Four Players’ Salaries Become Fully Guaranteed
Many players on non-guaranteed deals didn’t survive October’s roster crunch, and no longer find themselves under contract with an NBA team, but plenty of clubs are still carrying non-guaranteed players. The majority of those players will see their salaries for 2013/14 become fully guaranteed if they’re not cut on or before January 7th. However, a handful of players negotiated earlier guarantee dates, many of which arrived this week.
The most notable name in this group is Chris Smith, whose spot on the Knicks’ roster was questioned by rival agents. By earning a place among the 15 players New York carried into opening night, Smith is assured of a fully guaranteed salary, worth about $490K. The Knicks won’t necessarily have to keep him on their roster all season, but if they release him, he’ll still get paid.
Like Smith, Kyle O’Quinn of the Magic and Quincy Miller of the Nuggets were also on contracts that dictated they’d receive full guarantees if they made their respective teams’ opening night rosters. As second-year players, both O’Quinn and Miller will be in line for salaries worth about $789K.
James Anderson‘s contract with the Sixers didn’t include any details related to opening night, but the guarantee date for his 2013/14 salary was October 31st. Since Philadelphia didn’t release Anderson on or before Halloween, his salary of about $916K has become fully guaranteed.
In addition to the four players whose 2013/14 salaries are now fully guaranteed, Ryan Gomes also received a bump in his partial guarantee by making the cut with the Thunder. Having previously been guaranteed for $50K, that figure increased to $75K when Gomes wasn’t released on or before Thursday, the date of OKC’s first game.
As our schedule of guarantee dates shows, there are now believed to be just two dates prior to January when players’ salaries will become guaranteed. Maalik Wayns will receive his full salary from the Clippers if he’s not waived on or before December 1st, while Jannero Pargo will become fully guaranteed if he lasts beyond December 10th in Charlotte.
ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.
Carmelo Anthony Wants To Retire With Knicks
Carmelo Anthony won’t have the opportunity to hit the free agent market for another eight months, but if the last few weeks have been any indication, there will be rumors and speculation swirling around the Knicks star all season long. Last night, Anthony attempted to dispel the notion that he wants to leave New York, telling TNT that he’s hoping for a long-term stay with the Knicks.
“I want to retire in New York, I mean, let’s just be quite frank,” Anthony said, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I think a lot of people jumped the gun when I said I wanted to be a free agent. And yeah, I want people to come play in New York. I want them to want to play in New York. I want New York to be that place where guys want to come play.”
Anthony’s comments echoed ones he made earlier in the week, when he responded to criticism from Charles Barkley by pointing out that he has a “big rolodex,” which he intends to use to recruit players to New York. As I outlined when I broke down Carmelo’s maximum contract scenarios for next summer, he can secure the most long-term guaranteed money by re-signing with the Knicks in free agency, so it’s no surprise that he’d choose that route over signing an extension, even if he doesn’t plan to go anywhere.
Extension Leftovers: Hayward, Bledsoe, Bogut
Although several players signed lucrative long-term contract extensions over the course of the offseason, last night’s deadline came and went with a whimper, rather than a bang. Extension candidates like Gordon Hayward, Eric Bledsoe, and Avery Bradley failed to work out last-minute deals, meaning they’ll become free agents next summer. News continues to trickle in on a few of those players and their motives for passing on new contracts, so let’s round up the latest….
- Agent Mark Bartelstein, who represents Hayward, tells Sam Amick of USA Today that extensions are often the most difficult deals to complete: “Teams sometimes have a view of wanting to get something for doing it early, and the player wants to get what he perceives his value to be, so they’re hard to do.” Bartelstein added that the Jazz put in a “tremendous amount of time and effort,” so it wasn’t for lack of trying that nothing was agreed upon.
- Suns president Lon Babby echoed Bartelstein’s thoughts on the challenge of extension negotiations, telling Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that the lack of a deal with Bledsoe “doesn’t in any way suggest” the Suns aren’t committed long-term to their new point guard.
- While 2014 free agency is still a ways off, Grantland’s Zach Lowe notes (via Twitter) that the Magic will likely be a strong rival suitor for Bledsoe.
- Discussing the Hayward and Bledsoe negotiations, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein says Bledsoe was believed to be seeking a deal worth at least $10MM annually. Hayward, meanwhile, wasn’t seeking the max, but wanted a contract “commensurate with his standing as the face of Utah’s rebuilding effort,” according to Stein.
- One executive suggested to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that extending Derrick Favors and not Hayward was an “odd message” for the Jazz to send (Twitter link).
- Andrew Bogut‘s new contract is a veteran extension, rather than a rookie scale extension, but we’ll include this update here anyway: Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld has the specifics on Bogut’s salaries for the next several years, which start at about $12.29MM in 2014/15 and drop to about $11.03MM for 2016/17.
2013 NBA Rookie Scale Extensions
Beginning on July 1st, fourth-year players on rookie scale contracts were eligible to sign contract extensions with their respective teams and forgo the chance to hit restricted free agency next summer. Those players had until October 31st to sign new deals, but the ones who finalized extensions with their teams generally did so well in advance of that deadline, so we didn’t exactly see a flurry of activity yesterday.
Here’s a recap of the extension-eligible fourth-year players that signed contract extensions this offseason, removing themselves from 2014’s free agent market:
- Paul George (Pacers): Five years, maximum salary
- John Wall (Wizards): Five years, maximum salary
- DeMarcus Cousins (Kings): Four years, maximum salary
- Derrick Favors (Jazz): Four years, $47.7MM (plus incentives)
- Larry Sanders (Bucks): Four years, $44MM (plus incentives)
- Quincy Pondexter (Grizzlies): Four years, $14MM
The following extension-eligible players didn’t sign new deals and will hit the open market next summer. Assuming their teams tender qualifying offers, they’ll be restricted free agents:
- Eric Bledsoe (Suns)
- Trevor Booker (Wizards)
- Avery Bradley (Celtics)
- Jordan Crawford (Celtics)
- Ed Davis (Grizzlies)
- Gordon Hayward (Jazz)
- Greg Monroe (Pistons)
- Patrick Patterson (Kings)
- Kevin Seraphin (Wizards)
- Evan Turner (76ers)
- Ekpe Udoh (Bucks)
- Greivis Vasquez (Kings)
A year ago, eight extension-eligible players inked new contracts worth well over $400MM, making it the most lucrative offseason for extensions over the last several years. 2013’s six extensions is more in line with previous years, though depending on what the maximum salary is worth for 2014/15, the total amount of money committed will still be significant. By my estimation, the six deals could be worth more than $330MM, which would be the second-highest amount since 2008.