Just 14 players have ranked in the top 25 for PER in each of the last two seasons: LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Al Jefferson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kobe Bryant, Brandan Wright, Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry.
The 13 highest-paid members of that group, even when weighed down by Irving’s and Curry’s rookie contracts, made more than $13.8 million per season in that span.
Player No. 14, Wright, made the league minimum each year – $915,852 and $992,680. Now a free agent, he’s in line for a sizable raise.
According to a source, the Mavs, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks all expressed interest in Wright during the opening hours of free agency.
But that’s also the reason Wright won’t approach his PER peers in salary. Wright hasn’t shown he can do much more than fill a role similar to the one Dallas gave him. Although Wright fills that role very well, those extremely high salaries are reserved for players who can take on more.
Wright has done a great job of putting himself in a position of strength this summer, but that strength is relative to his bargain-bin salary the last two years.
