Unlike years past, no one in the NBA is carrying a truly sizable partial guarantee into the season. Full guarantees for some were long ago clinched, as was the case for Jamal Crawford, whose $1.5MM partial guarantee became a $5.675MM full guarantee when he remained under contract through June 30th. Others are simply unable to command much guaranteed money, as more than two dozen players have partial guarantees of less than $100K.
Contracts like the one Amir Johnson had with the Raptors last season simply don’t exist this year. Johnson’s deal called for a partial guarantee of $5MM on his $7MM right up until the leaguewide guarantee date in January. Of course, he stuck for the entire season and earned his full salary, but teams and agents are becoming more savvy about inserting early guarantee dates that spur action during the summer, when most player movement takes place and both the team and the player have better opportunity to search for alternatives. Johnson’s latest deal, which he signed in July with the Celtics, is a prime example. His $12MM salary for 2016/17 is non-guaranteed until the end of next July 3rd, when it would become fully guaranteed, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
Guarantee dates often apply to partially guaranteed salary, too. Today is the day that Langston Galloway locks in $440K of his minimum salary if he avoids hitting waivers. He already triggered a partial guarantee of $220K when he remained with the Knicks through July 1st, under terms that Pincus first reported.
A $440K guarantee is relatively paltry in the world of NBA salaries, but it would mean Galloway would have the fifth-largest partial guarantee in the league. He’d join two Spurs, including Matt Bonner, who tops the list with half of his $1,499,187 minimum salary guaranteed. The partial guarantee on the contract he signed this summer is larger than the full salary for many on this list simply because he falls into the largest minimum salary bracket as a veteran of 11 seasons. Check out the full list of partial guarantees below:
Partial guarantees, ranked from most to least lucrative
- Matt Bonner, Spurs — $749,594
- Toney Douglas, Pacers — $600K
- Jimmer Fredette, Spurs — $507,711
- Mike Muscala, Hawks — $473,638
- Langston Galloway, Knicks — $440K (assuming he remains under contract through today)
- Cameron Bairstow, Bulls — $425K
- Tyler Johnson, Heat — $422,530
- JaVale McGee, Mavericks — $250K
- Markel Brown, Nets — $200K
- Eric Moreland, Kings — $200K
- Scottie Wilbekin, Sixers — $200K
- Jeff Withey, Jazz — $200K
- Melvin Ejim, Magic — $150K
- JaMychal Green, Grizzlies — $150K
- Cliff Alexander, Trail Blazers — $100K
- Erick Green, Nuggets — $100K
- Jonathan Holmes, Lakers — $100K
- Ricky Ledo, Knicks — $100K
- James McAdoo, Warriors — $100K
- Elliot Williams, Hornets — $80K
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Knicks — $75K
- Ryan Boatright, Nets — $75K
- Lorenzo Brown, Timberwolves — $75K
- Treveon Graham, Jazz — $75K
- J.J. O’Brien, Jazz — $75K
- Lamar Patterson, Hawks — $75K
- Terran Petteway, Hawks — $75K
- Ronald Roberts Jr., Raptors — $75K
- Adonis Thomas, Pistons — $60K
- Brandon Ashley, Mavericks — $50K
- Bryce Dejean-Jones, Pelicans — $50K
- Michael Frazier, Lakers — $50K
- Quincy Miller, Nets — $50K
- Donald Sloan, Nets — $50K
- Jamil Wilson, Mavericks — $50K
- Christian Wood, Sixers — $50K
- Vince Hunter, Kings — $35K
- Robert Upshaw, Lakers — $35K
- Michale Kyser, Raptors — $25K
- Malcolm Miller, Celtics — $25K
- Darius Morris, Nets — $25K
- Levi Randolph, Celtics — $25K
- Shannon Scott, Raptors — already $25K
- Axel Toupane, Raptors — already $25K
- Corey Walden, Celtics — already $25K
- Jarrid Famous, Mavericks — $10K
The Basketball Insiders Salary Pages were used in the creation of this post.