Jamal Murray
Albatross risk — −$49.6M on $208M still owed
Jamal Murray projects to 5.7 marginal wins — $20.0M of on-court value — against an apron-adjusted true cost of $69.6M.
Albatross risk — −$49.6M on $208M still owed
At −$49.6M under water the deal drags the books; it still grades "needs-sweetener", so quietly canvassing the market beats waiting for it to worsen.
For $46.4M this season (4 yr, $208M total), you are buying 5.7 marginal wins of EPM production — $20.0M of value at $3.5M/win. Against an apron-adjusted true cost of $69.6M, that nets −$49.6M of surplus, 163rd of 178 tracked contracts — it grades as an albatross.
If wins price up toward $4.2M/win and the apron tax eases, production value climbs to $27.1M and surplus swings to −$30.9M — an albatross in the optimistic case.
If a marginal win is worth less and the apron bites harder, true cost rises to $81.2M and surplus falls to −$67.2M — an albatross in the pessimistic case.
The market's own numbers: a win costs what the middle of the league pays for it.
Every apron dollar is real money — the tax ledger, not the highlight reel, decides who wins the summer.
Banners hang forever. A marginal win today is worth almost any tomorrow, and the tax is the cost of doing business.
Wins you buy before you're ready are the most expensive wins in basketball — flexibility is the only asset that never ages.
The tenth man is closer to the star than the star's agent admits — pay for scarcity you can prove, not reputation.
Similar money band ($46.0M vs $46.4M) and impact (2.0 vs 1.9); his deal grades albatross risk at −$22.1M.
Similar money band ($39.4M vs $46.4M) and impact (1.7 vs 1.9); his deal grades albatross risk at −$25.2M.
Similar money band ($45.6M vs $46.4M) and impact (0.0 vs 1.9); his deal grades albatross risk at −$45.6M.
How the model gets there.
The audit trail behind every figure in the memo above — six steps from raw on-court impact to the final surplus verdict, using the same sliders. Drag any assumption and the memo above updates with it.
AASV = wins × $/win − cap hit × apron multiplier. Set the knobs to your own front-office judgment — every number on this page updates live.
League estimated net rating (per 100 poss. vs. an average player), cached from stats.nba.com (seed snapshot).
Est. Impact = 1.9 · 2025-26 · 65 games · 2,150 minutes
Impact is credited above replacement level (-2.0), scaled by the possessions he actually played (minutes × 2.08/min), then converted at 30.5 net points per win.
(1.9 − (-2.0)) × 4,479 poss ÷ 100 = 175 net pts
175 ÷ 30.5 = 5.7 wins
Wins are priced at your $/win setting ($3.5M per win).
5.7 wins × $3.5M = $20.0M
DEN is a first apron team, so every Jamal Murray dollar is charged at 1.50× — your setting for what that tier’s tax and roster restrictions really cost. Contract: 4 yrs · $208M remaining.
$46.4M cap hit × 1.50 = $69.6M
$20.0M − $69.6M = −$49.6M
Jamal Murray costs more than he produces under these assumptions — the contract eats value.
First season on file — the trend view, and its tie-in to aging risk, unlocks once another season lands.