For the Sacramento Kings , it's a second-consecutive 40 win season for an organization that hasn't seen lots of winning in recent history. Led by superstars De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, it's easy to overlook a bench that's been stepping up since the All-Star break.
One of those bench members is C JaVale McGee, who doesn't touch the court often but provides veteran leadership for a relatively inexperienced team.
McGee is closing in on the end of his 16th season in the NBA, a number that few are lucky enough to reach. The three-time champion has had a career filled with not only success, but great contracts.
With nearly $80 million in career earnings, McGee's been smart with his contracts over the last decade. After being cut by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015, McGee was still owed over $12 million on his contract. Being cut instead of bought out allowed the big man to earn the total amount left on his contract, something that he intentionally wanted.
"I don't want to get bought out. That's not a positive thing. When you think about it, you don't get all of your money when you get bought out. So it doesn't make sense why someone would want to get bought out unless they are older -- older and they want to go to a contender or something. I'm not that old. I just want to play basketball."
Flash-forward nearly 10 years later, and the same exact situation is happening. McGee was cut by the Dallas Mavericks before the start of the 2023-24 season, with over $11.7 million still owed to the center. The Mavericks are now paying McGee's contract out over the course of five years, paying him nearly $2.4 million a year until the 2027-28 season.
Now, because he signed with Sacramento and is presumably being paid the 15-year veteran minimum of $3.1 million, some of that money does get offset for Dallas. Regardless, it's ironic that a team that's in a race to escape the play-in tournament with the Kings is paying an opposing player.
When the Kings' front office signed McGee, they decided to cut two centers towards the bottom end of the roster in Nerlens Noel and Neemias Queta. The team had both players signed to partially-guaranteed contracts, so Sacramento is also paying nearly half a million to players not on the roster this season.
Sacramento will look to escape the reach of the Mavericks in their last stretch of games, which includes two battles against each other. Those games will have significant impact on the Western Conference standings, and could decide who gets the 6th seed.
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