Bargain deals are hard to come by in the NBA these days.
Players no longer have to be perennial All-Stars to get maximum deals. Role players earn more during one contract than Michael Jordan made in his career. Even Dillon Brooks inked a four-year, $80 million contract.
Cap space goes quickly… and sometimes foolishly.
An hour into the opening of free agency, $1 billion was handed out to players in an offseason that didn't exactly have a marquee free agent.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
While some deals are instantly regrettable (a soon-to-be rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers team giving $160 million to Jerami Grant?), others are surprisingly manageable, at least by NBA standards.
Here are the 10 best deals of 2023 free agency based on factors such as average annual salary, length of the deal and contract structure.
NBA
10. *Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks – Three years, $126 million
This one gets an asterisk because it comes with one very expensive and unpredictable variable: Kyrie Irving.
If Irving plays consistently, if Irving meshes with Luka Doncic in their first full season together, if Irving avoids controversy, if Irving… and so on and so on.
If all of those ifs pan out, the Mavs will get max contract level production from a non-max contract player, having avoided giving Irving a full five-year financial commitment. But those are some very expensive and potentially franchise-altering ifs.
9. Shake Milton, Minnesota Timberwolves – Two years, $10 million
It's a low-risk, high-reward signing that could pay immediate dividends for the Wolves.
The 26-year-old combo guard has averaged around 20 minutes per game while playing primarily off the bench for the 76ers over his first five seasons. In 11 starts last season, he averaged 20.3 points and 7.2 assists while shooting 52% from the field. With Mike Conley now closer to 40 than 30, Milton could find himself filling in as a starter. If not, he'll give the Wolves a much-needed spark off the bench with his ability to score inside and out.
8. Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves – Three years, $42 million
The Timberwolves had already committed over $70 million next season to two centers, with Rudy Gobert set to make $41 million and Karl-Anthony Towns earning $31.7 million.
Naz Reid likely could have gotten more playing time and money elsewhere, but he opted to give the Wolves a hometown discount before free agency even officially opened. The 23-year-old Reid averaged 11.5 points on 53.7% shooting and grabbed 4.9 rebounds per game in just 18.4 minutes per game last season. His potential two-way presence gives the Wolves flexibility should they look to end the KAT-Gobert experiment.
7. Taurean Prince, Los Angeles Lakers – One year, $4.5 million
The first of a few Lakers signees to make the list, Taurean Prince brings value to a shooting-starved team.
The veteran wing was scooped up by general manager Rob Pelinka after the Timberwolves declined to guarantee his $7.4 million contract. Prince has averaged 10.4 points per game during his career, shooting 37.2% on 4.4 3-pointers per game. His perimeter shooting will help fill a void on a Lakers team that shot 34.6% from deep last season, seventh worst in the league.
6. Herb Jones, New Orleans Pelicans – Four years, $54 million
It's refreshing to see a player in the modern NBA get rewarded for their perimeter defense. That's the case for Herb Jones, a second-round pick turned starting lineup mainstay.
A ball-hawk on the defensive end, Jones has averaged 1.6 steals per game over his first two seasons, finishing among the league's top 10 in both. If Jones' 44% shooting from deep after the All-Star break carries into the 2023-24 season, he has elite 3-and-D potential at a bargain rate.
5. Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Clippers – Two years, $7.9 million
Russell Westbrook took the biggest pay cut in NBA history, according to HoopsHype, going from $47 million last season to $4 million next season.
Say what you will about Russ – empty stats, can't shoot, high turnover rate – his flaws will be much less glaring and his production more valued now that the decimal point in his salary has been moved. With a player option in the second year of the deal, Russ will be out to prove he's still worthy of a hefty raise.
4. Gabe Vincent, Los Angeles Lakers – Three years, $33 million
An average annual salary of $11 million for a player who might end up being the starting point guard on the Los Angeles Lakers?
If Gabe Vincent provides the efficient 3-point shooting, off-the-ball ability and rugged defense he displayed during the Miami Heat's run to the NBA Finals, he could supplant D'Angelo Russell.
Russell, who was benched during the Western Conference Finals, was re-signed this offseason to a moveable two-year, $37 million deal that could come into play at the trade deadline.
3. The Phoenix Suns’ bench
When the Phoenix Suns acquired Bradley Beal, they had five players under contract for next season: Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal at over $46 million each, Devin Booker at $36 million, Deandre Ayton at $32.5 million and Cameron Payne at $6.5 million.
Simple mathematics suggests that does not leave much cap space to fill out a roster.
The Suns had to dig through the bargain bin to add depth – and they did just that. Eric Gordon (two years, $6.55 million) gives the team a veteran sharpshooter off the bench. Yuta Watanabe (one year, $2.35 million) shot 44% from deep as Durant's teammate in Brooklyn last season. Keita Bates-Diop (two years, $5 million) set career highs of 9.7 points on 39.4% shooting from deep with the Spurs last season.
How the Suns make it all work with only one ball – and at the defensive end – is another question.
2. Bruce Brown, Indiana Pacers – Two years, $45 million
No player better parlayed a postseason run into an offseason payday.
Bruce Brown was an essential role player for a Denver Nuggets team that won its first championship in franchise history. He now goes from playing alongside one of the league's best playmakers to another.
Brown leaves Nikola Jokic to join Tyrese Haliburton, who will make him the recipient of many catch-and-shoot opportunities. At the defensive end, Brown will provide the Pacers with some much-needed physicality and versatility.
Is that valuation a bargain or overpay at a $22.5 million annual salary? The Pacers intend to find out. But the beauty of the deal is that the second year is a team option, giving Indiana an out if needed.
1. Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers – Four years, $56 million
Austin Reaves yelled, "I'm him!"
Sometimes he played like him. But he didn't quite get paid like him.
After going undrafted in 2021, Reaves set career highs last season with 13.0 points per game on 52.9% shooting from the field and 39.8% shooting from deep.
Some expected Reaves to get every dollar of the roughly $100 million offer sheet he was eligible for as a restricted free agent. But that offer never came, so the Lakers didn't have to match. Instead, they get him for an average annual salary of $14 million. That's very team friendly for a 25-year-old player who showed considerable improvement from his first season to his second, averaging 16.9 points per game during the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference Finals.
With more opportunity and improvement, on his next contract, Reaves might get paid like him.
