The following is a list of the NBA's top five highest salaried teams.  (And thanks to Hoopsworld.com for providing the data).

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  This list proves that the best team isn't always the one that spends the most money.

1.)  The Los Angeles Lakers - $102,256,438

Point and case.  The Lakers may have the largest payroll in the league but their current record is the worst on this list.  The organization kept busy this offseason and when they acquired both Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, it was looking like the purple and gold were the team to beat.  And indeed, they have been the team to beat.  Yes, it's still early in the season, but having won only three games with their expensive lineup is pretty embarrassing. Let's hope the recent hiring of Mike D'Antoni turns things around.

2.)  The Miami Heat - $87,595,822

It shouldn't come as much of a shock that the Heat are number 2 on this list.  They pretty much cleared out their books a few years ago to make sure there was enough cap space for Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to be on the roster.  And as it turns out, that was a good idea.  Micky Arison, Pat Riley and company made a good decision in doing so seeing that the Heat are the defending NBA Champions and are currently sitting at the top of their division.

3.)  The New York Knicks - $82,010,527

The Knicks could quite possibly be the surprise of the season so far.  J.R. Smith is posting career numbers, averaging 18.2 points per game.  Raymond Felton is averaging 14 points and 6.2 assists while Carmelo Anthony's 26.8 ppg leads the league in scoring.  As a result, they're 5-0; all the while Amare Staudemire has been on the bench with knee injury.  Who knows if they'll keep it up, but it will certainly be interesting to see how they play with Amare back in the lineup.

4.)  The Brookyln Nets - $83,511,726

The NBA's newest team are 4-2 to start the season.  They have a new stadium in the Barclays Center and with Deron Williams, Brooks Lopez, Kris Humphries and Joe Johnson on their payroll, they certainly have a few expenses.  But if they continue to win games, those expenses most likely won't be much of an issue.

5.)  The Memphis Grizzlies - $77,098,154

I was pretty surprised when Memphis came in at #5 on this list.  I would have thought Boston, or San Antonio, or even Oklahoma City would have been ahead of the Grizz.  Then again, they do have Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol on their roster.  Those three guys alone take up about $47 million of the payroll.  And for good reason; they combine for over 51 points per game.

The Lakers lost to the Grizzlies Friday night, falling to 0-4 on the road.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Kobe can't do everything; Gasol and Howard will need to be consistent on offense if the Lakers want to win games.

Memphis Grizzlies are rumored to be exploring options for trading Rudy Gay.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: I have no idea why the Grizzlies would want to mess with their team's lineup and chemistry in the midst of a solid 20 - 10 season.

On Friday, Forbes Magazine released it's report on the Top 10 Most Overpaid NBA Players.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Aren't most NBA ballers overpaid?  I mean they get paid millions of dollars to do something most people would do for free.

Anyway, thanks to Tom Van Riper, a business of sports writer at Forbes Magazine, we now have Forbes' list of the Top 10 Most Overpaid NBA players.

But before we get into the list, this passage from the Forbes article will help you understand how they measure players as overpaid.

"Advanced metrics show that in the NBA, scoring is overvalued.  Stats compiled by David Berri, economist and author of Stumbling on Wine, rates players' contribution to wins not only by scoring but shooting percentage, assists, rebounds and turnovers, all measured against opportunities to accumulate those stats (a faster paced game with more shots equals more rebound opportunities, etc.)"

Essentially, the main thing overpaid ballers have in common, according to Forbes, is that all they do is score (because they shoot so much) but lack in the other areas that help their respective teams win games.

So without further adeu, here are the most overpaid NBA ballers...

1.)  Carmelo Anthony, Knicks

Despite Melo's 28.1 points per game, his MVP-caliber season, and the Knicks second best Eastern Conference record of 48-26, Anthony is at the top of the list of Forbes' most overpaid.  Forbes asserts that while Carmelo is a scoring machine, he takes more shots than anyone else and that means fewer shots for his teammates.  He also rebounds less, assists less, and shoots more than Kevin Durant, for example.  And he gets paid $19.4 million a year to do so; so the Knicks better win a championship this season.

2.)  Ben Gordon, Bobcats

Gordon is a sick baller, no question, but the Bobcats are absolutely horrible.  So horrible, in fact, that they have the worst record in the NBA, at 18-57.  And Gordon is only averaging a modest 11.7 points per game.  His 2 assists and 1.8 rebounds don't help his team much either, yet he's making $12.4 million this year.

3.)  Joe Johnson, Nets

The Nets traded for Johnson as a guy to build a team around, and are actually having a pretty good year.  Johnson's 16.3 ppg, however, is his lowest scoring average since 2004 and he's only adding a little over 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game.  He makes $19.75 million this year.

4.)  Hedo Turkoglu, Magic

It's been a tough few years for Turkoglu, who's only played 11 games this season due to injury.  But in those 11 games, he only averaged 2.9 points, 2.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game.  That's what Orlando is getting this season for the $11.8 million they're spending.

5.)  Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks

Forbes notes that while Dirk is definitely a Hall-of-Famer and was injured earlier this season, his numbers are down.  And he's 35 years old.  His yearly salary is $20.9 million but Forbes figures he's worth about $13mill at 17.2 points per game.  I guess when you're a billionaire owner like Mark Cuban, what's a few million extra right?

6.)  Corey Maggette, Pistons

Maggette has always been a guy who can score, but he's also always been a guy who gets hurt.  Forbes notes that Maggette hasn't played one full 82 game season in his 14 year career.  (That's crazy and something I never knew.)  He's set to make $10.9 million this year, although he's only played in 18 games and averaged just over five points, one assist, and one rebound.  Oh, and the Pistons are 25-51 and not making the playoffs.  On a positive note, the dude is jacked.

7.)  Rudy Gay, Raptors

Gay was traded from Memphis to Toronto mid season this year, and is averaging 19.4 points per game for the Raptors which is up from the 17.2 he averaged with the Grizzlies.  The only problem is all he really does is score.  Granted he doesn't have much of a supporting cast around him, and I'll give him that, but the reality is Memphis is 23-9 since trading him away and the Raptors have no shot at making the playoffs.  Gay will make $16.5 million this season.

8.)  Stephen Jackson, Spurs

Jackson is an interesting one on the Forbes list because the Spurs are one of the best teams in the league and he plays a solid role on their squad.  But I think Forbes is challenging whether or not the role he plays is worth the $10.1 million he makes a year when he's averaging just 6.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  I see their point.

9.)  Chris Kaman, Mavericks

In the 2009-10 season, Kaman was a beast for the Clippers averaging 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.  Forbes cites that his play has since dropped off, and they're right.  They 7-foot big man is only pulling down 5.5 rebounds per game for the Mavs this season, while averaging 10.8 points and making $8 million.

10.)  Arron Afflalo, Magic

Afflalo is known as a scorer and is averaging 16.5 ppg for the Magic this season.  Forbes is all good with that; but they're not cool with the fact that he's making $7.8 million this year and only contributing 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.  It seems they think he should be doing more than scoring for that kind of money.

So there's the list, Hoopsvibers!  And a special thanks to Forbes and Tom Van Riper for a very thorough and interesting report!

What do the Hoopsvibers think?  Should anyone else be on this list??  Leave your comments below!

The half time show was ass. Three kids were dancing around shouting through the speakers. If they were good, we couldn’t tell because the sound check guys did not do their jobs. There was too much feed back. I cannot understand what they were saying. The kids looked more like ravers on drugs dancing around with decorative clothes and back packs. They claimed that swag is dead, but their sign is messed up. It reads “Swag is dead.” A slash mark crosses the sentence. Does that mean that swag is not dead? They meant to say “Swag.” A slash mark crossing that word makes sense. No one was amused. Swag itself was not amused.

Yes, I know the season is about 5 games in by the time you read this. What a great way to look at things. You can still work trades early. Get moving especially if you’re in a pay league.

Hoops Vibe’s Very Quick Call: This is what we are missing. LeBron. Kevin Durant. Rudy Gay.

The best athletes in the world are not able to perform in the proper forum because they and their bosses can’t agree on splitting billions of dollars in revenue.

Anyway, watch King James drop 43 at Gay’s charity game and get at us with thoughts in the comments box below.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

"I can't say so much ... but I know the owners are not going to move off what we feel is very necessary for us to get a deal in place where we can co-exist as partners. We need a lot of financial support throughout the league as well as revenue sharing to keep this business afloat. Jordan said small-market teams would benefit greatly from a "hard" salary cap, and it would allow clubs such as Milwaukee to plan a future on key players including the Australian centre.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: It rings hollow.

Yesterday Bobcats owner Michael Jordan said have-not markets, like Charlotte, need a hard salary cap to compete with the have markets.

Jordan is right. If the NBA wants parity, they must level the playing field with an NFL style cap and revenue sharing.

This is one part of the story, though. Owners like Jordan need to think about how they’ve run their business, and can't just tell players to sacrifice.

Can Jordan honestly say he’s done everything possible to manage the Bobcats responsibly?

The answer is no. It has to be.

Jordan, who also serves as the team’s head of basketball operations, signed off on or traded for several poor contracts.
 
There are four albatrosses currently on the roster: Matt Carroll ($4 million per annum) , Boris Diaw ($8 million per annum), DeSagana Diop ($7 million per annum), and Corey Maggette ($10 million per annum).

Tyrus Thomas has yet to reach his potential, however, that didn’t prevent Jordan from handing him a 5-year, $40 million pact last summer.

Jordan also drafted Adam Morrison, who is out of the NBA, ahead of Rudy Gay, a terrific athlete and talented scorer for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Clearly, Jordan has overpaid players. This would be forgivable if he was working as hard as possible. This hasn’t been the case.

Before becoming majority owner, Jordan didn’t do nearly enough to manage the roster effectively or forge ties with local businesses and people.

He was often photographed partying at clubs … in Chicago, in Miami, in anywhere but Charlotte. He took time off to attend the Super Bowl.

There was little attempt to form partnerships with Charlotte area companies. And he wanted appearance fees for attending community events.

Word, of course, spread quickly. And Charlotte fans - who were burned before by the NBA and the Hornets - stayed away.

To be fair, things improved once Jordan bought majority control from former BET King Bob Johnson. He moved to Charlotte and put in the work.

Jordan still bears some blame for the Bobcats’ situation. He can't ask the players to compromise on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement without being prepared to make further changes to how he runs his team.

Right now, his stance on the hard cap is hypocritical. 

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

Do the Grizzlies have enough money for Randolph, Gasol, Mike Conley's five-year, $45 million extension that begins next season and Gay, too? Perhaps, but they played awfully well during the postseason without him. Gay averaged 19.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in a season that ended in mid-February to a shoulder injury. He is one of the league's most explosive scorers and just entering the prime of his career, so he won't come cheap.

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HoopsVibe`s Very Quick Call: Will take big tickets from small markets.

This should be the motto for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who, despite the declining economy and pending lockout, are one of the few teams willing to assume lucrative contracts.

After all, Cavaliers` owner Dan Gilbert hates losing, and will spend on veteran talent –if it provides an identity and helps turn the page on The Decision.

The Cavaliers acquired Baron Davis –even though he`s often injured, overweight, and has two years and $29 million remaining on his contract.

Last year, they chased Gerald Wallace before the Charlotte Bobcats sent the pogo-stick three-man to the Portland Trail Blazers at the trade deadline. Wallace is owed $22 million through 2013.

Now they want Rudy Gay, who the Memphis Grizzlies have made available because he`s scheduled to make $68 million over the next four years. The Grizzlies just extended Zach Randolph and want to re-up with Marc Gasol.

On the one hand, Gay might be a nice asset. He`s relatively young. He`s talented. He`s athletic. And he can score in a variety of ways.

On the other hand, he`s expensive. Some believe his team was better without him –the Grizzlies were a game from the Western Conference Finals, even though Gay was injured.

So acquiring Gay`s big-ticket would be a risk. Perhaps, it`s a risk worth taking.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

Some league folks have hinted that the Sixers and Memphis Grizzlies could discuss a swap of Iguodala for Memphis' injured star Rudy Gay. The Grizzlies are making an impact in the Western Conference playoffs without Gay, who went down with a shoulder injury late in the season.

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"It would have been cool," Mayo said before his Grizzlies took on the Bulls at the United Center. "I stay here in the offseason and work out with Tim Grover. But I'm happy (with the Grizzlies)." The Bulls and Grizzlies could not agree to terms before the Feb. 24 trade deadline so the Bulls kept their roster intact, and Mayo continued in his role with Memphis.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Now is not the time.

The Memphis Grizzlies are in the midst of a playoff race, so it’s not ideal having O.J. Mayo re-hash old trade rumors involving the Chicago Bulls.

To be fair, Mayo has had a hell of a year -and not in a good way.

The talented swing lost his starting position early in the season, went on the injured list after losing a donnybrook to team mate Tony Allen (the two were fighting over a gambling debt), and then there was the trade gossip.

Not surprisingly, this season hasn’t been Mayo’s best. However, his minutes, shots, and touches will increase with Rudy Gay’s unfortunate season ending injury.

Commenting on joining the Bulls, however harmless the intent, isn’t appropriate. The Grizzlies need Mayo to focus on here and now. Making the playoffs may depend on it.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: The smile or the step-back?

Yesterday, Rudy Gay and David West each pulled off amazing buzzer-beaters for the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets. But which was better?

Watch both shots and get at us with thoughts on the best game-winner in the comment box below. 

(Rudy Gay smiles after hitting this fade-away on Julian Wright and the Raptors.)

(David West converts the step-back prayer against the OKC Thunder.)

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: The stakes have been raised.

Every year NBA players put out videos lobbying fans to vote them into the NBA All-Star game. Some are good; some are bad.

Rudy Gay, the budding star for the Memphis Grizzlies, has dropped a gem. He is, after all, the most interesting man in the NBA.

Watch the clip and get at us with thoughts in the comment box below.
 

-Oly Sandor.

According to multiple reports, guard Tony Allen will sign with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Memphis Commercial Appeal first reported the deal. Just days after rumors swirled that Allen would re-sign in Boston, Yahoo.com reported he will ink a three-year, $10 million guaranteed deal.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Keeping their nucleus has reportedly cost the Boston Celtics a key reserve.

While Tony Allen had his ups-and-downs, the wing found his niche as a lockdown defender during the 2010 playoffs. For instance, he used his athleticism and length to slow Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals.

His departure leaves the green-and-white without much depth behind Ray Allen and Paul Pierce at the shooting guard and small forward positions.

Meanwhile, Lionel Hollins and the Memphis Grizzlies will love having a scrappy, athletic defender off the bench. And Allen will serve as a nice back-up for both Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo.

-- Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

Rudy Gay has agreed to a five-year, $81.6 million deal with Memphis, including a player option on fifth, his reps at Octagon confirmed to Y!

Via Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter) found on Real GM

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: The first big name of the 2010 market has fallen.

Reports indicate the Memphis Grizzlies have re-signed their own restricted free agent Rudy Gay for five-years and $82 million.

Gay was supposedly a fall-back for clubs with cap-space that failed to land tier-one free agents like LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. The feeling was these teams would float an offer sheet that small-market, cost-conscious Memphis would have trouble matching.

Well, the Grizzlies stepped-up.

In giving Gay – an explosive scorer at the three-spot – market value, Memphis showed they’ll keep young assets, so they can again challenge for a playoff spot in the competitive Western Conference.

-- O. Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at us in the comment box below with thoughts!

David Kahn says he plans to call two agents at 11 o'clock Wednesday, when the NBA's free-agency negotiation period begins. I hear from a good league source that one of those two guys is Memphis forward Rudy Gay.I texted David Kahn for a confirmation or denial Monday evening and he did not respond.

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HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: This makes sense.

The lowly Minnesota Timberwolves should target Rudy Gay, the athletic swing with the Memphis Grizzlies. While young and talented, Gay has been overlooked because this year`s free agent class features superstars Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Joe Johnson, Amar`e Stoudemire, and Dwyane Wade.

But Gay has the explosiveness to become an All-Star. And the Wolves are desperate for a small forward to complement their bevy of point guards and power forwards.

Best of all, Gay is ripe for the picking because Minnesota - which has just $25 million in committed salary for 2011 - can afford to float a big ticket offer, while small market Memphis may lack the resources to match.

So perhaps the Wolves make a splash in this summer`s free agent market.

Got thoughts?

The Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves are close to swapping first-round draft picks, a source with direct knowledge of the situation tells ESPN.com's Andy Katz. The Grizzlies would send their 25th and 28th overall picks to Minnesota for the Timberwolves' 16th pick.

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HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: On the surface, this rumor seems insignificant.

However, it does show that Memphis and Minnesota are looking to improve and will be active during Thursday`s draft and free agency.

For instance, the Grizzlies recently called the Hornets about Chris Paul, while the Timberwolves turned down the Pacers' lottery pick for point guard Jonny Flynn.

Both squads also have larger issues to contend with.

Memphis wants to re-sign restricted free agent Rudy Gay -but only for reasonable money. A sign-and-trade involving Gay is an option.

And Minnesota must decide if forwards Al Jefferson and Kevin Love can play together. They`ve also got to convince 2009 lottery pick Ricky Rubio to cross the Atlantic and run the offense in 2012.

These teams will be linked to more rumors and will be stay all summer.

Got thoughts?