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NBA: The Biggest Winners And Losers Of Free Agency Day 1

By Gerald Bourguet

Dec 20, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) is guarded by New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) is guarded by New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 31, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Knight (11) and power forward Khris Middleton (22) sit on the bench against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic won 113-102. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Loser: 90 Percent Of People’s Comprehension Of The Salary Cap

Unfortunately, there are still people who don’t understand that two summers from now, teams will have an extra $40 million+ to work with, so they naturally balk at deals for guys like Brandon Knight (five years, $70 million), Tyson Chandler (four years, $52 million), Khris Middleton (five years, $70 million) or Paul Millsap (three years, $59 million).

At this point, deals like Mike Dunleavy (three years, $14.4 million), Paul Pierce (three years, $10 million) and Brandan Wright (three years, $18 million) are outright highway robberies. There will still be bad deals, like Omer Asik‘s absurd five-year, $60 million agreement, but you get the picture. Everyone is getting paid now.

The sheer magnitude of these new contracts will take some getting used to, but before you judge a deal based on the old scale, take the time to do the math and figure out what percentage of the salary cap each contract will take up by year. You might be surprised to find that some of these younger players who are being signed to massive contracts are actually being signed to discount deals, especially since they’d be eligible for even more outrageous offers in 2016 and 2017.

Next: Winner: Max Contracts