Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the salaries, separated by conference, for each NBA player by position. We’ve already looked at the point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards and centers of the Western Conference and we’ve now turned our attention toward the East, by running down the conference’s point guards and shooting guards. Next up — the small forwards.
All told, the teams in the east have committed a total of $233,723,311 in cap hits this season to the men who man the three spot. The average conference salary for small forwards this season is currently $4,674,466, with LeBron James topping the list with $30,963,450 to account for on his year-end W-2 form.
It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players won’t make it out of the preseason, while others will be sweating it out until January 10th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.
I should also add that not every player listed below will play at small forward this season, as some will likely see some time at power forward or shooting guard. To maintain uniformity, I used their positions listed on the teams’ official rosters to determine which list to include them on. So if you see a player who isn’t expected to play the three for his team this season listed below, that’s why.
The Eastern Conference’s small forwards are listed below, in descending order of salary:
- LeBron James [Cavs] —$30,963,450
- Carmelo Anthony [Knicks] —$24,559,380
- Paul George [Pacers] — $18,314,532
- Tobias Harris [Pistons] — $17,200,000
- Jeff Green [Magic] —$15,000,000
- DeMarre Carroll [Raptors] —$14,200,000
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist [Hornets] — $13,000,000
- Terrence Ross [Raptors] —$10,000,000
- Jae Crowder [Celtics] —$6,286,408
- Lance Thomas [Knicks] —$6,191,000
- Ben Simmons [Sixers] —$5,903,160
- Otto Porter [Wizards] —$5,893,981
- Kyle Korver [Hawks] — $5,239,437
- Mike Dunleavy [Cavs] —$4,837,500
- Jaylen Brown [Celtics] — $4,743,000
- C.J. Miles [Pacers] — $4,583,450
- Giannis Antetokounmpo [Bucks] —$2,995,421
- Stanley Johnson [Pistons] — $2,969,880
- Justise Winslow [Heat] —$2,593,440
- Richard Jefferson [Cavs] —$2,500,000
- Doug McDermott [Bulls] — $2,483,040
- Taurean Prince [Hawks] — $2,318,280
- Dario Saric [Sixers] —$2,318,280
- Reggie Bullock [Pistons]— $2,255,644
- Kelly Oubre [Wizards] —$2,006,640
- Bruno Caboclo [Raptors] —$1,589,640
- Steve Novak [Bucks] — $1,551,659
- DeAndre’ Bembry [Hawks] — $1,499,760
- Michael Beasley [Bucks] —$1,403,611
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson [Nets] — $1,395,600
- Chase Budinger [Nets] — $1,315,448
- Luke Babbitt [Heat] —$1,227,286
- Jeremy Evans [Pacers] — $1,227,286
- Pascal Siakam [Raptors] —$1,196,040
- Glenn Robinson III [Pacers] — $1,050,500
- Robert Covington [Sixers] —$1,015,696
- Jarell Eddie [Wizards] —$980,431
- Jerami Grant [Sixers] —$980,431
- Damjan Rudez [Magic] — $980,431
- Branden Dawson [Magic] — $874,636
- J.J. O’Brien [Bucks] — $874,636
- Paul Zipser [Bulls] — $750,000
- Georges Niang [Pacers] — $650,000
- Beau Beech [Nets] — $543,471
- Danuel House [Wizards] —$543,471
- Jalen Jones [Celtics] — $543,471
- Maurice Ndour [Knicks] —$543,471
- E.J. Singler [Raptors] —$543,471
- James Webb [Sixers] —$543,471
- Okaro White [Heat] —$543,471
melo was left out last time