Poll: Biggest NBA Transaction of 2015?
While 2015 saw no truly earth-shattering trades or signings take place that altered the landscape of the NBA forever, quite a few notable players changed uniforms and locales. With it being the first day of the new year, and allow me to pause a moment to wish all of of you a Happy New Year, we decided to ask our readers what the biggest transaction of the past calendar year was.
We pared down the list to what we felt were the 12 most important transactions of the past year, one for each month on the calendar. There were certainly quite a few more deals, signings and draft picks than could realistically be included in a poll, so apologies to anyone who feels slighted by a particular omission. Listed below, in no particular order of significance, are the 2015 NBA trades, signings and draft picks that we are submitting for your consideration. Review the list and cast your vote for which you believe to have been the most important to the league, player or team. Or you can simply go with which was your favorite move, the ball is in your court.
- The Heat acquiring Goran Dragic and Zoran Dragic from the Suns, with Phoenix receiving John Salmons from the Pelicans and Danny Granger from the Heat, and New Orleans acquiring Norris Cole, Shawne Williams, Justin Hamilton and cash considerations from Miami. Phoenix also received Miami’s 2017 first-round pick (top seven protected) and Miami’s unprotected 2021 first-round pick as part of the deal.
- The Pistons acquiring Reggie Jackson from the Thunder, with OKC receiving Enes Kanter and Steve Novak from the Jazz and D.J. Augustin and Kyle Singler from Detroit, and Utah landing Grant Jerrett, the rights to Tibor Pleiss, Kendrick Perkins and a future first-round pick from Oklahoma City, as well as a 2017 second-round pick from the Pistons.
- The Knicks selecting Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
- The Bucks signing Greg Monroe to a three-year, maximum-salary contract.
- The Spurs signing LaMarcus Aldridge to a four-year, maximum salary deal.
- Anthony Davis inking a five-year, maximum salary extension with the Pelicans.
- The Suns acquiring Brandon Knight and Kendall Marshall from the Bucks, Milwaukee receiving Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee from the Suns, plus Michael Carter-Williams from the Sixers, and Philly nabbing the Lakers’ top-5 protected 2015 first-round pick from Phoenix.
- The Mavericks signing Wesley Matthews to a four-year, maximum salary contract.
- Jimmy Butler re-signing with the Bulls for five years and nearly $92.34MM.
- The Spurs re-signing Kawhi Leonard to a max deal for five years.
- The Cavaliers acquiring Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets in exchange for the Grizzlies’ 2015 first-round pick and the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick.
- The Clippers re-signing DeAndre Jordan to a four-year, maximum salary contract.
What Was the Biggest NBA Transaction of 2015?
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Spurs signing LaMarcus Aldridge 37% (209)
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Knicks selecting Kristaps Porzingis in 2015 NBA Draft 18% (100)
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Pistons acquiring Reggie Jackson/Thunder landing Enes Kanter 9% (53)
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Anthony Davis signing extension with Pelicans 8% (45)
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Spurs re-signing Kawhi Leonard 8% (44)
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Clippers re-signing DeAndre Jordan 7% (38)
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Bucks signing Greg Monroe 3% (18)
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Jimmy Butler re-signing with Bulls 3% (17)
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Cavs acquiring Timofey Mozgov 3% (17)
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Suns Acquiring Brandon Knight/Bucks landing Michael Carter-Williams 3% (15)
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Heat acquiring Goran Dragic 1% (8)
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Mavs signing Wesley Matthews 1% (7)
Total votes: 571
Pacific Notes: Russell, Chandler, Nance Jr.
Despite his early season struggles, the Lakers say they have no regrets about selecting point guard D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft over center Jahlil Okafor or big man Kristaps Porzingis, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. When asked if he was satisfied with his rookie first-rounder, GM Mitch Kupchak told Medina, “Absolutely. We’re very happy. He’s going to be a really good player.” Lakers assistant coach Larry Lewis also agrees with Kupchak’s assessment of Russell, Medina adds. “He’s ahead of all the guys in his class with his work ethic, the passes he makes and the way he thinks through the game,” Lewis said. “Like any rookie and young athlete, he’s going to make some mistakes. But he’s making mistakes that are teaching him different things to recognize.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Despite the Kings‘ struggles this season, coach George Karl is pleased with the makeup of the team’s locker room as compared to last season, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com relays (on Twitter). “This locker room is a hell of a lot better than it was last year,” Karl said. “This locker room has some leaders and pros.”
- It’s time for the Suns to hit the reset button and begin a full roster rebuild, Andrew Joseph of The Arizona Republic opines. Joseph points to the 2013/14 season, when Phoenix unexpectedly won 48 games, as when things began to go bad for the franchise, and cautions that management needs to stick to its plan regardless of any short-term success the team may encounter. The Arizona Republic scribe also notes that the offseason signing of Tyson Chandler is looking like a bust, with the big man easily having the worst season of his career.
- Lakers rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. is confident that he can evolve into a stretch-four and become more than just a player known for his dunking ability, Medina writes in a separate piece. “Yeah, it’ll happen,” Nance Jr. told Medina. “I’m a rookie and I got lots of years to perfect my craft and work on my game. I’m getting very comfortable shooting the 15- and 18-footer. I’ve got multiple years and multiple summers to be able to work that out to the 3-point line. I’m very confident.”
2015/16 Salary Rankings: Power Forwards
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. We already ran down how the league’s centers stacked up financially, and next we’ll check out the power forward position. All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $479,043,452 in cap hits this season to the men who man the four spot around the league. The average salary for a power forward this season is a solid $4,477,042, with Chris Bosh topping the list with a whopping $22,192,730 coming his way for his work in 2015/16.
It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out until January 7th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects.
Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post. The league’s power forwards are listed below, in descending order of salary. Please note that the official roster for each team was used for determining what position we listed each player under, and some of the players below may spend time at other spots on the hardwood:
- Chris Bosh (Heat) — $22,192,730
- LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs) — $19,689,000
- Kevin Love (Cavaliers) — $19,689,000
- Blake Griffin (Clippers) — $18,907,725
- Paul Millsap (Hawks) — $18,671,659
- David Lee (Celtics) — $15,493,680
- Draymond Green (Warriors) — $14,260,870
- Serge Ibaka (Thunder) — $12,250,000
- Derrick Favors (Jazz) — $12,000,000
- Amir Johnson (Celtics) — $12,000,000
- Kenneth Faried (Nuggets) — $11,235,955
- Thaddeus Young (Nets) — $11,235,955
- Zach Randolph (Grizzlies) — $9,638,555
- Ryan Anderson (Pelicans) — $8,500,000
- Kevin Garnett (Timberwolves) — $8,500,000
- Taj Gibson (Bulls) — $8,500,000
- Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks) — $8,333,334
- Channing Frye (Magic) — $8,193,029
- Markieff Morris (Suns) — $8,000,000
- Ersan Ilyasova (Pistons) — $7,900,000
- Anthony Davis (Pelicans) — $7,070,730
- Marvin Williams (Hornets) — $7,000,000
- Jason Thompson (Warriors) — $6,908,685
- Josh Smith (Clippers)— $6,899,187 (Includes the $5,400,000 he is being paid by the Pistons, who waived him via stretch provision)
- Carl Landry (Sixers) — $6,500,000
- Patrick Patterson (Raptors) — $6,268,675
- Josh McRoberts (Heat) — $5,543,725
- Nikola Mirotic (Bulls) — $5,543,725
- Mirza Teletovic (Suns) — $5,500,000
- Jabari Parker (Bucks) — $5,152,440
- Jonas Jerebko (Celtics) — $5,000,000
- Marcus Morris (Pistons) — $5,000,000
- Trevor Booker (Jazz) — $4,775,000
- Anthony Bennett (Raptors) — $4,597,276 (Includes the $3,650,000 he is owed by Timberwolves, who waived him)
- Kris Humphries (Wizards) — $4,400,000
- Derrick Williams (Knicks) — $4,400,000
- Jason Smith (Magic) — $4,300,000
- Aaron Gordon (Magic) — $4,171,680
- Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks) — $4,131,720
- Lavoy Allen (Pacers) — $4,050,000
- Jordan Hill (Pacers) — $4,000,000
- Nemanja Bjelica (Timberwolves) — $3,950,001
- Marreese Speights (Warriors) — $3,815,000
- Nick Collison (Thunder) — $3,750,000
- Kyle O’Quinn (Knicks) — $3,750,000
- Nerlens Noel (Sixers) — $3,457,800
- Mike Scott (Hawks) — $3,333,333
- Drew Gooden (Wizards) — $3,300,000
- Julius Randle (Lakers) — $3,132,240
- Meyers Leonard (Trail Blazers) — $3,075,880
- Brandon Bass (Lakers) — $3,000,000
- Anthony Tolliver (Pistons) — $3,000,000
- Luis Scola (Raptors) — $2,900,000
- Udonis Haslem (Heat) — $2,854,940
- Dante Cunningham (Pelicans) —$2,850,000
- Furkan Aldemir (Waived by Sixers) — $2,836,768
- Darrell Arthur (Nuggets) — $2,814,000
- Noah Vonleh (Trail Blazers) — $2,637,720
- Frank Kaminsky (Hornets) — $2,612,520
- Terrence Jones (Rockets) — $2,489,530
- Andrew Nicholson (Magic) — $2,380,593
- Myles Turner (Pacers) — $2,357,760
- Donatas Motiejunas (Rockets) — $2,288,205
- Jared Sullinger (Celtics) — $2,269,260
- Trey Lyles (Jazz) — $2,239,800
- DeJuan Blair (Wizards) — $2,000,000
- Adreian Payne (Timberwolves) — $1,938,840
- Ryan Kelly (Lakers) — $1,724,250
- Lou Amundson (Knicks) — $1,635,476
- Matt Bonner (Spurs) — $1,499,187
- Amar’e Stoudemire (Heat) — $1,499,187
- Charlie Villanueva (Mavericks) — $1,499,187
- David West (Spurs) — $1,499,187
- Mitch McGary (Thunder) — $1,463,040
- Bobby Portis (Bulls) — $1,391,160
- Andrea Bargnani (Nets) — $1,362,897
- Cartier Martin (Waived by Pistons) — $1,270,965
- Clint Capela (Rockets) — $1,242,720
- Jarell Martin (Grizzlies) — $1,230,840
- Tyler Hansbrough (Hornets) — $1,185,784
- Jordan Mickey (Celtics) — $1,170,960
- Larry Nance Jr. (Lakers) — $1,155,600
- Chris McCullough (Nets) — $1,140,240
- Richaun Holmes (Sixers) — $1,074,169
- Jon Leuer (Suns) — $1,035,000
- Rakeem Christmas (Pacers) — $1,007,026
- Montrezl Harrell (Rockets) — $1,000,000
- Thomas Robinson (Nets) — $981,348
- Willie Reed (Nets) — $947,276
- Cameron Bairstow (Bulls) — $845,059
- JaMychal Green (Grizzlies) — $845,059
- Cory Jefferson (Suns) — $845,059
- Eric Moreland (Kings) — $845,059
- Johnny O’Bryant (Bucks) — $845,059
- Dwight Powell (Mavericks) — $845,059
- Jarnell Stokes (Heat) — $845,059
- Joey Dorsey (Waived by Nuggets) — $815,421
- Cliff Alexander (Trail Blazers) — $525,093
- Duje Dukan (Kings) — $525,093
- Cristiano Felicio (Bulls) — $525,093
- Jonathan Holmes (Waived by Lakers) — $525,093
- Christian Wood (Sixers) — $525,093
- Chuck Hayes (Waived by Rockets) — $88,187
- Ronald Roberts (Waived by Raptors) — $75,000
- Brandon Ashley (Waived by Mavericks) — $50,000
- Jarrid Famous (Waived by Mavericks) — $10,000
- Justin Harper (Waived by Nets) — $9,942