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NBA teams spend $1.4 billion on 1st day of free agency

Craig Mitchelldyer / USA TODAY Sports

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Ka-ching!

For those hoping to witness a flurry of signings on the opening day of the 2015 NBA free-agency period, July 1 certainly didn't disappoint.

Day 1 kicked off with the New Orleans Pelicans sliding a piece of paper across the table to franchise player Anthony Davis with six zeros on it, preceded by the number 145. The Brow's whopping five-year, $145-million deal jump-started what turned out to be a frenzied 24 hours of wheeling and dealing.

By the end of the day, a reported $1.4 billion was spent by NBA clubs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers broke the bank in order to bring the band back together. By signing Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson to new deals, the Cavs doled out a substantial $230 million all told - a hefty sum to withstand, no doubt, but such is the price to keep King James happy.

The Brooklyn Nets committed a combined $110 million to Brook Lopez (three years, $60 million) and Thaddeus Young (four years, $50 million). It's no secret the Nets have been hemorrhaging money for years as a result of exceeding salary-cap limitations and going into luxury-tax territory.

The lucrative contracts may seem borderline excessive today, but could look far less bloated after the NBA's new TV deal kicks in next summer.

Interestingly, most free agents elected to remain with the teams they finished the 2014-15 season with, since the league's collective bargaining agreement gives teams the advantage of offering their own players an additional fifth year on any potential contract.

To this point, several star players opted not to change teams, enabling them to cash in on deals with more long-term security rather than deciding to sign one- or two-year deals (with a player option) in order to re-enter the free-agent pool after the league's salary cap explodes in 2016. That was somewhat unexpected and speaks to the value of security.

Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Draymond Green, Brandon Knight, and Khris Middleton all chose to re-up with their respective clubs.

Here are the Day 1 totals:

  • 26 deals
  • 107 years combined
  • Average deal: 4.1 years, $56.5 million

None of the aforementioned deals can become official until July 9, when next year's salary cap will be set.

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