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Few players made themselves more money over the last year than Cam Payne did with the Phoenix Suns. After being signed to the Suns roster for the Bubble last year, fresh off a season in China, Payne was terrific for the perfect Bubble Suns and earned a spot on the roster for 2020-21.

He quickly established himself as the top backup to Chris Paul, averaging 8.4 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game on 48.4/44.0/89.3 shooting in what has been one of the wildest career transformations to watch. Payne continued his excellent play (albeit on worse efficiency) in the playoffs, hitting some key shots in the Suns run to the Finals and just generally being a needed steady hand, particularly while Chris Paul missed time after a positive COVID-19 test.

Entering free agency, Payne figured to be in the second tier that could cash in from the teams who missed out on the top point guard stars, or he could choose to re-sign with the Suns team he knows he has a great fit with. Payne chose the latter option, reportedly agreeing to a three-year deal worth $19 million to stay in Phoenix.

Payne seemingly reflected some joy on Twitter in the minutes after the deal was reported.

For the Suns, this is a tremendous value, particularly if you believe in what Payne was able to contribute during the 2021-22 season. It would be interesting to know what other suitors Payne may have had, but Phoenix retains a high-level backup point guard for a very solid price, and that alleviates some concerns in their backcourt, at least if they can find a deal with Chris Paul in the near future.

Whenever a team battles injuries and absences it creates opportunity for someone further down the roster, and in Indiana the Pacers’ backcourt absences last season opened the door for TJ McConnell to take on a larger role and he took full advantage of that chance.

The former Sixers guard became one of the NBA’s best defensive pests, ripping away 1.9 steals per game (including a game with 9 in the first half) and had his best offensive season of his career with 8.6 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game on 55.9/31.3/68.8 shooting. That field goal percentage was the best of his career, as his finishing took a marked leap and that was critical to his ability to be impactful on both ends of the floor, thus allowing the Pacers to increase his minutes. This offseason featured a robust point guard market, but for teams needing a quality defensive reserve guard who could capably run the offense, McConnell figured to be a top target for those not looking to break the bank.

However, in the end the Pacers were able to retain McConnell on a healthy 4-year, $35 million deal to ensure they didn’t have to go searching for a new backup point guard in a crowded market.

Retaining McConnell became even more imperative during the Draft when they traded Aaron Holiday, and to get a deal done quickly allows them to turn to other options. With Rick Carlisle now at the helm, Indiana will be hoping that a fresh and experienced perspective on the bench, plus better health, can return them to the playoff hunt in the East without any dramatic signings needed — although trade rumors will continue to swirl about their frontcourt.

JaMychal Green became the latest player to excel in his role with the Denver Nuggets and, as such, he declined his $7.4 million player option to become a free agent, leaving Denver in a bit of a precarious position as, for the second straight year, there was a chance they would see an important role player depart for more money.

Green averaged 8.1 points and 4.8 boards per game for the Nuggets, boasting a strong 46.3/39.9/80.7 shooting split while also providing terrific interior defense. He entered a free agent market fairly rich with veteran wings, but his three-point shooting combined with his defensive versatility in the frontcourt and on the wing meant he was surely going to get some serious looks at mid-level and above deals.

Ultimately, Green chose to come back to Denver on a 2-year deal at the mid-level, bumping his salary up by $2 million per year as Denver keeps an important piece.

Green joins Will Barton as returners for Denver, as they seem adamant on running it back and hoping for better injury luck next season to see what this group can truly do after making it to the second round without Jamal Murray and others. Green felt like the most likely to get poached of their free agents, and to bring him back has to make Nuggets fans very happy, while other places hoping to maybe add a quality frontcourt player will have to turn attention elsewhere.

It was a few short but sweet months where it seemed safe to plan tours, go out to shows, and even stop wearing masks… but now it’s clear that variants of COVID-19 are still spreading rapidly. Given concerns about highly contagious mutations like the Delta variant, lots of artists are making tough decisions about their tours and what expectations will be around vaccination, masking, and more. Today, one artist, Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, took a stand and declared that vaccination will be required for her upcoming Japanese Breakfast sets for anyone working the shows, and either proof of vaxxed status or a negative PCR test within 48 hours will be required for entry.

Her new album, Jubilee, is already one of 2021’s best, and hopefully her decision will help fans stay safe at shows, and potentially even convince any holdouts to get the vaccination. Along with those precautions, she’s also reinstated masking a the show.

“Given the spread of the Delta variant and the CDC’s recent changes to masking guidelines, we are kindly requesting that the following COVID protocol be upheld at upcoming Japanese Breakfast shows. All attendees will either be fully vaccinated or will have received a negative PCR test within 48 hours preceding the show. Most and nose coverings will be worn by all attendees at all times except when eating or drinking. Any staff dealing with band or audience members will be fully vaccinated.”

Nerlens Noel was once thought to be a cornerstone of the Process-era Sixers, but found himself one of the odd men out when Joel Embiid emerged as a budding superstar. In the years since, Noel has steadily proven himself as a tremendous defender in the NBA, particularly finding success the last two seasons in Oklahoma City and New York.

With the Knicks last season, Noel averaged 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 1.1 assists per game, stepping into a larger role after Mitchell Robinson went down with injury and helping to hold together the middle of one of the league’s best defenses. As a free agent in a rather weak big man class, Noel figured to get plenty of interest from contenders seeking to bolster their frontcourt rotations and add a legit rim protector to their bench, as well as teams with frontcourt vacancies who might think Noel could pop even more in a bigger role.

But ultimately, Noel ended up re-signing with the Knicks on a reported three-year deal worth $32 million.

This is a strong payday for Noel, who has bounced around a bit in recent years despite his strong defensive impact. Seemingly in conjunction with their overall plan, the Knicks also moved swiftly to lock up Alec Burks. The veteran guard enjoyed a productive campaign in New York last season, and Burks will reportedly return on a three-year pact as well.

It remains to be seen as to what New York’s full designs are for their cap space, but these two deals both represent reasonable financial investments in competent rotation players. Burks had the best three-point shooting season (41.5 percent) of his career in 2020-21, and that marksmanship, combined with his overall shot creation profile, is key for a Knicks team that struggled with floor balance during their encouraging season.

Kelly Olynyk was dealt rather unceremoniously from Miami to Houston at the deadline last year when the Heat took a swing on Victor Oladipo, but it turned out that Olynyk would go on to play the best basketball of anyone moved in that trade in the second half of the season. In Houston, Olynyk averaged 19.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game on 54.5/39.2/84.4 shooting over 27 games that undoubtedly raised some eyebrows and made him some money this summer.

In Miami, Olynyk was having a dreadful shooting season (31.7 percent from three) and was seen as expendable enough to take a flier on Oladipo, but in Houston he recouped some significant value, taking advantage of a situation where expectations were low and opportunity was high. The question for teams in free agency was to figure out how repeatable that performance in Houston was on a winner, but in a weak big man market, his ability to space the floor and his playoff experience figured to give him plenty of suitors.

In the end, Olynyk ended up inking a 3-year, $37 million with the Pistons, as relayed from his agents to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

This makes the second straight year the Pistons have splurged on bigs in free agency, having had to trade Mason Plumlee to Charlotte this offseason by attaching a high second round pick after that partnership didn’t work out. Olynyk seems to be a better fit given his ability to space the floor, but it’s certainly a significant investment for a Pistons team that seems to want to quickly improve around No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham.

When the four-team James Harden blockbuster went down, the Cleveland Cavaliers emerged as one of the undoubted winners of the trade as they landed Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince for Dante Exum and the Bucks’ 2022 first round pick. This offseason already saw them flip Prince for Ricky Rubio as they sought to upgrade their backup point guard spot (and potentially build in some Collin Sexton trade insurance), but Allen was expected to be seen as a foundational piece in Cleveland.

Even after landing the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and taking center Evan Mobley, the plan didn’t change in Cleveland as word emerged on Monday evening that they had inked Allen to a 5-year, $100 million deal that would keep him with the Cavs without requiring him to test the market and find an offer sheet for Cleveland to match.

Allen was terrific in his first partial season in Cleveland, averaging 13.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game on strong efficiency, and at just 23 he still very much fits the timeline for the young, building Cavs. Locking Allen up gives them their frontcourt of the future, while they now have to make decisions on which of their young players will be part of their longterm backcourt. Collin Sexton’s future seems particularly murky in Cleveland, and he could be one of the next big moves made on the trade market after Darius Garland’s emergence last season.

When veteran swingman Will Barton elected to decline a player option worth $14.7 million in mid-July, reports indicated that there was hope, both for Barton and the Denver Nuggets, that a deal could be reached to keep the 30-year-old in Colorado. In the opening minutes of free agency on Monday evening, word broke from Chris Haynes that the partnership between player and team will continue with a reported two-year agreement worth $32 million.

Barton has been with the Nuggets for six-plus seasons since arriving from Portland during the 2013-14 campaign. Over that timeframe, he has averaged 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for Denver. Barton enjoyed the best three-point shooting season of his career in 2020-21, converting more than 38 percent of his long-range attempts.

Denver also reportedly came to an agreement with JaMychal Green, strengthening their depth for the 2021-22 campaign.

The Nuggets will be entering the 2021-22 season without Jamal Murray, making Barton’s perimeter creation even more important until their star guard returns from injury. While Barton did battle hamstring issues that cost him valuable time down the stretch in 2020-21, he has been a consistently positive player for the Nuggets, and Denver is signing him to a deal that seems to make sense on all sides.

Four years ago, Tim Hardaway Jr. signed a massive offer sheet with the New York Knicks as a restricted free agent with the Hawks that stunned the NBA world. However, after getting sent to Dallas alongside Kristaps Porzingis two years ago, Hardaway has lived up to that deal and found himself in line for another big pay day as one of the best wings on the market.

Hardaway Jr. has been nothing short of tremendous the last two seasons in Dallas as a shooter and secondary creator alongside Luka Doncic. In those two seasons, he’s averaged 16.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on 44.1/39.4/81.7 shooting splits, becoming one of the Mavs’ most consistent offensive weapons in the process. As such, the Mavs were very interested in bringing him back to Dallas, but Hardaway Jr. had plenty of other suitors who were looking for an upgrade in the area of perimeter shooting from the wing.

In the end, Hardaway Jr. chose to run it back in Dallas on a 4-year, $72 million deal that will keep him handsomely paid, spacing the floor alongside Doncic, per Chris Haynes and Marc Stein.

Woj confirmed the deal, but has it at $74 million (the discrepancy is likely regarding potential bonuses deemed unlikely).

While Dallas had hopes of landing Kyle Lowry, that ship seems to have sailed and for now they have gone to work on locking down their own free agents. Hardaway Jr. was a top priority from a basketball perspective, while re-signing Boban Marjanovic both keeps frontcourt depth and one of Doncic’s closest friends on the team. The question is where they go from here, as they can still work out some significant deals with free agents if they want to and sign them before Hardaway Jr. puts pen to paper, as they look to take another step forward next season.

Mike Conley hit unrestricted free agency this summer, as the five-year contract worth more than $150 million that he originally signed with the Memphis Grizzlies reached its conclusion at the end of this past season. Per multiple media reports, Conley’s free agency was not expected to be particularly dramatic, as the expectation was that he’d end up returning to the Utah Jazz.

That indeed is what happened, with a 3-year, $68 million deal being reportedly struck, per Shams Charania, just after the 6 p.m. moratorium period opened that will keep Conley in Utah and continue their push to the top of the West.

Woj later confirmed the deal, but at $72.5 million overall (which likely has to do with potential bonuses deemed unlikely).

Conley joined the Jazz in 2019 with an eye on competing for a championship, but due to a mix of injuries to Conley and some general struggles once the postseason rolled around, Utah has not been able to get past the conference semifinals during his time with the team.

While he struggled mightily on the floor during his first year, Conley was able to experience something of a bounce-back campaign in 2020-21, averaging 16.2 points, six assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 29.4 minutes per game. Conley has been a terrific backcourt partner for the Jazz’s rising star in Donovan Mitchell, providing a steady hand and quality shooting. Utah’s next steps will be figuring out what else to do with their roster on the margins, with the only real way to make a splash now being through the trade market. If that doesn’t happen, it seems the Jazz will run it back again with the team that earned the 1-seed in the West last year before a second round exit.