Well, that was a very boring start to the free agent rush. The opening night of NBA Free Agent Fever really wasn’t worse than the mild cold as a bunch of players chose to resign with their current teams, ruining the whole “fever” aspect of the market.
I know I really shouldn’t be complaining about players sticking around with their teams, but I can’t help it when the market period is hyped up so much by these networks.
The opening day to the NBA Free Agency period was one of the tamest starts in recent memory as the overwhelming majority of the big-name free agents chose to stay with their current teams, while the vast majority of the volatile movement came from the veteran minimum and mid-level exception player class. So, in other words, it was super boring to watch.
Similarly, to how boring the drafts usually are, I really am starting to hate how overhyped and drawn out these player movement periods have become…and that’s mainly down to the media networks.
I guess it’s my fault that I get too overexcited for these times of the NBA calendar, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that the second coming of Jesus Christ was happening during these periods with how channels like ESPN, FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, and all of the “insider experts” on Twitter talk about these events.
I mean, not to single out Adrian Wojnarowski as I think he’s one of the best insiders in the game, but he was saying that Victor Wembanyama might be “the greatest prospect in history of team sports” as if Babe Ruth, Tom Brady, Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi, Johan Cruyff, Pele, Diego Maradona, Jackie Robinson, Lawrence Taylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Wilt Chamberlin, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Wayne Gretzky, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Patrick Roy, Gordie Howe, John Elway, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, Jerry West, Shaquielle O’Neal, etc. never existed.
Yes, I know a decent amount of these guys either never played during a “draft”/”youth system” set was invented or they were unknown prospects, but to say that Wembanyama is the “greatest prospect in history of team sports” is completely insulting to all of these guys and the dozens I couldn’t name if he isn’t the greatest ATHLETE (not NBA player) in…the history of team sports.
Saying Wembanyama is the most hyped prospect is definitely far more accurate (but still wrong as Connor Bedard, Connor McDavid, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Wilt Chamberlin, Peyton Manning, John Elway, Sidney Crosby, Alex Rodriguez, and Shaq would all have something to say about that), but the “greatest prospect in team sports” is a perfect example as how overhyped and corporatized these events have become.
Anyways, as for the actual free agent signings, the biggest ones were obviously Jemari Grant signing a 5-year, $160M max extension with the Portland Trail Blazers, Fred VanVleet leaving the Raptors after 7 years for the Houston Rockets on a 3-year, $128M deal, Kyrie Irving resigning with the Dallas Mavericks on a 3-year, $126M deal, Draymond Green giving the Warriors a MASSIVE discount on his 4-year, $100M extension, and Khris Middleton inking up another contract with the Bucks at 3-years, $102M.
Truthfully, I like all these deals for all of these teams as its gives them stability, focal points on offense/defense, and a star name that can be an important leader in the locker room. But that still doesn’t mean I like how BORING this free agent market was for players going to new teams.
Out of the Top-25 free agents (ranked by who got the largest new salary), there was only 8 players (Fred VanVleet-Rockets, Max Strus-Cavs, Bruce Brown-Pacers, Gabe Vincent-Lakers, Georges Niang-Cavs, Denis Schröder-Raptors, Joe Ingles-Magic, and Jevon Carter-Bulls) of the Top-25 who actually moved to new teams, while only 25% of those guys (Fred VanVleet-$128M, Max Strus-$64M) earned new contracts worth $60M or more.
So, in other words, the overwhelming majority of players that moved to new teams yesterday would be classified as mid-level/veteran minimum exceptions, which is a little disappointing to watch for an entertainment value.
Now, the strength of the class does have something to do with the low amount of star players moving, but it would have been nice to see a little more star movement, nonetheless.
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