Texas is known for going big, and this year, NBA free agency is no exception. The state boasts not only the most celebrated free agent to change teams in LaMarcus Aldridge, but also the two teams that corralled more free agents than any other in the league. The Spurs and Mavericks have reached deals with 11 free agents each over the past month.
Aldridge is one of them, of course, as the suburban Dallas native eschewed the Mavs to instead sign with the Spurs. Dallas almost convinced the free agent who might have been the next most sought-after to change teams, but DeAndre Jordan skipped out on his deal with the Mavs to return to the Clippers, who’ve had a fairly sizable haul of their own, with eight free agent agreements so far.
Part of the reason for the heavy volume of deals in San Antonio and Dallas has to do with both teams getting an early start on building their training camp rosters, and the number of expiring contracts that they were carrying at the end of last season obviously plays a role, too. Still, to put the scope of their free agent activity in perspective, the entire Northwest Division has only reached agreement with 13 free agents so far. That includes the Jazz and Timberwolves, who’ve struck deals with just one free agent apiece.
Both Utah and Minnesota have signed draft-and-stash prospects and players taken in this year’s draft, so it’s not as if they’ve been dormant this month. Indeed, teams across the league have engaged in trades, extensions and even rare renegotiations, as the free agent market represents only a portion of the player movement around the league.
Still, it’s worth wondering whether factors like the lack of a state income tax, relatively mild weather, and track records of success have helped the Spurs and Mavs to the top of the list below, even if the Rockets lag behind in this category. Note that the numbers here, drawn from our Free Agent Tracker, include agreements to sign that haven’t become formal signings yet.
Number of free agent deals by team:
- Mavericks, 11
- Spurs, 11
- Kings, 9
- Clippers, 8
- Knicks, 8
- Nets, 8
- Cavaliers, 7
- Raptors, 7
- Pacers, 6
- Pelicans, 6
- Celtics, 5
- Suns, 5
- Trail Blazers, 5
- Bulls, 4
- Heat, 4
- Hornets, 4
- Magic, 4
- Pistons, 4
- Rockets, 4
- Bucks, 3
- Hawks, 3
- Lakers, 3
- Nuggets, 3
- Sixers, 3
- Thunder, 3
- Warriors, 3
- Wizards, 3
- Grizzlies, 2
- Jazz, 1
- Timberwolves, 1