The next wave of the NBA's "maximum salary era" is expected to arrive in 2025, and the recent 2 contract extensions have ignited the topic first. First, the Miami Heat fired the first shot, tying up the sixth-person Taylor Hiro of the year with a four-year, 130 million extension contract, and Jordan Poole, who is regarded as a comparison object, went to the next level, getting a four-year 144 million from the Golden Continent Warriors. The huge amount of money makes fans marvel, is it that the NBA bench also has an annual salary of 30 million? Before you are too expensive, you must understand the 3 changes in the contemporary era, and you may have different ideas.
The same 30 million purchasing power is very different
Kobe Bryant's peak season salary was 30.45 million and Jordan's 33 million, but we can't compare the numbers directly, and the purchasing power of different years is completely different. NBA player salaries are not arbitrary bidding, but there is a detailed set of "salary regulations" that teams can only quote within a limited range. Among them, the maximum amount of the maximum salary contract is calculated on the basis of the "salary ceiling" for each year, and the starting salary of the season can be obtained by reaching 35% of the salary ceiling for that quarter by meeting certain conditions (e.g. 10 years of seniority).
For example, Bradley Beal, the Wizards who won a top new contract this year, earned 43.27 million in his first year, accounting for 35% of the quarterly salary ceiling, and the Clippers also offered 35% of the top salary to renew Kawhi Leonard in 2019, but only 39.34 million in the first year. Both are brothers in the team, and the difference in amounts means that Bradley Bill is better performing or the Wizards are more sincere, simply because the salary ceiling used for calculation is different.
Jordan Poole and Taylor Hiro's new contracts are both effective in 2024, and more than 1,000 are incentive bonuses that may not be realized, with protection amounts of 123 million and 120 million, respectively. According to foreign media, the salary ceiling for the 2024-25 season only accounts for about 20-21%. The same proportion we use this season's salary ceiling of $130 million to estimate, if the two start running new contracts this year in parallel time and space, the starting salary will fall at 24 million, which is lower than Sun DeAndre Ayton, and only at a similar level to Jaylen Brunson of the Knicks (PS: Jaylen Brunson signed a decreasing contract, the strategic significance is different, but the most expensive year in the first year is 22%, and the lowest year of 24.9 million is about 20.2% of this quarter).
Don't forget, even if the Warriors and Heat put out a huge contract on the books, the team still only gives treatment close to Jaylen Brunson, and the reason why the number is relatively high is purely "time advantage", which happens to be in the era of the NBA's salary soaring year by year. Of course, you can argue about Jordan Poole, Taylor Shiro and Jaylen Brunson who is better at performing and which one is the best to sign, after all, they get a relatively close salary.
Being young is really about the cost
In addition to salary regulations, more decisions on the contract amount come from the "subjective evaluation" of the team. If you only look at Jordan Poole and Taylor Hiro this season, although they have both played excellent results, is it worth carrying this contract? It still causes most fans to question, after all, the performance of the two in the playoffs is not stable enough, the ball skills have many things that need to be improved, just about to enter the fourth season of their careers, only based on past data as a review, it is really difficult to believe, they deserve the treatment of "third in command". The Warriors and Heat are more focused on the expectations of the future, not just arranged as a substitute, the old saying "young is the cost".
Some fans think that "if Jordan Poole was replaced by Reggie Jackson of the Clippers last season, maybe the Warriors will also win the championship, do not understand why they can get a higher salary than Wiggins", first of all, leaving aside whether Jordan Poole and Wiggins can replace Jordan Poole and Wiggins super sweet contract, but in the summer of 2015, Reggie Jackson won a salary of 80 million in 5 years, which happened to be 20%, and the results were not much better than the current Jordan Poole.
Of course, in the case of Reggie Jackson, this signed investment is a failure, the follow-up influence has not grown further, and the Pistons have not played a good record, but do not ignore many successful cases, from Clay Thompson, Jaylen Brown and even the alphabet brother, are long-term continuous progress. Perhaps Jordan Poole and Taylor Hiro's innate conditions seem mediocre, but it seems a bit too arbitrary to deny that young players who are only 23 years old have no room for growth based on their current achievements. At least for the moment, the Heat and Warriors choose to believe they will grow further.
Why did we go back to the Reggie Jackson contract, because it was signed on the eve of the new NBA TV contract in 2016, which led to a sharp increase in the salary ceiling, and the next year's share plummeted from 20% to 15%. A similar plot will repeat itself in 2025. Even if Jordan Poole and Taylor Hiro fail to become All-Stars, the team can enjoy a certain price reduction dividend. Other teams, if they want to get players with the same skills in the market, can only spend more money.
Trying to save money is afraid of losing the hearts of the military
If you think the broker's offer is too expensive, let the market decide! DeAndre Ayton is the best example this summer, the Suns clearly do not want to give the best 5-year contract, so let DeAndre Ayton enter the market, but after a circle, or follow up the Pacers' 25% starting salary contract, did save a little money, but let the team in the course of the season controversial.
Accept the market test and then determine a reasonable price, is a seemingly rational approach, coupled with the NBA to give the team a lot of talent renewal advantage, but people will eventually do a lot of stupid things for money, better is like DeAndre Ayton still admit to playing, rumors of transactions, there have been many cases in the past that players in order to fight for a big contract, turn to brush data as the first priority, hurt the team's playing style, or make a big fuss about the atmosphere in the lounge.
And unlike DeAndre Ayton, Jordan Poole and Taylor Hiro are generally considered to have no top salary (25%). This means that the Heat and the Warriors would not have offered a 5-year salary 25% contract, an increase of 8%, and there is not much room for the parent team to discuss the renewal price. If the two enter the free market in 2023, they may be forced to follow up with a larger premium contract, just like the Knicks' price increase for Jaylen Brunson this summer, and finally let the Lone Ranger choose to let go, even if Jordan Poole and Taylor Hiro have "restricted free agents" to give the parent team the right to follow up the contract, but its bidding system almost makes the premium contract inevitable.
Unless there is an injury that is enough to make the value plummet, the team can more or less estimate the future market in advance. Next year, Jordan Poole, Taylor Hiro can receive the largest contract in the market is 4 years 144 million, higher than the current amount, one step earlier to negotiate a renewal, not only to stabilize the military, but also through incentive clauses, so that the contract is beneficial to the team, otherwise once caught in the free market competition, other teams will not be so kind.