Southeast Notes: Hornets, Walker, Heat
The Hornets committed nearly $200MM to free agents this summer, including over $187MM in guaranteed money, but that doesn’t mean the team didn’t lose several key players from last year’s roster. Asked about an offseason that saw the team lose Al Jefferson, Courtney Lee, and Jeremy Lin, Kemba Walker told Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that “it sucks” to see so many teammates depart, especially when one of those players was Jefferson.
“But that’s the business: You’re always going to play with some new guys every year,” said the Hornets’ starting point guard. “You think about Big Al, who I wish we could have kept. He helped change this franchise around big time from the day he got here.”
Here’s more from Walker, along with a couple more items from out of the Southeast division:
- While Walker was sad to see Jefferson, Lee, and Lin go, he’s optimistic about the Hornets’ new additions, and is particularly intrigued by center Roy Hibbert. “I think, if he can get back to the level he once was at, he can be a huge help to us,” Walker told Bonnell. The point guard also added that he’s fully recovered from offseason knee surgery.
- Within his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman discusses the Heat‘s Plan B for 2017 free agency now that Russell Westbrook won’t be available, and examines whether point guard Beno Udrih – who reportedly has a standing contract offer from the team – is even a fit this year in Miami.
- Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders identifies some of the summer’s most notable team-friendly contracts, writing that Dion Waiters‘ modest deal with the Heat represents an impressive low-risk, high-reward investment for the team.
- As we detailed earlier this week, two Southeast teams (Atlanta and Miami) have used most or all of their room exceptions, while the other three clubs in the division still have that $2.898MM exception available.
Thunder Sign Russell Westbrook To Extension
2:20pm: The Thunder have officially issued a press release announcing their extension with Westbrook.
“I am grateful to extend my contract with the Thunder and continue to play with the only organization that I have played for and have loved being a part of since I was drafted into the NBA,” Westbrook said in a statement. “I’m really excited about moving forward with this group of guys and continuing to play in front of the best fans in the world.”
7:36am: The Thunder have agreed in principle to a renegotiation and extension with Russell Westbrook, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, who reports that the deal will be signed on Thursday. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical confirms (via Twitter) that Westbrook is flying to Oklahoma City this morning and plans to sign a three-year, $85MM+ deal.
Wojnarowski had reported on Wednesday night that the two sides were in advanced discussions on a new agreement. Per Wojnarowski, the three-year contract will include this season and will feature a player option, so it will essentially keep Westbrook under team control through the 2017/18 campaign. In 2018, he’ll have the opportunity to decline that third-year player option and reach free agency as he becomes eligible for the 10-year-veteran maximum salary.
While veteran extensions generally don’t allow players to maximize their earnings, that’s often not the case when a renegotiation is included. Westbrook had been set to earn a $17,769,374 salary for the 2016/17 season. By renegotiating his deal, the Thunder will use their excess cap room to bump him up to the maximum salary, which is $26,540,100. If Westbrook had waited until he reached free agency in 2017 to sign a new deal, his 2017/18 starting salary would have been a little higher, but he would’ve missed out on this year’s pay increase of nearly $9MM, as Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors pointed out this week when he broke down Westbrook’s options.
Westbrook’s new contract should work out to be identical to Mike Conley‘s over the next two years, with a salary of $26,540,100 (2016/17), followed by a 7.5% raise to $28,530,608 (2017/18). In a free-agent contract like Conley’s, that $1,990,508 first-year raise would apply to all subsequent seasons as well, but in Westbrook’s case, he’ll get a 7.5% raise on his 2017/18 salary, since that’s the first year of his new extension. That would result in a 2018/19 salary of $30,670,403 and a three-year total of $85,741,111, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders recently explained.
By inking an extension now, Westbrook will give the Thunder a couple years to retool the roster around him in the wake of Kevin Durant‘s departure. As Royce Young of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter), the team may now be less inclined to work out new deals this offseason for extension-eligible players like Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo, and Andre Roberson, since keeping their cap holds on the books next summer would allow the franchise to maximize its 2017 cap room. That approach would be risky in cases where Oklahoma City doesn’t intend to go up to the max though, since those players could sign offer sheets with rival teams if they become restricted free agents.
While it’s still possible that Westbrook departs Oklahoma City in free agency down the road, he’ll be staying with the team longer than many observers expected. When Durant chose to sign with the Warriors, trade speculation immediately began swirling around the star point guard — according to Shelburne (via Twitter), the Thunder received “dozens” of trade calls over the last month, but told potential Westbrook suitors to “chill” while they tried to work out an extension with the 27-year-old.
After Durant’s departure, multiple reports out of OKC indicated that Westbrook may be more motivated than ever to stay with the Thunder, rather than wanting to follow his All-Star teammates out of town. Westbrook’s long-term future with the club may ultimately hinge on how GM Sam Presti and company fortify the roster over the next year or two, but for now, it seems those local reports on Westbrook’s motivation were accurate.
A five-time All-Star, Westbrook saw his scoring average dip to 23.5 PPG in 2015/16 after he led the league with 28.1 PPG in 2014/15. However, he set new career-highs in APG (10.4) and RPG (7.8) last season, and he’s poised for a huge statistical season this coming year, with Durant no longer in the picture.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Players With Trade Kickers
Trade kickers are contractual clauses that pay players a bonus when they’re traded, and they represent one of the tools teams have to differentiate their free agent offers from the deals competing clubs put on the table. According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the bonus must be paid by the team that trades the player, rather than the acquiring team.
Sometimes the kicker is a fixed amount, but usually it’s based on a percentage of the remaining value of the contract. So, a player who has a 10% trade kicker is given 10% of the amount of money he’s yet to collect on his deal. Regardless of whether the trade kicker is set at a fixed amount or a percentage, the bonus can’t exceed 15% of the remaining value of the contract. That means that if a set amount of $1MM would equal more than 15% of what the player is owed, the kicker would pay out less than $1MM in the event of a trade. If you want a more detailed explanation of how trade kickers work, check out our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry on the subject.
Most trade kickers are worth 15%, the highest percentage allowed. The trade kicker that Tyreke Evans is unusual, as it calls for him to see either a set amount ($1MM) or 15% of the value of his contract, whichever is less. Below is a list of every NBA player with an active trade kicker, listed alphabetically, along with the details of the kickers. Players who signed deals this summer are marked with an asterisk.
- * Steven Adams (Thunder) — 15%
- LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs) — 15%
- Carmelo Anthony (Knicks) — 15%
- * Harrison Barnes (Mavericks) — 8%
- * Tarik Black (Lakers) — 10%
- Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets) — 15%
- Jimmy Butler (Bulls) — 5%
- Vince Carter (Grizzlies) — 15%
- * Allen Crabbe (Trail Blazers) — 15%
- Andre Drummond (Pistons) — 8%
- * Kevin Durant (Warriors) — 15%
- Tyreke Evans (Pelicans) — 15% [Capped at $1MM]
- Danilo Gallinari (Nuggets) — 15%
- Marc Gasol (Grizzlies) — 15%
- Blake Griffin (Clippers) — 15%
- James Harden (Rockets) — 15%
- Gordon Hayward (Jazz) — 15%
- * Al Horford (Celtics) — 15%
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors) — 15%
- Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers) — 15%
- * Tyler Johnson (Heat) — 15%
- DeAndre Jordan (Clippers) — 15%
- Enes Kanter (Thunder) — 15%
- Kawhi Leonard (Spurs) — 15%
- * Jeremy Lin (Nets) — 10%
- Nikola Mirotic (Bulls) — 15%
- Chris Paul (Clippers) — 15%
- J.J. Redick (Clippers) — 5%
- * Dion Waiters (Heat) — 15%
- Brandan Wright (Grizzlies) — 15%
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: New Orleans, Bogut, Gabriel
The NBA formally removed the All Star Game from Charlotte on July 22nd because of concerns about North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which eliminated anti-discrimination protections for those who fall into the LGBT demographic. It appears the event is close to landing a new venue, with the league closing in on a deal with New Orleans to act as host, Scott Kushner and Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate relay. The 2016/17 NBA All-Star game is scheduled for February 19th, 2017.
Here’s more of the latest from around the league:
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is excited about the team’s addition of Andrew Bogut, who fills a big need for the team at center if he can remain healthy, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “You know, it gives us not only a legitimate starting center, but it gives us one of the best centers in the game,” Carlisle said of the trade with the Warriors. “I’m looking forward to getting to know Andrew. He’s overseas in Australia with their national team. And you know, it will be a lot happening quick.”
- Forward Kenny Gabriel, who played for the summer league squads of both the Cavs and the Heat this offseason, has signed a one-year deal that will pay him in excess of $1MM with the Russian club Kuban, international journalist David Pick tweets.
- Kansas swingman Josh Jackson tops the first Big Board for the 2017 NBA Draft from ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required). Rounding out Ford’s top three are Duke freshman Harry Giles and Washington guard Markelle Fultz.
Atlantic Notes: D-League, Sixers Coaches, Celtics
The Nets are taking their new D-League affiliate in Long Island seriously and with the team sharing the NBA club’s facilities this season while work is completed on the Nassau Coliseum, it places affiliate players in a somewhat unique situation, NetsDaily writes. “Every time you walk into the practice facility, you should want to work hard because, as you see, throughout our practices now, Coach [Kenny] Atkinson is just sitting here, walking around just to see who is working. So, you never know.” said guard Sean Kilpatrick. “You could be one of the D-League guys in the gym, and Coach just so happens to see you, and is like, ‘Yo, we should give this guy a look.’”
“No other D-League team will operate as we’re operating this year,” Long Island Nets coach Ronald Nored said. “If you’re a player and you want to get into the NBA, you’re practicing in an NBA facility every single day. Our guys will get world-class treatment, first-class treatment and we’ll have the same opportunities to amenities and things like that, that the NBA guys have. If you can’t appreciate this opportunity, man, there’s another place for you.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers officially announced via press release that the team has 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.
- A panel of NBA writers, facilitated by Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com, weighed in on whom the Celtics will start alongside newly signed Al Horford at power forward. The group was divided, with Amir Johnson narrowly edging out Kelly Olynyk for the starting nod. According to the panel, coach Brad Stevens‘ choice will come down to his preference for Olynyk’s scoring ability versus Johnson’s superior rebounding and defense. Feel free to weigh in on who you’d pick in the comments section below.
- We at Hoops Rumors are in the process of breaking down each teams’ cap situation heading into the new season and we’ve already looked at the Celtics and Nets from the Atlantic Division.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Dallas Mavericks
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors ware tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once new financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. The next franchise we’ll be looking at are the Dallas Mavericks, who currently are well over the league’s salary cap of $94,143,000 for the 2016/17 season. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Mavericks’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Mavs currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Dirk Nowitzki — $25,000,000
- Harrison Barnes — $22,116,750 [Deal includes 8% Trade Kicker]
- Wesley Matthews — $17,145,838
- Deron Williams — $9,000,000 [Waived by team]
- Dwight Powell — $8,375,000
- Nerlens Noel —$4,384,490
- Devin Harris — $4,227,996
- J.J. Barea — $4,096,950
- Seth Curry — $2,898,000
- DeAndre Liggins —$1,015,696
- Salah Mejri — $874,636
- A.J. Hammons — $650,000
- Quincy Acy — $593,233 [Waived by team; $1,050,961 cap hit reduced by setoff]
- Nicolas Brussino — $543,471
- Dorian Finney-Smith — $543,471
- Jonathan Gibson — $543,471 [Waived by team (Oct 22)]
- Maurice Ndour — $437,318 [Waived by team]
- Gal Mekel — $315,759 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Yogi Ferrell — $207,798
- Jonathan Gibson — $137,466 [Waived by team (Dec 27)]
- Kyle Collinsworth — $70,000 [Waived by team]
- Manny Harris — $57,672 [10-day contract (Mar 9); actual salary — $59,747]
- Manny Harris — $57,672 [10-day contract (Mar 19); actual salary — $59,747]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $47,953
- Pierre Jackson — $41,560 [Waived by team (Jan 6)]
- Pierre Jackson — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 15)]
- Pierre Jackson — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 25)]
- Yogi Ferrell — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 28)]
- Ben Bentil — $31,969 [10-day contract (Feb 26)]
- Quinn Cook — $31,969 [10-day contract (Feb 26)]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $31,969 [10-day contract (Mar 9)]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $31,969 [10-day contract (Mar 19)]
- Jameel Warney — $20,000 [Waived by team]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $103,625,983
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: Sent $3,227,286 to Jazz as part of Jeremy Evans trade [Amount Remaining $272,714]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Trade Exception: $6,642,537 (Andrew Bogut trade) — Expires on 2/23/18
- Trade Exception: $1,514,160 (Justin Anderson trade) — Expires on 2/23/18
- Room Exception: $0 (used on Seth Curry)
Total Projected Payroll: $103,625,983
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Available Cap Space: –$9,482,983
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Estimated Amount Below Luxury Tax: $9,661,017
Last Updated: 4/15/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Poll: 2005 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 3)
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 provide 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 Jazz, who held the No. 3 pick that season. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Utah’s pick and check back Friday night for the results, as well as for your chance to vote for whom the New Orleans Hornets should have taken at No. 4. 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 — ? [Actual Pick — Deron Williams]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.
Magic To Sign Damjan Rudez?
4:09pm: According to Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link), Rudez was invited to training camp but was not offered a contract.
12:41pm: Free agent Crotian forward Damjan Rudez appears set to join the Magic, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.com, who reports that Rudez and the Magic have agreed to terms on a contract. Terms of the deal aren’t known, but Varlas suggests that an official announcement should happen soon.
Rudez, 30, saw a decent amount of playing time in Indiana during his first NBA season in 2014/15, averaging 15.4 minutes in 68 regular-season contests for the Pacers. However, he was traded to the Timberwolves last July in a deal for Chase Budinger, and never carved out a consistent role in Minnesota last season. The Wolves declined their team option on his contract in June.
A three-time Croatian League All-Star, Rudez spent the first part of his basketball career playing overseas, and according to Varlas, several European clubs expressed interest in him this offseason. Assuming the Magic make things official though, it looks like the veteran forward will remain in the NBA for now.
Orlando doesn’t have a ton of outside shooting on its roster, particularly with Jodie Meeks‘ health in question, so Rudez should help provide some range, if he makes the regular-season roster. He has shot 39.1% from beyond the arc in his 101 NBA games.
Taking into account their cap limitations, the Magic could sign Rudez to a minimum-salary deal or to a contract using some or all of their $2.898MM room exception.
Community Shootaround: Russell Westbrook
After a month of trade speculation, Russell Westbrook shut down that talk earlier today when he signed a brand-new contract extension with the Thunder. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Oklahoma City brass had been prepared to explore the trade market for a package of young players and draft picks if Westbrook had given the team the impression that he was “unenthusiastic” about the future in OKC. However, in the wake of Kevin Durant‘s departure, Westbrook re-committed to the Thunder, forgoing free agency in 2017.
“The idea of running out to find a super team, that isn’t who he is,” a source close to Westbrook told Wojnarowski. “He thought, ‘These are my guys here,’ and he wanted to go to battle with them.”
While Thunder fans – along with GM Sam Presti – can breathe a sigh of relief for now, Westbrook’s “three-year” extension essentially only guarantees him one extra season in Oklahoma City. The first year of the deal is 2016/17, for which he was already under contract, and the third year (2018/19) is a player option, meaning Westbrook could opt out in 2018, when he becomes eligible for a higher maximum salary.
It’s entirely possible that Westbrook intends to re-sign with the Thunder again at that point, but the team certainly can’t take that for granted, and will have to work hard to fortify the roster around Westbrook over the next year or two. Within his column (linked above), Wojnarowski reiterates something he reported in July, writing that OKC has its eye on Blake Griffin, who played his college ball in Oklahoma and can become a free agent in 2017.
With Westbrook locked up, the Thunder would have to make a trade or two – or part ways with one or two of its RFAs-to-be – in order to create room for Griffin, but the cap work certainly wouldn’t be a major roadblock for the team — the bigger challenge would be convincing Griffin to leave Los Angeles to return to Oklahoma City.
Of course, even if signing Griffin isn’t in the cards, there are a number of other avenues – in free agency or on the trade market – that Presti and the front office could explore to upgrade the roster before Westbrook reaches the open market in 2018.
Today’s discussion questions revolve around the future for the Thunder and for Westbrook: Do you expect Westbrook to stay in Oklahoma City beyond 2018? Is this just a temporary reprieve for the Thunder, or is it a sign that Westbrook is committed to the franchise for the long run? What moves do you expect the Thunder to pull off in the next year or two to get back into title contention?
Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the future for the Thunder and for Westbrook. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Pacific
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 Pacific division. Let’s dive in…
1. Los Angeles Lakers
- Total money committed: $186,000,000
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $186,000,000
- Largest expenditure: Luol Deng (four years, $72,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Timofey Mozgov (four years, $64,000,000)
- Jordan Clarkson (four years, $50,000,000)
- Notes:
- The Lakers have yet to finalize long-ago reported deals for Tarik Black and Marcelo Huertas. Based on estimated values for those contracts, they’ll likely total about $16MM+ combined, but we haven’t included them in the team’s totals for now.
2. Los Angeles Clippers
- Total money committed: $105,428,788
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $93,928,788
- Largest expenditure: Jamal Crawford (three years, $42,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Austin Rivers (three years, $35,475,000)
- Wesley Johnson (three years, $17,643,780)
- Luc Mbah a Moute (two years, $4,505,135)
- Marreese Speights (two years, minimum salary)
- Notes:
- Raymond Felton ($1,551,659), Brandon Bass ($1,551,659), and Alan Anderson ($1,315,448) will be paid $980,431 apiece by the Clippers, with the NBA on the hook for the rest of their minimum salaries.
- Crawford’s $14.5MM third-year salary is only guaranteed for $3MM, creating the gap between the Clippers’ total money and guaranteed money committed.
3. Sacramento Kings
- Total money committed: $77,525,625
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $60,525,625
- Largest expenditure: Arron Afflalo (two years, $25,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Garrett Temple (three years, $24,000,000)
- Anthony Tolliver (two years, $16,000,000)
- Matt Barnes (two years, $12,525,625)
- Notes:
- Afflalo and Tolliver only have small partial guarantees in the second years of their respective contracts. $1.5MM of Afflalo’s $12.5MM second-year salary is guaranteed, while $2MM of Tolliver’s $8MM second-year salary is guaranteed.
4. Golden State Warriors
- Total money committed: $61,094,229
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $61,094,229
- Largest expenditure: Kevin Durant (two years, $54,274,505)
- Other notable signings:
- Zaza Pachulia (one year, $2,898,000)
- David West (one year, minimum salary)
- Anderson Varejao (one year, minimum salary)
- Notes:
- The reported deals for JaVale McGee and Elliot Williams aren’t yet official and exact details on those contracts aren’t known, so they haven’t been included here.
- West ($1,551,659), Varejao ($1,551,659), and Ian Clark ($1,015,696) will be paid $980,431 apiece by the Warriors, with the NBA on the hook for the rest of their minimum salaries.
5. Phoenix Suns
- Total money committed: $38,000,000
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $34,500,000
- Largest expenditure: Jared Dudley (three years, $30,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Leandro Barbosa (two years, $8,000,000)
- Notes:
- The second year of Barbosa’s deal, worth $4MM, is only guaranteed for $500K, creating the gap between the Suns’ total money and guaranteed money committed.