This year’s free agency was unlike anything we’ve ever seen. I’ve been so busy that I wasn’t able to sit down and write out grades for them. Here is part 1 of my grades.

The New York Knicks sign C Joakim Noah for 4/$70M – C

I actually think Noah is a prime candidate for a rebound year, but I think he needs to prove he can stay healthy for at least 60 games before I’d lock him down for a multi-year deal. The money is pretty fair IF he rebounds. There’s a good chance he doesn’t though, so this grade is a huge gamble, hence the mediocre grade.

The Washington Wizards re-sign G Bradley Beal for 5/$120M – B

Bradley Beal has shown the potential to be really, really good, but he’s always injured, which has prevented him from really living up to his potential. The Wizards absolutely had to keep him, so this deal was necessary, but it could look very bad in a few years if Beal never gets healthy or improves.

The Los Angeles Lakers sign C Timofey Mozgov for 4/$64M – D-

This move really baffles me. You have four rising stars, all under the age of 25, and you sign an often injured, back up center for around the market value of a quality starter. It’s not quite an F, because Mozgov does fill a need, and he is a quality player, but it’s huge overpay.

The Toronto Raptors re-sign G DeMar DeRozan for 5/$145M – A

This is a great contract for DeRozan. He’s actually giving the Raptors a slight hometown discount, and they get to keep their best player. DeRozan gets a lot of flack for chucking, but he is an All-Star, who deserves the max, and he got slightly below it. When the cap rises again next year, this deal will look even better.

The Magic sign G DJ Augustin for 4/$29M – B

I’m not sure why the Magic randomly decided to switch to “win now” mode this offseason. The are still a few years away from some of their key pieces reaching their potential. That being said, Augustin is one of the better back up PGs in the NBA today, and this is a reasonable deal.

The Los Angeles Lakers re-sign G Jordan Clarkson for 4/$50M – A+

This deal hasn’t gotten very much buzz, but it is insanely good. It’s one of the biggest steals of the offseason. Clarkson is getting $14 million less than his new teammate, Mozgov, while being the superior player who has yet to reach his ceiling. Clarkson is a player who could potentially be playing at an All-Star level in a couple years, and he’s locked down long term on a sub-market value deal while the cap is rising.

The Charlotte Hornets re-sign F Nicolas Batum for 5/$120M – B+

The Hornets won by locking down their most versatile player long term. Every single team wanted Batum, but he stuck around and got paid. My only hesitation from grading this an A is that he is probably not good enough to be one of the 3 or 4 best players on a championship team, which he is being paid like, but it’s unlikely Charlotte finds anyone better to spend that money on.

The Detroit Pistons re-sign C Andre Drummond for 5/$130M – A

Andre Drummond is one of the best centers in the NBA, and he’s not even 23 yet. It’s possible Drummond may just be hitting his prime when this contract expires. This move is a no-brainer, and it’s a no-brainer A.

The Detroit Pistons sign G Ish Smith for 3/$18M – A

Detroit really needed a back up PG behind Reggie Jackson last year. Ish Smith had moments where he looked like a serviceable starter, so I’m sure he will do well as a back up. He’s getting less per year than DJ Augustin, and I think they are similar players, and, unlike the Magic, the Pistons are actually in a position to be competitive.

The Miami Heat re-sign C Hassan Whiteside for 4/$98M – A

This is basically the same as the Andre Drummond signing. It’s a no-brainer signing and a no-brainer grade. Centers are hard to come by, and Whiteside is one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the NBA. The Heat are lucky he returned. I was almost sure he would leave.

The Brooklyn Nets sign G Jeremy Lin for 3/$36M – A+

I love this signing. This is well below Lin’s market value, and it gives him an opportunity to start in an offense built around his talents. If he plays well, like I expect him to, he becomes a very desirable asset, who they can continue to build around or trade for draft picks. I’m glad the Nets have decided not to tank for Boston.

The Indiana Pacers sign C Al Jefferson for 3/$30M – C+

I don’t really understand the logic behind this move. The Pacers have a young stud in Myles Turner, and Jefferson is well past his prime, especially on the defensive end, but this deal is below his market value, so it can’t be graded too harshly.

The Philadelphia 76ers sign G Jerryd Bayless for 3/$27M – A

Jerryd Bayless is a great fit for almost any team. He can play both on and off ball. He can shoot. He is a decent defender. I would have expected a contender to snatch him up for this price or more, but it’s the 76ers who do. Bayless is only 27, so he may be around to see the 76ers win some games.

The Milwaukee Bucks sign F Mirza Teletovic for 3/$30M – A+

Teletovic was getting a lot of buzz, so I thought he was going to get one of these monster contracts that we keep seeing, but this contract is well below market value. He’s a comparable player to Marvin Williams and is getting significantly less per year. He an excellent shooter, which should help solve some of the Buck’s spacing problems. This is an amazing signing.

The Memphis Grizzlies sign F Chandler Parsons for 4/$94M – A

Parsons is a great fit in Memphis. It’s obvious they are going all in on winning now, and this move certainly makes them better. This free agency class was incredibly shallow, and Parsons was one of the few difference makers in there. Giving him this much may seem like an overpay, but it a pretty reasonable deal.

The Orlando Magic re-signed Evan Fournier for 5/$85M – A+

This deal is going to look amazing for a long time. Fournier is already a stud and, at 23, still has room to grow. He put up 15.4 ppg on 59% TS%, and could improve upon that. This signing is already a great deal now and will be absolutely ridiculous in a couple years.

The Portland Trailblazers sign G Evan Turner for 4/$70M – D

I’m not a fan of this deal. Turner is not really a very effective player unless he has the ball in his hands, and, on a team with CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard, that won’t be too often. He played well as the Celtics ball handler off the bench, but this guy can not shoot. I don’t really see his fit on the Blazers. In fact, I think they will be worse with him on the court than with an average shooter.

The Milwaukee Bucks sign G Matthew Dellavedova for 4/$38M – B

Dellavedova is one of the best back up PGs in the NBA. He’s someone who can start in a pinch, and his mixture of shooting and tough defense should fit well with the Bucks’ stars. Delly got a little bit more than DJ Augustin, but he’s a little bit better, hence the same grade.

The New Orleans Pelicans sign F Solomon Hill for 4/$52M – D

This is a lot for a guy who hasn’t done much in the NBA. He’s being paid essentially the same as DeMarre Carroll, which seems absurd at a glace. Hill was a guy who I thought a contender could snag on a two year “prove it” deal (maybe something like 2/$20M), but the Pelicans obviously think Hill is ready to contribute now. He very well might, but this is a big risk on unproven talent.

The Memphis Grizzlies re-sign G Mike Conley for 5/$153M – C+

For many years Mike Conley was that “most underrated player” that everyone liked to talk about. Guess you can’t say that any more. This contract makes Mike Conley the highest paid player in NBA history. This is a contract that is going to look like the Joe Johnson contract in a few years, but the Grizzlies had to do it. Conley is their man, and I think it was smart to re-sign him. Unfortunately, this contract is going to cripple their cap flexibility for years to come, and, even with the rising cap, this contract is going to be way too much.

The Denver Nuggets re-sign F Darrell Arthur for 3/$23M – A+

This is an absolute steal. In one of my older posts I mentioned how Arthur continually flies under the radar, and this is another example. I thought for sure this guy was going to get a contract similar to Marvin Williams, but he got even less than Mirza Teletovic, despite being a similar player to both. I gave Teletovic an A+, and Arthur got less than him, so another A+ is in order.

The Orlando Magic sign F Jeff Green for 1/$15M – D-

The Magic continue their ridiculous offseason. Zack Lowe already brought this up, but the Magic traded Tobias Harris, a superior player on a similar annual salary, for basically nothing in order to clear space to sign… Jeff Green. Why? The only redeeming quality of this signing is that it’s only a one year contract.

The Atlanta Hawks sign C Dwight Howard for 3/$70.5M – B

I’m a Hawks fan, and I hate this signing, but it is objectively pretty good. I believe Howard could have gotten more had he held out, but apparently he wanted to return to his hometown. He fills the void left by the departure of Al Horford, however word on the street is he’s the very person who created that void. Al Horford is the better player at this point in their careers, so the Hawks got a downgrade at center for slightly less than they would have paid Al Horford.

The Miami Heat sign C Justin Hamilton for 2/$6M – C

This is a pretty uneventful signing. Hamilton isn’t good, but the contract isn’t big. If they can get any playing time out of him at all, it will have been worth it. Can’t really say it’s “good” though.

The New Orleans Pelicans sign G E’Twaun Moore for 4/$34M – A

Moore was really good this year. He filled in for Jimmy Butler nicely and showed he can shoot and play solid defense. I mentioned him in my article about uncovering hidden talent in the NBA, and he actually got right around what I said he would. I actually think he could have gotten a little more though, so I think New Orleans got a steal.

The Phoenix Suns sign F Jared Dudley for 3/$30M – B

This is a signing a lot like the DJ Augustin or Al Jefferson signings. It’s an objectively good contract for a good player, but it doesn’t make any sense for the team that signed them. The Suns are probably two or three years away from really making any noise, however Dudley is on the wrong side of 30. He had a great year and deserves this contract, but it seems like it should have come from a contender. He’s going to go to waste in Phoenix.

The Atlanta Hawks re-sign G Kent Bazemore for 4/$70M – B

I was really hoping the Hawks would let Bazemore walk. He is too small to guard 3’s, which is what they ask him to do. However Bazemore was one of the top wings available, so the Hawks need to be commended for keeping their guy. As a fan, it drives me a little bit crazy that they balked at matching DeMarre Carroll’s 4/$58M contract but didn’t hesitate to break the bank for Bazemore, an inferior player to Carroll, but this contract is fair.

The Utah Jazz sign F Joe Johnson for 2/$22M – B+

This is definitely the weirdest signing of the offseason to me. I thought for sure Joe Johnson would go to a mediocre, big market team, like the Knicks, Bulls, or Mavs, to play out his last few seasons on a huge contract with lots of playing time, but he went to basically the last place I’d expect. It’s definitely not a bad contract or fit (it’s actually a bargain), hence the B+, just a weird signing.

The Los Angeles Lakers sign Luol Deng for 4/$72M – B

This is a lot of money to give a guy who has played as many career minutes as Deng has, but you have to respect the season he had last year. He stepped up big when Chris Bosh was out, and definitely earned this payday. If Kent Bazemore and Evan Turner are both earning $70 million then Luol Deng definitely deserves his $72 million. I just don’t know how much longer that man’s body will hold up. My guess is it will be less than four years.