NBA free agency: 30 greatest free agent signings in NBA history

Greatest free agency signings in NBA history: 13. Dikembe Mutombo- Atlanta Hawks, 1996

Prior to signing with the Hawks, Dikembe Mutombo seemed ready to spend the rest of his career with the team that drafted him: the Denver Nuggets.

When Mutombo reached free agency, he sought a 10-year contract to stay with the Nuggets but, according to former Nuggets GM Bernie Bickerstaff, both sides struggled to come to terms on finances:

"“[Mutombo’s agent] David Falk and those guys, they tried to work with us because Mutombo, he wanted to stay,” Bickerstaff said. “Falk tried to work with us in terms of trying to acquire other players (to clear money). The organization at the time just didn’t have the resources. It’s that simple. Because if we could have kept that group together, that was a pretty good team.”"

Bickerstaff also expressed some regret over failing to retain one of the best defensive centers in league history:

"“That’s something we should have done,” he said. “We tried. We offered it, but ownership didn’t want to go that far out, in terms of a 10-year deal. It’s like when Magic got that long deal, everyone was asking ‘Why would you do that?’ That was a terrific deal when you start talking about the present value of money. But that’s really the only regret you had, that you didn’t (re-sign) him.”"

Instead, Mutombo took a five-year, $55 million deal to play in Atlanta. There, he became the most valuable piece (.171 WS/48) of a Hawks team that ranked in the top 3 in defensive rating in two of Mutumbo’s five seasons there, seasons in which the Hawks won 50 games twice and 31 out of 50 in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season.