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NBA Free Agency: Recapping The First 24 Hours

ByAaron Ferguson|

This year’s NBA Free Agency period is expected to dish out the most money ever, in part because the salary cap is at a record-high $84 million. Here’s a recap of the first day.

The NBA Free Agency period is anything but free. This was indicative by the first deal agreed to between the Los Angeles Lakers and former Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov on a four-year, $64 million deal, according to The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.

One of the biggest winners of the day was Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who agreed to re-sign with the Grizzlies on a five-year, $153 million that will annually pay out more than $30 million, according to USA Today‘s Sam Amick. That makes Conley the third player to make $30 million in a single season, joining Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

Chandler Parsons landed a four-year, $94 million maximum contract with the Grizzlies, according to The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski. After committing $247 million to Conley and Parsons over the next five years, Grizzlies owner Robert Pera won the day with one tweet.

Former Boston Celtics guard, Evan Turner, is heading to the Western Conference. He agreed to join the Portland Trail Blazers on a four-year, $70 million contract, according to The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Dwight Howard agreed to a deal with his hometown Atlanta Hawks. The deal will be a three-year, $70.5 million, according to The Vertical‘s Shams Charania. Agreeing to terms with Howard could spell the end of Al Horford’s tenure in Atlanta.

There is clearly no shortage of money with the NBA’s salary cap at an all-time high, $94 million. With the additional television revenue coming in, it also means that the owners are bringing in a lot of dough. But as others pointed out, they still have to pay the players half of what they make.

Matthew Dellavedova agreed to a four-year, $38 million offer with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN‘s Zach Lowe. Dellavedova became a restricted free agent when the Cavs extended a qualifying offer to him on Wednesday. Assuming he signs the Bucks’ offer sheet on July 7th, the Cavs have until July 10th to match the contract.

Twitter had a field day when LeBron James sent a congratulatory tweet to Delly, claiming that the Cavs must not be matching his contract. However, as pointed out in a series of tweets, a lot can happen between now and July 10th. If the Cavs don’t have a contingency plan to fill Delly’s backup position, they must match.

In other news, The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski may have reported the most shocking news of the day, and it didn’t even involve a player agreeing to sign somewhere. The Miami Heat offered Dwyane Wade a contract that would pay him $10 million annually. Feeling insulted by the offer, Wade is exploring options elsewhere, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks.

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Everyone else waits for the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. Notable meetings that took place on Friday were with the Golden State Warriors, who feel uncertain with how their meeting went according to TNT‘s David Aldridge, and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers may have an edge on the competition, since center DeAndre Jordan has known Durant since they were in the 10th grade together.

Until Durant makes a decision on where he plays basketball next year, the free agent market may be stale for a few days. Players like Horford, Wade and Dirk Nowitzki will likely wait out Durant’s decision to see what other teams can pay them. Other free agency news should come from veterans and rotational players signing with teams that don’t have much spending room.

Next: The Cleveland Cavaliers Should Sign Dwyane Wade

At the conclusion of the first 24 hours of the NBA Free Agency period, over $1 billion has been agreed upon. While the owners break out their checkbooks and players are licking their chops, it’s the agents who are the biggest winners this summer.