5 NBA Players Who Will Be Overhyped, Overpaid in Free Agency

The Athletic's Shams Charania reports the Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic have their eyes on him.Russell is a mid-tier starter with a chance to improve, but if he nets a deal worth over $100 million, it'll likely be a mistake.Kelly Oubre Jr. averaged 16.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game with the Phoenix Suns last season, but it's impossible to be confident those numbers are anything more than empty stats on a bad team.Considering there's still a large and vocal (and probably incorrect) contingent questioning the worth of Devin Booker's superior numbers because of the "hey, somebody's got to score" environment in Phoenix, how can anyone be sure Oubre Jr.'s production will translate on a winning team?That uncertainty won't be enough to overshadow potential suitors' interest in Oubre Jr.'s profile. Let's cap his "sensible value" at $20 million per season and expect a suitor to go significantly above that.The Charlotte Hornets did this to themselves.Years on the mediocrity treadmill and consistent overspending in free agency have them in a position where paying $221 million to an undersized 29-year-old point guard somehow feels like a reasonable decision. But age comes for everyone, and smaller guards who lose a step seem to suffer most severely.Bet on Walker staying in Charlotte, bet on him getting the supermax from a team that doesn't have any better options, and bet on that team struggling to compete in the coming seasons with so much cash devoted to a player whose best years may already be in the past.Walker has been underpaid for his entire career, so at least what's ahead will rectify that.Heading into his age-31 season, DeAndre Jordan is a prime candidate to be overpaid.We already touched on the folly of paying too much for centers in the section on Nikola Vucevic, but few players better illustrate the fungibility of the conventional center than Jordan.