Players coming into the NBA are rarely versed in the business aspect of how the league functions. Every rookie that gets drafted, wants to make a name for himself and lead their team to an NBA title. But who decides if you’ll be a starter or a player coming off the bench? And what effect does it have on the player from a monetary angle? Andre Iguodala and Carmelo Anthony share their past experiences.
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Making an appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn With Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala talked about his transition from a starter to the second unit. And more importantly, the domino effect of how it reflects the player’s salary.
Carmelo Anthony mentioned how teams would start categorizing players in a certain box and once that happens, it is almost impossible for that player to get rid of that label. Being in that box determines and defines your value as a player. So, if you’re a star, and a team starts considering you as a starting role-caliber player, the entire league will follow suit.
“Once you get kicked—That’s your box. You’re stuck, no matter what. Because now we getting you for pennies on a dollar. We looking at you in this box, we ain’t looking at you as Carmelo Anthony.”
This was something Andre Iguodala had to deal with during his career as well. The four-time NBA champion mentioned how team executives would wear a player down by holding the ring culture against him as one of the top excuses.
“They package it as ‘He’s doing what’s best for the team. He’s a team guy, great locker room guy.’ As soon as free agency hit, ‘Ah, your value is not what it was. We see you as here. And do you wanna win?’ Cause then they hold that ring culture against you.”
Andre Iguodala was made to come off the bench for the betterment of the team during his time in Golden State. And while it did help the team win multiple titles, Iggy also reiterated how that was going to decrease his value in free agency.
Though Iguodala came off the bench and won Finals MVP with the Warriors, he had specifically stated how his paycheck should remain that of a starter if the team wanted to retain his services.
The 19-year veteran took Scottie Barnes’ contract as an example.
“We saw Scottie Barnes got $270 million and the kid coming off the bench might only get 80(million). We at a $200 million difference coming off the bench versus starting.”
Starters are usually the team’s five best players put forward. But that does not take away from a couple of guys on the bench who barely missed the cut. However, since they are now coming off the bench, teams start treating them as bench players and it starts to reflect on their paychecks.
This is a problem aging stars have dealt with over the years and it probably will prevail for years to come as well.
