After weeks of speculation and rumor, NBA free agency finally began at 6pm ET on June 30. The free agent list might not have been as star-studded as in recent years. However, there was plenty of talent potentially on the move.
Leading the pack were the likes of Draymond Green and Kyrie Irving. Green had declined his player option with the Warriors while Irving had declined to sign an extension in Dallas. Furthermore, Irving’s story was especially interesting. He went from being unwanted by most of the league to having six meetings scheduled for the start of free agency.
It didn’t take long for the reports to start flying in after free agency officially opened. While many of the deals were ones that the rumor had expected, there were certainly a few surprises to keep the night fresh. Let’s take a look at everything that happened in the first ~12 hours of free agency.
Related: James Harden pushing for trade to the Clippers
Massive Deals For Green, Irving, VanVleet
Draymond Green indeed returned to the Warriors, netting a four-year, $100 million deal to run it back with The Splash Brothers. While some wild rumors had emerged about Green, no one really expected him to sign anywhere other than Golden State. However, getting his signature means the Warriors will stay in title contention this season.
Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving did end up re-signing with the Mavericks on a three-year, $126 million deal. It’s unclear what the full story with Irving is, whether he did in fact meet with six teams or was simply trying to squeeze a better offer out of the Mavericks. Regardless, the veteran will remain in Dallas for the foreseeable future.
Elsewhere, Fred VanVleet signed the biggest-ever contract for an undrafted player. After rumors placed the deal at two years and $83 million, VanVleet’s Rockets contract is a three-year, $130 million behemoth.
Related: Draymond Green shades Jordan Poole in roster builder TikTok
Other Stars Land Mammoth Re-Signings In NBA Free Agency
Massive deals were the commodity of the day, with a number of other players landing major contracts with their current teams. Kyle Kuzma returned to the Wizards for four years and $102 million. He is expected to player a major role in the Wizards’ rebuild.
Tyrese Haliburton” class=”wp-image-691953″ srcset=”https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1476020090.jpg 1024w, https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1476020090-300×200.jpg 300w, https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1476020090-768×512.jpg 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px” />But as June 30 became July 1, there were a number of massive re-signings. A little after midnight, the Pacers gave Tyrese Haliburton a max contract extension – five years and worth up to $260 million. Earlier in the day, the Pacers had added former Nugget Bruce Brown on a two-year, $45 million deal.
Just minutes after the Haliburton deal was announced, Desmond Bane re-signed with Memphis for five years and $207 million. Furthermore, it is the first-ever $200 million contract given out by the Grizzlies.
Related: Las Vegas Aces sign A’ja Wilson to two-year extension
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