By James Rowe 3 years ago

More than 70 NBA players are being paid a total of more than $177m USD not to play for their former teams.

The incredible riches owed to former players includes the likes of stars Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, and Deron Williams. The reasons for the payments are a mix of bad luck and injury, poor signings by NBA managers, retirements, complete loss of form - and some odd reasons. Some are carefully made under NBA 'stretch provisions' which allow clubs to pay the final two years of a player's salary over five seasons, saving damage to their salary cap. Others are just mistakes.

Dwyane Wade's money is probably the hardest to believe - being paid $15.55m USD to not play for the Chicago Bulls, after agreeing to a buyout by the club after just one season when the Bulls decided to clear their roster.

The former Finals MVP now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside LeBron James. Signed to a bargain minimum contract, and currently coming off the bench, Wade's contributions have led to early calls for him to win the Sixth Man Of The Year Award - making the Bulls' buyout even more painful.

The Brooklyn Nets infamously owe $16.5m to Deron Williams, and will be paying him until 2020. Williams had signed a monster five-year, $99 million deal with the Nets in 2012, but that deal fell to pieces, with Williams accepting a buyout of $27.5 million in 2015 for his final two seasons, with payments spread over five seasons.

The Detroit Pistons owe Josh Smith $16.2m in a similar arrangement, while the Atlanta Hawks are paying Jamal Crawford well over $13.2m not to play, after he was waived this year by the club.

Atlanta are paying eight players, including Crawford, a total just short of $18m not to play for the club, the highest number of players being paid not to play by any team.

But the Portland Blazers top the list when it comes to totals, owing the relatively unknown Andrew Nicholson more than $19.9m. Nicholson signed a four year deal with the Washington Wizards, but after playing poorly, was traded to the Nets. The Brooklyn side agreed to the deal with the sweetener of also receiving a first-round draft pick, a complex but relatively common deal that occurs when overpaid players are removed from teams, often after a change in management or coaching.

With Nicholson not appearing for the Nets, the team traded the Canadian's 'dead' contract to Portland where he was waived, in another complex trade. Nicholson now plays for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the China Basketball Association, as he attempts to prove he's still got it.

The Blazers accepted a similar 'dead' deal for Anderson Varejao, and owe him $7,653,380, and along with owing the injured Festus Ezili's $1m, have the highest owed total, at more than $28.5m for just three players.

Not in this list is the Los Angeles Lakers, who are currently contracted to pay Luol Deng $72m over four years. Deng is still on the roster, but has started just one game for the Lakers and hasn't been seen since - not even in training, or on the bench. Deng's contract is considered one of the worst for active players and it's likely the Lakers will attempt to remove him via the previously mentioned stretch provisions.

Just two clubs don't owe money to non-players: The Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers are currently rated by bookmakers Neds a $6.50 chance to win the NBA Championship.

But the Cavaliers aren't totally in the clear. According to reports, the Cavaliers do owe former coaches Mike Brown and David Blatt approximately $8 million in buyouts, having removed the coaches while they remained on contract.