Did The Wolves Overpay For Pekovic?

The not-so surprising news has come out that the Minnesota Timberwolves have re-signed restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic.  What is surprising to some is the amount of dough the rugged center got – a rumored $60 million over 5 years.  

$12 million a year for Nikola Pekovic?!  Sure, he's a nice player who's shown constant improvement over his three seasons in the NBA (16 points and 9 boards a game last season), but he is already 27 years old and isn't exactly gifted with world-class athleticism.  The Wolves overpaid.  Right?

Probably the best way to figure that out is to take a peek at what Pekovic's contemporaries at the center position are pulling in.  And the numbers show that the Wolves pretty much paid the market price for their big man.

Dwight Howard – 28 years old – $21 million in 13/14 ($88 million over 4 years)

Chris Bosh – 29 – $19 million in 13/14 ($110 million over 6 years)

Brook Lopez – 25 – $15 million in 13/14 ($61 million over 4 years)

Marc Gasol – 28 – $15 million in 13/14 ($58 million over 4 years)

Emeka Okafor – 30 – $14 million in 13/14 ($72 million over 6 years)

Andrew Bogut – 28 – $14 million in 13/14 ($60 million over 5 years)

Tyson Chandler – 30 – $14 million in 13/14 ($55 million over 4 years)

Al Jefferson – 28 – $14 million in 13/14 ($41 million over 3 years)

Al Horford – 27 – $12 million in 13/14 ($60 million over 5 years)

Andrew Bynum – 25 – $12 million in 13/14 ($25 million over 2 years)

Kris Humphries – 28 – $12 million in 2013/14 ($24 million over 2 years)

Joakim Noah – 28 – $11 million in 13/14 ($60 million over 5 years)

JaVale McGee – 25 – $11 million in 13/14 ($44 million over 4 years)

DeAndre Jordan – 25 – $11 million in 13/14 ($43 million over 4 years)

Tiago Splitter – 28 – $10 million in 13/14 ($36 million over 4 years)

Marcin Gortat – 29 – $8 million in 13/14 ($34 million over 5 years)

Looking at some of these contracts, you really can't complain about the contract Big Pek got.  Add in the fact that Minnesota isn't exactly a free agent hotspot, plus signing their big man is a good gesture to the rest of the roster and the long-suffering fan base, and it looks like the Wolves did the right thing.  But, this being the Wolves, it'll probably turn out to be the wrong thing.