Huge raises pile up the pressure
Miami guard Tyler Johnson has already seen what his new-and-muchimproved paychecks from the Heat will look like this season. Frankly, he’s still stunned.
“It’s surreal,” Johnson said. Virtually every player in the NBA is a millionaire. But a handful like Johnson, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Orlando’s Aaron Gordon are seeing their salaries rise to a different stratosphere this season, enormous raises that may come with an enormous rise in expectations.
When getting paid like stars, it stands to reason that fans — and their teams — will expect star efforts.
“I feel like some people would feel the added pressure, but I don’t,” said Gordon, who signed a $76 million extension with Orlando over the summer. “I’m just going to go out there and play the game that I love to play with teammates that I love to play with. I know they’ll be there to help take the pressure off me and I’m going to help take the pressure off them.”
According to figures reviewed by The Associated Press, there are 11 NBA players who in line for raises of $11 million or more this season. Many of them are former high draft picks cashing in on non-rookie deals for the first time, and a couple others are established stars whose deals went from “big” to “really big” this summer.
No one saw more of a salary leap than Jokic, who made $1.5 million last season and will collect $25.5 million this season. Jokic is an enormous talent and making his first All-Star team is among his goals this season, but the Nuggets aren’t burdening him with significantly higher expectations because of the big pay raise.
The way they see it, he’s already earned the payday.
Jokic is the biggest part of some big increased-salary commitments by the Nuggets. Gary Harris got a $14 million raise, going to $16.5 million this season.
Many of the biggest-raise getters are former high draft picks cashing in on non-rookie deals for the first time, like Joel Embiid with Philadelphia, Andrew Wiggins with Minnesota and Zach LaVine with Chicago.
Embiid’s salary rose $19.4 million to $25.5 million. Wiggins got a $17.9 million raise to $25.5 million, LaVine is getting a $16.3 million jump to $19.5 million, and Gordon will make $21.6 million — an increase of $16.1 million from last year.
Undrafted out of Fresno State, Johnson was the beneficiary of a bidding war of sorts between Miami and Brooklyn two summers ago. The Nets signed Johnson to a $50 million offer sheet that the Heat matched, even though it called for Johnson to make a total of about $11 million in the first two years of the deal and about $39 million in the last two.
The big money kicks in now, from $5.9 million last year to $19.3 million this season. But Johnson’s role might not change as much as his paycheck, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has urged him to not think he needs to do anything differently because of the salary.
Conley pain free
After pain in his left heel limited him to only 12 games, Memphis Grizzlies point gaurd Mike Conley chose season-ending surgery last January to smooth out the bone aggravating his Achilles tendon.
He used the talk of him being injury-prone as even more motivation during his rehab following the surgery.
“It is motivational for me to come back and show the world,” said Conley, who entering his 12th NBA season is the Grizzlies most experienced player.
Conley averaged 17.1 points a game until the pain sidelined him, but he’s starting out this season pain-free. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff says Conley looks as quick and shifty as he’s ever been.