Elton Brand, Long Laughably Overpaid, Becomes One of NBA’s Big Bargains for Mavericks

Ask a Philadelphia 76ers fan how he feels about Elton Brand and you will hear a string of expletives that rival George Carlin's seven dirty words.

The most often used term to describe Brand in his Sixers days would never need to be bleeped out on network television, though. That word was "overpaid," and while that adjective may apply to all professional athletes in some people's minds, Brand over the last four years was inarguably overpaid relative to his production on the court.

The Sixers had delusions of Eastern Conference title contention in 2008 when they signed the former All-Star power forward to a $79.8 million contract. They also signed small forward Andre Iguodala to an oddly lucrative contract that summer and were about to pay center Samuel Dalembert more than $11 million a year. If Brand played up to the level he did with the Los Angeles Clippers, then his deal would have been worth it.

Brand never did play up to that level, though. He continued to be very good when healthy, with "good" qualifying as a solid 13 points and eight rebounds per game — hardly big-money, superstar territory. He was a tough defender and a decent rebounder given that he is listed at only 6-foot-8 and is probably closer to 6-foot-6. He played despite a severely sore neck in the playoffs this spring, when the Sixers almost beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

With all that in mind, the Sixers' decision to use the amnesty provision on Brand and remove the final $18.2 million of his contract from their salary cap was an understandable move. Coming off a postseason in which he posted 8.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, Brand was basically a sunk cost had the Sixers kept him around. He will still make his $18.2 million after hitting amnesty waivers, but that money no longer counts against the Sixers' salary cap number, which is what really matters under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.

As complicated as the CBA is, the amnesty provisions adds a fun twist. As soon as the Mavericks claimed Brand, he went from being one of the league's worst payroll deadweights to being one of the biggest steals in the league. The Mavericks will reportedly pay Brand $2.1 million next season while the Sixers pay the balance of his salary. Suddenly, the Mavericks get a competent, professional, hard-working veteran power forward for less than they will pay 24-year-old guard Rodrigue Beaubois.

After losing Tyson Chandler, the defensive glue of their 2011 championship team, in free agency last season, the Mavericks have cobbled together a low-cost collection of solid frontcourt placeholders. Brand and Chris Kaman, whom Dallas signed for one season at a reported $8 million, will help replace Brendan Haywood, who himself was released using the amnesty provision to relieve the Mavericks of close to $30 million of guaranteed money remaining on his contract. Brand can easily supply 12 points and seven rebounds a game for the Mavericks next season, or at least he should. If so, he would be a bargain.

Sixers fans will probably hate to hear it, but the player they paid more than $60 million to not play very well (when he played at all) may now end up playing solidly for about 0.03 percent as much money. Get your finger ready on that bleep-out button.

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