It only took a day, but the start of NBA Free Agency was as crazy a day as they come.
No-one should be surprised either.
Big name stars received contract extensions, other stars wanted out of their current situations, and role players got paid. Let’s take a look at some of the bigger moves that happened over the last 24 hours.
Durant and Kyrie Want out
There’s not much more to say that hasn’t already been said. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, on the three year anniversary of announcing their partnership in Brooklyn, have both said they want out.
It was a stunning, but not surprising move after the last two weeks. It opens the door to a much crazier off-season than I think anyone was prepared for.
The Mavericks, Suns and Heat were all listed as favorites for both stars but a quiet whisper has opened up the possibility of the Lakers being early players.
NBA Stars Stay with teams on Day 1 of Free Agency
KD, and Kyrie aside, there were a lot of contract extensions that were dished out last night.
The 2x-NBA MVP Nikola Jokic signed the largest contract in NBA History at five years and $270 million. A well deserving extension, Jokic wasn’t the only one to lock up extensions either.
Just this morning it was reported that Pelicans star Zion Williamson is on the precipice of signing a five-year rookie max contract extension worth up to $231 million.
Bradley Beal was another star who decided to stay home. The guard signed a five-year, $251 million maximum contract extension with the Washington Wizards after opting-out of his original deal.
Devin Booker, Karl Anthony-Towns, Ja Morant and others also secured the bag with the team’s that drafted them. In total, overall extensions came out to over $1.1 billion in money given to players. It was a pretty solid day for the small market teams to have their players remain loyal to what was being built around them.
The Knicks get their guy…and others
After the NBA Draft, fans and analysts of the Knicks were puzzled at their strategy to punt the draft away in hopes of landing Jalen Brunson.
Well, they got him. A four-year, $110 million contract locked in the 25 year old point guard to New York City. While fans will question if this is one of the only top money moves they make, it’s important to note that the Knicks knew they had the resources for THEIR guy, and didn’t miss.
The Knicks weren’t just busy locking up Brunson though. New York also signed Mitchell Robinson to a $60 million extension and signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a two year deal as well.
The Knicks may have decided to forego the big-game hunting of the past, but secured two young players that will help their team right away.
Role Players get paid
Whether it was Lonnie Walker getting a one year, $6.5 million deal with the Lakers, or PJ Tucker getting over $30 million guaranteed to go to Philadelphia, role players got paid in a big way on day one of NBA Free Agency.
Kyle Anderson moved from Memphis to Minnesota. Joe Ingles joined Giannis in Milwaukee. Heck, even Portland broke the bank for Gary Payton II as well.
There aren’t major stars and players in NBA Free Agency outside of the trade market for Durant and Irving, but a lot of role players that can help good teams got paid handsomely last night.
Who is Left?
James Harden, Zach Lavine and DeAndre Ayton are the three top players available in free agency at this time. Harden is expected to work on a deal with the 76ers over the weekend and the Bulls and Suns could use their respective young players as a trade package for Durant or Kyrie.
There are still plenty of role players as well on the open market. Kevon Looney and Otto Porter Jr. will be names that culd be leaving the Warriors dynasty in the coming weeks, Donte DiVincenzo and TJ Warren could be looking for new homes as well.
All eyes are going to be on where Durant and Irving end up, but there are still plenty of options that can help a team’s bench. And as we’ve seen from the Warriors last season, the deeper the bench is, the harder it is to lose.
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