The cost of doing business in the transfer portal is up this offseason, and teams are paying a hefty premium on quality big men, which comes as a surprise to nobody. Some early portal data from Evan Miya indicates that teams are overpaying centers more often than players at other positions—again not surprising, given the leverage and demands involved here.
Teams are paying $1.3 million for every $1 million of value at the center spot, so there is a definite height tax, and your coach and your boosters
better have themselves prepared to pay it, especially early in the process. If you simply must have your big shiny reboundy guy, you may have to make sacrifices elsewhere. (Or not, apparently, if you’re Louisville.)
It’s extra tough when your priorities are everywhere, but so it goes for Justin Gainey and most other new head coaches in this era. When you look at numbers like this, suddenly it makes a lot of sense to try and keep Musa Sagnia and Mikey Wilkins on the roster.
