Skip to main content
Uhh…who?
Al-Farouq Aminu is an NBA combo forward known mostly entirely for his defense. He is now a Portland Trail Blazer, the first signing of the NBA free-agency season. He will be making $30 million over four years.
$30 million, huh? Seems like an awful lot of money!
Karl Marx's ideas about workers and management sharing profits has thus far only really taken root in the world of profess—
Oh, no, I get why pro athletes makes a lot of money. I mean, I haven't even heard of this fella and he's making seven and a half million bucks a year!
Oh, that. That doesn't really have anything to do with Aminu. Last summer the NBA signed a gigantic new TV deal that will kick in next year. When that happens, the NBA salary cap and wage scale, which is tied to the NBA's total basketball-related revenues, will blow the hell up. Aminu's deal seems pretty large for a defense-only forward next year, but it will resemble something more like a $4 million deal in the oncoming salary-inflated NBA.
Why did he get signed so fast? The way you describe him, he doesn't seem like Mr. First Priority in the whole damn NBA.
Yeah, that's pretty weird. I didn't mention him in the free-agency write-up that was in the paper today, but his name was out there as a possibility. Blazers GM Neil "Haircut Slim" Olshey drafted him to the Los Angeles Clippers and Aminu's announcement tweet betrayed a close relationship between the two. I suspect that played a factor in getting this done fast.
So, defense, huh? Combo forward!? Those are very modern! This guy sounds perfect! Is there a catch!?
Jesus Christ!
Yeah, it's pretty ugly.
This signing is terrible, Corbin! I'm riding the Orange line to Milwaukie and never coming back! I live in the woods with a gym bag full of weed now!
Step off the ledge! Aminu is not going to make very much money and he's really good at defense. ESPN'S Defensive RPM Metric, which estimates the number of points a player contributes on the defensive end, assigned Aminu a 2.93 rating last year, keeping company with elite defensive talent like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and LeBron James. (h/t Kevin Pelton)
Also, Aminu is still pretty young: 24 years old, not quite in his NBA prime. He could feasibly still become a not-apocalyptic three-point shooter. Stranger things have happened.
Is there any video of Aminu, my new favorite player, blocking James Harden, who I still really dislike, because of that playoff series from last year?
Yes. Also, dog, let it go. The Blazers won. Why did everyone stay so angry at the Rockets?
Thank you, Corbin. This was informative.
You're welcome. I am handsome.
Excuse me?
What? Nothing. I didn't say anything.
WWeek 2015