NBA Free Agency Roundup: Paul George traded, Blake re-signs and more

NBA Free Agency has officially begun, who has signed where and what trades have gone down? Let me catch you up on what you missed

Paul George Traded To The Oklahoma City Thunder

The biggest blockbuster so far is that Paul George was finally dealt. That means both All-Stars projected to move on this postseason in Butler and George both have new homes. The Oklahoma City Thunder got tremendously better in this one deal than they could have during free agency.

They also gave up literally nothing. Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis was all they gave up. Oladipo is a starter, yes, but George is without a doubt miles better. OKC’s first round pick Terrance Ferguson can also very easily step into that shooting guard role for OKC. I am loving what the Thunder have done so far this post season.

As far as why PG didn’t end up in Cleveland or Boston I honestly don’t know. If the rumored and reported trade proposals with the latter teams are true, it may have just come down to Indiana wanting to move PG out of conference. The reason I say the latter is because both the reported Cleveland and Boston offer was tremendously better. Now, it would also not surprise me if neither offered as much as said because the possibility of George being a 1-year rental.

https://twitter.com/ByNickGonzalez/status/881049865849012226

Stephen Curry Gets Paid

Stephen Curry gets his money. After being the biggest bargain contract in the NBA for the past 3-4 seasons, the two-time NBA MVP gets what he deserves. At five years, $201M Curry will earn just under $41M over the next five seasons.

And no, sadly this has little to no effect on if GSW can keep their core four.

Patty Mills Stays In San Antonio

Presumably, the Spurs starting point guard for this upcoming season is staying home. Mills signed a four-year, $50M deal. That’s a solid price for both parties, and I am sure both are happy with that they are getting. At just $12.5M a year, Mills is still one of the lesser paid starting point guards, but still is one of the better ones.

John Wall Holding Out On New Deal

I genuinely doubt Wall goes anywhere, but this is still something to note. Wall holds out on what would be a $42M per year deal. The reasoning is probably him waiting to see if Washington can add some more assets before he takes more money.

Blake Griffin Is Staying In LA

Griffin will go with the money here and stay put in Los Angeles. With no real contending team really pushing for him, Griffin does the smart thing and takes the money. At about $35M a year, it is hard to think Blake really would go elsewhere, especially with his recent injury history and statistical decline. I also genuinely have no idea why Los Angeles signed this deal.

They won’t be winning anytime soon even if they kept Paul and Blake, but now they just have Blake. They should have gone into full tank mode.

The NBA Continues To Be Unbalanced

The Pacers Got Fleeced

Chicago, Brooklyn and the Lakers got more for their respective “stars” traded this past season than Indiana. The thing is, George very well might be the best out of all the players traded. I guess that is just the way the cookie crumbles, but even if PG went to LA for Russell, Mozgov and a First, that’s a gazillion time better than what OKC just gave up.

Cristiano Felicio Re-signs With Chicago

Bulls elect to keep rebuilding here and re-sign their promising young big to a solid deal. At just $8M a year, that isn’t too bad to what looks like a promising future bench big. He could also be a very good trade asset to a contender looking for a rebounder at such a small cap hit.

Jeff Teague Signs With Minnesota

This is probably my favorite signing thus far. Minnesota gets an absolute STEAL here. At just $14M a year, Teague comes in less than Rondo, Eric Bledsoe, and Reggie Jackson. And just over recently signed Patty Mills. Teague isn’t an all-star by any means, but he is without a doubt a high-quality starting point guard. With the additions of Teague and Butler, Minnesota is definitely gunning for a top seed.

They also have some more money to spend.

ZBo to The Land?

This would be a very, very good bench addition for LeBron & Co.

Teams Treading Slowly

This tweet by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne seems to be holding true. Much fewer deals have been done so far tonight than last year, and with much, MUCH lower cap hits. Interesting to see how teams and players continue to feel out the market and how GM’s get smarter with all this new money.

Rudy Gay To The Bay?

As reported by RealGM, it appears Rudy Gay is Golden State’s backup plan if Iggy leaves. Gay is nowhere near the defender Iggy is, but still might be a better complete player despite recent injuries. This could be a very low-risk high reward deal for both Rudy and Golden State.

Boston Wanted To Wait It Out

I talked about this earlier this week on Twitter and with some fellow NBA fans. In order for Boston to bring in both Gordon Hayward and Paul George without stripping their whole team, they had to sign Hayward first. Boston could have gone over the cap and into luxury tax space via trade for George, but they cannot do the latter to sign Gordon Hayward outright. Unfortunately for Boston, Indiana didn’t want to wait.

Must Read: Predicting Where The Top 15 Free Agents Will Sign

Some Other Deals Signed/Trades/News

Shaun Livingston Resigns with GSW for 3 Years, $24M.

Tony Snell Resigns with Milwaukee for 4 Years $46M.

Rondo is drawing interest from SAS, CLE, and LAL.

Joe Ingles has not yet met with the Jazz.

Utah Jazz Acquire Ricky Rubio from Minnesota for their 2018 First Rounder.

The madness is just beginning.