It is a good time to be an NBA player right now.

More than a billion dollars worth of contracts have been agreed to so far in NBA free agency. The salary cap is expected to explode over the next few seasons due to the new NBA TV deal and players are going to earn more money than ever before.

Besides the money though, the most interesting part of free agency to me so far has been the success of smaller market teams to attract free agents.

Traditionally, NBA free agency is dominated by big market teams, but it has been the smaller market teams that have been able to either hang on to their free agents and or sign the big names away from the bigger teams.

The top unrestricted free agents in this year’s class (LaMarcus Aldridge choosing the Spurs over the Lakers, DeAndre Jordan leaving the Clippers for the Mavericks, Marc Gasol staying with the Grizzlies, Kevin Love returning to the Cavs and Goran Dragic re-signing with the Heat) are all moves that reveal the priorities of today’s NBA player.

Yes, players still want to get paid. However, the pull of marketing and off-court business opportunities typically reserved for LA and New York have not been as effective compared to the past. All of the free agents above chose to go to or stay with a franchise that had better players and more importantly better management. The quick fix mentality is no longer accepted and players want to try and slowly but surely become part of a team that can have sustained success over a longer period of time.

More and more star players are trying to stay to build chemistry with their teammates and coaches and put their trust into management to bring in the right pieces around them. The quick formation of championship teams like the Celtics in 2008 and the Heat in 2012 worked because of the quality of players they brought in, but should be viewed as the exception rather than the norm.

I personally love seeing so many star players choosing to stay and trying to win with their home team. This is a real treat for fans because it increases competition across the league and makes the championship picture more wide open.

The Western conference is as competitive as can be right now as every team (except for the Kings and Nuggets) either have 1 or multiple superstar players, a mix of star players and good starters or a talented young core with an exciting future.

The East is still significantly weaker, but free agency and the draft have helped to closed the gap between the top 8 teams. The Bulls and the Heat will be bigger threats to the Cavs next season if everyone is healthy.

There are still some quality role players and potential starters left in the free agent pool that can help teams round out their roster.

With a greater number of quality teams across the NBA, fans will be more engaged, revenue and profit will go up, players’ salaries will go up, level of play will increase and everybody wins.

I am expecting the upcoming NBA season to be as competitive and exciting as ever which is all I can ask for as a die-hard basketball fan!