As far as NBA Free Agency goes, this has got to be a summer to remember.

The summer begins with 90% of the teams over the cap and armed only with mid-level exceptions.

Philly, due to trading Korver away for nothing at around the trade deadline, had a little money.

Memphis, due to the fact that nobody wants to play there, also had a little money (but apparently isn’t really choosing to spend it).

So nobody has any real money unless they don’t re-sign some of their top free agents.

Then Elton Brand and Baron Davis decide rather suddenly to opt out of their contracts with the hope that the L.A. Clippers will sign Davis to play along side a re-signed Brand. To make this work, the Clippers would have to sign Brand for less than the maximum and not re-sign fellow opt-outer Corey Maggette. Everybody figures that Davis-Brand would be a more successful tandem than Brand-Maggette.

The Clippers reach a verbal agreement with Baron Davis, but cannot reach an agreement with Brand because Philadelphia is one of only a few teams well below the salary cap and is willing to pay him more than the Clippers can afford. Everybody figures that Brand has realized this from the beginning. Brand, however doesn’t seem to have realized this. He decides to take the Philly money, and the Clippers are left high and dry. Brand, for his part, is perceived as pulling a Boozer.

Added to this debacle is the fact that Maggette took money from Golden State to, himself, defect. (Golden State, with the Baron Davis defection, were suddenly left well below the cap). As a side note, Golden State also went after Gilbert Arenas, but Arenas decided to re-up with the Wizards and for less money than the Wizards were willing to pay him. (Agent Zero really is an oddity, isn’t he?)

So the Clippers lost Brand and Maggette and picked up a Baron Davis. To put this into perspective, Brand and Maggette were in their prime and didn’t have much in the way of distractions. Baron Davis is on his last legs, and he more than welcomed this change so that he can return home and get involved in a bunch of extra-curricular activities. (And possibly play a little basketball on the side if he isn’t too injured or too busy.)

Doesn’t sound too swell for the Clippers, does it?

But wait! The Clippers aren’t done yet.

The Clippers, picking up one large contract and dropping two large ones, are left somewhat below the salary cap. They decide to use this new found money by trading their salary cap room (in the form of an exemption) to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Marcus Camby.

Essentially Denver traded Camby for the freedom to pick up a big contract in the near future (the exemption lasts for a year) or to drop down to somewhere around the salary cap. Nobody is sure which way they will choose to use it, but they are certainly going to have a big hole in the middle of their lineup, and an even bigger hole in the middle of their defense (since Camby was the only one around willing to play a little defense).

Camby, as many articles have pointed out, isn’t too excited to hear that he was traded to the Clippers for absolutely nothing in return. I’m not sure whether this has to do with the fact that they traded him for nothing or that he was traded to the Clippers. Probably a little of both.

So where does this leave free agents like Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala who could command more money if anybody had any to spend?

Likely re-signing with their current teams (possibly just for one year), taking a pay cut (starting around the mid-level exception), or following Childress out of the country to play for some nice green Euros.

It’s already been a very odd summer, but with the top players getting all of the money and the lesser players getting mid-level exceptions, don’t expect this summer’s oddities to be over yet.

And, with the way teams continue to spend their money, don’t expect future summers to be much different.