It was a free agency frenzy in the NBA on Monday as teams immediately bolstered their lineups with new additions for the upcoming season. Among the NBA stars to switch teams today were Kyle Lowry, who is now with the Miami Heat, and Lonzo Ball, who will play for the Chicago Bulls next season.
Some NBA players may have transferred this offseason, but others opted to sign new deals with their current teams. They include the Phoenix Suns' Chris Paul, Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler, Portland Trail Blazers' Norman Powell, and Dallas Mavericks' Tim Hardaway Jr., among others.
Hawks and Thunder lock up Young and SGA with mammoth deals
On Monday, the Atlanta Hawks and the Oklahoma City Thunder also made major moves as they signed their franchise players for the next five years. Trae Young agreed to a mammoth five-year, $207 million designated rookie maximum extension with the Hawks, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agreed to a five-year, $172 million maximum rookie contract extension with the Thunder.
The Miami Heat did not waste any time on Monday, locking up deals with Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson and landing one of the best free agents in the market in Kyle Lowry. Sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that the Heat has pulled off a sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Raptors for Lowry, who is set to receive a three-year contract worth approximately $90 million.
Miami also agreed to bring back Duncan Robinson on a five-year deal worth $90 million, the largest contract ever for an undrafted player in the NBA. The said deal has an early termination option for the Heat in the fourth year. The Heat further solidified their lineup by agreeing to a long-term extension with Jimmy Butler, projected to be worth $187 million over four years.
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Bulls and Knicks land key free agents
The Chicago Bulls bolstered their guard rotation for the 2021-22 NBA season by landing free agents Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball. The former Los Angeles Laker, Caruso, agreed to a four-year $37 million deal while Ball is headed to Chicago on a four-year $85 million deal via a sign and trade agreement with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The New York Knicks were also big spenders on Monday, landing free agent Evan Fournier on a four-year deal worth $78 million. They also retained Nerlens Noel, Derrick Rose, and Alec Burks, who all got three-year deals worth $32 million, $43 million, and $30 million, respectively.
The Phoenix Suns made sure the core of their NBA Finals team was still intact for the following season as they signed Chris Paul to a four-year deal worth as much as $120 million. Paul opted out of a $44 million player option on Sunday and has decided to run it back with the Suns, who came to within two victories of the NBA title last season.
Norman Powell landed a huge deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, who acquired him in a trade in the middle of last season. Powell agreed to a five-year $90 million contract that the Blazers hope would be to Damian Lillard's liking.
However, one player who's leaving Portland is Zach Collins, who scored a three-year $22 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs.
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