Top 10 NBA salaries -- as they relate to performance

Oh, if pay only matched performance, particularly in the NBA.

Here, from HoopsHype.com, is a list of the highest-paid NBA players for the coming season. What's notable is that half of the 10 best-paid players on their list did not make the All-Star game last season.

Highest-paid NBA players:

1. Kevin Garnett, Boston, $24.75 million

2. Stephon Marbury, New York, $21.94 million

2. Allen Iverson, Denver, $21.94 million

4. Jason Kidd, Dallas, $21.37 million

5. Jermaine O'Neal, Toronto, $21.35 million

6. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, $21.26 million

7. Tracy McGrady, Houston, $21.13 million

8. Tim Duncan, San Antonio, $20.60 million

9. Shaquille O'Neal, Phoenix, $20 million

10. Steve Francis, Houston, $19.85 million

Marbury, Jermaine O'Neal, McGrady, Shaq and Francis missed the All-Star game.

-- Barry Stavro

Photo: Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett prior to facing the Cleveland Cavaliers in a preseason game in Providence, R.I., earlier this month. Credit: Charles Krupa / Associated Press

Comments

[Issywise]

Fans do, in fact, go to see great players, but some of the "non-performers" on the list are all-time greats. Who here doesn't wish they'd seen Bill Russell or Babe Ruth or Gordy Howe or Joe Montana after they'd passed their prime. After all, at bottom what the fan is buying is entertainment and memories.