Free agency isn’t what it used to be.
Ever since that bonanza in 2019 — which followed the bonanza in 2016 — there hasn’t been much of a superstar market involving salary cap space. The stars discovered they’re better off re-signing for the most money and financial security, then demanding a trade if they want to leave.
The trade-demand clock now starts the second season into a new contract. Just ask Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and James Harden.
The three biggest contracts given to a free agent changing teams in 2023 went to … drumroll, please … Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Bruce Brown. In 2022? Jalen Brunson, Gary Payton II, P.J. Tucker. In 2021? DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Lonzo Ball. In 2020? Gordon Hayward, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari.
