Dimemag.com listed the NBA’s 63 richest players in the league, and it got me thinking, Who are the most overpaid players at each position?

PG: Gilbert Arenas- Maybe not a point guard, but I’m putting him in this spot because he has played some PG, and there are no more overpaid guards than Arenas. Arenas has played just 42 games in the past three seasons due to injuries and last season’s suspension for bringing guns into the lockerroom. That’s a measly 14 games a season, meaning Arenas made more than $1 million per game played over the past three season. Arenas will be paid $18.3 million this season. Now that’s a cushy job.

SG: Michael Redd- Another player who is overpaid because of the amount of games he has missed. At least all the games Redd missed were because of injury. But when you’re paid $18.3 million this season, and you’ve played just 44 games in the past two seasons, I have no choice but to list you as the league’s most overpaid shooting guard. Sorry, Mr. Redd.

SF: Andrei Kirilenko- At $17.8 million, Kirilenko is the HIGHEST paid small forward in the NBA. Yes, you read that correctly. With career averages of 12. 4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.1 blocks, that’s an absurd contract.

PF: Rashard Lewis- Behind Kobe Bryant, the highest paid player in the league at $19.5 million. In the Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, he shot 17% from three’s and averaged just 8.2 points. ‘Nuff said.

C: Eddy Curry- No list of overpaid players would be complete without Curry. Curry will make $11.3 million next season, yet he has played only 10 games over the past two seasons. In those 10 games, Curry has played less than 75 total minutes. Basically, Curry has played a game and a half over the past two seasons, making more that $20 million. I want to work for James Dolan. Maybe he’ll pay me and my brother $10 million per post.

This kid’s handle is insane. And not just insane for an 11-year old, but insane for a human being of any age. Eddie House plays some point guard in the Association, and he couldn’t do half the things Damon Harge does with a basketball.

I would predict NBA greatness for Harge, but then I remember the cautionary tale of Mike Kirstein. Kirstein was a kid I played Little League against when I was little. He batted about .900. He threw untouchable gas. He hit homers that cleared the fence, kept rising, cleared the enormous trees behind the fence, and then continued to rise. If I had been forced to predict Kirstein’s future, back in the sixth grade, I would have said he was going to win nine or ten MLB home run titles. At least. I’m telling you, this kid had Cooperstown written all over him. But you know what? He didn’t even play high school baseball. He stopped growing, couldn’t hit a curve and lost his love of the game. And now all I remember about him is that he was a Little League god.

My point? Damon Harge could become an NBA superstar or he might stop growing at 4’10″ and be riding the bench for some high school team in a few years. Either way, I would kill to be able to have his ball-handling skills.

Gaffney has a fighting chance to make the roster.

The latest question in the ESPN Boston Celtics Summer Forecast asked us who we thought would be the Celtics’ 15th man. Here was my answer:

In a perfect world, the Celtics would pick up another wing to add insurance in case 1) anyone gets injured, 2) Marquis Daniels spends another year earning a spot in Doc Rivers’ doghouse, or 3) Von Wafer snaps on Doc and goes all Latrell Sprewell. If the C’s don’t make an acquisition, though, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tony Gaffney occupy the final spot. The wing is where the Celtics are most thin, and while Gaffney isn’t ideal (or anywhere close?), he at least fits a need.

As I said, Gaffney is far from ideal. He’s young and athletic, but he’s as raw as they come. His jumper’s broke, he’s got no handle, and basically the only thing he can do on offense is dunk the basketball. He would be my last-case resort. For those wondering what that makes Larry Hughes, he is slightly below last-case, occupying the “please don’t even think about it under any circumstances” slot. The Celtics would be better off signing me, and I was a Division Three bench-warmer in my prime and I’ve recently started to grow a nice set of love handles.

I’m begging Danny not to start the season with Gaffney as the third wing off the bench. Marquis Daniels is too fragile and Von Wafer is too big a question mark for the Celtics not to have a reliable guy behind them. But it’s going to be tough to add anyone. The veteran minimum guys all stink (except for Delonte, who’s got other issues) and the Celtics don’t have very many assets to trade.

When I think of Gary Payton, the very last thing I think of is his time in a Celtics uniform. It just doesn’t fit. He’s The Glove. A Seattle Supersonic. His years on the Bucks, Lakers, Celtics and Heat should just be forgotten. They’re kind of like Jordan’s years with the Wizards, Bob Cousy’s time with the Cincinatti Royals or Kwame Brown’s entire career: we should just pretend like they never happened.

But since I’m now remembering the last few years of his career, Payton should have an interesting perspective on the East’s top two favorites. He has played for both the Heat and Celtics. (Business Journal)

Just like anybody who follows the NBA, Payton said he is also interested to see how things will turn out for the highly improved Heat squad that now boasts of LeBron James and Chris Bosh in addition to resident superstar Dwyane Wade.

“Well, they have three great stars there. But like what I’ve said you’ve got to have more than just names. You’ll never know what will happen this season. You still have a great team in the Orlando Magic. You have a great team in the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are the defending Eastern Conference champions, so they [Heat] have to go through them. I just want to see what happens [with the Heat] just like everybody else…,” Payton said.

The Heat still have to go through Boston. I couldn’t have said it any better myself.

P.S. – Is it bad that I’m already fired up for the playoffs, even though there are still two months until opening night?

P.P.S. – I am now going back to pretending that the last four years of Payton’s career never occurred. Sorry, Gary, but you just lost your one ring.

(h/t ESPN Boston)

After his friend told a Las Vegas sushi bar hostess that he was Michael Jordan, Doc Rivers was mistaken for the GOAT. (Orlando Sentinel)

Back in Vegas, the boys stopped at Nobu in the Hard Rock Hotel one night. Great sushi. Only the gang didn’t have a reservation. More than a two-hour wait, they were told. Doc figured it was time to move on and grab dinner elsewhere, but his buddy started chatting up the hostess.

All of a sudden, the gang was seated in the middle of the restaurant and being treated to free appetizers.

“I still got juice for an old-timer,” Doc thought to himself.

Then the waitress came over.

“It is an honor to have you here Mr. Jordan,” she said. “You are very good basketball player!”

I just took my 92-year old grandfather to the eye doctor. He’s legally blind in one eye and losing vision in the other. He took an eye test today and thought any letter with a single rounded portion was a zero. They showed him a B. “Zero,” my grandfather said. They showed him a C. Same thing. The showed him a D. “Why do you keep showing me zeroes?” he wondered aloud. He thought almost every letter the nurse showed him was a zero.

And even my grandfather can tell the difference between Michael Jordan and Doc Rivers. I’m not going to lie, the hostess and waitress at this sushi bar need to step up their games.

(h/t Red’s Army)

“Big Baby” Davis is at it again. Davis posted this picture to his twitter account (@iambigbaby11), writing, “Bigbaby Waldo !!! Rocking out like green – day!!! Or like guns&roes!!! Or korn!!!”