NBA Free Agency 2022: Excellent and impressive from day one of signings

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Somehow, after the first day of free agency, the big story is not a free agent at all.

Kevin Durant Make sure of it when Business student from Brooklyn Just hours before the free agency theoretically goes live at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. (Actually, free agency started several weeks ago, but we’re not supposed to say that part out loud.)

As a result, the shock waves that shot outward were re-imagined kyrie irving lakers scenariosAnd the Deandre Ayton Signatures and Deals Are Complicated and a difference from Boston to Miami Golden State Memphis Imagine how they could pull together a deal for a star who would stay under contract for the entire Olympics – the first day of free agency got a little sloppy.

Which is fairly fair. With the already well-known big name destinations (although we enjoyed performance art Galen Bronson“Decision Day” as a nicks swimming late against the current of a tampering charge), not a single free movement would take our socks off. Anything that happens with Durant is much bigger than the other things that happened on June 30th.

However, several movements caught my eye on the first day, both good and bad. Let’s review some of the biggest:

excellent: Kyle Anderson to me Timberwolves (2 years, $18 million)

I tip my hat to Minnesota for what was the best deal on day one. Anderson’s BORD $ value More than double the annual value of this contract, and there is good reason for that. Although he doesn’t have a great deal of marksmanship, “Slo-Mo” is a plus in nearly every class, especially as a gunner.

This is the evaluation aspect, but the fit is more of a win-win. Anderson can block attack when paired with other shooters, but playing next to the league’s best shooter and three guards who can let him blast from the depths should be a huge plus with his slashes to the cup. Anderson is also a huge upgrade for a team that struggled in defense last season and lacked quality in both front positions.

Meanwhile, it was a rough day for Memphis in the powerhouse forward. The Grizzlies had stock in the news the whole time when they announced shortly before the free agency was informed that Garen Jackson Jr. needed surgery for a stress fracture and would be out for months, then Slo-Mo – who was able. He held the position for Jackson during his relatively frequent absences from injury—withdrawing to Minnesota hours later.

Oddly enough, the Grizzlies will have 16 players on contract once they sign the starters Jake LaRaviaAnd the David Rudy And the Kennedy Chandlerafter also agreeing to re-sign Teos Jones. As soon as they give up the injured Danny GreenThey’ll be around $5 million under Max despite having a full roster and being a potential competitor in the West. One potential use of this money: renegotiation and extension of an expired $11.4 million deal Dillon Brooks.

Objected: Marvin Bagley to pistons (Three years, $37 million)

It’s strangely frustrating to see pistons mostly Get the big picture stuff right While still walking on various pistons along the way. Their strange obsession with Bagley is an excellent example.

Detroit traded picks for the second round just for the restricted free agent rights at the 2022 trade deadline, even though his team at the time clearly had no intention of retaining him. They then doubled as soon as free agency began, and engaged in a bidding war against steam as soon as the opening bell rang. The few teams with cover room didn’t seem to need or want Bagley, but the Pistons paid him anyway. The pistons don’t particularly need the Bagley either, since they already have three better positions (Galen Doreenand Isiah Stewart and Kelly Olynyk), and the skill level required to play 4.

On a 4 percent full note, Bagley is young and can score, so maybe he’s adding enough empty calories to make this decade look kind of not terrible. Either way, laying the lid on the Pistons is so clean going forward that nodes are unlikely to harm them. It might even inadvertently help their long-range outlook if he played as he did in Sacramento and kept them in good tanks. But there were better uses of 2 seconds, and better bets with more MLE money, than this.

excellent: Philadelphia brings the band back together (PJ TuckerThree years, $33 million; Danwell House 2 years, $8 million)

You could argue there’s a bit of Buddy Ryan syndrome at play here, as Sixers General Manager Daryl Morey re-performed his greatest hits from Houston Days by bringing back Tucker and House to join James Harden and his one-time selection group D. Anthony Melton. However, one could also argue, more emphatically, that the Sixers finally have a pair of wings that fit into their Harden-Embiid-Harris-Maxey core with the previously acquired Tucker, House, and Melton additions.

The Sixers needed James Harden to opt out of his $47 million season credit to pull this off (As Shams Al-Shaaraniya informed us that he will do so) and would narrowly crown the rest of the season, but could return Harden to a three-year deal for about $110 million and move on at least comfortably through the season. Philly is still likely to have some trouble rising to levels dollarsAnd the Celtics And the the heat In the East, but between these additions and one or two subtractions (including the name below), this is a more coherent list than it was a year ago.

shrug: Deandre Jordan To Denver (minimum one year)

What do we do here? Jordan was awful last year, he’ll be 34 on opening day, and he can’t jump anymore. Why jump to sign him on the first day of free agency?

Unfortunately, I think I know the reason: because nuggets They will only sign the minimum contracts so they can avoid the luxury tax, which also explains why they gave up on the future first-round pick to drop. Jamical GreenThis was followed by another move to save money in dealing with Monte Morris and Will Barton Kentavius ​​Caldwell, Bob and ish smith.

Denver also occurred Davon Red To the minimum contract (yes?), although he was already a useful player last season. Unless we see evidence to the contrary, we can assume it’s almost over. (Nuggets have 1 open place in the list, which will be filled by a restricted free agent Flatco Kankar or another player with a lower contract). That would leave the Nuggets above the tax cap, but they still managed to collapse through Smith’s trade later in the season. They’ll avoid the tax, but even more so, they’ll also avoid maximizing the early years of the best player in franchise history.

Excellent: quick action in Milwaukee (Joe EngelsAnd the Bobby PortezAnd the Jevon Carter and Wes Matthews)

Engels is working his way back from an ACL tear, but the Bucks don’t need him to collect regular season wins. The idea is to have a menacing shooter who can help them with their playoffs, and to have him for a year at the average level for the taxpayer is a good value if he has anything in the tank after surgery. When Matthews and Carter are added in deals close to the bottom line (Matthews for one year, Carter for two years), strong defenders are secured to fill the back end of the turn at the only rate the Bucks can pay because of it being in the tax.

Milwaukee also kept Portes in a four-year deal worth $49 million – the most they could pay him – and received an unexpected bonus when Pat Connaughton He picked his deal for $5.7 million this year. The latter will likely come with attached terms in the form of an extension that would start a year from now, but in the short term, keep what would have been a staggering luxury tax bill to something near reasonable. The Bucks will enter the year $26 million in tax, which will result in a $65 million check for the league — important stuff for a small market. We’ll see if they get rid of it or if they transfer money in season (George Hill or Grayson Allenperhaps), but the 2021 champions are well positioned to reclaim their place.

Objected: Le Dort Extension (five years, $87 million)

This was a pretty pricey extension considering they didn’t have to do one: Oklahoma City He could only let Dort play this year with his $1.9 million deal, then either re-sign him to free agency or, reasonably, extend it by four years starting at $12.95 million each.

Dort has improved as a shooter, but the idea of ​​him being a high-profile 3D guy is still a long way off. We haven’t seen Thunder play a real and meaningful game in a couple of years, but he’s still a player who dares opponents to shoot out from the ocean and isn’t afraid to be an ultimate or inventive player. It’s a brick wall in defense of solitude, but its impact stats suggest that it might be overkill in this end as well.

Compare this, if you will, with the similar deal Houston signed for a relatively similar (albeit older) player, Jae’Sean Tate. Like Dort, his team rejected the team’s minimal option to sign him for a longer deal, but barely a quarter of the amount: $22 million over three years.

Oklahoma City could have maximum or near-max ceiling room next summer regardless of Dort’s contract, but it looks like they outnumbered them here by several million per season. I had $7.2 million BORD on Dort – roughly what Tate got, but only half of what Thunder paid for Dort.

(Photo by James Harden and PJ Tucker: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)