2010 NBA Free Agency: 10 Things We Learned in the First Few Days

So, it's five days into free agency and we still don't know where LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh will be playing next season.

However, just because the Big Three haven't decided, doesn't mean we haven't had our fair share of action in the first few days.

From a Darko Milicic sighting to two $100 million contracts, NBA owners have been emptying their pockets left and right so far. (So much for those financial concerns, huh?)

While we've seen our fair share of bloated contracts, we've also seen two franchise stars willingly passing up more money to give their teams more cap space.

There's been a lot to learn in the first few days of free agency, despite not knowing the futures of the Big Three. Let's check out 10 of the lessons we've received since Thursday.

Joe Johnson Cares More About Money Than Winning

When free agency kicked off this past Thursday, the Atlanta Hawks came out swinging, offering a six-year max deal to their star free agent, Joe Johnson. By agreeing to the six-year, $119 million deal, Johnson essentially announced that he's more concerned with his personal finances than winning.

When guys like Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce are forgoing millions this summer to provide their team with extra cap space, it speaks worlds about them prioritizing championships over all else. When a guy like Johnson takes $20 million/year at 28 years old, it speaks worlds about him not caring enough to help his team if it's at the expense of his bank accounts.

ESPN's John Hollinger dubbed the Johnson contract a liability from Day One, saying that even if he's guaranteed to stay healthy, "Johnson wouldn't be a $120 million player by any stretch of the imagination." Hollinger points out some viable comparisons—Vince Carter, Allan Houston, Jerry Stackhouse, and Jamal Mashburn, among others—and notes that none of these players made an All-Star game after passing age 30.

Johnson averaged 12.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.8 APG in the Hawks' four-game sweep at the hands of the Magic in the playoffs this past season, and yet, the Hawks just agreed to pay him $24.1 million in the 2015-16 season, when he's 34 years old.

Unless Johnson injects himself with LeBron James' genes, the Hawks just locked themselves into a contract with disastrous long-term implications for their franchise. Johnson's laughing all the way to the bank.

Dirk Nowitzki Cares More About Winning Than Money

On one hand, we've got Joe Johnson signing a six-year max deal worth $119 million, guaranteeing that he'll have one of the most bloated contracts in the NBA in a few years time.

On the other, 2007 league MVP Dirk Nowitzki, who could've earned upwards of $96 million in his new deal from Dallas, signs a four-year, $80 million deal to provide Mark Cuban the necessary cap space to find Nowitzki a championship-caliber sidekick.

Which one prioritizes money, and which one prioritizes winning?

In taking $16 million less than he could have, Nowitzki could end up saving Mavs owner Mark Cuban $32 million over the life of the contract. In return, as ESPN's Tim MacMahon writes, Nowitzki will expect Cuban to acquire a star sidekick for him in a final push for the championship that eluded the Mavs in 2006.

There's no question that Nowitzki did his part to deserve a max deal—he averaged 25 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.7 APG this past season for Dallas while shooting a career-high 42.1 percent from three-point range. When you've got a seven-footer who can score 25 a game, knock down threes, and rebound surprisingly well for a perimeter player, you've got a franchise superstar on your hands.

The fact that Nowitzki would sign for less, especially in this summer's market of free-flowing funds from NBA owners, speaks volumes about his commitment to winning an NBA championship.

Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z Have Serious Fortitude

It takes nothing short of sheer confidence to hang a 225-foot billboard of yourself outside your rival's window. Put two self-made billionaires in charge of an NBA team, and that's the type of thing that happens.

A day before free agency kicked off, the Nets owners unveiled a 225x95 billboard of themselves with the tagline, "The blueprint for greatness"—all of a block away from Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Knicks.

The Knicks' management, for one, wasn't thrilled. Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Knicks owner James Dolan personally called Jay-Z to voice his displeasure, saying the sign was “intimidating to his employees.”

The Nets weren't done with their takeover of New York there. On Thursday, the website of the New York Post displayed the same "blueprint for greatness" image as the site's wallpaper.

Prokhorov made waves as an NBA owner immediately by declaring that he intended on turning Knicks fans into Nets fans. This past week, Prokhorov displayed just how serious he was about his mission.

The Chicago Bulls Hired the Right Marketing Team

An oft-repeated argument this summer has been how the legacy of Michael Jordan is theoretically an impediment to LeBron James choosing to join the Chicago Bulls this summer. (Personally, I don't buy it. Was Kobe scared of Magic? K.G. scared of Bill Russell?)

Regardless, with the help of the Chicago-based Leo Burnett Worldwide advertisement agency, the Bulls changed their greatest negative into a positive with a brilliant week-long ad campaign aimed at James.

On Monday, the Bulls sent the pictured package to LeBron: a pair of Air Jordans with a ticket asking if he could fill the shoes. On Tuesday, LeBron received seven empty ring boxes—one more than Jordan—with the question, "Can you fill these boxes?"

On Wednesday, the Bulls sent James a mockup of the Chicago Tribune, 10 years in the future, with the top headline reading, "Sweet Throne, Chicago: With Title No. 7, It's Officially King James' Court." And on Thursday, the Bulls struck close to home, taking out a two-page ad in LeBron's hometown paper with a silhouette of Jordan's iconic Air Jordan pose, and the question, "Can you cast a shadow this big?"

Literally daring a professional athlete—someone, by nature, who's a competitive being—to challenge the greatest to ever play the game? Brilliant. The Bulls hit a home run, thanks to Leo Burnett Worldwide.

Photo credit: The Chicago Tribune.

NBA Owners Have Not Learned Their Lesson About Overspending

In one minute, NBA owners are whining about $400 million in predicted losses; the next, they're handing out max contracts to Amar'e Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, and Rudy Gay.

As Ken Berger of CBSSports.com notes, the owners' spending spree will only hurt their position at the negotiating table next summer, when the owners and the players' union try to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.

The current CBA had been designed to "protect owners from themselves," but the max contracts that the owners awarded to Johnson, Gay, and Stoudemire these past few days prove there's still work to be done.

Under the current CBA, one contractual mistake can end up crippling a franchise for years to come (as a Sixers fan, I'm hoping the team starts selling an officially sanctioned "Elton Brand dartboard").

We're five days into free agency, and already, a number of teams have placed themselves in risky contractual situations for the next half-decade. Between overpaying for role players and handing out max contracts with no regards for the franchise's long-term prospects, owners have proved beyond doubt that the current CBA doesn't do enough to protect owners from themselves.

LeBron James Is Powerful Enough To Bring Down ESPN

When free agency kicked off on Thursday, even ESPN wasn't prepared for the LeBron-generated madness that would ensue.

As Deadspin noted on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.: ESPN.com is down, thanks to LeBronukah. Luckily, Brian Windhorst's absurdly detailed Twitter feed is still up and running.

Kinda fitting, don't you think? ESPN hypes up the Summer of 2010 with non-stop, Brett Favre-ian coverage leading up to July 1, and as a result, the worldwide traffic causes the website to crash? Classic.

During a chat, ESPN's J.A. Adande revealed, "Apparently we've had two server outages today, but are working on it. Thanks for your patience."

Next time LeBron and Dwyane Wade become free agents on the same day, ESPN, you better make sure those backup servers are up and operational. On Thursday, King James proved that he's even powerful enough to bring down the worldwide leader in sports...at least for a little while.

It Pays To Be a Role Player This Summer

Five years, $30 million for Channing Frye. Five years, $32 million for Drew Gooden. Five years, $34 million for Amir Johnson. Four years, $20 million for Darko Milicic. Darko freaking Milicic!

On the first day of free agency, an incredible number of role players suckered teams into giving them most, if not all, of their respective mid-level exceptions. Gooden hardly commanded a $2 million contract last year; now he's locked into earning $6 million/year until he's 33-years-old!

This type of spending wasn't altogether unexpected—after all, too many teams cleared too much cap space, on the off-chance they'd be able to land LeBron James this summer. You had to figure someone was going to be overpaid...you just didn't think it'd be Amir Johnson.

The best may be yet to come for role players this summer. With a shortage on quality wing players in the free agent market this summer, the Hawks' Josh Childress and the Wizards' Mike Miller will command attention from a number of teams in the coming weeks.

Given the type of contracts that owners have thrown at role players this summer thus far, it's no exaggeration to say that Miller or Childress could end up with a contract in excess of the mid-level exception.

It Also Pays To Be the Defending Champs

When you win back-to-back NBA championships, you don't have to lure free agents. Free agents come to you.

The Lakers proved that this year by signing point guard Steve Blake to a four-year, $16 million deal, when Blake likely could have earned double that amount from a PG-needy team (Indiana?) this summer.

Blake's not your dream starting point guard on a prospective championship team, but as a backup and/or Derek Fisher contingency plan, he's perfect. He averaged 6.8 points and 6.1 assists in just over 26 minutes for the Clippers after the Blazers traded him to L.A. in February for Marcus Camby.

By adding Blake as a backup, the Lakers give themselves an immediate upgrade over the Jordan Farmar/Shannon Brown combo they had this season.

Ron Artest took the discount for the chance at a championship last year, and his persistence was rewarded by a last-minute three-pointer in Game Seven that sealed the Lakers' most recent title. Blake will now follow in Artest's shoes, and the Lakers once again find a steal in an economic market oversaturated with bloated contracts.

Desperation Was a Stinky Cologne for the New York Knicks

On Monday night, Amar'e Stoudemire became the first major free agent to change teams this summer, as he agreed to a five-year, $99.7 million contract with the New York Knicks.

The good news for the Knicks: No matter what happens with LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh, the Knicks won't completely strike out in free agency this summer.

The bad news for the Knicks: They're handing a $100 million non-insured guaranteed contract to a guy whose had three of his past seven seasons cut short due to knee and eye injuries.

The Suns weren't willing to fully guarantee Stoudemire's contract for that very reason. They offered a five-year, $95 million deal to Stoudemire, but it was only partially guaranteed the final two years based on playing time.

The Knicks, hearing that they were at risk of falling out of the LeBron race entirely, made the first real splash in free agency this summer by landing Stoudemire. If STAT and Mike D'Antoni can regain their old magic, the Knicks will end up loving this signing, but it's still a huge risk to guarantee $100 million to a guy with the injury concerns that Stoudemire has.

Life Still Goes On Outside LeBron

As hard as this may be to believe, LeBron James isn't the only free agent available this summer.

While some teams, like the New Jersey Nets, have decided to wait on all decisions until LeBron chooses his next team; others, like the Nets' cross-town rivals, the New York Knicks, sprang into action early.

By signing Amar'e Stoudemire to a five-year, $99.7 million deal on Monday, the Knicks guaranteed their fans that they won't be shut out of free agency. Meanwhile, fans of the Nets, Bulls, and Heat, among others, will all start feeling increasing pressure in the coming days to lock down someone, if not one of the Big Three.

Overall, a dozen players have already agreed to new deals, and none of them are named LeBron. There's been action to be had in the early goings of free agency, so long as you're willing to not have your team held captive by a 25-year-old from Akron, Ohio.

While plenty of teams have the cap space to sign LeBron this summer, there's only one team that will end up the ultimate winner. Whichever teams miss out on the LeBron sweepstakes, they should rest assured knowing that they've got a solid variety of consolation prizes to choose from. Well, at least for now.