The first day of free agency is almost complete and several big names are already off the market.
Paul George will stay in Oklahoma City for the next four years, bringing approximately $137MM. DeAndre Jordan will make roughly the same ($24MM) in Dallas this season as he would have had he opted in with the Clippers. Chris Paul remains in Houston on a four-year, $160MM deal and Kevin Durant will stay in Golden State for at least one more year, as he signed a two-year, $61.5MM deal that will allow him to hit the open market again next summer.
Outside of the top players, many rotational players got paid on mid-sized deals. Ed Davis landed a one-year, $4.4MM deal with the Nets. The Spurs retain Rudy Gay on a one-year, $10MM pact and bring back old friend Marco Belinelli on a two-year, $12MM deal. Trevor Ariza cashes in with the Suns on a one-year, $15MM deal and Joe Harris will stay with the Nets, earning $16MM over the next two seasons.
Tonight’s community shootaround is all about which team made the best deal. The Warriors re-signing Durant is arguably the most important deal of the group and the Thunder retaining George has to be seen as one of the greatest accomplishments during GM Sam Presti’s reign. Aside from those two deals, which contract has the most value?
The Raptors re-signing Fred VanVleet stands out as another coup in a long list of positives during GM Masai Ujiri’s tenure. At $9MM per season, he’ll provide excellent value off the bench and he’s more than capable of starting for Toronto should the club deal Kyle Lowry (no one on the roster is untouchable in trades, per reports).
Which team do you think negotiated the best deal? Do you agree that VanVleet’s contract holds the most value outside of Durant’s and George’s or do you believe another deal is more team-friendly? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
I think the best deal is DeAndre Jordan. I think with Dirk Nowitzki, Dennis Smith, Luka Doncic, Harrison Barnes, and Wesley Matthews they are a playoff team. I think the most important free agent left is Clint Capella. The Rockets will “have to” match a max deal and it will skyrocket their payroll. I think Carmello Anthony will end up as a free agent, possibly to the Lakers since he has a home there also.
deandre at 24 million is not the best deal.
One year isn’t bad though. Not like they needed the space for much else this year. I think Matthews is up next year and they can be big players then. They have built a decent team for this year, my guess is they just want to send Dirk off right. If he sticks around for another season they might be a legit team, but I think they can sneak into the playoffs if some things go their way this season.
Not trading Matthew’s for DJ and retaining cap space makes that the worst deal of the day. Brian Windhorst would say the PG13 deal is the dumbest of the day for the players signing deals, great for the Thunder but he should have done a 2+1 apparently to maximize earnings.
If the Clippers didn’t want Matthews how was Dallas supposed to trade him for DJ? It takes two to trade, and if he had negative value it makes more sense to keep him. The other thing they could’ve done was trade him to BKN for Dwight Howard, who does a lot of the same things, and then Brooklyn could’ve bought out Matthews instead, but I’m not sure how realistic that would’ve been.
PG13 got a 4 year deal. He spent last night partying with his best buddy, Russell Westbrook. The reason it took Jordan so long to opt out is the Clippers didn’t want Wes Matthews, so Jordan had to use free agency. He didn’t have a choice. I’m hoping Leonard goes to Philly and stays. I think Ainge doesn’t want to mess with Boston’s chemistry. If Dallas goes somewhere next season, Jordan will get a raise. He’s from Dallas.
Aron Baynes
Glenn Robinson ||| going to Detroit at 4mil a year (went to college at Michigan and will be a fan favorite right away)
He also grew up in Gary, Indiana, so he’s been staying close to home. He’s a better defender than Stanley Johnson.
In terms of value and return no deal can be better than Durant’s 2-year $61.5MM deal. An MVP/superstar calibre player taking another discounted deal is a huge win for the dubs.
On the flip side I think Chris Paul’s max deal is the worst one of the day. That isn’t a knock against Paul as a player, but at his age and with his injury history giving him, on average, $40MM a year is a huge overpay in my mind. However, the Rockets put themselves in that situation to have to overpay him.
PG13, KD & CP3 are the best deals of the day.
Without a doube FVV, Gay, Ariza… are real bad, as they overpay players that should never be around that kind of money.
The worst is DJ, though he is much better player than FVV, Gay or Ariza, at 24MM is a ridiculous overpay for a year, also they loose their salary cap which is more important, as they cannot collect assets any more. Dallas is not gonna be anywhere near the playoffs with this team, as DJ only contributes defence & rebounds, they will need Doncic to become a superstar the first season, maybe 20/6/6 to have any chance of playoffs, you think they would have tried to compete in Dirk’s last season or fully tank, worst thing ever is been a team in the middle & without a chance of playoffs, maybe a #10 pick for next year, which won’t help them neither.