Indeed, recent years have reshaped the landscape of NBA free agency. This has led to some feisty debate between players, teams, and pundits. The Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and Washington Wizards regularly left eight players on extension. This strategy allows them to attract talent in the long term. We are only 13 days into this regular season, but teams are already making music with contracts and extensions. Yet the recent changes included in the CBA have intensified this emphasis.
Players like Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams have approached contract extensions with a strategy reflective of Oklahoma City’s approach. In fact, of the last three years, 51 veterans have agreed to extensions, including 26 during the current 2024-25 season alone. Together these moves represent a distinct pattern. Teams are focusing on retaining the talent they have previously developed over splurging in free agency, both of which will help to shift how player movement occurs across the league.
Incredibly, despite more than 150 players signing contracts this offseason, none of them have included negotiated bonuses. The financial landscape is shifting. Just in the last 30 days, we dug deeper than we could have imagined to cover $223 million of salary. That’s a jaw-dropping $100 million less than the entire amount extended from 2013-2024. Just ask the Phoenix Suns on how best to use the stretch provision. In doing so, they’ve avoided more than $200 million in salary and luxury tax penalties for this season alone.
The Impact of the New CBA
The significant changes in the new CBA has left many wondering how it will impact free agency for years to come. In recent years, players and analysts — including the likes of Draymond Green himself— have lamented the loss of buzz that used to surround free agency.
“I’m sitting in my mancave having a conversation with my wife. Baffled at the fact that NBA free agency is over,” – Draymond Green
This desire speaks to more than just a few of us who think the annual circus has lost its charm. Green further elaborated on this notion:
“Quite frankly it never really started. The level of anticipation leading up to July 1st was as exciting as the fireworks on the 4th…”
League officials have said that the new CBA will be focused on helping teams. Most importantly perhaps, it incentivizes franchises that are great at the drafting and player-development process. Adam Silver stated:
“The mechanism of the collective bargaining agreement was very clear: We are trying to give incumbent teams an advantage to draft, develop and keep players.”
This new way of looking at things indicates a sea change in how teams should perceive player retention as opposed to player acquisition via free agency.
Trends in Player Contracts and Extensions
This season has brought a welcome, if long overdue, shift to negotiations on the other side of the bargaining table. A player in the final year of their first-round deal can now sign a five-year extension. Beforehand, they were only allowed to be competitive for four tournaments. This paradigm shift has opened up new opportunities and presented unique challenges for younger players. Players like Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, and Cam Thomas are now at a disadvantage with the new illegal screen rules.
Looking at the financial impact, only 23 total free agents in 2023 and 2024 signed incentive-heavy contracts. Despite pockets of optimism, the prevailing mood from certain market participants is one of low spirits with respect to the current state of play.
CJ McCollum defended the new compensation structures, asserting that players are being compensated fairly under the new system:
“You either make $50 million or $2 million. It’s a joke, bro. I can’t tell you how many midlevel guys are signing for the vet minimum around the NBA.”
He pointed out, though, that younger or less established players have a much harder road ahead. For others, unprecedented financial windfalls are proving hard to miss.
“There’s a misconception that players aren’t being compensated the same ways they have in the past. That’s not true… Guys are making more money than they ever have.”
Teams are really breaking new ground. How the introduction of contract extensions and a capped salary structure will influence their approach to keeping/recruiting players will be among the most intriguing storylines. These new deals give the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers hard caps in potential sign-and-trade scenarios.
The Future of Free Agency
Teams can only use stretch provisions until August 29. The choices they adopt in this time will have a lasting impact on their fiscal space going forward. This new focus on keeping homegrown talent over chasing free agents might change the way franchises construct their rosters.
These waiver-related datapoints are more than just #trending—they’re a reflection of a new, slowly-evolving league. From 2013-2021 teams have waived 54 players with about $320 million in salary amortized over future seasons. This trend is a positive sign that teams are being more selective with their long-term allocations of money.
The data surrounding waivers also paints a picture of a changing league; since 2013, 54 players have been waived with a combined salary of $320 million stretched over future years. This trend may indicate that teams are becoming more judicious about financial commitments.
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