Irving to re-sign with Mavericks
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic are going to try again together in Dallas. Draymond Green is going to chase more championships with Stephen Curry in Golden State, just like Khris Middleton is alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.
And Jerami Grant is staying put in Portland, for serious money. All those decisions, and many more, came quickly Friday night as free agency in the NBA got off to its traditional fast and free-spending start.
Irving agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal to remain with the Mavericks, who acquired him in a splashy move in February but sputtered down the stretch and missed the playoffs. A person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the agreement to the Associated Press, the deal taking quite possibly the biggest name in free agency off the board.
The Mavs had made clear that keeping Irving was their top priority — and got it done in the first hour of the NBA’s free agency window that opened at 5 p.m.
Grant is getting $160 million over the next five years, part of a plan that Portland hopes keeps Damian Lillard happy enough to not ask for a trade. Grant stays put, as does Kyle Kuzma in Washington.
Kuzma essentially doubled his annual salary, agreeing to a $102 million, four-year deal with the Wizards. Green got a new contract that’ll pay him $100 million over four seasons with the Warriors. Both of those deals got done quickly once the offseason player movement window opened.
Kuzma had opted out of a contract that would have paid him $13 million this coming season; he’ll now average $25.5 million over the next four years.
Middleton also traded bigger salary in the short term for more years. He could have made $40 million this coming season; instead, he agreed to $102 million over three years.
The Miami Heat, also lost a key player from their club. Gabe Vincent agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal to join the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers also kept Rui Hachimura on a three-year deal worth about $50 million.
The Heat are retaining Kevin Love and brought back former Miami guard Josh Richardson. Love is getting $3.7 million this season.
Tre Jones will sign a two-year, $20 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs, agent Kevin Bradbury said. Another guard was on the move not long afterward; 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose agreed to a deal with Memphis in a deal first reported by SNY.
Toronto kept soughtafter center Jakob Poeltl (four years, $80 million), and New Orleans also saw one of its key players stay put — defensive standout Herb Jones agreed to a four-year, $54 million contract.