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As the clock struck 6 pm, the NBA set the scale for the 2021-22 salary cap, at $112,414,000 cap with a $136,606,000 tax line. I am not going to sit here and tell you I know exactly what that entails, but I do know players are about to get PAID. Woj and Shams went back-and-forth breaking news at the speed of light. A shift in the league is starting to brew, and billions of dollars were dished out.
Adrian Wojnarowski has been holding down the fort as the NBA's top news scooper for quite some time, but rising star Shams Charania is closing the gap at an alarming pace. The "Woj Bombs" drop fast, but the Sham Wows are much quicker. At the moment though, Woj has a 1 stroke lead, after a slow start for the vet. For those keeping track at home, here is the breakdown of who broke what.
Updated as of 8/2/21 - 9:30 PM
Shams: 17
Woj: 18
Others
Chris B. Hayes: 7
Vince Goodwill: 1
Keith Smith: 1
Sam Amick: 1
Malika Andrews: 1
Marc Stein: 2
John Krawczynski: 1
Big Headliners
Some big-name stars opted to remain in their current situations or signed massive extensions. The talks are in place for Steph Curry to return to the Warriors, on a 4 year $215 million dollar extension. WOW. Trae Young earned himself a major pay-day (5y $170M). Mike Conley Jr. stays with the Jazz on a 3 year $72.5M deal. CP3 is running it back with the Suns on a 4 year $120M contract. Miami dished out some bands to extend and retain Jimmy Butler (4y - $184M) and Duncan Robinson (5y - $90M). We are still waiting to hear where Kawhi Leonard, DeMar DeRozan, Spencer Dinwiddie, and other names find homes.
Then there are familiar faces in new places. Kyle Lowry, the long-time Toronto Raptor, is taking his talents to South Beach, via a sign-and-trade featuring a 3 year $90M deal. Another SAT occurred to, with Lonzo Ball heading over to the Chicago Bulls on a 4 year $85M deal. He's teaming up with Lakers LEGEND, Alex Caruso (4y - $37M).
The Lakers are bringing in a "championship" roster of vets, including Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard, and Wayne Ellington. Not ideal, but they are a little tied up with the money.
It wouldn't be a Tondo blog without mentioning the New York Knicks. They let Reggie Bullock walk (Mavericks 3y - $30.5M), but upgraded his departure with former Celtic and French Olympian Evan Fournier, who landed a 4 year, $78M bag. They did bring back some key members in the rotation, including rim protector Nerlens Noel (3y - $32M) and veteran swingman Alec Burks (3y - $30M). The biggest of them all is the return of Rose in the Garden, as Derreck Rose comes back on a 3 year $43M contract. Run it back!
Free Agent Transactions
As I said, NBA players just got paid. It is insanity. All the deals today equated to over 1.2 billion dollars. Yup. Crazy. Here are all the deals at the moment.
Updated as of 8/2/21 - 9:30 PM
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