Making the starting five of the all-star team usually doesn’t mean much other than recognition. If you don’t get voted by the fans, no big deal right? Well the fact that Anthony Davis was not voted as a starter for the western conference yesterday could actually cost the young star about $25 million dollars!
@IamJoeSports
A first round draft pick who completed all four years of his rookie scale contract, or a second round draft pick or an undrafted player who has four years of service, is eligible to receive a higher maximum salary if he meets certain criteria, called the “5th Year 30% Max” criteria. That criteria consists of either being Named to the All-NBA First, Second or Third team at least twice, voted as a starter in the All-Star game at least twice or named the NBA Most Valuable Player at least once.
This seemed like a lock for Davis when he signed the deal. He was coming off a selection as an All-Star starter and a first-team All-NBA selection. He was the league’s rising star, and some even picked him for MVP this season.
Instead, with the Pelicans featuring one of the worst defenses in the league and the Pelicans in the gutter at 15-27, Davis failed to secure a starting spot with the Western Conference All-Stars. Not only that, but Davis finished with just over 400,000 votes, behind Tim Duncan and even Oklahoma City bench big Enes Kanter.
In the case of Davis, that means a potential loss of $23-25 million.
That seems like a lot of money. It still seems likely that Davis could earn first-, second-, or third-team honors. It’s hard to imagine him not being selected as one of the six best forwards in the league. However, when you consider LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green and Paul George are locks, the last spot may come down to Blake Griffin, who played at an All-NBA level before being injured, and Carmelo Anthony, who has six All-NBA selections to his credit, if things get very tight.
