Handing Out Free Agent Grades

We had plenty of action within the first few hours of free agency Friday night, as teams and players were allowed to agree to deals starting at 6 PM EST. The Knicks have yet to dive into the pool, but there was plenty of money handed out. Here are my gut reactions to the significant announced agreements.

🏀 Jerami Grant re-signs with the Trail Blazers
$160 million for 5 years
Grade: C+

I like Grant as a player. Thought he was underrated the past few years. Last season, he averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and a career-high 40.1% from beyond the arc. That said, the idea of paying him nearly $40 million in his age-35 season is tough to swallow. Still, the Blazers were in a tough spot because Damian Lillard let it be known he wanted to see the team remain competitive in the short term, and Portland would not have had any additional cap space if they let Grant walk and didn't get anything in return.

🏀 Draymond Green re-signs with the Warriors:
$100 million for 4 years
Grade: B

Once the Warriors traded for Chris Paul, it was clear they were intent on keeping the team's aging core together going forward. And it's the right decision. Steph is still playing at an MVP level, and Klay was healthy and productive last season. This team is just a year removed from a championship. Run it back and give yourself a chance at a fifth title.

🏀 Fred VanVleet signs with the Rockets:
$130 million for 3 Years
Grade: B

On June 24th, 2016, at 12:52 AM, shortly after he went undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Fred VanVleet tweeted: "Bet on yourself." Nearly seven years to the day later, he agrees to a jaw-dropping $130 million deal. So, first and foremost, congrats to VanVleet for defying the odds and securing the bag. I'm a big FVV fan. Have been for a long time. However, the reality is he's an undersized PG that has been relatively inefficient the past few years (he's shot under 40% from the floor and 36% from three-point range over the past three seasons combined). So this is undoubtedly a risky gamble by Houston. But I can't fault them for overpaying to secure a winning player in his prime. When you have a team full of young, impressionable players, importing FVV to show them how to be professionals could have long-lasting benefits

🏀 Khris Middleton re-sign with the Bucks
$102 million for 3 Years
Grade: B+

Middleton declined his $40 million player option and takes a pay cut in terms of average annual salary but secures more guaranteed money. And the pact includes a player option in the third year, which gives Middleton some flexibility. Yes, Khris has been injury-prone the past two seasons, but this was a no-brainer for the Bucks. With a healthy Middleton in the mix (and assuming they re-sign Brook Lopez), Milwaukee is the odds-on favorite to advance to the Finals out of the East, in my opinion. And with Giannis inching towards free agency, you do whatever it takes to keep him happy.

🏀 Kyrie Irving re-signs with Mavericks
$126 million for 3 years
Grade: C

Some folks are giving the Mavs credit for not completely caving and giving Irving a max five-year, $272 million deal, but my question is: Who was going to offer Irving more than the mid-level? The only teams with more than $15 million left in cap space are the Spurs, Rockets and Kings. Houston gave Fred VanVleet $130 million, and the Kings have D Fox at PG. If Dallas offered Kyrie $25 million per season, would he have cut off his nose to spite his face and accepted half that amount from another club? And it's been reported that Irving has a player option in Year 3. Irving will say all the right things at the start of the season, but what are the odds he will make it through the life of this contract without causing the organization massive headaches? We've seen this movie before. We know how it ends. Yet, somehow, the Mavs convinced themselves that it'd be different this time.

🏀 Cameron Johnson re-signs with the Nets
$108 million over 4 Years
Grade: B

Around $27 million per season for Johnson as he enters his prime seems like a solid/fair deal for both sides. He played well after coming over from PHX in February. Over his 25 games for Brooklyn, Johnson averaged 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 made three-pointers, while shooting 46.8% from the floor. He's converted over 39% of his attempts in his career from behind the arc. And the Nets cleared nearly $20 million from their books by offloading Joe Harris to the Pistons earlier in the day, which clears up minutes and cap room for Cam.

🏀 Kyle Kuzma Stays with the Wizards
$102 million for 4 years
Grade: C+

I was surprised by this one. After trading away Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis, it appeared the Wiz were going full Tank Mode to chase ping pong balls. However, after trading for Jordan Poole and bringing back Kuz, they won't be awful. A starting five of Tyus Jones, Jordan Poole

Corey Kispert, Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford can be competitive. And they can bring Delon Wright, rookie Bilal Coulibaly, Deni Avdija and Mike Muscala off the bench. As well as Danilo Gallinari, if they don't buy him out. It's also worth noting this could be good news for the Knicks, as the pick the Wiz owe New York is top-12 protected in 2024, then top-10 in 2025 and top-8 in 2026. Chances of that pick conveying are higher today than they were yesterday… Still, if I'm the Wizards, I can't give $100 mil to a guy who wore this sweater lol

🏀 Jakob Poeltl re-signs with the Raptors
$80 million over 4 Years
Grade: B-

Twenty million per is right around market value for a productive, efficient, reliable starting center. However, I'm unsure what direction the Raps are headed in. This is a team that finished 10th in the East last season and just lost their starting point guard. Toronto signed Dennis Schroder to a 2-year, $26 million deal after FVV fled to Houston, but that's an undeniable downgrade. Pascal Siakam has just one year left on his contract. OG Anunoby, who just fired his agent and switched to CAA, can opt-out and become a free agent next summer as well. The Raps have some tough, crucial decisions to make over the next 12 months.

🏀 Herbert Jones re-signs with the Pelicans
$54 million for 4 Years
Grade: A-

The Pels gambled a bit by declining Jones's $1.8 million team option for next season. However, the move paid off, as they locked him into a team-friendly contract to keep him in New Orleans for the foreseeable future. This signing will likely fly under the radar, but it was a shrewd move by the Pelicans. Legit 3-and-D wings are ultra-valuable in today's NBA, and Jones is the real deal. Jones, who has started 135 games over his first two seasons, is widely regarded as one of the best young defenders in the NBA. And although his career 3PT numbers are overly impressive, he shot 44.4% on 2.3 attempts per game from downtown after the All-Star break in 2023. If he can settle in as even an average three-point shooter from the corners, this contract is a steal for the Pels.

🏀 Bruce Brown signs with the Pacers
$45 million for 2 years
Grade: B-

One of the more surprising signings of the day, this deal includes a team option in Year 2. Brown snagging $22.5 million in that first season is a great grab, but he could have secured north of $53 million in guaranteed salary over four seasons had he signed a four-year MLE deal with any number of teams that would have been happy to present that offer. Brown is essentially betting on himself once again.