Free agency Opens: Fox and Kings Agree on $163 million Deal
Free agency in the NBA has started. De'Aaron Fox was the first huge winner, agreeing to a deal with the Sacramento Kings that will pay him at least $163 million over five years. No deals can be signed until 12:01 p.m. Sunday.
- Danilo Gallinari - one of the top wings on the free-agent market - agreed to a three-year contract worth $61.5 million, a person with knowledge told AP. ESPN and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the agreement. Gallinari averaged 18.7 points for Oklahoma City last season and is a 38% career shooter from 3-point range.
- Joe Harris has agreed to re-sign with the Nets, keeping one of the NBA's best shooters in Brooklyn. The Nets checked off what general manager Sean Marks called their biggest priority in free agency by agreeing to a deal with the swingman. Priority Sports, which represents Harris, announced the deal on Twitter. ESPN reported that Harris would get $75 million over four years. Harris finished his fourth season in Brooklyn by averaging a career-best 14.5 points in 69 games in 2019-20.
- The Timberwolves reached a $60 million agreement with restricted free agent shooting guard Malik Beasley that's for three years plus a team option for a fourth year, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed to AP.
- Jordan Clarkson is staying and Derrick Favors is coming back, according to people with direct knowledge of the transactions. Clarkson agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal; he averaged 15.6 points in 42 games after getting traded to Utah last December.
- Derrick Jones Jr., the league's reigning Slam Dunk champion, agreed to a two-year deal with the Trail Blazers. The Athletic first reported the agreement, which a person with knowledge later confirmed to AP.
- The Pistons received commitments Friday night from centers Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor, people familiar with those deals told AP. ESPN, which first reported the Plumlee agreement, said he would sign a three-year deal for $25 million.
-The Mavericks and Trey Burke have agreed on a $10 million, three-year contract to bring the guard back after he played well in the NBA bubble. Burke originally joined Dallas in the trade with New York headlined by Kristaps Porzingis in early 2019. The Mavericks didn't re-sign Burke before last season, and he ended up in Philadelphia.
- The Heat got quick agreements from point guard Goran Dragic and center Meyers Leonard on two-year deals, the second year in both cases being team options. Dragic will make about $18 million next season, Leonard about $9 million.
- The last time Facundo Campazzo and Nikola Jokic shared a court in a real game together was during last year's Basketball World Cup in China. Campazzo agreed to a two-year deal with the Denver Nuggets on Friday's opening day of free agency, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.
Meanwhile, the NBA is investigating whether one - a widely reported sign-and-trade move that would have sent Bogdan Bogdanovic from Sacramento to Milwaukee - happened earlier than league rules allow. A person with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday that the league is probing whether such an agreement existed, because if it did free-agent negotiations with Bogdanovic would have clearly started earlier than permissible.
Training camps open in about a week and a half.