jon Leuer a $42 million dollar contract and I'm not sure he's a real person.
Tyler Johnson
Tyler Johnson
Team: Miami Heat
Deal: 4 Years, $50 Million
The Miami Heat's backup, I repeat BACKUP, guard from last season inked a $50 million contract to remain in South Beach. The Nets were actually looking to steal him away for that price but Miami matched the offer sheet.
Many of you might not be familiar with the young guard, so let's find out why teams were dying to pay him $50 mil.
Ok, so the kid was injured in February after a promising start to the season and was forced to sit out for the remainder of the season. I'm not saying he's a bad player, he certainly has potential and yadda, yadda, yadda, but something about giving Tyler Johnson $50 million just blows my mind.
365 days ago, Tyler Johnson had a busted jaw, a partially guaranteed contract and a most uncertain future.
Tonight: $50 million from Miami.
Allen Crabbe
Allen Crabbe
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Deal: 4 Years, $75 Million
Allen Crabbe was actually one of the more sought after free agents this offseason which is crazy considering most casual NBA fans had no idea he was even in the league, let alone worthy of a $75 million contract.
So what does $75 million get you in the NBA in the year 2016? 10.3 points per game, according to his stats from last season with the Blazers. That ranks 115th in the league for those of you scoring at home.
Obviously, you can't look at these stats in a vacuum, and the 24-year old out of Cal has improved in each of his three seasons with much promise for a bright career. But for a dude that most people have never heard of to be making that much money tells you everything you need to know about the NBA's free agency.
At least he isn't blowing all that money just yet.
Allen Crabbe hasn't let the new contract go to his head.
He's wearing Blazer game shorts courtside.
Dwight
Dwight Powell
Team: Washington Wizards
Deal: 4 Years, $37 Million
Dwight Powell isn't a character on the Big Bang Theory. He's an NBA player who signed a $37 million extension with the Dallas Mavericks, which by 2016 NBA Free Agency standards is chump change but still outrageous nonetheless.
If you're not familiar with Dwight Powell, you're not alone. The 6'11 forward has only played two seasons in the NBA, averaging a whopping 5.8 points and four rebounds per game for the Mavs last season. And for that, Mark Cuban will be paying him $37 mil.
He better be ready to play more than the 14 minutes a game that he averaged last year. Or not, because either way he's still getting PAID.
