Curry gets huge deal from Warriors
J.J. Redick is trusting the process. Gordon Hayward got his sales pitch from Miami. And David West, finally a champion, is coming back for one last season.
The first day of NBA free agency Saturday saw things starting to take shape, though there's still dozens of more moves to come in the next few days. After an opening flurry that saw Stephen Curry get a $201 million deal from the NBA champion Golden State Warriors and Blake Griffin take about $175 million to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers, most teams started to look at names more within their price range.
And Paul George has a new home, and Russell Westbrook has a new star teammate.
The Indiana Pacers have agreed to trade George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, said two people with knowledge of the details. The stunning deal gives Westbrook, the newly crowned NBA MVP, some serious help next season and makes the already rugged Western Conference even more daunting.
The two teams came together on the trade Friday just hours before the free agent market was set to open, said the people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade was not official. It is not expected to be finalized until the moratorium ends, but that didn't stop the rest of the league from reacting about the newest dynamic duo to form.
Redick agreed to a $23 million, one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. West is going back to the Warriors on a veteran's minimum, which is now worth $2.3 million. And Detroit got some solid insurance at point guard, agreeing with Langston Galloway on a three-year deal.
But all that, of course, was overshadowed by Curry's deal — the biggest contract in NBA history.
"Steph should be getting 400M this summer," Cleveland star LeBron James tweeted.
The rules, for now, only allow for Curry to get half of that.
With nearly $1 billion in deals agreed to just in Day 1 of this year's free agency period, there is still obviously no shortage of money out there for teams to hand out.
And while Curry got the most, other point guards got plenty — or will when contracts can start being signed Thursday.
Jrue Holiday agreed to return to New Orleans for $126 million over five years, with incentives potentially pushing that to $150 million. Patty Mills is returning to San Antonio for the next four years at $50 million, and Jeff Teague agreed with Minnesota on a three-year, $57 million deal.
Still out there is another massive offer: John Wall has a chance to sign a four-year extension worth $168 million with the Wizards, another deal under the so-called Supermax structure that allowed Curry to get his record payday.
In other major free agent news Saturday:
• Redick made his intentions for next season clear with three simple words. "Trust the process," he tweeted, his way of saying he was heading to the 76ers, who have made that phrase their mantra during their long rebuilding process. Redick averaged 15.0 points and made 43 percent of his 3-pointers last season for the Los Angeles Clippers, who will now need two new starting guards next season after point guard Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets.
• Hayward was greeted by Heat players for his free-agent visit, along with a banner strategically placed outside AmericanAirlines Arena showing him in a Heat uniform.