NBA Free Agency Update - July 10th

If you compare this year's first week of free agency to last year's you are probably feeling slightly disappointed due to the lack of "OMG Kevin Durant just left for the Warriors, how will Russell Westbrook respond" (spoiler, he didn't), but major moves have been made. Obviously some teams are on an upward trend while others are heading downhill, but there is plenty to talk about so let's get after it.

If we're going to talk about NBA free agency, we have to start by addressing the salary cap issue. The NBA has a salary cap to supposedly keep competitive balance as well as giving smaller market teams the ability to compete in free agency. Last year, you might remember that the cap skyrocketed which led to crazy salaries for guys that really didn't deserve them (I'm looking at you Bismack Biyombo and Ryan Anderson). Teams felt that the salary cap would continue to make huge jumps and these deals wouldn't end up crippling the franchise. Some GM's even went so far as to say these deals would seem cheap in a few years. Then the new salary cap number for next year came out and was only increased by a measly $5 Million. Instantly, teams that thought they would have all this cap room are now strapped to find ways to pay players and get better. As you'll see from many of the deals below, this salary cap number is having massive repercussions for the entire league.

Stars Staying Put:

One of these two is getting PAID

Kevin Durant - 2-Years - $53 Million
The face of free agency 2016 and reigning finals MVP once again made headlines with his decision to re-sign with the Golden State Warriors. While no one in their right mind believed Kevin Durant would bolt from the defending champs, the impactful piece of this signing was the amount. Despite Durant's ability to sign a max deal with the Warriors (and deservedly so), KD decided to take less than the max in order to free up cap space for the Warriors to sign other key pieces. As you'll see below, Kevin Durant's signing had far reaching implications for a few other players that decided to stay with the defending champions.

Stephen Curry - 5-Years - $200+ Million
As the first unanimous MVP in league history, it makes sense that Steph Curry gets another first; the first and only $200 Million contract in league history (UPDATE: As of 7/8/17 James Harden becomes the highest paid player ever with a staggering $228 Million extension over 4 years). There was no doubting that the Warriors would be paying through the nose for the babyfaced assassin so this signing should come as no shock to anyone.

Kyle Lowry - 3-Years - $100 Million
Keeping in line with the star point guards getting paid is Toronto Raptors' all-star Kyle Lowry. Many speculated about Lowry moving to another city in order to chase a championship, but in the end the Raptors' decided to bring the band back together for another run at what looks to be the worst Eastern Conference in league history. With Lowry returning, the Raptors will again have an opportunity to compete with LeBron in the playoffs. It's probably not enough to get past him, but Lowry was a necessity if the Raptors wanted to continue to win now.

Blake Griffin - 5-Years - $173 Million
As you're probably well aware, Chris Paul has left the Clippers in a sign-and-trade deal with the Houston Rockets. Fearing complete decimation at the hands of a grueling Western Conference, the Clippers needed to re-sign Griffin in order to stay in the playoff conversation. By locking up the oft-injured power forward, the Clippers continue to carry one of the most athletic big man duos in the league. Losing Paul was huge, but securing Griffin to a long term deal was a must for Doc Rivers and the Clippers organization.

Dirk Nowitzki - 2-Years - $10 Million
Talk about taking one for the team. The German big man has made it clear that he will not play in anything other than a Mavs uniform. In a move that resembles that of fellow stud forward Tim Duncan, Dirk took a huge pay-cut to give the Mavericks organization more cap flexibility. While it's yet to be seen who the cap room will be used on, there is no denying the greatness of Nowitzki. It truly is sad to see such an amazing talent be relegated to more than likely not making the playoffs, but with one championship under his belt, Nowitzki will forever be remembered.

Stars On The Move:

Gordon Hayward - 4-Years - $128 Million
Arguably the biggest signing of this year's free agency is headed to the Boston Celtics where he will team up with former Butler head coach Brad Stevens. While many pegged this reunion as a certainty, Miami and Utah made their best pitches in an attempt to steer Hayward away from Boston. In the end, Hayward felt a Celtics team that lost to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals was his best chance at a championship. In order to sign Hayward, the Celtics had to shed some salary in the form of trading Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons and renouncing the rights to restricted free agent forward Kelly Olynyk (GO ZAGS). The move certainly hurts Boston's depth and losing a solid defensive stopper in Bradley will sting, Boston now contains the second best scoring guard combination behind the Splash Brothers in Golden State. Hayward also instantly becomes an all-star starter for a ravaged Eastern Conference.

Paul Millsap - 3-Years - $90 Million
As the biggest free agent signing in the history of the Nuggets franchise, Millsap will have a lot of pressure to produce for a team that was already loaded at forward. This probably spells the end for Kenneth Faried in Denver, but Millsap is a huge upgrade and will pair nicely with young Nikola Jokic. While the Nuggets are probably one move away from becoming a playoff lock stealing Millsap away from Atlanta for nothing is a step in the right direction.

Underrated but Great Moves:

Literally All of Golden State's Signings
I'm not sure whether the Warriors front office is just lucky or if they are really as great as they look, but facing a potential cap nightmare, the Warriors have somehow figured out how to not only keep their core intact, but also secure their role players. I didn't think it was going to be possible for the Warriors to get better following their incredible run through the playoffs, but I think they just did. Resigning Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston were absolute musts for the team. Iguodala slides perfectly into the Warriors small-ball lineup and Livingston is a big guard that can punish second units. They also resigned forward David West for the veteran's minimum to solidify their group upfront along with resigning starting center Zaza Pachulia. If that wasn't enough, they then somehow stole Omri Casspi (I'm convinced the rest of the league thought he didn't exist anymore) from out under everyone else's noses. Barring a significant injury, the Warriors are poised to end next year with another championship.

Patty Mills - 4-Years - $50 Million
Are we really surprised that San Antonio made a great move that has flown under the radar? Mills was solid in backup duty behind starting point guard Tony Parker who suffered a torn hamstring in the playoffs, forcing Mills into the starting lineup. With the future of Parker in question, locking up Mills was very important for the Spurs. While the Spurs probably paid more than they wanted to for Mills, keeping him on the roster was paramount for a team that needs quickness at the point guard position.

Nene - 3-Years - $11 Million
At first, it didn't look like this deal would come together due to a quirky rule about players turning 38 in their contract. Eventually the Houston Rockets made the deal with Nene work and all is right in Houston. With Chris Paul and James Harden on Mike D'Antoni's squad, the Rockets needed to keep a big man who isn't afraid to bang inside. Nene fits the bill perfectly and the Rockets go him on an incredibly cheap contract which allowed for the signing of PJ Tucker.

Sacramento Signing Veterans
Say what? Sacramento actually making good moves in free-agency? No no that can't be right. Well, believe it. The Kings signed veterans George Hill, Zach Randolph, and Vince Carter to mentor their otherwise young roster. The best part about these moves? The Kings will probably still be pretty bad and in a conference where there could potentially be multiple teams over .500 that don't make the playoffs, you're still looking at a solid lottery pick that depending on how things work out, may or may not be theirs. Plus the Kings can sell at the trade deadline if the veterans aren't working out.

Minnesota Becoming a Playoff Team?
Tom Thibodeau is quietly (and not so quietly) assembling a solid team up in Minnesota. The Timberwolves could potentially be one of the top four defensive teams in the NBA next season easily. With a potential starting lineup of Jeff Teague, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, Taj Gibson, and Karl Anthony-Towns, the Wolves will be a threat in the playoffs. Signing Teague and Gibson after pulling the trigger on the Jimmy Butler deal has many teams in the West scared of this team's potential. They probably can't stand up to the likes of Golden State or San Antonio as they don't have a great matchup with Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard, but this team could really do some damage if they're clicking at the right time. Depth will be an issue for the Wolves though, which makes this one of the most intriguing teams for the 2017-2018 season. [UPDATE: Since the writing of this piece, Minnesota has agreed to terms with Jamal Crawford. This adds a scoring threat from a second unit as well as perimeter player with veteran leadership capabilities. Solid signing once again by the Wolves.]

That about wraps it up for today's update of the NBA Offseason. I'll be back soon going over some of the trades we've seen so far and with my take on some of the more questionable signings of the offseason. There are still a ton of guys left in free agency, but not a ton of money to go around. It will definitely be an interesting ride.

Thanks,
Brandon

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