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NBA Free Agency: 4 Reasons Teams Should Stop Spending

By Jared Mueller

Jul 7, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kevin Durant poses for a photo with his jersey during a press conference after signing with the Golden State Warriors at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 7, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kevin Durant poses for a photo with his jersey during a press conference after signing with the Golden State Warriors at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters (3) in the second quarter in game two of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
May 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters (3) in the second quarter in game two of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Remaining Talent Demands Spending Stop

Estimates have NBA teams having spent around $2 billion so far in NBA Free Agency. TWO BILLION DOLLARS. That is a lot of money that went to some very, and not so very, talented players.

Kevin Durant took the LeBron James two-year deal with a player option after one. Dwyane Wade got $47.5 million over two years from the Chicago Bulls to leave the Miami Heat.

Bradley Beal, Andre Drummond, DeMar DeRozan, Nicolas Batum and Mike Conley all signed deals for five years and more than $100 million.

A collection of players from OK to very good signed big four-year deals, including Chandler Parsons, Hassan Whiteside, Evan Turner and Timofey Mozgov.

Even lesser-known players are getting around $10 million a season.

With all those players off the board, the remaining talent is very limited outside of LeBron James.

Two shooting guards traded for each other, J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters, lead the way. Each has his issue. Few are sure Smith will succeed outside of a strong locker room like Cleveland, even with his developed maturity.

Waiters is a restricted free agent who hasn’t shown that he can excel at any one area, outside of calling for the ball.

After those two 2 guards (and LeBron), no clear-cut starter, for a good team, is left on the market. Maurice Harkless is a restricted free agent with some upside, Tyler Zeller is also restricted with a very certain floor.

Former Houston Rockets Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas both had horrible seasons, but have some hope for a bounce-back year. Jones looked lost on the floor while Motiejunas has loads of medical questions as well as being a restricted free agent.

So while eight teams have more than $4 million to spend and fans, GMs and owners all want to see their team improve, who is deserving of that money?

Next: Team Unity

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