Our look at 2012 free agent spending by division continues with the Central, after we used Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker to examine the Southeast last week.
Once again, these figures only take into account free agent signings, so salary absorbed in trades or money used to sign draft picks isn't included in this list. Additionally, not all of this salary is necessarily guaranteed, which we'll try to note as we go along. Here are this summer's Central Division free agent costs, sorted by player salary:
Indiana Pacers: $128.366MM (D.J. Augustin, Gerald Green, Roy Hibbert, George Hill, Ian Mahinmi)
For a team that values cap flexibility and small, safe deals, the Pacers committed a huge amount of money to free agency this offseason. Of course, a significant chunk of that money went to Hibbert (four years, $58MM+) and Hill (five years, $40MM), but the team's other signings weren't insignificant. Green and Mahinmi both received eight-figure guarantees, while Augustin will earn $3.5MM for one year. With no minimum salaries or partial guarantees in the bunch, the Pacers easily rank among this summer's top spenders in any division.
Milwaukee Bucks: $41.352MM (Ersan Ilyasova, Joel Przybilla)
The Bucks haven't exactly been active on the free agent market, but Ilyasova's deal alone counts for $40MM, one of nine contracts this summer worth $40MM or more. Przybilla, meanwhile, will earn $1,352,181, but since it's a minimum-salary deal, the Bucks will only be on the hook for $854,389 of it.
Chicago Bulls: $13.808MM (Marco Belinelli, Kirk Hinrich, Nazr Mohammed, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nate Robinson)
Having lost Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Watson, Kyle Korver, and John Lucas III, the Bulls were tasked with rebuilding their bench, and did so on the cheap. Mohammed, Radmanovic, and Robinson are all on one-year, minimum-salary contracts, while Hinrich will earn a portion of the mid-level and Belinelli will make the bi-annual exception. The big expenditure here is Hinrich, whose $8MM over two years appears to be fully guaranteed.
Cleveland Cavaliers: $7.682MM (C.J. Miles, Luke Harangody, Michael Eric)
Despite having a huge portion of cap space available, the Cavs have been fairly quiet in free agency. Miles' two-year, $4MM deal is believed to include a team option for year two, while Eric's deal includes only a partial guarantee on year one, along with two non-guaranteed seasons. While the three players could earn up to a combined $7.682MM if they're retained for the duration of their contracts, the Cavs are currently only on the hook for something in the neighborhood of $3.5MM.
Detroit Pistons: $4.875MM (Vyacheslav Kravtsov)
Most of the Pistons' summer spending has come by way of contracts for draft picks (Andre Drummond, Kyle Singler, and Kim English), but they did make one free agent signing, inking Kravtsov to a three-year deal. The contract will pay the Ukranian big man $1.5MM in each of the next two seasons, with a $1.875MM player option for 2014/15.