What Teams Pay For Now
The dollar figures show how far the preference has traveled. Analysts covering NBA contracts have pointed to Aaron Nesmith's three-year, thirty-three-million-dollar deal with the Indiana Pacers as a reference point for what a reliable three-and-D wing costs in a league starved for that skill set, with some estimates putting a truly elite version of that profile closer to twenty-five million dollars a season. Wings who shoot and defend are treated as the scarcest resource in the sport, more prized in negotiations than raw scorers who cannot guard their position or space the floor. Teams that once paid for size now pay for range, and the shift shows up in every free agency period.
