With NBA salaries escalating, finding useful veterans that make $5 million or less isn’t easy.
Here is a 12-man rotation of NBA players, making $5 million or less, that have been productive as the midway point of the season is approaching. Players on rookie contracts are not included as the majority of them make less than that.
Starting lineup:
PG - Spencer Dinwiddie, $1.52 million
Dinwiddie has been one of the biggest surprises in the league this season. The fourth-year point guard has started the last 27 games for the Nets since D’Angelo Russell was injured.
He has averaged 15.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 7.2 Assists Per Game in that time frame. The 24-year-old’s 6.5 assists per outing are tied in rank for 11th in the NBA, and he leads the league with a 4.52 assist to turnover ratio.
SG - Will Barton, $3.53 million
For the third straight year, Barton has been one of the best scorers in the league off the bench with the Nuggets. The shooting guard is averaging 14.5 points per outing as well as 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He has five games on the season with at least 20 points as a reserve.
SF - Tyreke Evans, $3.29 million
Evans has easily performed beyond expectations for the Grizzlies on the season with per game averages of 19.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 steals.
He is shooting career-bests on threes (41.6 percent) and from the foul line (78.7 percent).
PF - Michael Beasley, $2.12 million
Beasley was in and out of the rotation for the Knicks to start the season but now has been scoring at will mostly coming off the bench. In his last 21 games (5 starts), he has averaged 15.8 points in 22.3 Minutes Per Game while grabbing 6.2 rebounds per contest.
Turning 29 on Tuesday, Beasley has eight games of at least 20 points and three with at least 30.
C - Kyle O’Quinn, $4.09 million
O’Quinn is shooting 58.5 percent from the field with the Knicks and averaging 6.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 blocks in 16.8 minutes per game. The center is 10th in the NBA averaging 17.0 rebounds per 48 minutes.
Backups:
PG - J. J. Barea, $3.9 million
In his 12th season, the 33-year-old Barea is currently averaging career-highs in scoring (12.0), rebounds (3.1), assists (6.0), and steals (0.6). The point guard has four double-doubles on the season for the Mavericks.
PG - Rajon Rondo, $3.3 million
Rondo recorded 25 assists for the Pelicans on December 27 becoming just the seventh player to finish with that many in a game. It hadn’t been done since Jason Kidd back in 1996. On the year, he is averaging 8.3 assists per game and his 47.4 Field Goal Percentage is his highest since the 2012-13 season.
SG - Dwyane Wade, $2.33 million
The 15-year veteran signed a minimum deal to join LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
The future first-ballot Hall of Famer has been coming off the bench and is posting per game averages of 11.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. While the scoring is easily a career-low, Wade is also playing more than six minutes less per game than any other season.
G/F - Manu Ginobili, $2.5 million
The 40-year-old Ginobili is still producing at his advanced age. He is averaging 9.4 points per game and per the Ellas Sports Bureau, he became the second player in league history to score at least 20 points off the bench at the age of 40 or older (the other player being Vince Carter). Oh yeah, he has done it in each of his last two games.
F - Marcus Morris, $5 million
Morris has appeared in 21 games while averaging 11.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23.3 minutes.
The Celtics have an impressive 17-4 record in games that he has played.
F/C - Dirk Nowitzki, $5 million
The 39-year-old Nowitzki signed a team-friendly two-year, $10 million deal with the Mavericks. While he is steadily declining, he is still putting up averages of 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. His 46.8 field goal percentage is his best in the past four seasons and his 42.2 percent mark from behind the arc would be a career-high.
C - David West, $2.33 million
Despite playing only 13.1 minutes per game, West has been productive off the bench for the Warriors. The 37-year-old is posting averages of 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game. He is shooting a phenomenal 63.9 percent from the field.
Honorable mentions
Justin Holiday, $4.62 million
Jarrett Jack - $2.33 million
Jeff Green - $2.12 million
Mike Scott - $1.71 million
