The summer of 2016 was one to forget for the Los Angeles Lakers as they were in the midst of a rebuild and moving into an era without Kobe Bryant.
Unfortunately, L.A. put pen to paper on two of the worst contracts in league history that offseason. Notably, Timofey Mozgov signed a four-year, $64 million contract immediately when free agency kicked off at midnight. Next was Luol Deng, who came to terms on a four-year, $72 million contract.
Mozgov coming off a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers played a factor in bringing in someone with experience to turn things around for a young L.A. roster.
The Lakers were not the only team throwing money around in 2016. With the cap rising in a big way, teams were able to sign players on longer deals worth more money.
One player who took exception to these absurd contracts was former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden, who retired in 2016. He recently made an appearance on The OGs podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller to share his honestly feelings about Mozgov’s payday:
“The year I retired was the year Timofey Mozgov – no disrespect – got that $50 million. I wanted to kill everybody in the f—ing world,” Oden said. “I hated life. I was depressed. If they threw him $50 mil? I was like all I need to do is be on the team and that’s $20 million easy. It hurts my heart talking about it.”
Oden was slotted to become the next dominant big man coming out of Ohio State but his career was cut short due to knee injuries. The 7-footer missed four whole seasons and only played a total of 105 games.
His final season was with the Miami Heat in 2013-14, where he played 23 games and started six of them.
If it was not for those injuries, Oden definitely could have been in for a pay day of his own. Seeing how Mozgov got $74 million, Miles Plumlee signed for $52 million, Joakim Noah got $72 million and Ian Mahinmi signed for $64 million, Oden definitely could have garnered a little bit of a pay raise.
LeBron James happy Lakers re-signed Max Christie
Fast forward to this offseason and things were much quieter for the Lakers. Their only signing was bringing back Max Christie on a four-year contract, something that LeBron James was pleased with.
“Fantastic. I think Max will be a big part of our rotation,” James said after the Lakers’ first practice. “He’s getting better and better. I’m happy we were able to bring him back in the summer. I look forward to a bright future from him.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
