It is a joke, but it's the owner's fault. They are the ones over paying average or just good players. Too many max contracts being thrown out to non-max contract players. History has shown in the NBA that guys will play hard their contract season..or the really lazy ones will play hard until the playoffs of their contract season. Owners still fall for it. If a guy was just ok and all of a sudden plays great his contract year..that's a red flag. Now if you had a guy that improved each season and finally made a big jump and has shown a history of good work ethic than you can reward him.