NBA free agency has arguably been more entertaining than the 2017 post-season, with players around the league getting a chance to test their value around the association. For better or for worse, it’s created plenty of headlines.
Now that free agency is on its final leg, it’s also easier to put into perspective how much better or worse each team will be with the deals they’ve agreed upon this summer.
Expectations will be made based on salary and term of the deal, but before they’re set in stone it’s important to understand which contracts were a hit, and which ones could have been avoided.
Five Best Contracts of Free Agency
Coming into free agency, there were a lot of questions surrounding 31-year-old Kyle Lowry. With his age, health and importance to the Raptors all in consideration, Masai Ujiri was able to find the perfect answer as he signed Lowry to a three-year deal worth $100 million.
Ujiri struck gold by not having to hand out a five-year deal to keep the three-time all-star, which could have led to severe consequences by the time Lowry was 35 and 36 years old. Instead, he made him the highest-paid Raptor after the point guard led the team to its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2016, along with back-to-back 50-win seasons.
Lowry has had health issues throughout each of Toronto’s last three playoff runs, but that shouldn’t overshadow the fact that he averaged a career-high 22.4 points last season – the highest average among this summer’s FA class after Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.
Jeff Teague has placed himself in the perfect situation with the Minnesota Timberwolves, even if he did take a bit of a pay cut when he agreed to a three-year, $57 million deal.
A former all-star, Teague will arguably be the fourth-best player in the T-Wolves’ starting lineup, as he gets ready to play with three players who averaged 20 points per game last season. He’s no slouch when it comes to scoring the ball, but Teague has proven he’s more of a distributor – coming off a career-high 7.8 assists with the Pacers.
Teague has also shown in the past that he can run an elite offence, guiding the Atlanta Hawks to a 60-win season in 2014-15. If he can get Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jamal Crawford their fair share of touches, he and Tom Thibodeau could have a Western Conference dark horse on their hands.
If we’re considering how a player’s contract will help his respective team win, there’s no denying that Kevin Durant signed the best deal of the off-season.
With the eight-time all-star signing for almost $10 million less than what he could have demanded, the Warriors were able to retain Curry, Andre Iguodala, David West and Shaun Livingston.
With their same roster intact, Durant and the Warriors will have a chance to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since the Heat in 2012.
The Denver Nuggets aren’t contending next season, but with the addition of Paul Millsap they can at least sell future free agents on the fact that they might just be “a piece away.”
For a three-year, $90-million price tag this summer, the Nuggets were able to form one of the best frontcourts in the NBA – pairing up-and-coming big man Nikola Jokic with Millsap. After finishing last season in the West’s ninth seed, signing the four-time all-star gives them their opportunity to slip into the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
The money that was sent Millsap’s way also doesn’t hurt as much considering they let free agent Danilo Gallinari walk this summer. With players like Wilson Chandler, Jamal Murray, Will Barton and Gary Harris still surrounding their wing, the Nuggets took a step forward in a market that rarely ever produces the same type of results.
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The Raptors agreeing to a sign-and-trade for C.J. Miles for a bargain of a deal is much sweeter considering that right before they did, they also dumped off DeMarre Carroll and the $30 million he was due over the next two seasons.
In their sign-and-trade for Miles, the Raptors had to ship out Canadian Cory Joseph. But with their point guard depth locked up with Kyle Lowry, Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet, the Raptors were able to focus on their biggest weakness: three-point shooting around the wing.
Signing Miles for only approximately $8 million per year is as sweet as it gets, considering he shot 41 per cent from three-point distance last season. If he can use his six-foot-six frame to his advantage on defence, or at least simply stay healthy, the Raptors got themselves a solid replacement for nearly half the price.
Five Worst Contracts of Free Agency
When a player is 36 years old and doesn’t have a ring, he either stays put with his current team or joins one that can help him become a champion. Zach Randolph decided against both those options by joining the Sacramento Kings on a two-year, $24-million deal this summer.
A two-time all-star, Randolph could just be in Sacramento for a single season if he gets a player option in his contract. But at his age, and with his skill set, there isn’t any time to waste – especially on a team that hasn’t made the playoffs for the past 11 years.
Randolph will be a mentor on the Kings and will likely get a starter’s spot once again after averaging 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds as the Grizzlies’ sixth man last season. It’s a level of production that plenty of GMs could have added to their bench on their way towards a Larry O’Brien Trophy, and not one that belongs at the bottom of the Western Conference.
The Miami Heat’s biggest weakness last season was at the power forward position with Josh McRoberts and Luke Babbitt, making it odd that they signed the same type of player in Kelly Olynyk to a four-year, $52-million deal.
All three of the aforementioned stretch fours can shoot the basketball, but none of them have proven themselves as reliable scorers, rebounders or defenders. The only difference between the three is that Olynyk will be making $12.5 million a season, which is money that generally goes out to a starter.
Pat Riley could just be lining up trade pieces, but with the Heat on the fringe of being amongst the East’s elites this move won’t get them much bang for their buck.
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The New York Knicks officially outplayed themselves when their four-year, $71-million offer sheet for Tim Hardaway Jr. wasn’t matched by the Hawks.
Signing the four-year pro to that big of a deal has to hurt, but it becomes even more atrocious considering they dealt Hardaway Jr. in 2015 in a series of moves that ultimately landed them now-free agent Derrick Rose.
Hardaway Jr. is a decent role player, but nothing more at this point of his career after averaging 14.5 points on 45.5 per cent shooting throughout the 2016-17 season. The six-foot-six shooting guard still has time to live up to his deal, but for now it’ll just help Knicks fans remember Phil Jackson’s horrible tenure as president of basketball operations.
Instead of starting a rebuild after Chris Paul left in free agency, the Los Angeles Clippers decided to go all-in by signing Blake Griffin to a five-year deal worth $173 million.
When Griffin is healthy, he’s a Top 10 player in the league. But the problem for the Clippers is that they have no definite idea when their all-star power forward will hit the court. Griffin is now rumoured to be back in December after tearing ligaments and tendons in his foot, a devastating blow considering he hasn’t played over 70 games in any of the past three seasons.
A big man with a foot injury is a nightmare for a GM, and it can only get worse for the Clippers’ front office if Griffin continues to miss games, especially after signing the third-richest contract in NBA history.
There aren’t many better human beings in the NBA than Jrue Holiday, but the New Orleans Pelicans made a bold move to sign him to a five-year deal worth $125 million.
A 2012-13 all-star with the 76ers, Holiday hasn’t been able to hit the same stride as a Pelican. Excluding last year, when he took time off to assist his ailing wife, Holiday has been plagued by injuries – missing 107 games over the course of three seasons.
The Pelicans do need a point guard to distribute the ball to Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, but it’s tough to see why they needed to commit to one for this long, especially right at the dawn of free agency. Instead, they could have went after a cheaper option like George Hill, or tried to agree to a shorter term like the T-Wolves did with Teague.
