NBA Free Agency Update: Big Deals, Eye-Popping Stats
Nearly $3 Billion Spent on Free Agents in Just Three Days
NBA Free Agency opened with a bang as teams made it rain in the past three days. Over $2 billion was spent in the first 72 hours as general managers unloaded nine-figure contracts like they were Halloween candy. That ballpark figure is just one of many incredulous stats to explain the NBA’s shopping bonanza as there are several others that paint the picture.
Paying Premiums to Keep NBA Stars
While NBA basketball stars switching teams dominates the headlines, the biggest money spent on NBA Free Agency thus far has been on keeping them. The 2020 NBA Draft class, in particular, is “making bank” with some massive extensions.
Between four rising stars, nearly one billion was paid by four teams to retain their services. Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and Tyrese Haliburton, the three Rookie of the Year finalists in 2020, each earned $260 million max extensions. Not too far behind is Memphis’s Desmond Bane who got $205 million. Each deal was for five years.
Averaging it out, Edwards, Ball, and Haliburton will be making up to $52 million a year on average with their new deals. They are all 23 years old or younger. In context, the Warriors rewarded Stephen Curry a $201 million contract just six years ago.
But it’s not just the youngsters getting paid. Established stars like Kyrie Irving, Khris Middleton, and Draymond Green earned extensions not worth sneezing at. Dallas gave Irving $126 million over three years while Middleton got $102 million for the same term. Green, whose future with Golden State was long speculated, earned $100 million over four years.
It doesn’t stop here as even non-stars got paid like one. The most notable is Portland’s Jerami Grant who got a bigger contract than the three listed above him: $160 million over five years. And Cameron Johnson, a restricted free agent for Brooklyn, made $108 million with a four-year deal. Kyle Kuzma also got a $102-million four-year extension from Washington.
Houston Has No Problems… Spending
While the teams above paid a lot to keep their best players, the Houston Rockets paid even more to acquire new ones. Houston spent over $200 million to sign both Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. If you throw in Jock Landale and Jeff Green, that’s over $240 million.
VanVleet was in talks with Toronto for an extension with reporters expecting him to be signed to an average annual valuation (AAV) of $30 to $35 million. But Houston said “f— that” and showed him the money. The former Raptor now makes NBA statistics history as the highest-paid undrafted player with an AAV just shy of $43 million.
Brooks, who gained notoriety as a trash talker, backed up his words with an $80-million four-year deal with Houston. The All-NBA Defensive 2nd team selection stays in the Southwest Division ready to pester his old team in Memphis.
The L.A. Discount: Tinseltown Gets Bang For Buck
With all those nine-figure contracts being thrown around, other teams had to find ways to snag key free agents on affordable deals. Former MVP Russell Westbrook agreed to a two-year deal to stay with the Clippers at just under $8 million in total. Despite being maligned by Lakers fans, Westbrook played well in his 26 games with the Clippers.
His old team, the Lakers, also did well in acquiring promising young talent at reasonable prices. The team brought back the trio of Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura for a just over $144 million in total. Reaves’ contract was for four years at an AAV of $14 million, which is under what most analysts expected.
The Lakers also bolstered its bench in a big way. The team signed Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, and Taurean Prince for a total just north of $46 million. In comparison, Houston paid $38 million for Landale and Green.
He’s Richer Paul Now
Perhaps the biggest winner in this NBA Free Agency is the superstar sports agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group. The 41-year-old got paid along with many of his clients: Green, Grant, and VanVleet just to name a few.
And his work may just be starting out as he has several high-profile players with expiring deals this NBA season. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dejounte Murray could be in the final years of their contracts. James and Davis have player options while Murray needs a new deal. Paul will surely find a way to get these stars the maximum possible deals.
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