I wanted to take a look at who is the highest paid NBA players after a conversation on ESPN Radio today. Freddie Coleman and Jonathon Coachman were talking about Jay Leno taking a pay cut so that his staff could get paid more. Then they went into what athletes should take a pay cut.

From looking at this list of the highest paid players for this coming season, I can see a few names jump out. First off, Gilbert Arenas is on there. What has he done lately since that’s what sports is all about.  Sure he has a 20 point career average scoring. But looking over his stats, he’s not been near that average since 2009-2010.  Then he’s had various injuries and that whole firearm lawsuit, so can anyone justify his 20 million for next year?

I still wonder if Joe Johnson is worth the money he’s getting.  And will he actually make Brooklyn this great team that people are talking about.  Sure his offensive game is good.  Once again, he’s been declining.  It’s not as bad as Arenas, but his scoring has come down.  Rebounding and assists are down.  I just question his desire to become a player worth his money.

The final one I can talk about is Elton Brand.  I’ve very surprised to see him on the last.  He’s been in the league for 13 years, but numbers are down. He’s also had his share of injuries that kept him out for some time.

Who do you think is the most overpaid player in the league?

The big story was all about Dwight Howard, and of course we are all sick to death of this, and hope for the outcome to happen soon.  Get this trade over with or whatever you’re doing with Howard, and be done with it. Now Smith did make some interesting points about Howard and why he wouldn’t go to a place like Los Angeles, and instead wants to go to Brooklyn.

He made the point that Howard wants to establish his own legacy in Brooklyn, which is admirable in a way.  But couldn’t he do that in Orlando, and stick with the team that he brought him along?  Wouldn’t it be one of those team loyalty things to stick with some team, and take them far?  But I guess that’s not what Howard thinks, and I believe all along someone is stringing him along the wrong way.

In Brooklyn, you’re still in the shadow of the New York Knicks. Now if the Nets are able to do something more than the Knicks, maybe that turns around.  But really New York is all about the Knicks.

And then you think about the legacy thing, and if Howard goes to Los Angeles, there are built up expectations for him.  He doesn’t seem like the type of player that feeds off that. He doesn’t strive for expectations, and what’s to do what he’s going to do.  In Brooklyn, if he gets there, I believe there will be expectations, and we shall see if the Nets can live up to that.

Now Mr. Smith also said that if Howard ends up with the Nets, they jump up to a third best team in the East.  This is where I have a problem.  I mean beyond Deron Williams and Dwight Howard, will Joe Johnson make that big of a difference? He’s got a big contract, do you really believe he’s going to be anything more than a scorer?  I don’t think so.  He’s there to make baskets, which puts all the pressure on Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to lead this team.

Now in the East, Miami will be the team to beat.  So there’s not much of an argument there.  I strongly feel the Pacers can improve in their game as they’re bringing back the same team they had together.  Who knows what Boston still has left in the tank?  And we can’t forget Chicago, who did well without Derrick Rose until the playoffs.  They still ended up with the top seed, and Rose missing a good number of games.  Now that might be hard to put together away, but Chicago is still there.

So is there anyone who will believe the Nets will be that good of a team even with those added pieces?  You can tell by my tone in this article, I don’t believe. Even with a big two of Williams and Howard, I’d say this team makes the playoffs, but in the lower half of the Eastern Conference.  The East is top heavy, and that doesn’t bode well for the Nets.

Thank you Stephen A. Smith for the inspiration and may you continue to make ridiculous comments that I can rant about.