96-97 Salary listings 1/3/97 Dollar numbers from USA Today and the Dallas Morning News with thanks to Owen O'Malley for the salaries of a couple of the released players. I've reconfigured the Dallas, Milwaukee, and Phoenix salaries according to the two trades that occurred since the newspaper articles and adjust a couple of other things (couple of players salaries listed as less than league minimum) and updated a couple of others (players released and signed). I assumed that rookies and free agents that were released were signed to non-guaranteed contracts and have subtracted their salaries from the team's total. For players signed during the season, I divided the league minimum (either for a rookie or vet) by 82 and mutliplied that amount by the number of games that team had left to play when the player was signed. The salary cap is $24.3 million for each team, with Toronto and Vancouver having a salary cap of $18,225,00 each. Team Payroll 1. Toronto Raptors ........ $18.63 million 2. Vancouver Grizzlies .... $18.64 million 3. Cleveland Cavaliers .... $20.37 million 4. Charlotte Hornets ...... $22.43 million 5. Miami Heat ............. $23.80 million 6. Milwaukee Bucks ........ $24.22 million 7. Minnesota Timberwolves . $24.35 million 8. Denver Nuggets ......... $24.57 million 9. Philadelphia 76ers ..... $24.77 million 10. Portland Trailblazers .. $24.90 million 11. Boston Celtics ......... $25.07 million 12. Utah Jazz .............. $25.27 million 13. New Jersey Nets ........ $25.43 million 14. Atlanta Hawks .......... $25.81 million 15. New York Knicks ........ $25.93 million 16. Los Angeles Clippers ... $26.04 million 17. Dallas Mavericks ....... $26.11 million 18. Houston Rockets ........ $26.28 million 19. Detroit Pistons ........ $27.21 million 20. Los Angeles Lakers ..... $28.83 million 21. Sacramento Kings ....... $29.08 million 22. Seattle Sonics ......... $30.30 million 23. Golden State Warriors .. $30.87 million 24. San Antonio Spurs ...... $33.18 million 25. Washington Bullets ..... $34.56 million 26. Phoenix Suns ........... $36.14 million 27. Indiana Pacers ......... $40.93 million 28. Orlando Magic .......... $45.05 million 29. Chicago Bulls .......... $58.27 million 5 players will earn $10 million or more 5 players will earn $9 to 10 million 2 players will earn $8 to 9 million 4 players will earn $7 to 8 million 5 players will earn $6 to 7 million 9 players will earn $5 to 6 million 16 players will earn $4 to 5 million 39 players will earn $3 to 4 million 58 players will earn $2 to 3 million (including TDavis and JSalley) 107 players will earn $1 to 2 million (including MConlon, KGattison, CRozier, BThompson, and BTyler) The league average salary is $2.2 million. The league minimum is $220,000 for rookies and $247,500 for veterans. Players who will earn over $4 million for the 96-97 season (only 27 in 95-96) 1. Michael Jordan (Chi) .... $30,140,000 2. Horace Grant (Orl) ...... 14,857,000 3. Reggie Miller (Ind) ..... 11,250,000 4. Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) .. 10,714,000 5. Gary Payton (Sea) ....... 10,212,000 6. David Robinson (SA) ...... 9,952,000 7. Juwan Howard (Was) ....... 9,750,000 8. Hakeem Olajuwon (Hou) .... 9,655,000 9. Alonzo Mourning (Mia) .... 9,380,000 10. Dennis Rodman (Chi) ...... 9,000,000 11. Dikembe Mutombo (Atl) .... 8,013,000 12. Chris Webber (Was) ....... 8,000,000 13. Elden Campbell (LAL) ..... 7,000,000 14. Kevin Johnson (Pho) ...... 7,000,000 15. Latrell Sprewell (GS) .... 7,000,000 16. Otis Thorpe (Det) ........ 7,000,000 17. Danny Manning (Pho) ...... 6,833,000 18. Derrick Coleman (Phi) .... 6,739,000 19. Anfernee Hardaway (Orl) .. 6,655,000 20. Dale Davis (Ind) ......... 6,508,000 21. John Stockton (Uta) ...... 6,000,000 22. Clyde Drexler (Hou) ...... 5,500,000 23. Sean Elliott (SA) ........ 5,333,000 24. Dino Radja (Bos) ......... 5,313,000 25. Antonio Davis (Ind) ...... 5,200,000 26. Shawn Bradley (NJ) ....... 5,130,000 27. Grant Hill (Det) ......... 5,025,000 28. Larry Johnson (NY) ....... 5,004,000 29. Tom Gugliotta (Min) ...... 5,000,000 30. Allan Houston (NY) ....... 5,000,000 31. Vlade Divac (Cha) ........ 4,718,000 32. Charles Barkley (Hou) .... 4,695,000 33. Karl Malone (Uta) ........ 4,657,000 34. Danny Ferry (Cle) ........ 4,643,000 35. Glenn Robinson (Mil) ..... 4,640,000 36. Christian Laettner (Atl) . 4,500,000 37. Steve Smith (Atl) ........ 4,500,000 38. Jason Kidd (Pho) ......... 4,408,000 39. A.C. Green (Dal) ......... 4,315,000 40. Kenny Anderson (Por) ..... 4,175,000 41. John Williams (Pho) ...... 4,151,000 42. Harvey Grant (Was) ....... 4,111,000 43. Chris Dudley (Por) ....... 4,100,000 44. Glen Rice (Cha) .......... 4,002,000 45. Rik Smits (Ind) .......... 4,000,000 46. Brian Shaw (Orl) ......... 4,000,000 The salary total for the teams does not necessarily equal the total of the salaries of the players on the team as the team may have cut players that had guarenteed contracts and that contract still counts against the team's salary cap. [I do have a couple of those players listed with "(released)" listed after the salary.] However, if the newspaper listed total salary was less than the sum of the players' salaries, I've listed the sum of the players' salaries instead. Atlanta Hawks ($25.81 million) Player Salary Dikembe Mutombo ......... $8,013,000 Christian Laettner ...... 4,500,000 Steve Smith ............. 4,500,000 Ken Norman .............. 2,869,000 Mookie Blaylock ......... 2,800,000 Alan Henderson ............ 910,000 Priest Lauderdale ......... 548,000 Jon Barry ................. 247,500 Willie Burton ............. 247,500 Tyrone Corbin ............. 247,500 Ivano Newbill ............. 247,500 Eldridge Recasner ......... 247,500 Donnie Boyce .............. 247,500 Henry James ............... 181,100 (signed 12/20) Boston Celtics ($25.07 million) Player Salary Dino Radja .............. $5,313,000 Dana Barros ............. 3,400,000 Dee Brown ............... 3,250,000 Todd Day ................ 2,915,000 Greg Minor .............. 1,800,000 Pervis Ellison .......... 1,760,000 Rick Fox ................ 1,750,000 Antoine Walker .......... 1,620,000 Frank Brickowski ........ 1,500,000 Eric Williams ........... 1,008,000 Alton Lister .............. 500,000 David Wesley .............. 350,000 Marty Conlon .............. 247,500 Steve Hamer ............... 220,000 Brett Szabo ............... 220,000 Charlotte Hornets ($22.43 million) Player Salary Vlade Divac ............. $4,718,000 Glen Rice ............... 4,002,000 Anthony Mason ........... 2,777,000 Dell Curry .............. 1,830,000 Muggsy Bogues ........... 1,575,000 Matt Geiger ............. 1,562,000 Scott Burrell ........... 1,235,000 Tony Delk ................. 870,000 George Zidek .............. 694,000 Brad Lohaus ............... 485,000 (released) Rafael Addison ............ 290,000 Anthony Goldwire .......... 250,000 Tony Smith ................ 247,500 Malik Rose ................ 220,000 Carlos Strong ............. 220,000 Chicago Bulls ($58.27 million) Player Salary Michael Jordan ......... $30,140,000 Dennis Rodman ........... 9,000,000 Toni Kukoc .............. 3,960,000 Ron Harper .............. 3,840,000 Luc Longley ............. 2,790,000 Scottie Pippen .......... 2,250,000 Randy Brown ............. 1,300,000 Dickey Simpkins ......... 1,040,000 Robert Parish ........... 1,000,000 Bill Wennington ......... 1,000,000 Steve Kerr ................ 750,000 Jason Caffey .............. 700,000 Jud Buechler .............. 500,000 Cleveland Cavaliers ($20.37 million) Player Salary Danny Ferry ............. $4,643,000 Tyrone Hill ............. 3,480,000 Mark West ............... 2,000,000 Bobby Phills ............ 1,808,000 Terrell Brandon ......... 1,312,000 Chris Mills ............. 1,235,000 Vitaly Potapenko ........ 1,068,000 Bob Sura .................. 864,000 Zydrunas Ilgauskas ........ 720,000 Antonio Lang .............. 520,000 Donny Marshall ............ 450,000 Shawnelle Scott ........... 300,000 Carl Thomas ............... 247,500 Reggie Geary .............. 220,000 Dallas Mavericks ($26.11 million) Player Salary A.C. Green .............. $4,851,000 (traded from Phoenix, plus trade bonus) Jim Jackson ............. 3,900,000 Jamal Mashburn .......... 3,833,000 Chris Gatling ........... 3,047,000 Terry Davis ............. 2,300,000 (released 10/29) Derek Harper ............ 1,300,000 Eric Montross ........... 1,280,000 Samaki Walker ........... 1,246,000 Sam Cassell ............. 1,235,000 (traded from Phoenix) George McCloud .......... 1,100,000 Michael Finley ............ 723,000 (traded from Phoenix) Jimmy King ................ 330,000 (released 10/29) Greg Dreiling ............. 247,500 Oliver Miller ............. 247,500 Fred Roberts .............. 247,500 Erick Strickland .......... 220,000 Denver Nuggets ($24.57 million) Player Salary Bryant Stith ............ $3,400,000 LaPhonso Ellis .......... 3,294,000 Mark Jackson ............ 2,900,000 Antonio McDyess ......... 2,545,000 Sarunis Marciulionis .... 2,500,000 Ervin Johnson ........... 1,636,000 Dale Ellis .............. 1,600,000 Ricky Pierce ............ 1,200,000 Tom Hammonds ............ 1,070,000 Keith Jennings ............ 247,500 LaSalle Thompson .......... 247,500 Darvin Ham ................ 220,000 Brooks Thompson ............ 214,300 (signed 11/21) Aaron Williams ............. 169,000 (signed 12/22) Detroit Pistons ($27.21 million) Player Salary Otis Thorpe ............. $7,000,000 Grant Hill .............. 5,025,000 Joe Dumars .............. 3,075,000 Stacey Augmon ........... 2,480,000 Terry Mills ............. 2,457,000 Grant Long .............. 2,260,000 Lindsey Hunter .......... 1,715,000 Theo Ratliff .............. 821,000 Jerome Williams ........... 568,000 Michael Curry ............. 400,000 Rick Mahorn ............... 400,000 Don Reid .................. 400,000 Litterial Green ........... 247,500 Golden State Warriors ($30.87 million) Player Salary Latrell Sprewell ........ $7,000,000 Mark Price .............. 3,409,000 Donyell Marshall ........ 3,360,000 Chris Mullin ............ 2,844,000 Joe Smith ............... 2,794,000 Felton Spencer .......... 2,694,000 B.J. Armstrong .......... 2,400,000 Donald Royal ............ 1,700,000 Bimbo Coles ............. 1,400,000 Jon Koncak .............. 1,150,000 Todd Fuller ............. 1,125,000 Andrew DeClercq ........... 276,000 Mike Peplowski ............ 247,500 Lou Roe ................... 247,500 Ray Owes .................. 220,000 Marcus Mann ................ 220,000 (suspended) Houston Rockets ($26.28 million) Player Salary Hakeem Olajuwon ......... $9,655,000 Clyde Drexler ........... 5,500,000 Charles Barkley ......... 4,695,000 Brent Price ............. 1,600,000 Kevin Willis ............ 1,500,000 Mario Elie .............. 1,400,000 Matt Bullard .............. 247,500 Othella Harrington ........ 247,500 Charles Jones ............. 247,500 Sam Mack .................. 247,500 Matt Maloney .............. 247,500 Tracy Moore ............... 247,500 Emanual Davis ............. 220,000 Randy Livingston .......... 220,000 Indiana Pacers ($40.93 million) Player Salary Reggie Miller .......... $11,250,000 Dale Davis .............. 6,508,000 Antonio Davis ........... 5,200,000 Rik Smits ............... 4,000,000 Derrick McKey ........... 3,000,000 Vincent Askew ........... 2,000,000 Jalen Rose .............. 1,560,000 Eddie Johnson ........... 1,200,000 Erick Dampier ........... 1,184,000 Haywoode Workman ........ 1,080,000 Duane Ferrell ........... 1,040,000 Travis Best ............... 666,000 Fred Hoiberg .............. 297,000 Jerome Allen .............. 247,500 Brent Scott ............... 247,500 Los Angeles Clippers ($26.04 million) Player Salary Stanley Roberts ......... $3,250,000 Loy Vaught .............. 3,100,000 Pooh Richardson ......... 2,721,000 Lamond Murray ........... 2,700,000 Rodney Rogers ........... 2,280,000 Terry Dehere ............ 1,905,000 Malik Sealy ............. 1,732,000 Lorenzen Wright ......... 1,480,000 Eric Piatkowski ......... 1,363,000 Brent Barry ............... 958,000 Dwayne Schintzius ......... 625,000 Charles Outlaw ............ 600,000 Darrick Martin ............ 375,000 Kevin Duckworth ........... 247,500 Los Angeles Lakers ($28.83 million) Player Salary Shaquille O'Neal ....... $10,714,000 Elden Campbell .......... 7,000,000 Cedric Ceballos ......... 2,400,000 Nick Van Exel ........... 1,900,000 Eddie Jones ............. 1,800,000 Corie Blount ............ 1,235,000 Sean Rooks .............. 1,200,000 Kobe Bryant ............. 1,015,000 Derek Fisher .............. 612,000 Jerome Kersey ............. 247,500 Rumeal Robinson ........... 247,500 Byron Scott ............... 247,500 Travis Knight ............. 220,000 Miami Heat ($23.80 million) Player Salary Alonzo Mourning ......... $9,380,000 Tim Hardaway ............ 2,500,000 Dan Majerle ............. 2,350,000 P.J. Brown .............. 2,000,000 Predrag Danilovic ....... 1,892,000 Kurt Thomas ............. 1,238,000 Keith Askins .............. 650,000 Gary Grant ................ 500,000 Martin Muurseep ........... 401,000 Ed Pinckney ............... 300,000 Isaac Austin .............. 247,500 Tony Farmer ............... 247,500 Voshon Lenard ............. 247,500 Mark Strickland ........... 247,500 James Scott ............... 220,000 Milwaukee Bucks (24.22 million) Player Salary Glenn Robinson .......... $4,640,000 Vin Baker ............... 3,765,000 Sherman Douglas ......... 3,594,000 Andrew Lang ............. 2,332,000 Armon Gilliam ........... 2,317,000 Elliot Perry ............ 2,000,000 Ray Allen ............... 1,785,000 Shawn Respert ........... 1,417,000 Johnny Newman ........... 1,225,000 Chucky Brown .............. 500,000 (traded from Phoenix) Joe Wolf .................. 400,000 David Wood ................ 247,500 Minnesota Timberwolves ($24.35 million) Player Salary Tom Gugliotta ........... $5,000,000 Stoyko Vrankovic ........ 2,900,000 Micheal Williams ........ 2,475,000 Doug West ............... 2,155,000 Stephon Marbury ......... 1,917,000 Terry Porter ............ 1,775,000 Kevin Garnett ........... 1,666,000 James Robinson .......... 1,235,000 Sam Mitchell ............ 1,200,000 Bill Curley ............. 1,123,000 Cherokee Parks .......... 1,117,000 Chris Carr ................ 750,000 Shane Heal ................ 320,000 Dean Garrett .............. 247,500 Virginius Praskevicius .... 220,000 New Jersey Nets ($25.43 million) Player Salary Shawn Bradley ........... $5,130,000 Kendall Gill ............ 3,800,000 Robert Pack ............. 2,700,000 Kevin Edwards ........... 2,280,000 Jayson Williams ......... 2,250,000 Reggie Williams ......... 2,048,000 Khalid Reeves ........... 1,752,000 Yinka Dare .............. 1,448,000 Kerry Kittles ........... 1,356,000 Ed O'Bannon ............. 1,303,000 David Benoit .............. 508,000 Xavier McDaniel ........... 254,000 Tony Massenburg ........... 247,500 Lloyd Daniels .............. 184,100 (signed 12/21) Robert Werdann ............. 166,000 (signed 12/31) New York Knicks ($25.93) Player Salary Larry Johnson ........... $5,004,000 Allan Houston ........... 5,000,000 Patrick Ewing ........... 3,000,000 Chris Childs ............ 2,600,000 Charles Oakley .......... 2,600,000 John Starks ............. 1,913,000 Buck Williams ........... 1,193,000 Charlie Ward .............. 888,000 John Wallace .............. 785,000 Herb Williams ............. 757,000 Walter McCarty ............ 750,000 Dontae' Jones ............. 691,000 Scott Brooks .............. 247,500 Chris Jent ................ 247,500 Eric Leckner .............. 247,500 Orlando Magic ($45.05 million) Player Salary Horace Grant ........... $14,857,000 Anfernee Hardaway ....... 6,655,000 Brian Shaw .............. 4,000,000 Nick Anderson ........... 3,790,000 Rony Seikaly ............ 3,752,000 Dennis Scott ............ 3,000,000 Clifford Rozier ......... 1,040,000 (released 12/5) David Vaughn .............. 614,000 Danny Schayes ............. 575,000 (USA Today lists $247,500) Brian Evans ............... 551,000 Darrell Armstrong ......... 410,000 Derek Strong .............. 247,500 Gerald Wilkins ............ 247,500 Amal McCaskill ............ 220,000 Kenny Smith ................ 190,100 (signed 12/18) Philadelphia 76ers ($24.77 million) Player Salary Derrick Coleman ......... $6,739,000 Clarence Weatherspoon ... 3,300,000 Scott Williams .......... 2,400,000 Jerry Stackhouse ........ 2,286,000 Allen Iverson ........... 2,267,000 Don MacLean ............. 1,780,000 Michael Cage ............ 1,473,000 Rex Walters ............. 1,235,000 Lucious Harris .......... 1,200,000 Mark Bradtke .............. 247,500 Mark Davis ................ 247,500 Mark Hendrickson .......... 247,000 Doug Overton .............. 247,500 Phoenix Suns ($36.14 million) Player Salary Kevin Johnson ........... $7,000,000 Danny Manning ........... 6,833,000 Jason Kidd .............. 4,408,000 (traded from Dallas) John Williams ........... 4,151,000 Wayman Tisdale .......... 3,475,000 Robert Horry ............ 1,703,000 Joe Kleine .............. 1,235,000 Marty Conlon ............ 1,200,000 (released 10/29) Mark Bryant ............. 1,150,000 Tony Dumas .............. 1,120,000 (traded from Dallas) Wesley Person ........... 1,040,000 Steve Nash ................ 916,000 Loren Meyer ............... 639,000 (traded from Dallas) Mario Bennett ............. 555,000 (released 10/29) Rex Chapman ............... 247,500 Darrin Hancock ............ 247,500 (traded from Milwaukee, released) Ben Davis ................. 220,000 Portland Trail Blazers ($24.90 million) Player Salary Kenny Anderson .......... $4,175,000 Chris Dudley ............ 4,100,000 Isaiah Rider ............ 3,610,000 Clifford Robinson ....... 2,924,000 Arvydas Sabonis ......... 2,640,000 Rasheed Wallace ......... 2,060,000 Gary Trent .............. 1,176,000 Aaron McKie ............. 1,040,000 Jermaine O'Neal ........... 827,000 Randolph Childress ........ 784,000 Mitchell Butler ........... 600,000 Dontonio Wingfield ........ 500,000 Reggie Jordan ............. 247,500 Marcus Brown .............. 220,000 Sacramento Kings ($29.08 million) Player Salary Billy Owens ............. $3,773,000 Mitch Richmond .......... 3,575,000 Lionel Simmons .......... 3,194,000 Olden Polynice .......... 3,140,000 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf ...... 3,100,000 Bobby Hurley ............ 3,068,000 Duane Causewell ......... 2,215,000 Michael Smith ........... 1,570,000 Brian Grant ............. 1,293,000 Kevin Gamble ............ 1,196,000 Corliss Williamson ...... 1,051,000 Tyus Edney ................ 247,500 Kevin Salvadori ........... 247,500 Devin Gray ................. 150,200 (signed 12/21) San Antonio Spurs ($33.18 million) Player Salary David Robinson .......... $9,952,000 Sean Elliott ............ 5,333,000 Charles Smith ........... 3,557,000 Chuck Person ............ 2,060,000 Vinny Del Negro ......... 2,023,000 Carl Herrera ............ 1,550,000 Will Perdue ............. 1,544,000 Avery Johnson ........... 1,040,000 Monty Williams .......... 1,040,000 Vernon Maxwell .......... 1,000,000 Greg Anderson ............. 584,000 Cory Alexander ............ 521,000 Dominique Wilkins ......... 247,500 Stephen Howard ............. 181,100 (signed 12/18) Gaylon Nickerson ........... 152,900 (signed 12/26) Seattle Sonics ($30.30 million) Player Salary Gary Payton ............ $10,212,000 Detlef Schrempf ......... 3,333,000 Shawn Kemp .............. 3,300,000 Jim McIlvaine ........... 3,000,000 Sam Perkins ............. 2,730,000 Hersey Hawkins .......... 2,604,000 Nate McMillan ........... 1,355,000 Greg Graham ............. 1,330,000 David Wingate ............. 560,000 Sherell Ford .............. 500,000 (released 10/31) Craig Ehlo ................ 360,000 Steve Scheffler ........... 275,000 Antonio Harvey ............ 247,500 Eric Snow ................. 247,500 Larry Stewart ............. 247,500 Toronto Raptors ($18.63 million) Player Salary Sharone Wright .......... $3,100,000 Marcus Camby ............ 2,434,000 John Salley ............. 2,225,000 (released 1/29) Popeye Jones ............ 1,581,000 Damon Stoudamire ........ 1,547,000 Doug Christie ........... 1,355,000 Hubert Davis ............ 1,295,000 Acie Earl ............... 1,235,000 Carlos Rogers ........... 1,144,000 B.J. Tyler .............. 1,040,000 (released 10/31) Zan Tabak ................. 800,000 Walt Williams ............. 247,500 Donald Whiteside .......... 220,000 John Long .................. 205,200 (signed 11/29) Earl Cureton ............... 205,200 (signed 12/2) Utah Jazz ($25.27 million) Player Salary John Stockton ........... $6,000,000 Karl Malone ............. 4,657,000 Chris Morris ............ 2,500,000 Jeff Hornacek ........... 2,396,000 Antoine Carr ............ 2,300,000 Adam Keefe .............. 1,950,000 Kenny Gattison .......... 1,450,000 (released 9/18 Brooks Thompson ......... 1,118,000 (released 11/15) Jamie Watson ............ 1,000,000 Greg Ostertag ............. 573,000 Greg Foster ............... 420,000 Bryon Russell ............. 385,000 Howard Eisley ............. 298,000 Shandon Anderson .......... 220,000 Vancouver Grizzlies ($18.64 million) Player Salary Shareef Abdur-Rahim ..... $2,186,000 Blue Edwards ............ 2,100,000 George Lynch ............ 2,090,000 Greg Anthony ............ 1,875,000 Bryant Reeves ........... 1,695,000 Anthony Peeler .......... 1,540,000 Lee Mayberry ............ 1,100,000 Eric Mobley ............... 992,000 Pete Chilcutt ............. 700,000 Roy Rogers ................ 664,000 Lawrence Moten ............ 321,000 Doug Edwards .............. 247,500 Rich Manning .............. 247,500 Chris Robinson ............ 220,000 Washington Bullets ($34.56 million) Player Salary Juwan Howard ............ $9,750,000 Chris Webber ............ 8,000,000 Harvey Grant ............ 4,111,000 Calbert Cheaney ......... 3,200,000 Rod Strickland .......... 3,036,000 Gheorghe Muresan ........ 2,363,000 Tracy Murray ............ 1,700,000 Lorenzo Williams .......... 940,000 Tim Legler ................ 450,000 Chris Whitney ............. 400,000 Ashraf Amaya .............. 247,500 Matt Fish ................. 247,500 Jaren Jackson ............. 247,500 Ben Wallace ............... 247,500 ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html