What’s Next For Unsigned Restricted Free Agents?
An unusually high number of notable restricted free agents remain unsigned as August nears its halfway point, and the rumor mill has been quiet on those players as of late. After the league-wide free agent spending spree in the summer of 2016, many of these RFAs likely entered free agency this year anticipating huge paydays, and were disappointed to see many potential suitors use up their cap room quickly.
Here’s the current list of restricted free agents still on the board:
- JaMychal Green (Grizzlies)
- Alex Len (Suns)
- Nikola Mirotic (Bulls)
- Nerlens Noel (Mavericks)
- Mason Plumlee (Nuggets)
The updates on those players have been few and far between over the last month or so. Early in free agency, Green’s agent seemed pessimistic about his client remaining in Memphis, suggesting that the Grizzlies seemed to be going in a “different direction.” However, with no offer sheet yet in hand, Green still looks like a decent bet to stay with his current team.
Plumlee, meanwhile, may not have as clear as role as the Nuggets initially envisioned when they acquired him, since the team nabbed Paul Millsap in free agency. Denver gave up a lot in the trade for Plumlee and presumably still wants to bring him back as Nikola Jokic‘s backup at center. But with Millsap making approximately $30MM annually and Jokic due for a mega-deal of his own as soon as next summer, the Nuggets may be reluctant to invest heavily in Plumlee as well.
As for Len, Mirotic, and Noel, there has been little indication that they’re going anywhere — all three of their respective teams still have a ton of cap flexibility, and could comfortably match virtually any offer sheet they’re dealt. Those offer sheets just don’t seem to be out there right now, since almost every team with the ability to make a big offer has its own RFA to worry about.
Besides Phoenix, Chicago, and Dallas, there are a small number of teams that could make an aggressive offer for a restricted free agent. The Sixers are really the only other club with a significant amount of leftover cap room, and based on their one-year agreements with J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson, it appears Bryan Colangelo and company want to avoid multiyear commitments that would compromise their 2018 cap space.
So what’s next for these restricted free agents? October 1 is the next key date to watch. That’s the day that each RFA’s qualifying offer will expire. Up until that point, any of those five players could accept the qualifying offer and play on a one-year deal, opting to try his luck at the open market again in 2018 as an unrestricted free agent. Green, Len, Mirotic, Noel, and Plumlee all figure to still be looking for longer-term deals, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see one or two of them signs that QO.
If an RFA situation remains unresolved beyond October 1, the player is still restricted, but no longer has the option of accepting his qualifying offer. With the regular season fast approaching at that point, players don’t have much leverage, and a situation can go south in a hurry.
A year ago, it was December before Donatas Motiejunas finally found an offer sheet, but that lucrative four-year deal with the Nets fell through after Houston matched it — the Rockets and Motiejunas couldn’t agree on incentive details, the forward skipped his physical, and the two sides eventually parted ways. Motiejunas, who later signed for the minimum and is now out of the NBA, could act as a cautionary tale this fall for RFAs who don’t yet have a deal when training camps begin.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Lakers Sign Briante Weber
AUGUST 14: The Lakers have officially signed Weber, the team announced today in a press release. L.A. now has 18 players on NBA contracts and one on a two-way deal, leaving one spot open on the club’s offseason roster.
AUGUST 8: The Lakers are adding a little more backcourt depth to their roster, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the club has reached an agreement with free agent point guard Briante Weber on a partially guaranteed deal.
Weber, 24, signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hornets after the All-Star break last season, then earned a rest-of-season deal from the team. In 13 games in Charlotte, Weber played limited minutes, averaging 3.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1.2 APG. His contract included a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18, but the Hornets opted to waive him last month, making him a free agent.
Although Weber’s NBA production has been modest, he filled up the stat sheet in 31 G League games last season, averaging 16.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.3 APG, and 3.3 SPG for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He also posted a shooting line of .455/.356/.778 for the club.
While I wouldn’t necessarily expect Weber to break camp with the Lakers this fall, the team currently only has 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so there may be an opportunity for the young guard to earn the final spot on L.A.’s 15-man roster.
Nets Sign Jacob Wiley To Two-Way Contract
Confirming a deal that was reportedly in place back in June, the Nets have officially signed undrafted rookie Jacob Wiley to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. Brooklyn has now filled both of its two-way slots, having previously signed Yakuba Ouattara on such a deal.
Wiley’s agreement with the Nets was first reported shortly after the conclusion of this year’s draft by Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Ian Begley of ESPN.com, who confirmed Norlander’s report, said at the time that the 6’7″ forward out of Eastern Washington impressed teams in pre-draft workouts with his “intensity and relentless motor.”
Wiley, who was ranked as 2017’s 63rd-best prospect by DraftExpress, averaged 21.1 PPG and 9.2 RPG in his senior year in 2016/17. He was also an extremely efficient shot-maker, converting 64.2% of his attempts from the field and 82.8% of his free throws. He only attempted seven 3-point shots all season, though he made five of them.
For a breakdown of how two-way contracts work and who is eligible to sign them, be sure to check out our FAQ. You can also consult our two-way contract tracker to keep tabs on which players have received the NBA’s first two-way deals this offseason.
2017’s Top 10 Free Agent Deals By Guaranteed Money
On Sunday, we examined this offseason’s top 10 free agent deals in terms of average annual value. That list included players like Kevin Durant and J.J. Redick, who signed short-term deals but will earn more money during the 2017/18 season than all but a handful of this year’s free agent signees.
In terms of overall guaranteed money though, those deals for Durant and Redick don’t rank among this summer’s top 10. All of the new contracts that include the most total guaranteed money are multiyear pacts, with many of them running for four or five years.
This year’s top 10 free agent contracts in terms of total guaranteed money are listed below, with the help of our Free Agent Tracker and salary information from Basketball Insiders.
Our numbers below incorporate player options, but not team options or non-guaranteed salary. The thinking: If a team waives a player before the end of his contract, he’s guaranteed to receive his player-option salary, but not team-option or non-guaranteed money. Players whose contracts include final-year player options are marked with an asterisk.
Here’s the top 10:
- Stephen Curry (Warriors): $201,158,790 (five years)
- Blake Griffin (Clippers): $171,174,820 (five years)*
- Jrue Holiday (Pelicans): $131,100,000 (five years)*
- Gordon Hayward (Celtics): $127,829,970 (four years)*
- Otto Porter (Wizards): $106,524,978 (four years)*
- Kyle Lowry (Raptors): $93,000,000 (three years)
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (Knicks): $70,950,000 (four years)*
- Serge Ibaka (Raptors): $65,000,000 (three years)
- Danilo Gallinari (Clippers): $64,762,737 (three years)
- Paul Millsap (Nuggets): $61,000,000 (two years) — Third year is team option
As was the case in our list of top 10 free agent deals by annual value, Curry sits at No. 1, and his overall guarantee really hammers home how massive his new deal is. While Curry’s new deal tops $200MM, only four other free agents signed for more than $100MM in guaranteed money, and the gap between Curry’s contract and the 10th-biggest deal exceeds $140MM.
It’s also worth noting that leading up to free agency, there was a belief that maximum salary contracts would be prevalent, with players like Holiday, Lowry, Millsap, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all viewed as candidates to sign for the max. Ultimately, only Curry, Hayward, and Porter got true maximum salary contracts — Griffin’s deal fell a little short, while players like Lowry, Millsap, and Caldwell-Pope couldn’t even get the max on shorter-term pacts.
Jordan McRae To Play In Spain
12:05pm: McRae will earn more than $700K on his new deal with Baskonia, according to Pick (Twitter link).
11:49am: Former Cavaliers guard Jordan McRae will play in Spain in 2017/18, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that McRae has signed with Baskonia.
McRae, 26, spent most of the 2016/17 season in Cleveland after joining the Cavaliers down the stretch in 2015/16. In 37 games last season, the 6’6″ guard averaged 4.4 PPG and 1.1 RPG with a shooting line of .387/.353/.794. The club waived McRae shortly after the All-Star break in order to create room on the roster to sign Andrew Bogut, whose time in Cleveland was short-lived.
McRae is the second NBA free agent landed by Baskonia this offseason, as the team also signed point guard Marcelo Huertas. McRae and Huertas will help fill the backcourt void created when Shane Larkin departed to sign with the Celtics — Larkin was one of the Euroleague’s top point guards last season, and was Baskonia’s leading scorer in both Euroleague and Spanish League play.
According to Pick, McRae turned down offers from Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv before reaching an agreement with Baskonia. Maccabi continues to scour the NBA free agent market for backcourt help, having reportedly extended an offer to veteran guard Norris Cole, as we detailed earlier today.
SVG: Tax Line Won’t Hinder Pistons’ Ability To Re-Sign Bradley
After letting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk this summer, the Pistons appear to be more optimistic about the odds of a long-term union with newly-acquired guard Avery Bradley. Bradley will be an unrestricted free agent in 2018, but the Pistons are expected to do all they can to lock him up beyond that, and head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy indicates that cap and tax issues won’t get in the way of a deal, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details.
“The finances will not inhibit our ability to re-sign Avery at whatever it takes,” Van Gundy said. “If we’re in a situation where we want Avery back and Avery wants to be here, we’ll be able to bring him back.”
Allowing Caldwell-Pope to become unrestricted and sign elsewhere last month helped the Pistons to avoid going into tax territory for the 2017/18 season. However, Van Gundy suggests that the franchise – led by owner Tom Gores – is willing to cross that threshold when the time is right.
“In the right situation for the right people, Tom’s more than willing to pay the tax,” Van Gundy said. “I think about half the league’s going to be paying the tax this year. Tom’s not opposed to that.”
Van Gundy’s claim that “half the league” will be paying the tax is a bit of an exaggeration, but as we outlined last week, the number of taxpayers is definitely poised to increase exponentially this season after just two teams were hit with tax penalties in 2016/17.
Currently, the Pistons have about $96MM in guaranteed salaries on their books for the 2018/19 season, per Basketball Insiders. That doesn’t include team options for Stanley Johnson or Henry Ellenson, or non-guaranteed salaries for Reggie Bullock and Eric Moreland. The NBA’s latest cap projections for ’18/19 included a tax line of $123MM, so a lucrative new deal for Bradley next summer could push Detroit across that threshold, depending on what other moves the club makes to fill out its roster.
Norris Cole Receives Euroleague Offer
Free agent point guard Norris Cole has received a contract offer from Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link). The deal, which Cole has not yet accepted, would be worth $700K and would bring the veteran guard to the Euroleague.
A former first-round pick, Cole spent the first three and a half years of his career with the Heat, winning a pair of titles with the franchise. He has since spent time with for the Pelicans and Thunder, though he appeared in just 13 games for Oklahoma City last season, playing limited minutes. For his career, the 28-year-old has averaged 7.0 PPG and 2.7 APG in 360 regular season contests.
While Cole has yet to find an NBA home, it makes sense that he’d continue to explore every avenue stateside before heading back overseas — as a six-year veteran, Cole’s minimum salary with an NBA team would be $1,841,849, more than double what his offer from Maccabi Tel Aviv is worth.
Still, Cole had trouble finding an NBA landing spot last season, having not signed with the Thunder until March. And even if he were able to secure an NBA contract, it wouldn’t necessarily be fully guaranteed. Cole also has some international experience, having played in China in 2016, so he may not be averse to returning overseas.
Cole is one of the more notable names among an increasingly sparse group of free agent NBA point guards. Aaron Brooks, Deron Williams, and C.J. Watson are a few of the others who remain unsigned.
East Notes: Knicks, The Morrii, Wall
For the first time in over a decade the Knicks appear to be embarking on a genuine rebuild. It’s a changing of the guard, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes, that extends beyond the literal fact that Derrick Rose is out and Frank Ntilikina is in.
After years of seeming to prioritize headlines over wins, the Knicks have a young core in place and a respected general manager that may just be up to the task of gradually building a winner.
While the Knicks’ decision to take Ntilikina eighth overall in the June NBA Draft will forever be tied to how well Dennis Smith Jr. (ninth overall) and Malik Monk (12th) fare throughout their careers, the 19-year-old represents the long developmental process inherent with a genuine rebuild.
Joining Ntilikina as anchors of the Knicks’ decent young core are Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez and even 2017 free agent acquisition Tim Hardaway Jr., Hamilton writes.
It may be some time before the Knicks end up back in the postseason but the fact that the franchise may, for now at least, be committed to rebuilding authentically as opposed to chasing shortcut solutions is a step in the right direction.
There’s more from the East:
- Figuring to make the Celtics–Wizards rivalry slightly more interesting in 2017/18 is the fact that Marcus Morris, brother of Wiz forward Markieff Morris, will suit up for Boston. “I think we’ll still have that rivalry because we don’t like those guys and they don’t like us,” Markieff told Ben Standig of FanRag Sports. “I don’t think that should change with my brother on the team.“
- The Wizards came up short against the Celtics in their second-round playoff series but John Wall isn’t letting the fact that he went cold down the stretch. “Game 7 was not the way we wanted it to end, but I definitely went out swinging,” the guard told Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic. “I didn’t go 0-for-0. I went 0-for-11. I shot the ball and played the game I wanted to play. At least I wasn’t being passive. I was aggressive like I was the whole playoffs. I can deal with losing that way and use that as motivation for this season coming up.“
- Despite going third overall versus Josh Jackson‘s fourth, Jayson Tatum‘s NBA 2K18 rating is one point lower, D.J. Bean of CSN New England writes. Bean reminds readers that the Celtics were unable to secure a pre-draft workout with Jackson, who ultimately ended up with the Suns.
2017’s Top 10 Free Agent Deals By Annual Value
It’s taken two offseasons but NBA fans are finally starting to get used to the “new normal” when it comes to player contracts. This year we saw some of the league’s richest deals ever handed out, with sums far exceeding even last year’s historic agreements.
Of course, this is the new era of professional basketball and after a somewhat unpredictable spending spree last offseason, the market balanced itself out in 2017 thanks in no small part to fewer teams having boatloads of available cap space.
Here’s a quick look at what this summer’s top earners will bring home on their new deals. The figures take only guaranteed money into account and are sorted by annual value.
Stephen Curry, Warriors: $40.2MM over 5 years.
Blake Griffin, Clippers: $33.1MM over 4 years.
Gordon Hayward, Celtics: $31.2MM over 3 years.
Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $31.0MM over 3 years
Paul Millsap, Nuggets: $30.5MM over 2 years.
Otto Porter, Wizards: $26.0MM over 3 years.
Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $26.0MM over 4 years
Kevin Durant, Warriors: $25.0MM over 1 year.
J.J. Redick, 76ers: $23.0MM over 1 year.
Serge Ibaka, Raptors: $21.7MM over 3 years.
Below, by contrast, are the top 10 annual values* dolled out just four summers ago in 2013.
Dwight Howard, Rockets: $21.9MM over 4 years.
Chris Paul, Clippers: $21.5MM over 5 years.
Al Jefferson, Bobcats/Hornets: $13.5MM over 3 years.
Josh Smith, Pistons: $13.5MM over 4 years.
Andrew Bynum, Cavaliers: $12.4MM over 2 years.
David West, Pacers: $12.2MM over 3 years.
Andre Iguodala, Warriors: $12.0MM over 4 years.
Nikola Pekovic, Timberwolves: $12.0MM over 5 years.
Tyreke Evans, Pelicans: $11.0MM over 4 years.
Paul Millsap, Hawks: $9.5MM over 2 years.
*Values include non-guaranteed money.
Community Shootaround: Pistons Stars
After a stellar 2015/16 campaign in which they qualified for the playoffs and showcased their potential in a first-round series with the Cavaliers, the Pistons took a significant leap backwards in 2016/17.
Although the team struggled across the board last year, much of the team’s general disappointment can be traced either directly or indirectly to the injury that sidelined point guard Reggie Jackson for over a month to start the season.
When Jackson finally did return to the court after undergoing platelet-rich plasma injections to treat a knee issue, the Pistons were a far cry from the unit that fired on all cylinders the year prior.
As Jackson struggled to regain form, Detroit big man Andre Drummond struggled as well, initially unable to establish the same connection with his point guard that helped him to a career season in 2015/16.
While backup point guard Ish Smith performed admirably when called to fill in for Jackson, much of Detroit’s struggles in 2016/17 can be attributed to the fact that the dynamic inside-outside combination the club relied on previously was missing.
The resulting campaign can be summed up rather simply: the Pistons dropped from 44 wins to 37 and missed the playoffs.
Meanwhile Drummond’s line of 16.2 points and 14.8 boards per game in 2015/16 fell to 13.6 and 13.8 last season, while Jackson’s own line plummeted from 18.8 points and 6.2 assists per game down to 14.5 and 5.2.
Not surprisingly, the pair have found themselves front and center in trade rumors since partway through season. While Stan Van Gundy didn’t end up pulling the trigger on any deals, it’s been written that the barrage of speculation impacted Drummond.
The question we have for readers in this Community Shootaround is whether Drummond and Jackson should be moved as soon as the franchise can get a reasonable return or whether the Pistons should hold on to the tandem because their value couldn’t possibly dip lower.
Put another way, will 2017/18 mark a bounce back season for two former up-and-coming young stars? Should they be given the benefit of the doubt? Weigh in below.