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It’s not often that someone who averaged a rather modest 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game is one of the most coveted free agents on the market, but for the top contenders in the NBA going into the 2021-22 season, few players are higher on more free agency boards than Nic Batum.

After joining the Clippers on a minimum deal following a buyout from Charlotte, Batum emerged as an ideal small-ball big, playing spectacular defense while offering some needed tertiary creation, timely off-ball movement cutting, and terrific shooting. Batum posted 46.4/40.4/82.8 shooting splits in Los Angeles this past season, and in doing so he became a prized veteran target for just about every team with a mid-level to spend and championship dreams.

Ultimately, Batum chose to return to the Clippers on a deal first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

There is at least some risk with Batum, particularly when remembering that he was virtually a non-entity at the end of his tenure in Charlotte. However, that risk is mitigated by his return to Los Angeles, with the Clippers finding a way to maximize his talents during a playoff push and plenty of minutes to fill due to the injury absence of Kawhi Leonard next season.

The expectation is that Batum is returning to the Clippers on the taxpayer mid-level, although the exact dollar figure hasn’t been reported, which has to feel like a steal for L.A. as their best hopes this offseason was to simply keep everyone together.

Evan Fournier had an up-and-down 2020-21 season. He battled some early injuries, but averaged 19 points per game in Orlando prior to the trade deadline where he was sent to Boston to hopefully bolster their wing rotation for a late run. However, just as he was getting settled, a bout with COVID kept him from playing with the Celtics for nine games and it took him another couple weeks to get back to looking like his normal self.

Once he was mostly recovered, he showed why Boston traded for him in the first place, averaging 19.9 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game in the final seven games of the regular season. In the playoffs, he continued to play solidly, particularly showing his value as a shooter at 43.3 percent against Brooklyn. That shooting, which has now sat at or above 40 percent from three for two straight seasons, made him among the more intriguing wings on the market.

On Monday, the New York Knicks nabbed Fournier off the market after reportedly agreed to a 4-year, $78 million deal with the French star, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Making the deal a bit more palatable is that it reportedly has a team option on the fourth year, meaning it is, effectively, a 3-year, $59.5 million deal.

It is a hefty sum for Fournier as the Knicks are hoping he can provide them with some needed perimeter scoring. The question is whether Fournier addresses their need for more creation on the perimeter, as he is more of a secondary or tertiary creator and an excellent spot-up shooter. For Fournier, it’s a terrific deal in a market that saw a lot of the cap space evaporate early on, as he cashes in and heads to New York.

When the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook, the immediate conversation was about how exactly the Lakers new Big 3 would fit together. There are the obvious positives, in that Westbrook gives the Lakers a much-needed second playmaker next to LeBron, but the lack of perimeter shooting in that group certainly raised questions. Immediately fans started calling for L.A. to find shooters in free agency as they went on the hunt for veteran minimum signings, and the Lakers listened with their first two pick ups on Monday.

More than a decade after Trevor Ariza played with the Lakers from 2006-2008, the veteran wing is making his return to L.A. as the first of what will be a parade of veteran minimum signings from the Lakers this year, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Ariza, who most recently played for the Heat, will provide L.A. with some needed wing and frontcourt depth, and while he’s not an elite shooter, he is a more than capable spot-up threat who will help space the floor for the Lakers new Big 3. In Miami a year ago, Ariza averaged 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, shooting 35 percent from three in his 30 appearances with the Heat. He has always been a player that has performed best when on good teams, and for that reason, the Lakers have reason to believe they’ll be getting the best of the veteran.

Joining Ariza will be Wayne Ellington, likewise a former Laker who will come to L.A. to do one thing: shoot the ball.

Ellington shot 42.2 percent from three in Detroit last season and on a Lakers team desperate for floor spacers now that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is in Washington, Ellington’s presence will be a welcome sight in L.A. There was also the question of center depth with Montrezl Harrell gone and Andre Drummond hitting free agency, so the Lakers brought back an old friend in Dwight Howard.

Dwight was great for the Lakers in their championship run in 2020 and they’ll hope his return to L.A. will allow them to hit the ground running once again. There are still more additions to be made for the Lakers, but these three provide a solid start to what figures to be a parade of veteran minimum signings this offseason.

While the Toronto Raptors opted to keep Kyle Lowry at the NBA trade deadline, they did decide to make one pretty major deal when they turned Norman Powell into Gary Trent Jr. Powell had a productive career with the team, but Trent gave them a young player they could get a look at before he hit restricted free agency this summer.

Trent didn’t just make the most of the opportunity, he straight up turned himself into an invaluable member of their long-term plans. As a result, Trent and the Raptors came to terms on a new contract, one that will reportedly pay him $54 million over three seasons.

A high-volume shooter during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, Trent got to show off a bit more of his offensive repertoire once he joined the Raptors. The results couldn’t have been more encouraging, as Trent became a member of Toronto’s starting lineup and averaged 16.2 points in 31.8 minutes per game while hitting 35.5 percent of his 7.3 attempts a night from three. Included in this was a career-high 44 point outing, which was tied for the second-highest scoring output in a single game for a Raptors player last season.

Trent also extracts a significant concession in nabbing the player option. Given his current age of 22, Trent has the potential to hit the free agent market again at just 24 years old and, if he performs well in Toronto, that could set up another lucrative payday. In contrast, he has another $18 million secured if he’d like to pick up that player option, and this is a good bit of business for both sides.

A year ago, Bobby Portis’ future was extremely unclear. He always had offensive talent and an intensity that was undeniable, but channeling that into positive contributions for a winner was a real question mark. After signing with Milwaukee for just over $3 million, he was given a chance to prove he could do just that, and he gave the Bucks more than they could’ve hoped for as a key contributor on their championship winning team.

Portis averaged 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game on an outrageous 52.3/47.1/74.0 shooting split that was, by far, the best of his career. In the playoffs, he continued that stellar play as Brook Lopez’s backup, offering the Bucks a small-ball option at the five to change up looks and go super-switching on defense rather than their traditional drop coverage. Having that versatility paid off in a title and Portis became a fan favorite in Milwaukee, with fans chanting “Bobby! Bobby!” to him during the trophy ceremony.

That performance also meant Portis was going to have a difficult decision in free agency after declining his player option. He could stay in Milwaukee where he’s beloved on the taxpayer mid-level or he could go elsewhere, possibly for significantly more money. In the end, Portis chose to go with his heart, returning to Milwaukee on a reported 2-year, $9 million deal that lets him enter free agency again next season, per Shams Charania.

Shams reports that Portis turned down more lucrative offers from Dallas and Miami to stay in Milwaukee, where he will be treated like a king for the next season and hope to replicate his sensational performance to have the chance to make more money next summer. For the Bucks, its a huge step towards bringing the band back for a run at a repeat, with PJ Tucker their next priority.

Portis made the announcement official with an Instagram video and a caption that said, “Run that sh*t back!”

The 2020-21 season was kind to Doug McDermott. The 29-year-old forward enjoyed the most productive season of his NBA career, setting career highs in minutes per game and starts while functioning as a key cog for the Indiana Pacers. This was also well-timed for McDermott as he hit unrestricted free agency and, on Monday evening, the former Creighton star reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs worth $42 million in total.

At this early stage, further details on McDermott’s contract are limited but, regardless of structure, this is a nice payday for the sharpshooter. McDermott does have an underrated arsenal as a shot creator, but he is best known for his marksmanship, connecting on 40.7 percent of his three-pointers over seven NBA seasons. In 2020-21, he also produced a career-best 53.2 percent from the floor to go along with personal-best marks in scoring (13.6 points per game) and assists (3.3 per game).

McDermott will definitely fill a role for the Spurs, as San Antonio is loaded in the backcourt but less so with players of McDermott’s size at either forward spot. San Antonio may have overpaid a touch for the privilege of adding a big-time shooter, but that was an area in which they were lacking as the 2021-22 season approached, and the Spurs still have a bundle of salary cap flexibility after entering the offseason with nearly $50 million in room.

Jeff Green entered this offseason as one of a number of veteran wings that would have an interesting decision to make, as most every contender would happily welcome him in on a minimum contract, but after overperforming on a minimum last year in Brooklyn, no one would blame him for seeking a bigger deal this summer.

Green averaged 11 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Nets last season, most impressively shooting a career-best 41.2 percent from three-point range, enjoying a role as a small-ball four spacing the floor for Brooklyn’s Big 3. Green was linked to just about every contender this offseason, but ultimately chose to go to Denver, where they offered him a two-year, $10 million deal to take part of their mid-level, according to ESPN’s Malika Andrews.

To start free agency, Denver had focused on getting the band back together with a three-year deal for Will Barton and a two-year deal for JaMychal Green, but still kept their mid-level open to add a little more outside help. The result is Jeff Green’s deal that will pay him better than what Brooklyn or either of the L.A. clubs were going to be offering him, while giving Denver more frontcourt help around and behind Nikola Jokic. It also seems to indicate that Paul Millsap might be on his way out of Denver, as the Greens now occupy two key rotation spots in the frontcourt.

The Miami Heat were the talk of the NBA coming into free agency with their reported interest in a Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade being the move that could set off a domino effect around the league. Of their own free agents, though, the biggest decision they were set to have to make was on sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.

Robinson averaged 13.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season for Miami, and he is their most reliable three-point threat, knocking down 40.8 percent of his threes despite teams blanketing him and face-guarding him as often as possible. As a restricted free agent, most anticipated a return to Miami, but what was fascinating was pondering what the market is in this moment for a plus-plus-shooter who isn’t a particularly good defender or on-ball threat.

We got the answer to that on Monday, with Robinson reportedly agreeing to a five-year deal worth $90 million.

As noted by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Robinson’s deal has an ETO (early termination option), which effectively acts as a player option in the final season. That gives Robinson even more value, and he secures a fifth year of salary, should he want it, in the process. The price is certainly lofty when considering Robinson’s limitations, but he is one of the best shooters in the world and the Heat have unlocked his game in a way that few organizations could. People certainly seem pretty excited about it, too.

Chris Paul turned some heads when he joined the Phoenix Suns last offseason via a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. While the Suns were one of the best stories of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble, Paul was viewed as someone who wanted to compete for a championship, and it wasn’t clear that Phoenix would give him that opportunity.

Of course, Paul and the Suns proceeded to go on an incredible run, recording the NBA’s second-best regular season record and rolling through the Western Conference Finals. The big question, then, became whether or not the two sides would be able to come to an agreement on running it back after Paul opted to not pick up his player option for the 2021-22 campaign, and the answer on Monday evening was a resounding yes as Paul got a massive 4-year, $120 million deal, first broken by Chris Haynes with Adrian Wojnarowski confirming the news via his agent.

The years are the most stunning part of this, as most anticipated a 3/90 type deal like Kyle Lowry got in Miami, but to get the fourth year that takes him to being 40 years old is a pretty incredible get for Paul, who clearly utilized his leverage over the Suns for the best.

Despite the fact that he turned 36 this season, Paul looks like he’ll be capable of playing for some time as long as he can stay healthy, an admittedly big if given the future Hall of Fame inductee’s checkered injury history. Still, Paul’s ability to get the job done is not a question, as he was the perfect point guard for a Phoenix team that lacked the kind of singular presence who could serve as a metronome on the offensive end of the floor and the consummate organizer on defense.

Last year, Paul averaged 16.4 points, 8.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 31.4 minutes per night while hitting 49.9 percent of his shots from the field and 39.5 percent of his threes. The Suns certainly seem to believe in his longevity and are banking on him being healthy and effective for a long time as they have now fully tied their title hopes to Paul.

Kyle Lowry’s future with the Toronto Raptors has been up in the air for a while. The veteran point guard’s name was a bit of a hot commodity in the lead-up to the trade deadline, but ultimately, Toronto decided that none of the offers it received were worth parting ways with the franchise legend.

This summer, Lowry became an unrestricted free agent, and the rumbling was that he would be hotly in demand in a sign-and-trade, one that would net him a big-money contract and the opportunity to play for a team with championship aspirations. That ended up coming to fruition, and despite the reported efforts of a number of teams that wanted to acquire his services as a way to bolster their backcourt, the Miami Heat got the deal done (as most expected for 24 hours prior to free agency opening), and it was Lowry himself who broke the news.

Woj confirmed that it would be in a sign-and-trade, and although the details of the trade are still yet to be known, the expectation is Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa will be the centerpieces.

Lowry struggled with injuries last season, with the Raptors — which struggled away from their usual home arena during their campaign in Tampa — opting to shut him down for eight of the squad’s final nine games. Despite those issues, Lowry was still a productive player, averaging 17.2 points, 7.3 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and a steal in 34.8 minutes per game. Now, he’ll be afforded a fresh start after spending nine years in Toronto with an opportunity to win the second ring of his career in Miami.