NBA Free Agency Live Blog: NBA Free Agency Live Blog
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Good evening! Free agency started at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday and there were already several deals done by 1:30 a.m.
Here’s where we are so far, and you can check back for updates here throughout the day.
Updated at 1:30 a.m.
Anthony Davis and the Pelicans have verbally agreed upon a five-year, $145 million deal, and it sure didn’t take it long to happen. Davis will have a player option for the fifth year but Pelicans fans can breathe easy with this news. For obvious reasons, Davis is still the frontrunner to be the No. 1 pick in fantasy leagues.
Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs have agreed on the framework of a five-year contract worth more than $90 million, which also didn’t take long to happen. Even this maximum-salary contract is a relative bargain for the Spurs, who locked up the reigning Defensive Player of the Year for roughly $18 million per season as he heads into his prime. And let’s never forget, this is the player the Pacers traded in order to get George Hill.
Greg Monroe will meet with the Knicks on Wednesday. Monroe is one of the more interesting free agents, as he could literally land anywhere. The Celtics, Lakers, Bucks and Blazers could make things interesting, while the Hawks, just like with every other key free agent, haven’t been mentioned at all.
In the first truly surprising news of the night, Al-Farouq Aminu has agreed to a four-year, $30 million deal with the Trail Blazers. Aminu was reportedly a target of the Celtics, Raptors, Pelicans, Knicks and Mavericks, but Portland ponied up a lot of cash to bring him to Rip City. The Blazers recently traded Nicolas Batum and could lose Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo in free agency, so Aminu will almost certainly be starting at small forward on opening night. And he may see some time at power forward as well, if LaMarcus Aldridge ends up with the Spurs, or some other powerhouse. Aminu is shaping up to be a steal in the later rounds of fantasy drafts next season.
The Brooklyn Nets are nearing an agreement to re-sign Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young. There doesn’t appear to be any drama in Brooklyn right now, and it sounds like the Nets could have a deal in place for both players very soon.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.