NBA free market opened in 5 hours to smash nearly 1.5 billion behind the madness there are 5 doorways!
At 6 a.m. Beijing time on July 1, the NBA free agent market officially opened. Five hours before the market opened, many teams went crazy and smashed $1.47 billion. There were a total of 7 billion-dollar contracts, of which VanVleet got the only maximum salary contract, and even Kyrie Irving did not get the top salary.
On the first day of the crazy free market, what are the doorways behind this?
Contract Summary
Five hours before the free market opened, a total of 40 people signed the contract, with a total value of $1.47 billion.
The following figure is a detailed summary:
(Note: The rumor that Struss said that he joined the Cavaliers in 4 years was only released by an unknown reporter, not certified by authoritative media, so it is not included for the time being.) Raptors guard Gary Trent's early contract extension is still under discussion, not negotiated, and there are no statistics for the time being)
A total of 7 of them received contracts worth 100 million yuan, namely:
Jeramie Grant signed a five-year contract extension with the Blazers worth $160 million, and he was also the first day champion.
VanVleet signed a three-year, $130 million maximum salary contract with the Rockets, he was the only player to receive a top salary on the first day, and although his total contract value was not as good as Grant's, the average annual salary far exceeded Grant's, and he also set a record for the largest amount of contract money in history.
Irving signed a three-year contract extension with the Lone Ranger, worth $126 million, and the length and amount of the contract were surprising.
Cameron Johnson signed a four-year contract extension with the Nets worth $108 million.
Kuzma renewed his contract with the Wizards for a four-year contract worth $102 million.
Middleton signed a 3-year contract extension with the Bucks worth $102 million.
Draymond Green's four-year contract extension with the Warriors is worth $100 million.
Further down, Poeltl renewed his contract with the Raptors for a 4-year contract worth $80 million. Porzingis extended his contract with Celtic for 2 years ahead of schedule, with a contract worth $60 million.
Herbert Jones has signed a four-year contract with the Pelicans worth $54 million. Hachimura re-signed the Lakers on a three-year contract worth $51 million.
Bruce Brown's value skyrocketed after helping the Nuggets win the championship, and he got a two-year, $45 million contract from the Pacers.
Kobe White re-signed the Bulls to a 3-year contract worth $40 million (also known as $33 million, the most used $40 million here).
Vincent's joining of the Lakers came as a surprise, and the Lakers used the middle-class exception, and the contract was worth $33 million for 3 years.
LeVere renewed his contract with the Knights for a two-year contract worth $32 million.
There are 9 people with contracts of more than $10 million and less than $30 million, and the rest of the players have contracts of less than $10 million, except for Kevin Love (split the biennial exception), Prince (biennial exception), Alexander Walker, Troy Brown and a few others, all of which are base salaries.
Most teams return to rationality
On the first day of the free market, most teams focused on "rationality", and there have been few shocking big contracts so far this year compared to past years.
Except for the Rockets, who have plenty of salary space, who smashed VanVleet's three-year $130 million top salary, and the Pacers, who also have salary space, who smashed an average annual salary of more than $20 million to bring in Brown, other teams are reasonable when it comes to spending money.
Grant's five-year, $160 million new contract seems big, and many people will think that Grant Hode can be the champion of the first day, but his contract is not a top salary, with an average annual salary of $32 million, which is not a lot of premium for an all-round striker. What's more, the parent team retains people, and being able to open more salaries and one more year of contracts is their biggest advantage. The Blazers are also under pressure to retain Lillard, and the Blazers are rational enough to renew Grant for that price instead of offering a five-year contract of more than $200 million.
If you want to talk about the most rational team, it has to be the Lone Ranger. You know, Irving's top salary starting salary is $47 million, but Irving's new contract starting salary is less than $39 million, and the Lone Ranger did not give Irving a top salary, nor did he give Irving a 5-year contract. Considering Irving's attendance and off-court events over the past few years, it is very rare for the Lone Ranger to retain people with non-top salary short-term contracts.
Including the Wizards re-signing Kuzma, the Bucks renewing Middleton, the Warriors renewing Green, the Pelicans renewing Jones, etc., the price is more reasonable, and most teams put rationality first when throwing money.
Sacrifices on the part of the players
It is not only the team that is rational, but also the players, and some players make salary sacrifices when making decisions to help the team achieve certain goals.
For example, Irving, whose salary cut helped the Lone Ranger free up a full middle-class exception, giving the Lone Ranger more flexibility in subsequent recruitments.
Middleton accepted a lower-priced contract after dropping the player option, and his pay cut allowed the Bucks to keep Brooke Lopez on a $17 million to $20 million annual contract while keeping his salary below the second luxury tax line.
Green's salary cut directly helped the Warriors save a large amount of luxury tax, don't look at Green's salary cut is not large, but because the Warriors are a super luxury tax team, Green's salary cut has saved the Warriors more than $40 million in luxury tax.
Short about flying in the sky true cause
The summer of 2023 is a transitional time, the new version of the collective agreement comes into effect, and all teams are still studying the impact of the new collective agreement on the current and future of the team, and few teams spend lavishly. In addition, the old version of the TV broadcast contract is about to expire, and once the new TV broadcast contract comes into effect, the salary cap will be further increased.
As a result of these two factors, a large number of players signed short contracts of 2-3 years on the first day of free agency, many of them 1+1 or 2+1 contracts, with player options. The advantage of this signing is that players have more discretion in the event of any change.
The front is king
The free market in 2023 was originally regarded as the "big year of point guard", but on the first day of the free market, the first to reach a signing or renewal agreement is generally the front. Among the point guards who received big contracts were Irving and VanVleet. The next gear is the ordinary starter or sixth man level of Kobe White, Vincent and Schroeder.
The most favored are still forwards, with Grant, Cameron Johnson, Kuzma, Middleton, Green, Jones, Hachimura and Brown all getting contracts that satisfy them. Later, Niang, Ingles, and Lyles also received good contracts.
Among the centers, only Poeltl and Porzingis got big contracts, the former earning an average of $20 million a year, and the latter an average annual salary of $30 million.
The wave of free agent migration has not yet returned
The first day of free agency seemed lively, but most of it was "contract renewals", and the wave of free agent migration that fans loved has not yet returned.
VanVleet's move to the Rockets, Brown's move to the Pacers, and Vincent's move to the Lakers are the only free agent migrations that attract more attention.
Since 2019, there has been no more free agent migration. In 2019, Horford, Leonard, Durant, Irving, Kemba Walker, and Butler led the wave of free agents, and they all got billion-dollar contracts while changing doors. But in 2020, only Gordon Hayward will get a 100 million yuan contract while changing owners, in 2021 there will be none, in 2022 only Brunson alone, and in 2023 there is only VanVleet.
"Our advice to our clients is to hold the money in their hands first, and then make a deal when they are unhappy." Once an agent said.
This is the essence of the reason why the wave of free agents is difficult to repeat, and players are now more in pursuit of stability and security.
As a result of the lack of free agent migration, there is no change in the championship map of the new season. The Nuggets and Heat, who reached the Finals last season, have lost their big players, and their strength has declined. The Lakers, Lone Ranger, and Suns completed the signings at their own pace, but it is still unknown how much their strength has improved. The 76ers and other teams have yet to move, and the follow-up remains to be seen.