Love stays with Cavs, Chandler moves on
Butler re-signs with Bulls; Pierce heads to L.A.
Kevin Love has unfinished business in Cleveland and Tyson Chandler will be conducting his in Phoenix.
The first full day of NBA free agency featured skyrocketing salaries and a flurry of moves, though no decision yet from LaMarcus Aldridge. Players and teams agreed to more than $1 billion worth of deals.
Love made his choice quickly, opting to stay with the Cavaliers on a five-year deal that could be worth more than $110 million. He revealed his decision in a piece in The Players’ Tribune.
“We have unfinished business and now it’s time to get back to work,” Love wrote.
Jimmy Butler and Mike Dunleavy also stayed put in Chicago for around $115 million combined, Goran Dragic is remaining in Miami and Paul Millsap will stick with Atlanta.
But Paul Pierce and plenty other players were on the move with salaries soaring ahead of next year’s new TV contracts that might make Wednesday’s action seem tame next summer.
Chandler will get his in Phoenix, taking $52 million over four years to leave Dallas, while Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll agreed to a deal with Toronto for $60 million over four years. Pierce then left Washington to reunite with former Boston coach Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers on a $10 million contract.
Terms of all the deals were confirmed to The Associated Press by people with knowledge of the details.
They were granted anonymity because contracts can only be agreed to during the first week of free agency.
They can’t be signed until July 9, after next season’s salary cap is set.
Millsap was rewarded for his strong play in Atlanta with a three-year deal worth about $59 million, as the Hawks made sure not to lose both starting forwards after Carroll’s departure.
Aldridge was busy meeting with teams for a second straight day while he decides whether to leave Portland.
His representatives wrote on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon that he had made no decisions, even following reports that the Lakers had been eliminated.
The Spurs were among the teams hoping to land him and were making moves to entice him. They dealt Tiago Splitter to Atlanta to clear cap space and re-signed guard Danny Green, who got $45 million for four years.
WARRIORS, GREEN AGREE TO DEAL
No need to go through restricted free agency. Draymond Green is coming back to the Golden State Warriors on his own terms.
Green announced on Bleacher Report’s Uninterrupted website Wednesday night he has agreed to a five-year deal with the Warriors. The Associated Press reported the contract is worth about $85 million. Green was a restricted free agent, meaning the NBA champion Warriors could match any offer he received.
But Golden State always expected to pay whatever salary he commanded, even if that meant dipping into the league’s luxury tax, which it will almost surely do now.
KINGS SEND THREE TO 76ERS TO CUT SALARY
The Sacramento Kings have agreed to send Nik Stauskas, Jason Thompson and Carl Landry to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of a salary-shedding move to pursue free agents, according to The Associated Press. It wasn’t immediately clear who the Kings were receiving in return or if draft picks were involved.