Free agency has been crazy in 2016. The salary cap jumped by $24 million and teams weren't shy to use up all of that new cap space on guys you normally wouldn't expect to get big deals in free agency. Because of that cap jump and another one coming in 2017, players can't help but think about furthering their own personal wealth and taking care of their friends and family with a gigantic payday.
Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas has already had one free agency experience. He ended up taking a four-year deal on a sign-and-trade that sent him to the Phoenix Suns. The contract totals $27 million and runs through the 2017-18 season. Even though he has two years left on his contract, Thomas is looking at the money being thrown around this summer and wondering what it could mean for him. In an interview during Las Vegas Summer League, Thomas' response to the upcoming free agency was simple:
"They better bring out the Brinks truck."
Here's more from that interview, per CSNNE.com:
Knowing he has a couple years remaining, Thomas said he definitely plans to cash in - literally - when he hits free agency in the summer of 2018.
"They better bring out the Brinks truck," quipped Thomas during the Celtics' summer league game on Saturday against Chicago. "They're paying everybody else. I gotta get something."
Thomas makes $6.5 million this season and $6.2 million next season. He could easily triple that annual salary in his next contract, if not quadruple it. He'll be 29 years old in 2018 and looking for at least one more big contract in his career. But the financial landscape of the league could be significantly different when it's his turn for another round of free agency.
The NBA, its owners, and executives are very aware of seemingly marginal players getting monster deals. Some wonder if the negotiations for the next collective bargaining agreement (leading up to the 2017-18 season) will have owners pushing more than ever for a hard cap. As of right now, the NBA allows for a softer cap in which there are penalties for going too far over the salary cap and venturing into luxury cap territory, but essentially the only thing keeping the owners from dipping into it is their own preference on how much they're willing to spend on their roster.
The players won't want a hard cap at all, so we could see a real change in how contracts are structured or how easy it is to go over the cap. A new CBA could end up affecting Thomas' free agency in a big way. It won't keep him from getting paid, but maybe he only gets a wheelbarrow of cash instead of the Brinks truck. It will be a big wheelbarrow though.
