NBA free agency isn’t just about landing the best possible players. It’s also about signing them at a reasonable rate. But what constitutes as “reasonable?”

In a recent article I did for Forbes, I used a method for projecting production value (a player’s Estimated Wins multiplied by the amount a win will cost in 2024-25 – 3.4 million dollars). As I discuss in that piece, this calculation is far from perfect. However, it does provide a framework for analysis, which, as any individual involved in negotiating contracts will tell you, is a major part of the equation.

Anyway, this exercise produced some interesting results. Ironically enough, six of the seven worst contracts that have been handed out up to this point came from teams in the Eastern Conference (the conference that is largely viewed as the inferior one).

The only Western Conference team to hand out a top seven worst contract is the Sacramento Kings’ division rival: the Los Angeles Lakers (who the Kings were a perfect 4-0 against last year).

This wasn’t the contract they gave to the 39-year-old LeBron James. Instead, it was the four-year, 32-million dollar deal they agreed to with Max Christie (per Spotrac). According to Dunks & Threes, Christie posted an EW (Estimated Wins) that was in the negatives (-1.1), meaning Christie not only wasn’t adding wins, but he was a net negative to his team last year.

Now, as I’ve mentioned already, this isn’t an end-all-be-all. I, for one, think Christie has the chance to develop into a solid role player (if that happens, he’d be more than worth the eight million dollars per year he’s going to make over the next four years). It’s just that this formula doesn’t think his past production warrants the money he has coming his way (it’s a good thing Christie is still young and still has a ton of room for improvement).

This Formula Doesn’t Like Malik Monk, But It Loves LeBron James

Speaking of contracts that didn’t fare well in this exercise, the eighth-worst contract signed this offseason was the extension the Kings gave to Malik Monk (four years, 76 million dollars). Based on his EW, Monk should be making 9.9 million dollars next year (9.6 less than the average annual value of his contract).