Damian Lillard wasn’t a top-five draft pick. Tobias Harris wasn’t a lottery pick. Khris Middleton wasn’t even a first-rounder.
Their bank balances won’t know the difference soon.
NBA free agency opened Sunday with more than $2 billion in deals getting struck in the opening hours – and that was even without Kyrie Irving officially joining the Brooklyn Nets, as has been expected, or any word from Kawhi Leonard about his future plans to either stay with the champion Toronto Raptors or move elsewhere.
Lillard agreed to a $196 million, four-year extension with the Portland Trail Blazers that will kick in for the 2021-22 season. Harris is staying in Philadelphia for $180 million over the next five years with the 76ers, and Middleton gave the Milwaukee Bucks a bit of a discount in agreeing to a $178 million, five-year deal – $12 million shy of what he could have commanded.
Even injuries couldn’t derail the spending.