With day one of NBA Free Agency in the books, some prominent names are still unsigned. The most prominent of those being LeBron James, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, DeAndre Jordan, Dwayne Wade and Greg Monroe. But just because those names aren’t off the board just yet, there has been plenty of action and movement (not necessarily with players switching teams) during the first day of the free agent period. All deals at this point are just "handshake" deals and can’t be officially signed until next week, but rarely do agreed upon deals fall through at this point. We’ve seen good deals and bad deals, depending on how you look at them, and we’ve also seen the effect of the NBA’s new TV deal on what will be the NBA’s salary cap over the next 10-15 years. I’m coining the phrase "the New NBA" today because this is what free agency and free agent contracts are going to look like from here on out. We take a shot below at spotlighting the larger deals of the day and their impact on the teams that made them.
Draymond Green (5 years, $85M) – Golden State Warriors
Green’s signing with the Warriors happened late on Wednesday after reports surfaced that he and the Warriors had stalled in contract negotiations. Apparently the stall didn’t last long as within a few hours he had re-upped for a max contract. And he’s worth every penny. No offense to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson but Green’s emergence and emotional leadership was what put the Warriors over the top. After David Lee went down, Green stepped right in and the team didn’t skip a beat. They became a much more efficient team on both sides of the ball with Green on the floor. He’s as versatile a player as there is in the league as defensively he can play all five positions for stretches and is a lock down defender at the three and four spots. There was some question whether the Warriors would match any contract Green would receive considering they still have yet to move David Lee’s $15M contract and the fact that they’ll have both Steph Curry and Harrison Barnes to resign over the next two seasons. But there was never any chance they would let their heart and soul leave the team after winning a title. The Warriors core will be completely intact for next season allowing them to make a run at back to back Championships, something only a handful of team have been able to accomplish in the history of the league.
Kevin Love (5 years, $109M) – Cleveland Cavaliers
There were reports that Love could leave the Cavs for the Lakers but that never materialized. Love was never going to leave Cleveland and Cleveland was never going to let him leave. They gave up too much to get him before last season and their roster/cap situation would have been shot had he decided to take less and head to LA. He may still end up there before his contract is over but, for now, he’s going to give it another try with LeBron in Cleveland. The question surrounding Love on this Cavs roster is how David Blatt, or whoever King James wants as Coach next year, utilizes him. During most of the season it looked like Love was unhappy with the way he was being used. He’s never played second fiddle, or even third for that matter, to anyone. He seemed out of place for a while but towards the end of the season he started to look a little more comfortable before an injury in the first round ended his season and effectively ended any hope that the Cavs had at taking out the Warriors in the Finals. There will be a log jam of big men with Tristan Thompson, Love, Anderson Varejao and Timofey Mozgov on the roster, all of whom make good money. But it is a good problem to have unless you are footing the tax bill, which is something that Dan Gilbert will have to cut a check for next year. And it won’t be pretty. But back to Love. I’m of the mindset that Love and LeBron can coexist and that they can do it on a Championship caliber team. Love’s ability to stretch the floor is the exact type of "big" that LeBron needs at that position. But it isn’t the ability to coexist with LeBron that worries me. It is his ability to mesh with Kyrie Irving that will be something to watch for. One of those two will have to play the Chris Bosh role on this team and I don’t think either is willing to do so.
Kawhi Leonard (5 years, $90M) – San Antonio Spurs
This might have been the easiest free agent signing to predict. And I’m including LeBron’s return to Cleveland. Leonard is the future of this Spurs franchise and with his new deal, the torch has officially been passed. He’s gone from the glue guy and defensive savvy wing player to a superstar in a matter of two seasons. At 24 years old, he’s only going to improve and with the deals that the Spurs have made to clear cap space for another marquee free agent, Leonard will likely get multiple more shots at NBA Titles over the next half decade. He’s arguably the best defensive wing in the league and fits the mold of a typical Spurs player. He doesn’t talk, doesn’t run his mouth with bulletin board material and he keeps himself out of trouble off the court as well. Everything you want in a superstar player and future face of your franchise. He’s learned well from Tim Duncan and, with this contract, has now cemented himself as this team’s best player. Leonard fits well alongside virtually anyone and with aging stars in Time Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, Leonard’s rise couldn’t have been at a better time. He averaged a career best 16.5 points per game last season showing that he could handle more of the load on offense. His ability to play and defend multiple positions has become such a commodity in the league now as teams are moving toward position-less basketball where versatility is a must for guys to stay on the floor and get meaningful minutes late in the game. If the rumors of LaMarcus Aldridge being a strong San Antonio lean are true then this could be arguable this team’s most talented and complete roster top to bottom in the Duncan era. No offense to David Robinson, Avery Johnson and Sean Elliot.
Jimmy Butler (5 years, $95M) – Chicago Bulls
While not as big of a lock as Leonard due to some rumored tension between he and management, Butler was never going anywhere. The Bulls made him a top priority by making him a max offer at the start of free agency. And while there were reports saying that he was considering declining it for a contract with fewer years, I personally believe that those reports were manufactured. He wasn’t turning down this extension and nor should he. The Bulls with Butler are a top three team in the East and are a real threat to the Cavs next season for Eastern Conference supremacy. Butler, like Leonard, is one of the premier defensive wings in the league and has become a very well rounded offensive player as well over the last few seasons. He consistently knocks down his threes and is a great slasher and creator off the dribble. The Bulls would have been lost without him and anyone who has followed this team over the last few years knows it. He is the best player on this team and until Derrick Rose can prove that he is completely healthy and has recovered 100% from his multiple knee surgeries over the last few seasons, he will continue to be.
Goran Dragic (5 years, $90M) – Miami Heat
Dragic is the first guy on this list who I feel is severely overpaid. But I’m not handing out the deals so what do I know. What I do know is that this is a move that the Heat had to make in order to remain competitive during Dwayne Wade’s twilight years. Dragic was probably the best PG on the open market this offseason and the Heat definitely needed one unless they decided to go into next season with Mario Chalmers and Shabazz Napier as their only options and let’s face it, that’s not a playoff caliber team with those two running the point. Bosh should be back healthy along with McRoberts and Wade will almost assuredly be back in the mix for this Heat team that should contend for a home playoff series in the first round. Dragic is the engine that will make it all go as he is a pure point guard with the ability to score the basketball as well. Pat Riley knew coming in that he needed to be a priority for this Heat team and he knew that he’d likely have to overpay to get him but the Heat have plenty of money and have been overpaying people for years.
Paul Millsap (3 years, $59M) – Atlanta Hawks
I really like this deal if I’m both Millsap and a Hawks fan (which I am). Millsap apparently had an offer on the table from the Magic for four years and $80M, one that the Hawks were rumored to have matched. Millsap realized that his best shot to get back to the playoffs and have the potential to get back to an Eastern Conference Finals was with the Hawks. And it was the right decision. But he also took a different route than most did today by opting for a three year deal with an opt out for him after year two. He’s betting on both himself and the cap in two years and hoping that he’ll be able to opt out and resign with another team for a starting salary around $25M per season. He’ll be getting close to 33 at that time so I’m not sure that he should have gone down that path but it has worked for guys before. For the Hawks it works out well because they won’t be locked into a $20M salary during years three and four for an aging PF who will likely have a diminishing skill set at that time. This keeps their books fairly clean moving forward with no long-term contracts on the books allowing them to remain flexible for the foreseeable future. Millsap was rewarded for his play with the Hawks in this contract and I’m sure both sides are happy to have gotten a deal done, especially the Hawks who saw DeMarre Carroll (see below) head above the border earlier in the day. Millsap is a perfect fit for this Hawks offense and scheme and should benefit from having another quality big (Splitter) in the rotation to help reduce his minutes. He struggled late in the season and in the playoffs but that was likely due to a shoulder injury he suffered during the final week of the season. Now that he has his contract situation ironed out he’ll need to make sure that it isn’t a lingering issue headed into next season.
Brook Lopez (3 years, $60M) – Brooklyn Nets
The Nets wasted little time in securing deals with both Lopez and Thaddeus Young on the first day of free agency. Lopez opted out of a deal that would have paid him around $16M next year and it paid off. He’ll make more than that next season along and has secured another roughly $40M guaranteed over the two years after that. The Nets had little choice but to retain Lopez and Young as they are cap strapped due to the deals that Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Jarrett Jack currently have. They flipped Mason Plumlee in the draft for Rondae Hollis-Jefferson which meant that both Young and Lopez were that much more of a priority as the team had little behind those guys of note. Lopez, even though the team didn’t play like it at times, is the best player on the floor at all times for the Nets and they were at their best when he was active on both sides of the floor. He’s a gifted post scorer with great length and is an above average rebounder. The only problem is that the team seems to forget about him for stretches as guys like Johnson, Jack and Williams feel the need to try and take over with that iso-ball that they all three seem to love so much. Young is a perfect compliment to Lopez with his ability to stretch the floor allowing Lopez some space to work. He is one of the premier centers in the league during a time where the word premier and center don’t go together that often.
Tyson Chandler (4 years, $52M) – Phoenix Suns
Now to the first free agent on this list that actually changed teams. Chandler surprised some people by signing with Phoenix early on Wednesday. With the Mavs throwing everything but the kitchen sink at DeAndre Jordan, I guess Chandler felt left out and probably a little disrespected so he opted to sign with the first team to offer him a significant contract. Like Dragic’s deal, I think that this is a little much for a guy that is extremely limited on the offensive end but he’ll be a productive player for the Suns, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. And for some reason I don’t think the Suns bringing in Chandler was limited to just that. There were ulterior motives behind this move and they all centered around trying to bring in LaMarcus Aldridge. It seems like every team in the Western Conference was making moves on Wednesday trying to lure Aldridge. Remember guys, he can only sign with one team. But with Chandler the Suns have a defensive stopper in the paint and a guy who can mentor young Alex Len on the ways of being an NBA caliber center. With the Morris Twins, Brandon Knight, P.J. Tucker and potentially Aldridge, that could be a scare good Suns team although they might have to part ways with Eric Bledsoe in order to make that happen which wouldn’t be that bad now that Knight has been re-upped.
DeMarre Carroll (4 years, $60M) – Toronto Raptors
As someone who has seen Carroll play a lot over the last few years and seen what type of person he is, I couldn’t be happier to see him finally get paid. He was the first big name player to switch teams on Wednesday leaving the Hawks for the Raptors. The Hawks weren’t going to be able to match the $60M that the Raptors threw at Carroll so he made the right choice for both himself and his family and took the money. Don’t get me wrong, the Raptors are going to be a dangerous team with Carroll in the mix, particularly on defense but the Hawks were a better fit overall for Carroll who benefited from a pass first offense over the last few seasons that saw open looks created for him instead of the other way around. The Raptors just don’t play that style of basketball so you’ll likely see his offensive numbers take a dip this season. But on the defensive side of the ball there are few better at guarding players on the wing that Carroll, especially at this price tag. The Raps are rumored to be looking at Wes Matthews as well which would create a nice log jam of guard/forwards but either way, the team got their man to start free agency. And as all Hawks fans can attest to, they got themselves a good one. Carroll is a team first guy who does all of the little things to help win games. He’ll be missed in Atlanta but should be embraced by Drake (if he hasn’t jumped off the bandwagon) as he arrives in Toronto.
Honorable Mention
Khris Middleton (Bucks), Iman Shumpert (Cavs), Brandon Knight (Suns) Thaddeus Young (Nets), Brandan Wright (Grizzlies), Paul Pierce (Clippers), Danny Green (Spurs) and Al Farouq Aminu (Blazers)
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