With the wild Kevin Durant sweepstakes concluded, teams continued to strike deals on Day 4 of NBA free agency.
Here's a team-by-team analysis of the latest major and minor deals:
(To look back at Friday's best, worst and craziest contracts, click here, catch up on everything from Saturday here and see all of Sunday's moves here.)
Charlotte Hornets
1. Agreed to sign guard Ramon Sessions to a reported two-year, $12.5 million deal
2. Agreed to sign center Roy Hibbert to a reported one-year, $5 million deal
Of the three backup point guards who signed with teams on Monday, Sessions is probably the worst player and the worst value. While Brandon Jennings and Sergio Rodriguez both took one-year deals, Sessions got two years, albeit at slightly less annually.
I think Jennings and Rodriguez have the chance to be above-average backups, while Sessions is closer to replacement level because of his porous defense. ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) rated him 46th among point guards last season.
Granted, Jennings wasn't much better and might have been more willing to take a discount to play in New York with the Knicks. Rodriguez came slightly more expensive this season. But I still would have favored one of them.
Signing Sessions leaves the Hornets with about $6 million in space. There have been rumblings that Charlotte will try to move the contract of backup center Spencer Hawes to clear enough room to make an offer on a better, younger backup, such as newfound unrestricted free agent Festus Ezeli.
After signing Sessions, the Hornets used most of their remaining space to sign Hibbert to a one-year, make-good deal. I like the thinking here. Charlotte hasn't had a legitimate rim protector since letting Bismack Biyombo walk in free agency last summer, and if Hibbert is going to bounce back anywhere, Steve Clifford's defensive system is probably a good guess. If Hibbert doesn't work out, well, the Hornets have made no long-term commitment.
Golden State Warriors
1. Agreed to sign center Zaza Pachulia to a reported one-year, $2.9 million deal
Say hello to the Warriors' starting center. After agreeing to trade Andrew Bogut (to the Dallas Mavericks, where he'll replace Pachulia) and renouncing the rights to Festus Ezeli, Golden State was badly in need of a 7-footer with its $2.9 million room exception.
Enter Pachulia, who probably could have gotten more money elsewhere but was unlikely to start with another team and certainly less likely to win a championship.
As compared to Bogut, Pachulia is a bit of a defensive downgrade. He doesn't offer nearly the same caliber of rim protection, having blocked fewer shots in the past five years (98) than Bogut did last season (114). But Pachulia is a smart positional defender who will take a charge, and his teams have been much better defensively with him on the court during each of the past two seasons.
At the other end, Pachulia can comfortably fill Bogut's role in the Warriors offense. He's almost Bogut's equal as a passer, having handed out 3.7 assists per 36 minutes over each of his last two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks before handling the ball less frequently last season in Dallas. (Bogut's been around four assists per 36 under Warriors coach Steve Kerr, one of the best marks in the league for a center.)
Pachulia's probably a bit more skilled at creating his own offense, though that skill won't be in demand much while playing alongside Golden State's stars.
The Warriors could still stand to add a more athletic rim protector in the middle -- which will be tricky with only the minimum salary left to offer free agents -- but Pachulia is a very nice next step in rebuilding their depth after signing Kevin Durant.
Los Angeles Clippers
1. Agreed to re-sign forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to a reported two-year, $4.5 million deal
Bringing back Mbah a Moute is the last move the Clippers can make in free agency by offering more than minimum-salary contracts. After playing last season for the minimum himself, Mbah a Moute gets a modest raise to the $2.2 million biannual exception.
The Clippers were able to live with Mbah a Moute's paltry offense because of their other weapons, and they badly needed his strong defense. So presumably, he'll battle Wesley Johnson for the starting role at small forward, along with playing some spot minutes at power forward, as necessary.
Assuming the Clippers sign second-round picks David Michineau and Diamond Stone, both of whom coach Doc Rivers has said will be on the roster next year, they've got 14 of their 15 spots filled now, with rookies Stone and Brice Johnson competing to back up DeAndre Jordan at center.
Los Angeles Lakers
1. Agreed to re-sign center Tarik Black to a reported two-year, $13 million deal
Based on this contract, Black is set to be the Lakers' backup for Timofey Mozgov over the next couple of seasons after struggling to find a consistent role in coach Byron Scott's rotation last year.
Despite shooting 54.8 percent from the field, Black had a below-average true shooting percentage in his tiny role last season, because he made just 42.2 percent of his free throws. (He could be a Hack-a-Shaq candidate in larger minutes, if the league doesn't change the rule.)
However, he's been an above-average shot blocker, and RPM has rated him around average on a per-play basis. So this deal is reasonable for him.
The deal uses Black's early Bird rights, paying him the most possible via that exception for the next two seasons. That allows the Lakers to re-sign Black last and use his $1.2 million cap hold instead of his salary, keeping them with $15 million to 17 million available, depending how their other contracts are structured. How the Lakers might spend that money remains unclear.
New York Knicks
1. Agreed to sign guard Brandon Jennings to a reported one-year, $5 million deal
2. Agreed to sign forward Lance Thomas to a reported four-year deal worth $6.1 million a year
During a star-studded summer, getting Jennings at less than the value of the full mid-level exception is far and away New York's best move. Even last season, coming off a ruptured Achilles tendon, Jennings performed well enough to be worth $5 million in the current market. If he's closer to full health a year removed from the injury, Jennings could be a bargain.
Unable to find the kind of multiyear offers or role he wanted, Jennings presumably took this as a make-good deal, which is an interesting gamble from his standpoint. If Derrick Rose goes down and Jennings plays well in his stead, he could become a much more desirable free agent next season -- possibly even for the Knicks, since Rose will also be a free agent in the summer of 2017.
The downside is that to make room for Jennings, New York rescinded its qualifying offer to restricted free agent Langston Galloway, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. As a player subject to the "Gilbert Arenas provision," Galloway was at risk of getting a back-loaded offer sheet, similar to the one the Brooklyn Nets reportedly gave Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson on Sunday. Still, after Kristaps Porzingis -- way after, admittedly -- Galloway was the Knicks' second-most promising young player, and losing him is disappointing.
Letting Galloway go allowed New York to hang on to Thomas' early Bird rights, which they'll use to sign him for a reported $6.1 million a year for four years. Always a capable defender, Thomas emerged as a valuable player last season by making 44 3s at a 40.4 percent clip, after having previously made seven in his entire NBA career. If Thomas keeps it up, he'll be a bargain. If not, he's probably more of a Luc Richard Mbah a Moute type, though either way, his ability to defend both 3s and 4s is valuable to a Knicks team short on capable defenders.
Philadelphia 76ers
1. Agreed to sign guard Sergio Rodriguez to a reported one-year, $8 million deal
Spanish Chocolate is back, and I'm excited. In the six seasons since Rodriguez last played in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, he has established himself as perhaps the best player in the world not in the NBA.
Given that Rodriguez is now 30, it looked like an NBA return wasn't happening when he told media recently that he would pass on any offers in order to continue playing for Real Madrid. Something changed between now and then, as Rodriguez reportedly signed with the Sixers on Monday.
Based on his stats in the Spanish ACB and in Euroleague play, I project Rodriguez as an above-average NBA player next season. That might overrate him a little bit, because Rodriguez is a poor on-ball defender -- not likely to improve in his 30s -- but in terms of 2016-17 value, I'd still rate him third among point guards who were on the market, behind only Jeremy Lin (who got $36 million over three years from the Brooklyn Nets) and Deron Williams (who probably left money on the table to re-sign for $10 million over one year with the Dallas Mavericks).
From the Sixers' standpoint, I'd rather have a younger option than Rodriguez. In the context of their desire to add experience and become more competitive, however, signing him to a one-year deal is a great way to make use of their ample cap space and provide insurance should rookie Ben Simmons struggle with the responsibility of running the point.
San Antonio Spurs
1. Agreed to sign center Pau Gasol to a reported two-year, $30 million deal
More to come ...