NBA Teams Handed Out More Than $1 Billion in Contracts on 1st Day of Free Agency
With free agency starting Wednesday, NBA team owners were ready to spend some money.
And boy, did they ever.
There were plenty of huge contracts—max or not—handed out to free agents Wednesday, with Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert leading the way on the first day. ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reported Kevin Love will sign a five-year, $110 million contract with the Cavaliers, and Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported Iman Shumpert agreed to a four-year, $40 million deal to stay in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers distributed a lot of money Wednesday, but there were 29 other teams in on the spending bonanza. The estimated total that NBA teams spent on the first day of free agency?
In other words, players were getting paid.
According to ESPN.com, that $1.4 billion figure doesn't even include the five-year, $145 million extension (per Wojnarowski) Anthony Davis agreed to with the New Orleans Pelicans.
NBA teams aren't done spending either. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, DeAndre Jordan and LaMarcus Aldridge are among the free agents who have not agreed to a deal yet.
Click here for a full recap of the first day of free agency.
