Bulls Waive Three Players; Roster Stands At 15
The Bulls have waived three players from their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve parted ways with camp invitees J.J. Avila, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, and Thomas Walkup. All three players will become free agents if and when they clear waivers.
Avila, Smith-Rivera, and Walkup each signed one-year contracts with the Bulls this summer, and were always viewed as long shots to earn regular-season roster spots. Walkup received a guarantee of $69,500 on his minimum-salary contract, while Avila and Smith-Rivera received no guaranteed money. Assuming they aren’t snatched up by another club, all three players are candidates to join Chicago’s new D-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.
The Bulls are now down to 15 players, meaning their roster is set for the regular season. Still, if the team wants to dip below the maximum, it has some flexibility to make additional cuts. Currently, 13 Chicago players have fully guaranteed salaries for 2016/17, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Cristiano Felicio are on non-guaranteed contracts.
For a breakdown of the Bulls’ current 2016/17 salary cap situation, check out our salary cap snapshot for the team.
Wolves, Others Have Inquired On Iman Shumpert
Several teams, including the Timberwolves, have inquired on the availability of Iman Shumpert in recent weeks, ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes in his latest piece previewing the upcoming NBA season. Those teams have gotten the impression that the Cavaliers are willing to discuss Shumpert, though they won’t simply dump his salary for nothing, says Lowe.
There are a few reasons why it could make sense for the Cavs to consider moving Shumpert. For one, after re-signing J.R. Smith, the Cavs are fairly deep on the wing, with Smith, Shumpert, Mike Dunleavy, Richard Jefferson, and James Jones among the players who could see regular minutes at the two or three. That list doesn’t even include LeBron James, who figures to occasionally play some small forward, or Jordan McRae, who has led the team in preseason scoring.
Additionally, the Cavs are well into tax territory now, so removing Shumpert’s $9,662,922 salary from their books would reduce their eventual tax bill significantly. The ex-Knick’s deal runs through at least 2018, with a player option for 2018/19, so moving it off the books could create a little more future flexibility as well.
The Cavaliers have reportedly been on the hunt for a backup point guard via trade, and while McRae and Mo Williams were among the players mentioned as trade candidates in that report, Shumpert’s salary is significantly larger. Trading him would allow Cleveland to take on more salary in return, increasing their number of options.
The Timberwolves also represent an interesting potential trade partner for the Cavs, since both Ricky Rubio and Tyus Jones have been the subject of trade rumors this offseason. The Wolves like both players, but fifth overall pick Kris Dunn is viewed as the point guard of the future in Minnesota. It’s also worth noting that the Wolves are well below the salary cap, and could easily accommodate Shumpert’s salary.
[RELATED: Several teams interested in Tyus Jones]
Still, this is mostly speculation. While it’s possible the Cavs decide to move Shumpert, it would be a little surprising to see the team shake up its rotation significantly this close to the start of the regular season. As Lowe notes, Cleveland would have to get real value in return, rather than just dumping Shumpert’s contract.
2016/17 NBA Over/Unders: Southeast Division
The 2016/17 NBA regular season will get underway next week, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from offshore betting site Bovada.lv, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, and having you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic. Having looked at the Atlantic, Northwest, Central, and Southwest divisions so far, we’re moving on to the Southeast today…
Atlanta Hawks
- 2015/16 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2016/17: 43.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Dwight Howard, Malcolm Delaney, Taurean Prince, DeAndre’ Bembry. Lost Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Lamar Patterson.
(App users, click here for Hawks poll)
Charlotte Hornets
- 2015/16 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2016/17: 42.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Marco Belinelli, Ramon Sessions, Roy Hibbert, Brian Roberts, Christian Wood. Lost Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin, Courtney Lee, Troy Daniels.
(App users, click here for Hornets poll)
Washington Wizards
- 2015/16 record: 41-41
- Over/under for 2016/17: 42.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson, Jason Smith, Tomas Satoransky, Trey Burke. Lost Nene, Jared Dudley, J.J. Hickson, Ramon Sessions, Garrett Temple.
(App users, click here for Wizards poll)
Orlando Magic
- 2015/16 record: 35-47
- Over/under for 2016/17: 37.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Bismack Biyombo, Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green, D.J. Augustin, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox, Stephen Zimmerman. Lost Victor Oladipo, Brandon Jennings, Jason Smith, Ersan Ilyasova, Andrew Nicholson, Dewayne Dedmon, Shabazz Napier.
(App users, click here for Magic poll)
Miami Heat
- 2015/16 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2016/17: 34.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Wayne Ellington, Derrick Williams, James Johnson, Dion Waiters, Luke Babbitt, Willie Reed. Lost Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Gerald Green
- Note: Bosh remains on roster, but won’t play again for Heat.
(App users, click here for Heat poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (52.5 wins): Under (54.59%)
- Toronto Raptors (50.5 wins): Over (54.63%)
- New York Knicks (38.5 wins): Over (71.41%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (23.5 wins): Under (54.62%)
- Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Under (60.74%)
- Utah Jazz (49 wins): Under (68.72%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (45.5 wins): Over (69.92%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (43.5 wins): Over (65.71%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (40.5 wins): Over (50.11%)
- Denver Nuggets (37 wins): Under (68.81%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (56.5 wins): Over (66.5%)
- Detroit Pistons (44.5 wins): Over (55.03%)
- Indiana Pacers (44.5 wins): Over (73.06%)
- Chicago Bulls (38.5 wins): Over (61.9%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (34.5 wins): Over (67.48%)
- San Antonio Spurs (58.5 wins): Under (57.4%)
- Houston Rockets (44 wins): Over (52.76%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (42.5 wins): Over (59.69%)
- Dallas Mavericks (38.5 wins): Over (69.71%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (37 wins): Under (70.9%)
Wizards Pick Up 2017/18 Option On Kelly Oubre
OCTOBER 21: The Wizards have made it official, formally picking up Oubre’s third-year option, per RealGM.
AUGUST 2: In an unsurprising move, the Wizards will exercise the third-year option on Kelly Oubre‘s rookie contract, reports J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. Washington won’t have to rush to make the move official, since the deadline for rookie-scale option decisions is still nearly three months away.
Rookie-scale contracts for first-round picks feature two guaranteed seasons, followed by two non-guaranteed team options. Teams must make decision on those options a year in advance, by October 31. Generally, those third- and fourth-year salaries are so affordable – particularly under the new salary cap – that it makes sense for teams to exercise those options unless the player has been a total bust.
Oubre, the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft, didn’t receive a ton of playing time in his rookie season, but flashed potential when he saw the floor. The 20-year-old, who played his college ball at Kansas, appeared in 63 games for the Wizards in 2015/16, averaging 3.7 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 10.7 minutes per contest.
Oubre’s contract will pay him about $2MM this season, while his third-year option for 2017/18 will be worth about $2.093MM. A year from now, the Wizards will have to make a decision on Oubre’s fourth-year option for 2018/19, which will pay him $3.209MM if it’s picked up.
Hawks Waive Will Bynum
The Hawks have moved one step closer to finalizing their roster for the regular season, having parted ways with veteran guard Will Bynum, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The move brings Atlanta’s roster count down to 16 players, one above the regular-season maximum.
Although he has appeared in 360 total regular season NBA games for three different teams since 2005, Bynum hasn’t played in a regular season contest since the 2014/15 season. For most of the last two seasons, Bynum has played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China. He averaged 17.8 PPG and 6.5 APG for the CBA club in 2015/16.
During the preseason, Bynum saw a decent amount of playing time in the Hawks’ first five preseason games, averaging 17 minutes per contest, but played just 10 total minutes in the club’s final two exhibitions. The 33-year-old’s contract was non-guaranteed, so Atlanta won’t carry a cap hit after releasing him.
With Bynum no longer in the mix, the Hawks have one more player – Josh Magette – who has a fully non-guaranteed salary. He looks like the odd man out for the team’s 15-man roster, with Mike Muscala and his partially guaranteed deal making the cut.
Atlantic Rumors: Horford, Smart, Knicks, Sixers
- Celtics point guard Marcus Smart is expected to be out two weeks with an ankle injury, Mannix tweets. Smart has suffered numerous left ankle sprains before, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, but it doesn’t appear to be as serious as some of his previous ones. Since the injury is expected to be a short-term situation, it probably won’t impact the decisions that will be made in the coming days to pare the roster down to 15 players, Blakely adds.
- Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said point guard Derrick Rose will need to “learn by fire” after spending most of the past two weeks at his civil trial in Los Angeles, Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports. Rose missed five preseason games and seven practices during the trial, in which a jury on found Rose and his two friends not liable in a lawsuit that accused them of gang-raping Rose’s ex-girlfriend. Rose is expected to meet with the coaching staff on Friday to review aspects of the Knicks’ offense that were implemented while he was away, Begley adds.
- The Sixers are keeping a close eye on the cuts being made by other teams around the league, Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com reports. A report surfaced on Wednesday that Philadelphia was interested in point guard Tyus Jones. The club could also seek help for its banged-up frontcourt, Camerato adds. “The marketplace forces you to pay attention and make sure you’re doing your job and growing your team,” coach Brett Brown told Camerato.
And-Ones: Dragic, Pelicans, Salary Cap, Brown
- E’Twaun Moore will start for the Pelicans at shooting guard entering the season ahead of lottery pick Buddy Hield, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets. Moore was one of the first unrestricted free agents to make a commitment in July, agreeing to a four-year, $34MM contract after playing a backup role with the Bulls.
- The projected salary cap for the 2017/18 season has been slightly raised from $102MM to $103MM, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That will give teams a little bit more elbow room as they make roster decisions.
- Shannon Brown has signed with the NBA D-League and will be eligible for its draft, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor tweets. The 30-year-old guard last appeared in the NBA in 2014/15, when he played five games for the Heat.
- Swingman Jordan Hamilton has left the Turkish team Tofas Bursa after just one game, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Hamilton appeared in 11 games with the Pelicans last season. A former first-round pick, Hamilton spent his first few NBA seasons with the Nuggets, but has bounced around since 2014, spending time with the Rockets and Clippers as well as the Pelicans.
Amnesty Clause Unlikely To Remain In Next CBA
There isn’t enough support among NBA owners to retain the amnesty clause in the new CBA, which could impact the Heat’s long-term decision on Chris Bosh, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports.
The amnesty clause was included in the past two CBAs, which allowed each team to waive one of its player contracts and have 100% of the player’s salary removed from the team’s salary for cap and tax purposes. The team still had to pay that player.
Without an amnesty clause included in the next agreement, the Heat would lose one of their best options regarding Bosh. They refuse to medically clear Bosh, whose last two seasons have been cut short by blood clots, leaving Bosh in limbo. Bosh has three years and approximately $76MM remaining on his contract.
The two sides are close to finalizing the new CBA, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported earlier. Windhorst offers a few more tidbits on the negotiations:
- Players are expected to have the ability to sign an extension two years after the date they signed their current contract, rather than three seasons.
- Restricted free agents will be able to agree to offer sheets on the first day of free agency — July 1 — instead of waiting to July 7. The window for teams to decide to match offer sheets would be reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours. That would make it more appealing for suitors to make those offers, since they are often hamstrung financially until a final decision is made.
- Teams would no longer be able to pull qualifying offers from RFAs, which is currently allowed prior to July 31.
Offseason In Review: Houston Rockets
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Houston Rockets.
Free agent signings:
- Ryan Anderson: Four years, $80MM.
- Eric Gordon: Four years, $52.887MM.
- Nene: One year, $2.898MM.
- Gary Payton II: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed.
- Pablo Prigioni: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed.
Pending restricted free agents:
- Donatas Motiejunas: Qualifying offer worth $4,433,683 expired on October 1.
Camp invitees:
- Bobby Brown: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- P.J. Hairston: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Isaiah Taylor: Two years, minimum salary ($50K guaranteed). Waived.
- Kyle Wiltjer: Two years, minimum salary ($275K guaranteed)
Contract extensions:
- James Harden: Four years, $117.965MM. Extension gave him a raise to the maximum salary for 2016/17 and added two extra years to his contract, including a fourth year player option.
Trades:
- Acquired Tyler Ennis from the Bucks in exchange for Michael Beasley.
Draft picks:
- 2-37: Chinanu Onuaku. Signed for three years, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- 2-43: Zhou Qi. Will play overseas.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Hired Mike D’Antoni as head coach to replace interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
- Were “really close” to signing Kent Bazemore, who turned down four-year, $72MM offer.
- Met with Al Horford in free agency.
- Hope to sign draft-and-stash Euroleague star Sergio Llull in 2017.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Houston Rockets right here.
It’s easy to forget, considering all the changes the franchise has made over the past year, that the Rockets reached the Western Conference Finals in 2015. They were considered one of the elite teams at this time last year but their season fell apart quickly after a slow start. Right now, it’s difficult to say whether their current roster is any better than the dysfunctional group that finished .500 and barely qualified for the playoffs last season.
When all the smoke cleared this summer, the new-look Rockets headed into training camp with two clearcut leaders: franchise player James Harden and coach Mike D’Antoni. The Rockets made a long-term commitment to Harden, despite his quirky personality and questionable desire to play defense, by restructuring and extending his contract for four years and $118MM.
The disconnect between Harden and the team’s other superstar, Dwight Howard, was evident last season but with Howard out of the picture, Harden is embracing the leadership role. He organized mini-camps and workouts with some of his teammates prior to training camp. “Just trying to shake things up, just trying to make sure we really know each other in and out on and off the court,” he said. “I think that will translate to a better team.”
Harden’s 29.0 scoring average last year was second only to the 30.1 averaged posted by Stephen Curry and he could be even more dangerous under offensive guru D’Antoni. The Rockets pursued a number of high-profile candidates to replace interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who took over after the early-season firing of Kevin McHale. They settled on the former Suns, Knicks and Lakers coach, who will put the ball in Harden’s hands as much as possible.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski believes D’Antoni’s scheme perfectly suits Harden’s skills. “When you have plays and reads, it’s the best combination,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s especially good if you have a special player, and they do in James. It will be interesting to see how that develops because James is not just a really good scorer; James is a heck of a passer.”
Howard wore out his welcome in Houston and the front office gladly let him walk after he opted out of the final year of his contract. What the franchise did in free agency was both intriguing and risky.
The Rockets handed generous contracts to two oft-injured players. Power forward Ryan Anderson inked a colossal four-year, $80MM deal and guard Eric Gordon received a four-year, $52.9MM commitment. Anderson seems like a great fit as the stretch four in D’Antoni’s free-flowing attack. The biggest drawback is that Anderson has only once played more than 66 games during his eight-year career because of various ailments.
Compared to Gordon, Anderson is an iron man. His balky knees limited him to 221 games in five seasons with the Pelicans. When he’s on the court, Gordon is a solid, aggressive scorer and 3-point shooter. The pressure on the Rockets’ medical staff to have Gordon wearing a uniform instead of a suit on game nights.
Harden could see a lot of time at the point with Gordon at shooting guard, particularly with Patrick Beverley experiencing knee issues in camp that may require surgery. The Rockets do have some other options at the point, despite renouncing their rights to Jason Terry as well as forwards Terrence Jones and Josh Smith at the start of free agency. Pablo Prigioni was re-signed to a partially-guaranteed contract and Tyler Ennis was acquired from the Bucks in exchange for forward Michael Beasley.
The Rockets also added depth at center behind new starter Clint Capela by signing another player with a long injury history, 34-year-old Nene Hilario, to a one-year contract.
With Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer signed through the 2017/18 season, the Rockets didn’t feel the need to tinker with their small forward position.
They could add more depth at power forward, depending upon how the Donatas Motiejunas saga plays out.
Motiejunas remains the last retricted free agent on the market but long-term concerns over his back have virtually destroyed his bargaining power. The Pistons rescinded a trade for him last winter after their medical personnel examined Motiejunas.
Houston made a qualifying offer to Motiejunas, which expired at the beginning of this month. However, that only strengthens the Rockets’ position. They still have the right of first refusal and Motiejunas no longer has the safety net of signing that one-year QO, which would have allowed him become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Houston didn’t have a first-round pick in the draft and the remainder of its training-camp roster mainly consists of rookies and marginal players trying to make the team.
Undoubtedly, the Rockets should be fun to watch, with Harden leading a quick-paced attack that might lead the league in scoring. But the Rockets finished fourth in that category last year despite all the chemistry issues.
The big challenge is whether the Rockets will defend well enough to become a true contender again. They were 25th in points allowed and 19th in defensive field-goal percentage. They also finished at the bottom in defensive rebounding percentage last season despite the presence of Howard.
Can they protect the rim well enough with the duo of Capela and Anderson, as well as improve their defensive rebounding to get their high-powered offense in gear? Those are questions that will only be resolved as the season moves along.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
CBA Pact Close, One-And-Done Rule Stays
The NBA and the Players’ Association moved closer to a deal on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement during a meeting on Wednesday with most major items agreed upon, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The controversial “one-and-done” draft rule, in which players must be one year removed from high school to be draft eligible, will remain in place. The league retreated on its desire to revise the draft rule to two years after a player graduated high school, Wojnarowski adds.
The pact will be a seven-year deal, according to sports business expert Scott Soshnick (Twitter link).
The encouraging pace of the negotiations has been the biggest story during this NBA preseason. Both sides are trying to avert the December 15 deadline, when either the owners or players could opt out of the current agreement.
The owners and players believe a finalized deal is inevitable in the next few weeks, league sources told Wojnarowski. The NBPA is eager to sell the rank-and-file on the terms of a deal, which needs to be ratified, Wojnarowski adds.
Among the other details that league sources told Wojnarowski:
- The NBA will change the 36-and-over rule that now prohibits players from signing a five-year maximum contract if their 36th birthday occurs within the life of the deal. The NBA and union have tentatively agreed to change the rule to over 38.
- The league will raise rookie-scale, veteran minimum and free-agent exception deals in the 50 percent range over current numbers.
- Two-way contracts between the NBA and the D-League will offer teams the chance to add 16th and 17th roster spots, and pay players differently based upon their assignments in either the league’s minor league or as part of the parent club.
- The NBA and NBPA’s Basketball Related Income (BRI) split will be unchanged.
That’s not surprising, given that the Associated Press reported earlier this month that the BRI would remain in the 49 to 51 percent range. Taking care of retired players is a priority, Cavs superstar LeBron James told the AP recently, and the agreement will include new league-funded programs to help retired players with education and medical expenses. In exchange for those programs, and pending full approval from both sides, the BRI split would remain the same.