Eastern Notes: Nader, Westbrook, Batum
The Celtics have a little more than a month to decide what to do with No. 58 pick Abdel Nader, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Teams have until September 10th to submit a required tender offer to second-rounders in order to retain their rights. However, they often have an understanding that the player won’t accept the offer, because if he does and fails to make the 15-man roster, he becomes a free agent. Nader and the Celtics’ front office may disagree on his immediate future, with Boston preferring that Nader agree to spend all of next season with its Maine affiliate in the D-League. But the Iowa State alum, who was the second-leading scorer on the Celtics’ summer league team, may not be willing to make that commitment. “He’s an NBA player, that’s my belief,” said Cervando Tejeda, Nader’s agent. “Right now, we have to decide what the next move is.”
There’s more news from the Eastern Conference:
- The Heat may benefit from Russell Westbrook‘s decision to accept an extension with the Thunder, contends Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. Winderman points out that Miami has had its options limited by the pursuit of a free agent every offseason since LeBron James left in 2014, and that would have happened again next summer if Westbrook had been available. With him under contract, the Heat may look more seriously at trades involving Goran Dragic or the newly re-signed Hassan Whiteside. The author also notes that next summer will be crucial for Miami because Tyler Johnson will count $19MM against the salary cap starting in 2018 and the Heat will be short on draft picks to deal, already owing the Suns their 2018 and 2021 first-rounders from the trade that brought Dragic to Miami.
- Nicolas Batum is philosophical about the roster changes the Hornets experienced over the summer, according to Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer. After winning 48 games last season, Charlotte saw Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin and Courtney Lee leave in free agency. The team also rewarded Batum with a $120MM contract over the next five years. “That’s just the NBA,” he said after his French team lost to Australia this afternoon at the Olympics. “We get new teammates. We have to adjust. But we still will have a good team. I’m not complaining about it.”
Community Shootaround: Franchise Tag
If the NBA operated under the NFL’s rules, Kevin Durant would still be in Oklahoma City.
That’s because football teams can use a franchise tag each year to lock up their best free agent for another season. That allows them to try to work out a long-term contract while preventing the player from negotiating with other teams.
After receiving the franchise tag, the player receives either 120% of his previous year’s salary or the average of the top five salaries at his position throughout the league, whichever number is higher. It’s a price the Thunder would have gladly paid to keep Durant in their lineup for another season while trying to work out a longer deal.
As we count down toward the expected reopening of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement in December, many owners want to adopt some form of the franchise tag. The concept had several vocal supporters at an owners’ meeting last month in Las Vegas, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
Such a measure would gives teams in smaller markets, such as Oklahoma City, a better shot at retaining their own free agents. It would also discourage the formation of “super teams” like the Warriors who have many league observers concerned about competitive balance.
While not publicly endorsing a franchise tag, Commissioner Adam Silver is among those who believe the current arrangement needs to be tweaked.
“I do think to maintain those principles that I discussed in terms of creating a league in which every team has the opportunity to compete, I think we do need to re-examine some of the elements of our system so that I’m not here next year or the year after again talking about anomalies,” Silver said. “There are certain things, corrections we believe we can make in the system.”
The players union is strongly opposed to a franchise tag, and Bontemps speculates that it could be one of the most divisive issues during the next round of negotiations. The union is fighting for more player control and wants to see free agency arrive earlier rather than later. Players see the nine years Durant spent with the Thunder franchise as long enough and believe he earned the right to play wherever he desires.
That brings us to tonight’s question: Does the NBA need a provision similar to the franchise tag that will level the playing field in free agency, or do the players deserve full free agency without more restrictions? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Ray Allen Has Spoken To Celtics, Bucks
Former All-Star shooting guard Ray Allen has had conversations with the Celtics and Bucks as he contemplates an NBA comeback at age 41, writes Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant. Both teams have a special significance for Allen, who won an NBA title with Boston in 2008 and broke into the league with Milwaukee in 1996.
“I would love going back to those places if it worked out,” Allen said, “because both teams are good, too. It doesn’t necessarily have to be championship-or-bust for me to go back to the NBA. I want to be in a situation where I thought I could help, play a little bit and help where they have good young talent.”
Allen hasn’t played in the league since 2013/14, when he appeared in 73 games for Miami, mostly as a reserve. He said he has started going through intense workouts to prepare him for NBA competition and has felt “great” afterward.
After winning titles with the Celtics and Heat, there has been speculation that Allen may want to join the defending champion Cavaliers or the runner-up Warriors to give himself the best shot at another ring. The Spurs and Clippers have also been mentioned as possible destinations, and Allen said Knicks’ super-fan Spike Lee has been texting him about coming to New York.
Allen made it clear that a return to the league is not definite and said he will make a decision by the time training camps open late next month. His choice will be based on finding the right franchise and the right role.
“My decision is predicated on what is available,” he said. “I said that I was interested because I never retired for a reason. I’ve been watching, seeing what teams have been doing and I’ve been waiting to see if the opportunity presented itself where I think I could fit.”
Western Notes: Blazers, Tolliver, Westbrook
The Trail Blazers have had a busy offseason as the franchise hopes to keep the momentum going from its surprising 2015/16 season. GM Neil Olshey, speaking at a press conference to formally announce C.J. McCollum‘s extension, noted that keeping the roster intact was his first priority heading into the summer, Sean Meagher of The Oregonian relays.
“Player retention was big this summer,” Olshey said. “We did what we could in terms of free agency, bringing in skill sets more than players – skill sets from the outside. But at the end of the day when you’re the youngest team in the playoffs last year, you made the second round, we had a much better second half of the year than we did the first half, we felt like we were tracking up … it was imperative we keep this group together because we think it has tremendous upside and potential and it’s going to continue to grow.”
Here’s more from out West:
- Anthony Tolliver, who inked a two-year deal with the Kings this offseason, hopes he can help mentor DeMarcus Cousins as well as produce on the court this season, Dan Lovi of NBA.com relays. “He has all the talent in the world,” Tolliver said of Cousins. “He’s phenomenal, especially on the offensive end, but I really feel like he can improve. Hopefully I help him become better.”
- The Clippers made the most out of their limited cap space this offseason, adding a number of players via below-market contracts who should bolster their bench in 2016/17, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes in his review of Los Angeles’ summer. The scribe also opines that it is vital for the team to develop 2016 draftees Brice Johnson and Diamond Stone, given the team’s lack of cap flexibility.
- While Russell Westbrook‘s renegotiation and extension with the Thunder appeared sudden to many, it was a move that had been in the works for a couple of weeks, writes Royce Young of ESPN.com. According to the scribe, OKC knew it had a commitment from Westbrook when it rescinded its qualifying offer to Dion Waiters. A move that was needed to free up the necessary cap space to complete the arrangement.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Detroit Pistons
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Pistons’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Pistons currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Andre Drummond — $22,116,750 [Contract has Trade Kicker of 8%]
- Tobias Harris — $17,200,000
- Reggie Jackson — $14,956,522
- Jon Leuer — $10,991,957
- Boban Marjanovic — $7,000,000
- Aron Baynes — $6,500,000
- Ish Smith — $6,000,000
- Josh Smith — $5,331,729 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Marcus Morris — $4,625,000
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — $3,678,319
- Stanley Johnson — $2,969,880
- Reggie Bullock — $2,255,644
- Henry Ellenson — $1,704,120
- Beno Udrih — $980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,551,659]
- Darrun Hilliard — $874,636
- Michael Gbinije — $650,000
- Nikola Jovanovic — $30,000 [Waived by team]
- Trey Freeman — $25,000 [Waived by team]
- Ray McCallum — $11,949 [Waived by team]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $107,901,937
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Room Exception: $2,898,000
Total Projected Payroll: $107,901,937
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: –$13,758,937
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $5,385,063
Last Updated: 1/11/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 7/31/16-8/6/16
Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- We ran down the players who are eligible for rookie-scale extensions.
- Dana Gauruder examined Russell Westbrook as an extension candidate.
- Luke Adams looked at the free agent spending this summer by NBA teams separated by Division:
- We asked readers to do over the 2005 NBA Draft. Here’s who you selected for picks No. 1, No. 2, No.3 and No.4 overall.
- Will Joseph highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- Luke broke down how teams are using the Room and Mid-Level Exceptions this offseason.
- We ran down all the players in the NBA possessing Trade Kickers in their contracts.
- We looked at the 2016/17 Salary Cap figures for the:
- Arthur Hill answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag. Here’s how you can submit your own questions for our mailbag feature.
- In our Community Shootarounds this week we discussed the Bulls’ offseason, Russell Westbrook’s future, what direction the Heat should take and what player is most likely to be traded prior to the season.
- We ran down all the players who are eligible to ink veteran extensions this year.
- Our Free Agent Tracker continues to have up-to-date data on this summer’s contract agreements and signings from around the NBA.
- If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Trade Rumors app for your iOS or Android device.
Cavaliers Sign Kay Felder
1:50pm: Felder’s deal is for three years and is worth $2.49MM with a partial guarantee of $1MM included, Tony Paul of The Detroit News reports.
9:01am: The Cavaliers have officially signed 2016 second-rounder Kay Felder, the team announced. The exact length and terms of the arrangement are not yet known, but it is likely a minimum salary pact that include a partial guarantee.
Cleveland acquired the rights to the diminutive guard on draft night from the Hawks in exchange for $2.4MM, so the team already has made a significant investment in the rookie. LeBron James was reportedly a supporter of the move to nab Felder, which certainly doesn’t hurt his chances of sticking with the Cavs this season, though he’ll likely be ticketed for some extended D-League time early in the season to help speed up his development.
Felder, 5’9″, impressed with his play in the Las Vegas Summer League for Cleveland’s squad. In seven contests he averaged 15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 29.9 minutes per outing while shooting .420/.227/.783.
During the 2015/16 campaign, Felder appeared in 35 contests for Oakland, averaging 24.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 2.0 steals. Over his three-year collegiate career, all with Oakland, he played in a total of 101 games with averages of 17.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 35.9 minutes per contest. His career shooting line was .426/.345/.822.
Poll: 2005 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 5)
Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. While life, and the NBA, doesn’t often allow for second chances, we at Hoops Rumors believe it’s fun to give our readers a second take at picking players, complete with the benefit of hindsight.
We’ve previously tackled the 2003 and 2013 NBA Drafts and the next one we’re tackling is 2005’s, the year that the Bucks nabbed big man Andrew Bogut with the No. 1 overall pick. That year’s draft class is generally viewed as one of the weaker ones in recent memory, though, there were quite a few second-rounders that year (Ersan Ilyasova, Monta Ellis, Lou Williams, Amir Johnson and Marcin Gortat) who have gone on to have very solid NBA careers.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll be posting a series of reader polls that ask you to vote on the player whom you believe should have been selected with each pick. We’ll continue onward with the Bobcats/Hornets, who held the No. 5 pick that season. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Charlotte’s pick and check back Sunday night for the results, as well as for your chance to vote for whom the Trail Blazers should have taken at No. 6. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. Also, if I fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and I’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
Selections
- Bucks — Chris Paul [Actual Pick — Andrew Bogut]
- Hawks — Deron Williams [Actual Pick — Marvin Williams]
- Jazz — Monta Ellis [Actual Pick — Deron Williams]
- Hornets/Pelicans — Andrew Bogut [Actual Pick — Chris Paul]
- Bobcats/Hornets — ? [Actual Pick — Raymond Felton]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.
Week In Review: 7/31/16-8/6/16
With 2016’s major free agent period winding down and the preseason on its way, here’s a look back at all the notable news and events from around the NBA this past week:
Signings/Agreements
NBA
- The Knicks signed Ron Baker.
- The Warriors signed Elliot Williams.
- The Knicks signed J.P. Tokoto.
- The Raptors signed Jarrod Uthoff.
- The Cavaliers re-signed James Jones.
- The Clippers signed Alan Anderson.
- The Cavaliers signed DeAndre Liggins.
- The Knicks signed Chasson Randle.
Extensions
- The Thunder finalized a renegotiation and extension with Russell Westbrook
International
- Ryan Boatright signed with the Foshan Lions in China.
- Carlos Boozer will also play in China next season.
- Amar’e Stoudemire signed with Hapoel Jerusalem.
- Jimmer Fredette signed with the Shanghai Sharks of China.
- Kenny Gabriel signed with Kuban of Russia.
Waivers
- The Cavaliers waived Dahntay Jones.
News/Rumors
- The Wizards intend to exercise their third-year option on Kelly Oubre.
- The Timberwolves hired Noah Croom as their new assistant GM.
- The Sixers officially announced that they named Jim O’Brien and Kevin Young as assistant coaches, John Bryant and Alvin Williams as player development coaches, John Townsend as shooting coach, Chris Babcock as assistant director of player development and Dr. Lance Pearson as director of applied analytics. Philadelphia also relayed that Eugene Burroughs, who spent the last two seasons as the Sixers’ shooting coach, has been promoted to head coach of the team’s D-League affiliate in Delaware.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Central
Over the course of the last week, we’ve been breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this summer.
These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.
Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.
With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Central division. Our breakdowns of all five other divisions can be found linked at the bottom of this post.
Let’s dive in…
1. Detroit Pistons
- Total money committed: $207,171,313
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $207,171,313
- Largest expenditure: Andre Drummond (five years, $127,171,313)
- Other notable signings:
- Jon Leuer (four years, $41,000,000)
- Boban Marjanovic (three years, $21,000,000)
- Ish Smith (three years, $18,000,000)
- Notes:
- Ray McCallum’s deal is not included in these totals, since it’s a summer contract which won’t count toward the Pistons’ cap unless he makes the regular-season roster.
2. Milwaukee Bucks
- Total money committed: $119,530,000
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $119,530,000
- Largest expenditure: Miles Plumlee (four years, $49,600,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Matthew Dellavedova (four years, $38,430,000)
- Mirza Teletovic (three years, $31,500,000)
- Notes:
- Dellavedova’s contract was technically the result of a sign-and-trade deal by the Cavaliers, but we’re considering it a Milwaukee signing.
3. Chicago Bulls
- Total money committed: $78,532,117
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $65,215,696
- Largest expenditure: Dwyane Wade (two years, $47,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Rajon Rondo (two years, $27,397,000)
- Isaiah Canaan (two years, minimum salary)
- Notes:
- Rondo’s second-year salary of $13.397MM is partially guaranteed for $3MM.
4. Indiana Pacers
- Total money committed: $32,700,000
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $26,700,000
- Largest expenditure: Al Jefferson (three years, $30,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Aaron Brooks (one year, $2,700,000)
- Notes:
- Jefferson’s third-year salary of $10MM is partially guaranteed for $4MM.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Total money committed: $9,573,362
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $6,960,862
- Largest expenditure: Richard Jefferson (three years, $7,612,500)
- Other notable signings:
- Chris Andersen (one year, minimum salary)
- James Jones (one year, minimum salary)
- Notes:
- Andersen and Jones will earn $1,551,659 apiece on their minimum-salary deals, but will only be paid $980,431 each by the Cavaliers, with the NBA on the hook for the rest.
- Jefferson’s third-year salary of $2,612,500 is fully non-guaranteed.
- DeAndre Liggins‘ deal has been officially signed, but exact terms of that contract haven’t been reported, so we haven’t included it in the Cavs’ totals for now.
- The Cavs have also yet to formally re-sign LeBron James, whose new contract will bump up the club’s free agent expenditures significantly. A new deal for J.R. Smith may also be on the horizon.
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