After a busy weekend in the NBA, the landscape of the league continues to shift. All told, 14 players changed teams, while 15 more re-signed with their current club. And the number continues to grow.
There are still big names on the market — Gordon Hayward is expected to decide between the Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat at some point Tuesday, the Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly going to land Danilo Gallinari, and players like Rudy Gay currently remain available — but a number of major transactions took place over the last three days.
Now that the dust is beginning to settle, let’s take a look back at some of the standouts amid a flurry of moves made over the weekend:
The Raptors roll it back
Once Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets last week it became clear that the market for Kyle Lowry was thin. With few teams with a combination of max cap space (or close to it), a competitive win-now roster, and a hole at starting point guard, Lowry didn’t have too much leverage to negotiate. He still got paid — $100 million — but the Raptors lucked out in being able to play hardball on a three-year deal, as opposed to the five-year max many anticipated Lowry to sign.
Masai Ujiri and Co. preceded that move by also re-signing Serge Ibaka to a three-year deal that will pay the big man an average annual salary of $21.6 million.
Pending trades, those two moves leave the Raps with little in the way of remaining salary to spend as they look to shore up the rest of the roster to replace the departing P.J. Tucker.
By bringing back Lowry and Ibaka, the Raptors have ensured that they will, in fact, be a very good team again next season, one that can potentially return to the Conference Finals. Which is nice. That Ibaka, Lowry, and DeMar DeRozan will all have deals expiring in three years also gives the Raptors a clear opportunity for a fresh start down the line, and to consider long-term development while remaining competitive.
The Raptors were never going to be in a position to significantly improve their roster this summer, make major trades, or to properly reshuffle the roster and build around DeRozan. All things considered, these short(ish) term deals for returning stars may have been their best option.
The Nuggets sign Millsap, emerge as one of the more interesting teams out West
Paul Millsap’s three-year $90-million deal with the Denver Nuggets is an absolute win-win for both sides. Millsap, 32 with plenty more left in the tank, joins a team where he is a something of a finishing piece in a rebuild surrounding future all-star Nikola Jokic down low, natural scorer Jamal Murray at guard, along with talented youngsters like Gary Harris, Will Barton, and Trey Lyles.
In Millsap Denver has found a solid veteran presence who can be counted upon to close out games and whose ability to finish at the rim and step out to the perimeter helps create space for Jokic and adds a new dimension to the offence.
The Nuggets narrowly missed the playoffs last season, but with Millsap on board and the projected growth of their existing young roster, they’re now poised to make a post-season appearance in 2018.
Curry and Durant return to the Warriors on very different deals
As expected, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant will return to the Golden State Warriors. They both have a similar impact on the defending champions, but the terms of their deals couldn’t be more different.
After spending the last few seasons playing for less than half his market value, Curry finally got paid, inking a five-year $201-million contract, the biggest deal in free agency. It’s a much-deserved raise that will keep the former MVP in the Bay area throughout his prime and will keep the Dubs’ perennial status as title favourites in tact.
In a more surprising turn, Durant is poised to sign a two-year deal with a player option for the 2018-19 season at an average annual salary of “just” $26.5 million. The future Hall of Famer and reigning Finals MVP was always expected to take a pay cut in order to preserve enough cap space to re-sign Andre Igoudala — which the Warriors did, at three years, $48 million — but that number is smaller than anticipated, though clearly worth it in the mind of Durant now that he’s well-positioned to chase a second consecutive title.
GM Bob Meyers and the Warriors’ front office continues to set the standard for the rest of the league.
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Clippers miss their window to rebuild, re-ink Blake Griffin
What are the Clippers doing? After trading Chris Paul, major change was on the horizon in L.A. where they were facing a scenario where they could have a ton of cap room for next summer and beyond in addition to having the opportunity to develop young players and draft future superstars.
Instead, they re-signed Blake Griffin to a mammoth five-year, $173-million deal that will help keep them in NBA No-Man’s Land, good enough to compete for a playoff spot but not a title contender, and too good to land in the draft lottery.
Griffin would’ve made for a nice fit in Phoenix, but will now remain the face of the Clippers franchise. News that the team may also add Danilo Gallinari isn’t exactly enough to create excitement for the Clips’ future.
It may seem crazy, but the Sixers are spending their money wisely
Is J.J. Redick worth $23 million per season? Probably not. Is Amir Johnson worth $11 million? No.
But Philadelphia will be paying both players precisely that much in 2017-18, and there’s a ton to like about it. With a team full of players still on their rookie deals, the Sixers had the cap room to spend big and did so with one major caveat: Redick and Johnson are both signed to one-year contracts. It means Philly doesn’t jeopardize their future at all, while bringing in two highly-respected veterans who will play important roles in the development of the Sixers’ young core on and off the court.
Johnson likely won’t play all that much, but Redick will and he happens to fill a critical role for the Sixers as a knockdown shooter at the two to help spread the floor for a roster that likes to clog the paint.
The point guard carousel is nearly complete
George Hill is still without a home (the Lakers and Spurs are two potential destinations), but his free agent counterparts, Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague, are all off the market.
Holiday re-upped on a giant five-year, $126-million deal to remain in New Orleans, where he was quietly amazing down the stretch last season and will now orchestrate a team with a full season of the Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins frontcourt.
Jeff Teague was a savvy signing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who inked the 29 year-old former all-star to a three-year, $57-million deal that will see him join a team where he’ll have a clear place on the Timberwolves’ hierarchy behind, in order, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins. Minnesota was in the market for a point guard after trading Ricky Rubio to Utah, and they found a nice option at a considerably cheaper rate than an alternative like Kyle Lowry — a crucial factor given that Towns and Wiggins will soon be eligible for contract extensions.
Those deals mean the market for Hill is smaller than ever, and while his lack of real leverage will likely hurt the value of Hill’s next contract, it could also mean a coup for whichever team signs the talented guard.
Update [1:31 PM ET]: Hill has reportedly signed with the Sacramento Kings.
The Kings entered the summer with more cap space than almost any other team. To grab a veteran, starting-calibre point guard will help fifth overall pick D’Aaron Fox’s NBA transition, while also giving Sacramento a steady hand at lead guard. $19 million per year is hardly a “coup” for Hill, but it’s a fair contract for both sides.
Sacramento also signed Zach Randolph, bringing in a pair of veterans to help shift the culture for a young group in need of change.
