The five teams of the Central Division did not make the kinds of high-profile signings and massive free agency expenditures to dominate headlines this summer. However, they did spend, and, in doing so, they largely locked up their future options.
The Central illustrates the importance of timing and structural constraints when it comes to free agency. The NBA champion Cavaliers are capped out for completely logical reasons while the Pistons utilized their last bit of flexibility before giving Andre Drummond his deserved max contract. Milwaukee could have retained a small pool of money for 2017 by waiting to extend Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they made the right decision taking the plunge now, especially since he gave them a discount.