The NBA free agency circus kicked off Sunday night when teams could negotiate with free agents on other rosters. The biggest star on the move was Paul George, who reached a four-year, $212 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to multiple reports.
A new twist in free agency this year was with teams and their own free agents. Those negotiations could start June 18, and a quartet of stars agreed to re-sign deals worth at least $100 million, including OG Anunoby ($212 million), Pascal Siakam ($189.5 million), Immanuel Quickley ($175 million) and Nic Claxton ($100 million).
Teams have already handed out $2 billion in deals to free agents, per Spotrac.
The 76ers have been the most active squad in the first 24 hours since teams could negotiate with all free agents. They locked up five players to new deals at a combined outlay of $445 million, led by George and a pair of their own free agents in Tyrese Maxey ($204 million) and Kelly Oubre Jr. ($16 million). They also lured Andre Drummond ($10 million) and Eric Gordon ($3.3 million) to Philadelphia.
The 76ers have made the playoffs seven straight seasons, but their last trip to the Eastern Conference Finals was in 2001 and before that in 1985. GM Daryl Morey hopes the trio of George, Maxey and Joel Embiid can break the spell. They will earn a combined $135.8 million during the 2024-25 season when the salary cap is $140.6 million.
There are 19 active players in the NBA with contracts worth at least $200 million, and three of them are on the Sixers, with Embiid ($213 million) joining George and Maxey.
The biggest free agents left on the board are LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan.
On Sunday, the NBA announced the cap for the 2024-25 season, which is based on projected basketball-related income. It rose only 3.4% after back-to-back years of 10% increases, which is the most the cap can increase under the collective bargaining agreement.
Next season will likely be the last one for the foreseeable future without a 10% increase to the cap, with the league near a new TV deal worth at least $75 billion and more than a 150% increase on the previous annual average. It would mean a cap of $206 million for the 2028-29 season.
Almost every NBA team spends more than the cap on players, but the luxury tax level serves as a bigger deterrent to stay under, particularly for teams that are not contenders for the league title. The penalty is twofold, as teams must not only pay the tax, but they are also then shut out from receiving a rebate from the NBA from the taxpaying teams. That is expected to be roughly $12 million for each non-taxpaying team for 2023-24.
The luxury tax for the 2024-25 season will be $170.8 million. Eight teams spent above the limit last year, and the biggest tax bills were for the Golden State Warriors ($177 million), Los Angeles Clippers ($142 million), Phoenix Suns ($68 million), Milwaukee Bucks ($53 million) and Boston Celtics ($44 million), per estimates from ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
(This post has been updated to remove Klay Thompson from remaining free agents listed in the seventh paragraph, after Thompson signed with Dallas.)
