Heat Notes: Waiters, Johnson, Offseason
Dion Waiters‘ new two-year deal with the Heat is worth a little under $6MM, which is less than he would have earned in the 2016/17 season alone if he had accepted his qualifying offer from the Thunder before Oklahoma City rescinded it. As Waiters explains in an Instagram post, he believes he could have waited out the market and “got what I wanted” in terms of salary, but he decided to join the Heat because he believes he’ll be happy in Miami.
“I didn’t do it for the money,” Waiters wrote. “I did it for the opportunity to go out & ball & have fun. Everything else will take care of its self!!! I just felt like it was the best situation for me…& my family.”
Here’s more on Waiters, along with some other Heat-related notes:
- According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter), the Heat may have been close to extending an offer sheet to Waiters earlier in July, when he was still a restricted free agent. Miami ultimately used its cap room on other players, and was able to land Waiters at a lesser rate.
- Like most NBA observers, Tyler Johnson didn’t expect Dwyane Wade to leave Miami, and was therefore “almost 100% sure” that he’d end up in Brooklyn, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. But he’s happy to be back with the Heat and he’s still adjusting to the fact that he’s a $50MM player. “I threw up a couple of times when I heard the number go out there,” Johnson said. “I was in shock. I even lost a little bit of weight, because just the anxiety of going through that whole process and not knowing where I was going to be.”
- In his latest mailbags for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman discusses the big-picture fit for Waiters in Miami, and addresses some questions about the Heat’s offseason roster-building decisions.
Heat Sign Dion Waiters
JULY 26, 12:27pm: The Heat have officially signed Waiters, the team confirmed today in a press release.
“Dion is not a Room Exception player,” team president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He wanted to play for the Miami HEAT and chose to forgo other more lucrative financial opportunities to be a part of our championship organization. We are very honored that he made the commitment to come to South Florida and sign with us. Dion is young, athletic and explosive, which fits in with our roster. He will add a great dimension for us at the off-guard spot. I really like the depth and versatility that we now have in our perimeter positions. Welcome aboard Dion!”
JULY 25, 3:48pm: Waiters received a two-year deal worth nearly $6MM, sources told The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The club did use its room exception and Waiters has a player option on the second year, Wojnarowski adds.
2:13pm: The Heat have reached an agreement on a new contract with free agent shooting guard Dion Waiters, according to Jon Krawczynski and Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The AP duo reports that Waiters will sign a one-year deal with Miami worth the club’s $2.898MM room exception.
Given the kind of money we’ve seen thrown around so far this month, a one-year, $2.898MM deal for Waiters looks incredibly team-friendly. At the start of free agency, the Thunder issued a qualifying offer worth $6,777,589 to Waiters, making him a restricted free agent. Although Oklahoma City later rescinded that offer, allowing the 24-year-old to hit the open market, Waiters could have signed that one-year QO at any time while it was still on the table. Instead, he’ll earn less than half that amount with Miami.
Heat president Pat Riley indicated at a recent press conference that his team didn’t intend to use its room exception this summer, preferring to save it for a potential mid-season acquisition. Of course, Riley likely didn’t anticipate a player of Waiters’ caliber being willing to sign for such a modest one-year deal.
A former fourth overall pick, Waiters hasn’t developed into a star, but he has been a steady scorer off the bench over the course of his four NBA seasons. For his career, he has averaged 12.8 PPG, with a shooting line of .411/.334/.707. Last season, he appeared in 78 games (15 starts) for Oklahoma City, averaging a career-low 9.8 points for the Northwest division champs.
Although the Heat suffered a major blow when Dwyane Wade decided to sign with the Bulls rather than returning to Miami, the team has been active as it attempts to replace Wade’s production and fill the holes on its roster. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, the Heat have signed or re-signed veteran free agents Wayne Ellington, Tyler Johnson, James Johnson, Willie Reed, Derrick Williams, and Hassan Whiteside, in addition to Waiters.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cavs, Tyronn Lue Agree To Five-Year Extension
JULY 26: The Cavaliers have officially issued a press release announcing Lue’s new deal.
“Ty took over our team under very trying circumstances and his calm, confident approach was invaluable as we found our way to success,” GM David Griffin said in a statement. “His vision, leadership and tactical acumen were fundamental to us reaching our goals. We couldn’t be happier to have Ty continue to lead our group into the future.”
JULY 25: Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has agreed to a five-year, $35MM extension, league sources informed Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Lue was named head coach after David Blatt was fired on January 22nd. Cleveland went 27-14 the rest of the regular season under Lue’s guidance, then made history by winning its first championship. Lue was instrumental in keeping the team focused after it trailed the Warriors 3-1 in the Finals, then made its historic comeback to claim the title.
Lue had been Blatt’s associate head coach since the summer of 2014, when Blatt got the head job over him.
Lue became the league’s top-paid assistant at that time with a four-year deal worth $6.5MM. After he was named head coach, the Cavs and Lue’s representatives came to a verbal agreement on a renegotiated deal that would have paid him $3MM prorated for last season and $3MM this season, with a team option for a third year at $3.5MM with a buyout.
However, Lue reportedly didn’t sign that deal and there were no performance standards or stipulations that would have kept the verbal agreement valid after the season.
Rudy Gay Talks Kings, Trade Rumors, Future
Rudy Gay has been the subject of several trade rumors this offseason, but for now, the veteran forward remains on the Kings’ roster, under contract for two more years but with the opportunity to opt out of his deal next summer.
While one report earlier this month indicated that Gay had asked the Kings to trade him, the 29-year-old – in a conversation with Blake Ellington of Sactown Royalty – seemed to deny having made a trade request. Asked if he had told the team to move him, Gay replied, “No. Personally, no I haven’t.”
Of course, based on how Gay worded his comment, one could surmise that perhaps he asked his agent to request a trade on his behalf. Even if no formal trade request was submitted to the Kings, the majority of Gay’s interview with Ellington makes it clear that he’s not thrilled with his situation in Sacramento. The entire discussion is worth reading, particularly for Kings fans, but here are a few highlights from the former eighth overall pick:
On the trade rumors and how the Kings have dealt with the situation:
“I mean it’s been pretty loud as of late so it’s hard not to pay attention to it. I think it just goes to, I don’t know, I think there’s always ways to do things and in this situation I don’t think it’s going about the right way. No matter what your intentions to do with your players, I would think the first thing you want to do is make sure people are happy with what you are doing. That hasn’t been the case.”
On the communication between Gay and the Kings:
“I’ve had communication, but not the kind of communication that I would say I like.
“You don’t want to hear things on the internet, on Twitter. You would like to hear it from out of the horse’s mouth. Just be upfront with people, that’s all you have to do.”
On new coach Dave Joerger and the potential of the Kings going forward:
“I don’t know. Honestly, I haven’t paid attention. I don’t even know who our new players are to be honest with you. I’ve just been focused on trying to be healthy and trying to get in shape and get ready for the season, wherever that might be.”
On what he’s looking for from his NBA team as he enters his age-30 season:
“Stability. I feel like I still have a lot of years left. With stability, look at people like Jamal Crawford, look at people like Paul Pierce, a lot of people. When they have that stability and they know what their worth is for a team and what their job is for a team, how they can work on that and play for that team.
“At this point in my career, I think I want some kind of consistency and we don’t have that here, at all.”
Upcoming Deadlines For Non-Guaranteed Salaries
While the majority of NBA salaries are fully guaranteed, many teams end up carrying at least one or two players who only have partial guarantees – if that – on their deals. For those players, January 10 is generally the date to watch. If players on non-guaranteed contracts remain on an NBA team’s roster beyond January 10, their salaries for that season become fully guaranteed.
For some players on non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed contracts, however, January 10 isn’t the only date of interest. Many contracts are written to include earlier deadlines and payment dates, forcing teams to make decisions on those players earlier.
Some of those dates have already come and gone this offseason — for instance, the Celtics guaranteed Amir Johnson‘s and Jonas Jerebko‘s salaries (totaling $17MM) by keeping them on their roster beyond their early-July guarantee deadlines. There are still several other deadlines to watch in the coming weeks and months though.
Listed below are the known guarantee deadlines that will occur for certain players prior to January 10, via Basketball Insiders. Our full list of non-guaranteed salaries features a complete breakdown of the players whose contracts aren’t fully guaranteed, so if any of those players aren’t listed here, it’s safe to assume that their salaries will become guaranteed on January 10.
This list can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” and will continue to be updated throughout the offseason as old guarantee deadlines come and go, and as new ones are added.
July 30
- Jonathon Simmons (Spurs): Full $874,636 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
August 1
- Michael Beasley (Rockets): Full $1,403,611 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- Dahntay Jones (Cavaliers): Full $1,551,659 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
- Rodney McGruder (Heat): $150,000 of $543,471 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- Josh Richardson (Heat): Full $874,636 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- Glenn Robinson III (Pacers): Full $1,050,500 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- Shayne Whittington (Pacers): Full $980,431 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
August 9
- Robert Covington (Sixers): $50,000 of $1,015,696 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
August 27
- Kendall Marshall (Jazz): Full $2,048,257 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
September 1
- Alan Williams (Suns): Full $874,636 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
October 20
- Nicolas Brussino (Mavericks): Full $543,471 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
October 24
- Chase Budinger (Nets): Full $1,315,448 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
- Jarell Eddie (Wizards): Full $980,431 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
- Dorian Finney-Smith (Mavericks): $150,000 of $543,471 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- Rodney McGruder (Heat): $300,000 of $543,471 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- Briante Weber (Heat): $437,319 of $874,636 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
- Okaro White (Heat): $225,000 of $543,471 becomes guaranteed (waived)
- Elliot Williams (Warriors): Full $1,227,286 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
November 1
- Spencer Dinwiddie (Bulls): $400,000 of $980,431 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
December 1
- JaVale McGee (Warriors): $500,000 of $1,403,611 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- Rodney McGruder (Heat): $400,000 of $543,471 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- Briante Weber (Heat): $655,978 of $874,636 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
- Okaro White (Heat): $271,736 of $543,471 becomes guaranteed (waived)
December 5
- Dorian Finney-Smith (Mavericks): $200,000 of $543,471 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
January 1
- Vince Carter (Grizzlies): Full $4,264,057 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
- JaMychal Green (Grizzlies): Full $980,431 salary becomes guaranteed (✔️)
January 6
- John Jenkins (Suns): Full $1,050,961 salary becomes guaranteed (waived)
Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Pistons Sign Ray McCallum
JULY 26: The Pistons have officially signed McCallum, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 25: The Pistons have reached an agreement with free agent guard Ray McCallum, reports Michael Scotto of The Associated Press. According to Scotto (via Twitter), McCallum will ink a one-year, minimum-salary deal with Detroit.
[RELATED: Pistons’ 2016 free agent signings, via our Free Agent Tracker]
For McCallum, joining the Pistons will represent a homecoming of sorts. Although he was born in Wisconsin, the former second-round pick attended high school in Detroit, and played his college ball at the University of Detroit Mercy. Since entering the NBA in 2013, McCallum has spent time with the Kings, Spurs, and Grizzlies.
Last season, McCallum appeared in 31 games for the Spurs before being waived and joining the Grizzlies for 10 games down the stretch. The 25-year-old rarely saw any action in San Antonio, but averaged 21.9 minutes per game in his 10 contests with Memphis, which would have been a career high. In those games, McCallum averaged 6.9 PPG and 2.7 APG, and shot 38.5% on three-pointers.
The Pistons, who used their cap room this month and then went over the cap to lock up Andre Drummond, still have their $2.9MM room exception available. However, McCallum will be signed using the minimum salary exception.
Hawks Sign Matt Costello
JULY 26: The Hawks have issued a press release formally confirming their deal with Costello.
JULY 18: According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), Costello got a two-year, minimum-salary deal from the Hawks. The pact includes a $50K guarantee in year one.
JUNE 24: The Hawks have agreed to a deal with Matt Costello, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The big man will play on Atlanta’s Summer League team.
Costello averaged 10.7 points and 8.2 rebounds during his senior season at Michigan State. The Michigan native ranked 72nd among all seniors, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
Costello wasn’t expected to be drafted on Thursday night and he probably faces long odds of making the Hawks’ regular season roster. Entering the day, Atlanta had 12 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource shows.
Contract Details: Gee, Frazier, M. Miller, Canaan
When the Pelicans re-signed Alonzo Gee, it appeared that they gave him a minimum-salary deal, which would have been worth $1,315,448. However, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter), Gee’s one-year deal is actually worth $1.4MM. It’s a curious move for New Orleans, one with no obvious explanation — a minimum-salary pact for Gee would have only cost the Pelicans a cap hit of about $980K, so the $85K pay bump for the veteran forward actually costs the team over $400K.
Gee had previously declined a player option for the 2016/17 season with the Pelicans. If he had exercised that option, he would have earned $1,379,400 for the upcoming year, so perhaps New Orleans agreed to give him a slight raise to allow him to save face on that decision.
Here are several more contract details on recently-signed contracts, via Pincus:
- The Pelicans used a portion of their room exception to complete Tim Frazier‘s two-year, $4.09MM deal, tweets Pincus. The signing leaves New Orleans with $808K still available on that room exception. Pincus also notes that the Pelicans renounced Frazier’s qualifying offer before re-signing him, technically making him an unrestricted free agent, rather than an RFA.
- When Terrence Jones agreed to sign with the Pelicans, it was expected to be a minimum-salary deal unless the club could create more cap room to give him some extra money. That didn’t end up happening, so Jones got the minimum, says Pincus (via Twitter).
- Initially reported to be worth $5MM over two years, Mike Miller‘s two-year pact with the Nuggets is actually for $7MM, according to Pincus (via Twitter). However, the second year is fully non-guaranteed.
- Brandon Paul received a two-year, minimum-salary contract from the Sixers that includes a $155K guarantee in year one, per Pincus (Twitter links). Philadelphia holds a team option on year two, which will be non-guaranteed even if the team picks up that option.
- Pincus provides details on a couple more minimum-salary contracts with partial guarantees, reporting (via Twitter) that D.J. Stephens got $35K from the Grizzlies, while Isaiah Canaan will have a $200K guarantee from the Bulls for 2017/18 — Canaan’s 2016/17 salary is fully guaranteed.
The Ad Experience On Hoops Rumors
Based on survey feedback and emails we’ve received, many of you are experiencing ads on our mobile site that automatically redirect your browser. Sometimes it goes to the app store, sometimes to other sites, but it’s always incredibly annoying. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with it. At Hoops Rumors, we loathe these ads. We don’t make money from them; they are the result of shady ad networks violating their terms. You can read more about the issue here; it is something even Google and Apple have been unable to stop.
I don’t say that as an excuse, but just an explanation. We’ve worked to remove these redirect ads for years, but it’s been a game of Whac-A-Mole. This month I am putting additional resources toward the problem. I am also hopeful that eventually, browsers will be able to stop redirects, as was Apple’s intention for Safari in iOS 8.
In the meantime, there are a couple of options you might consider. The first is to download our free app, Trade Rumors, and use that instead of the mobile website. The app has fewer ads than our mobile site does, and has never had any redirect issues. It’s also a well-reviewed app that offers custom notifications and a sleek reading experience on mobile devices.
Another option is to sign up for Google Contributor. This paid service covers any website that shows Google ads (including all of the Trade Rumors sites) and reduces the number of ads you’ll see. Google Contributor automatically uses your monthly fee to attempt to outbid a website’s advertisers. When your bid wins, you don’t see an ad. You’ll instead see an empty space where the ad was, or pictures of cats if you prefer. While Contributor can be used across millions of websites that you can potentially visit, I personally use it exclusively to reduce the number of ads shown on my five favorite baseball websites. It removes thousands of ads per month for me on those sites, and any portion of my fee that I don’t use each month is refunded by Google. I consider Google Contributor a win-win, as I give a few bucks per month to my favorite websites and see fewer ads.
Finally, if you have experience with the web debugging proxy application Charles, you could try catching a redirect in the wild. It’s way more fun than catching Pokémon. If anyone is able to record a Charles session of a mobile redirect happening on Hoops Rumors, please send it to me at mlbtrhelp@gmail.com and I’ll make sure that offending ad is eliminated.
We’ll continue to do everything we can to root out the bad ad networks. Thanks for your patience and understanding in this matter.
And-Ones: Kaun, Varejao, Hornets, Barnes
Center Sasha Kaun has retired after playing one season with the Cavaliers, according to Gary Bedore of KUSports.com. The 31-year-old Kaun played sparingly with Cleveland, appearing in 25 games. He was traded to the Sixers earlier this month, then waived. He played seven seasons with CSKA Moscow after completing his college career at Kansas. “I was very blessed and fortunate to play as long as I have,” he told the Journal-World from Colorado.
In other news around the league:
- Warriors reserve center Anderson Varejao has returned to the U.S. from Brazil to undergo tests on his back, according to Brazil’s Olympic website. The report, which was later posted by the San Jose Mercury News, puts Varejao’s Olympic participation in doubt and clouds his availability for training camp. Varejao just re-signed with the Warriors last week after playing spot minutes the second half of last season and during the playoffs.
- Noel Gillespie has been named head coach of the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ new D-League affiliate, the team announced on its website. Gillespie spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the Nuggets. Before that, he was on the Suns’ staff for 10 seasons.
- The Mavericks probably overpaid to obtain Harrison Barnes as a restricted free agent, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Eddie Sefko. Dallas hopes that Barnes blossoms now that he’ll be a bigger part of its offense than he was with the Warriors, but he’s been a middle-of-the-road player and there’s no guarantee he’ll get much better, Sefko adds. Barnes was lured away with a four-year, $94MM offer sheet that Golden State couldn’t match.
- Yogi Ferrell’s minimum contract with the Nets has a $100K guarantee, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The former Indiana University point guard agreed to a one-year deal with Brooklyn last week after going undrafted.