Free Agent Spending By Division: Central

Over the course of the last week, we’ve been breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this summer.

These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.

Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.

With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Central division. Our breakdowns of all five other divisions can be found linked at the bottom of this post.

Let’s dive in…

1. Detroit Pistons

• Total money committed: $207,171,313
• Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $207,171,313
• Largest expenditure: Andre Drummond (five years, $127,171,313)
• Other notable signings:
  • Jon Leuer (four years, $41,000,000)
  • Boban Marjanovic (three years, $21,000,000)
  • Ish Smith (three years, $18,000,000)
• Notes:
  • Ray McCallum’s deal is not included in these totals, since it’s a summer contract which won’t count toward the Pistons’ cap unless he makes the regular-season roster.

2. Milwaukee Bucks

• Total money committed: $119,530,000
• Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $119,530,000
• Largest expenditure: Miles Plumlee (four years, $49,600,000)
• Other notable signings:
  • Matthew Dellavedova (four years, $38,430,000)
  • Mirza Teletovic (three years, $31,500,000)
• Notes:
  • Dellavedova’s contract was technically the result of a sign-and-trade deal by the Cavaliers, but we’re considering it a Milwaukee signing.

3. Chicago Bulls

• Total money committed: $78,532,117
• Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $65,215,696
• Largest expenditure: Dwyane Wade (two years, $47,000,000)
• Other notable signings:
  • Rajon Rondo (two years, $27,397,000)
  • Isaiah Canaan (two years, minimum salary)
• Notes:
  • Rondo’s second-year salary of $13.397MM is partially guaranteed for $3MM.

4. Indiana Pacers

• Total money committed: $32,700,000
• Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $26,700,000
• Largest expenditure: Al Jefferson (three years, $30,000,000)
• Other notable signings:
  • Aaron Brooks (one year, $2,700,000)
• Notes:
  • Jefferson’s third-year salary of $10MM is partially guaranteed for $4MM.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers

• Total money committed: $9,573,362
• Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $6,960,862
• Largest expenditure: Richard Jefferson (three years, $7,612,500)
• Other notable signings:
  • Chris Andersen (one year, minimum salary)
  • James Jones (one year, minimum salary)
• Notes:
  • Andersen and Jones will earn $1,551,659 apiece on their minimum-salary deals, but will only be paid $980,431 each by the Cavaliers, with the NBA on the hook for the rest.
  • Jefferson’s third-year salary of $2,612,500 is fully non-guaranteed.
  • DeAndre Liggins‘ deal has been officially signed, but exact terms of that contract haven’t been reported, so we haven’t included it in the Cavs’ totals for now.
  • The Cavs have also yet to formally re-sign LeBron James, whose new contract will bump up the club’s free agent expenditures significantly. A new deal for J.R. Smith may also be on the horizon.

Previously:

WEST:

• Southwest
• Northwest
• Pacific

EAST:

• Southeast
• Atlantic