Some big news out of the first day of free agency. Too big in most cases. For a league that is supposedly filled with teams strapped for cash, the NBA saw a lot of money being thrown around at some suspect targets today. Let's break down the two biggest signings.

Joe Johnson re-signs for 6 years, 120 million: And this is why you trade your star player if you think he might either leave or need to get vastly overpaid in the coming offseason. The Hawks should have traded Joe Johnson last year and tried to get a couple of players for him. Now, they've given him a ridiculous amount of money, so much that they'll probably have to dump at least one of their current starters so they can make their budget. The deal was impossible for Johnson to turn down but I think that he'll be stranded in mediocrity (or worse) for the rest of his peak years.

Rudy Gay re-signs for 5 years, 80 million: Rudy Gay is fairly one dimensional and it's not really a dimension that the Grizzlies need since they have OJ Mayo, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol (and Xavier Henry, if he pans out.) Memphis is also another team that works with a tight budget and giving this money to Rudy basically means that using their expiring deals (which their entire roster is basically made up of) to add a quality player with long term contract. I just don't think Gay is worth this kind of money, I'm not sure he would have gotten this kind of offer from other teams, and Memphis would have been better off just letting him walk, signing a cheaper player, and using their expiring deals/young players to try to acquire a replacement. Memphis couldn't get over the hump with Pau Gasol as their overpaid star and Rudy Gay isn't as good as Pau.

The teams that need to learn a lesson from this are Denver and New Orleans. If they don't think they can retain their star players (Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul) or think that they are going to break the bank and make it impossible for their frugal owners to build a true contender, then they need to look at a trade now. There are also bidders out there. I could see any team that misses out on LeBron or Wade this offseason or a squad like Portland or Oklahoma City really making a run at Paul and/or 'Melo. (The Hornets also need to consider moving David West, a solid player who could get overpaid next offseason.)