Checking In On The Designated Veteran Extension
Although the NBA and NBPA didn’t agree to make many significant changes to the league’s rules and regulations when they negotiated their most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, the new CBA did introduce a new wrinkle that allows star players to receive higher salaries.
The new Designated Veteran Extension allows players who meet a certain set of criteria to sign contracts with a starting salary of up to 35% of the cap instead of just 30%. These players generally have to make at least one All-NBA team, can’t change teams after signing their rookie extensions, and have between seven and nine years of NBA experience.
Designated Veteran Extensions couldn’t be signed until July 2017, so now that the new league year is underway and the new CBA has taken effect, we’re starting to get a sense of how these extensions will work. The sample size is still very small, but here’s what we know so far:
Three of four players eligible for Designated Veteran Extensions have signed them.
Having met the required criteria, Stephen Curry, James Harden, John Wall, and Russell Westbrook were the four players eligible this offseason for the new kind of contract. Curry inked his quickly, becoming the first player to do so as a free agent. He’ll receive a five-year contract starting in 2017/18 that will be worth more than $200MM.
Harden and Wall followed suit in recent weeks. Both players have two years remaining on their respective contracts, but were permitted to sign Designated Veteran Extensions that added four new years to their existing deals. We won’t know the precise value of those extensions until the salary cap is set for the 2019/20 league year, but they currently project to be worth upwards of $170MM over four years.
Westbrook is the lone holdout so far, but there has been no indication yet that he’s unwilling to sign an extension. Last summer, the MVP-to-be didn’t sign his new deal with the team until August. Westbrook has until opening night this year to re-up with the Thunder, and the club sounds confident that he’ll do so. If he does, that would mean all four DVE-eligible players would sign new extensions.
Multiple DVE candidates have been traded.
The Designated Veteran Extension has had an interesting side effect so far. Three players who were candidates to become eligible for a new super-max extension have been traded before getting a chance to gain that eligibility.
DeMarcus Cousins was the first to be dealt — he would have become eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension with the Kings if he’d earned an All-NBA nod this season, but was dealt to the Pelicans in February, eliminating the possibility for such a deal.
Meanwhile, last month, Jimmy Butler and Paul George were both traded despite the fact that they’d have become DVE-eligible in the summer of 2018 if they’d earned spots on one of next year’s All-NBA teams.
Not all of those players and teams were in exactly the same boat. George, for instance, seemed to want out of Indiana whether or not a Designated Veteran Extension would be on the table a year from now. However, Cousins and Butler seemed more invested in remaining with their current teams to see whether or not that opportunity at a super-max deal panned out.
In those instances, it’s possible that the Kings and Bulls were simply ready to rebuild, and decided the time was right to cash in on their stars. However, it’s worth considering whether the looming possibility of a Designated Veteran Extension played a part in those teams’ decisions. Unlike Curry, Westbrook, and Harden, players like Cousins and Butler aren’t perennial MVP candidates, so their teams may have been less eager to commit to a contract that paid $40MM+ annually.
For instance, had Cousins remained on the Kings and become eligible for a DVE this offseason, the franchise would have been in a tough spot — if the team was uncertain about committing that sort of money to Cousins and made a lesser offer, he may have viewed it as a sign of disrespect and demanded a trade, knowing that he wouldn’t be giving up a chance to max out his earnings since his current team was unwilling to give him that DVE. At that point, Sacramento’s trade leverage would have been reduced significantly.
It’s still too early to know exactly how the Designated Veteran Extension will affect player movement long-term, but based on the early returns, it appears it will work as intended for the very best players in the NBA, while perhaps further complicating the contract situations for the second- or third-tier stars.
Magic Sign Wesley Iwundu To Three-Year Deal
The Magic have signed Wesley Iwundu to a three-year, $4.1MM deal, according to Micheal Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Scotto adds that Iwundu’s deal is fully guaranteed.
Iwundu received more guaranteed money than any other second-rounder in this year’s draft class.
Orlando selected the swingman with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Kansas State University. As a senior, Iwundu scored 13.0 points while pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game. He made 37.6% of his shots from behind the arc on 2.4 attempts per contest.
Pistons Sign Luis Montero To Two-Way Deal
July 24: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
July 21: Free agent guard Luis Montero is poised to sign a two-way contract with the Pistons, a league source tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. It will be the first two-way deal in franchise history for Detroit.
Montero, 24, went undrafted in 2015, but caught on with the Trail Blazers and made his NBA debut for Portland during the 2015/16 season. After playing limited minutes in 12 games for the Blazers, Montero has spent most of his time with various G League clubs.
In 2016/17, Montero averaged 8.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in 49 total contests for the Reno Bighorns and the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Our two-way contract FAQ provides more details on two-way deals, while our tracker shows which players have signed or agreed to them so far.
Gordon Hayward Talks Free Agency Decision
Gordon Hayward narrowed his choices down to the Jazz, Celtics, and Heat before deciding to come to Boston. He joined ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod to discuss some of the factors that went into his decision. Here are the highlights from the interview:
On Miami’s recruiting pitch:
I think the text I sent to [agent] Mark [Bartelstein] was, ‘Wow, that’s going to be really tough to beat.’ … I asked [my wife] Robyn, and she said something like she could see herself living there and that would be a really great place for us to be. ‘I really liked such and such of the wives and I could have a good relationship with them.’ It was all positive stuff. It was something where it was like ‘OK, now let’s try to just put that aside and go into Boston with a clean slate.’
On the Ricky Rubio trade:
It kind of was a difficult situation because I don’t want to be somebody that says, ‘You go get this player and I’m 100 percent in. If you trade for so and so, you get rid of this guy, you go get him.’ … I didn’t want to make demands because I didn’t know if I was going to end up there. It wasn’t a sure thing. I had told them I wanted to check out these other teams, and that being said, they asked me, ‘How do you feel about these guys?’ and I would tell them and Ricky was a guy that was high on my list.
On his relationship with Brad Stevens:
It’s been seven years since he coached me [at Butler], and immediately, though, he called me July 1, and after that phone call I thought like this isn’t going to be any different. With him, it was one of those things where he made me feel like even if I don’t go to Boston, it’ll be fine and we’ll still have that great relationship and he’ll still be in my corner and he’ll still be rooting for me and supporting me. So I got that feeling, too. We didn’t have a driver. He’s the one that picked me up and the one that drove me to the hotel and we got lost a couple times on the way. All those thoughts were put to bed.
Spurs Sign Matt Costello To Two-Way Deal
July 24: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
July 20: The Spurs are set to sign Summer League standout Matt Costello to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). It will be the first two-way deal in the franchise’s history.
A Michigan State alum, Costello went undrafted in 2016, but caught on with the Hawks and spent training camp with the club. The big man didn’t make Atlanta’s regular season roster, but was signed – and then waived again – by the Grizzlies at the end of the preseason so that Memphis could gain his G League rights. Costello ultimately spent the season with Iowa, averaging 9.5 PPG and 10.3 RPG in 23 contests.
Costello showed off his rebounding prowess again this summer in Las Vegas, as his 12.0 RPG led all players in Summer League action. The 23-year-old played for the Timberwolves’ squad in Summer League, and according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), Minnesota also had significant interest in locking up Costello to a two-way contract. However, he’ll make the move to San Antonio, and figures to spend much of 2017/18 with the Austin Spurs.
For more information on how two-way contracts work and how much they pay, be sure to check out our FAQ.
Heat Sign Derrick Walton Jr. To Two-Way Deal
Miami has signed Derrick Walton Jr. to a two-way deal, according to the team’s website. The contract will be the first two-way deal in franchise history, as our updated 2017/18 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker indicates.
Players on two-way deals will spend most of their season in the G-League since they cannot spend more than 45 days with an NBA club, as our glossary page on two-way contracts shows.
Walton Jr. spent four seasons at the University of Michigan, where he scored 11.6 points per game. As a senior, he scored 15.5 points per game while adding 4.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds per contest.
Cavaliers Hire Koby Altman As GM
The Cavaliers have named Koby Altman their new GM, according to the team’s website.
Altman, who spent the last five seasons with the franchise, was promoted to Assistant GM in September of 2016. He’s been serving as the interim GM since the team parted with David Griffin.
“Over the past month, Koby Altman has led our front office group through this transition period, impressing many inside the franchise and outside the organization, as well,” Owner Dan Gilbert said. “We are very excited that he will now be officially leading the basketball side of our franchise. Koby has the credentials, knowledge, experience and instincts to be an outstanding General Manager.
“In addition to these positive attributes and outstanding relationships around the league, Koby will inspire and impact the best possible culture throughout the organization. We are going to see a capable and passionate leader who will also cultivate new ideas and innovation. The speed of the game is ever faster on the court and in the front offices around our league. I am confident that Koby is equipped and prepared to lead and succeed in this dynamic environment.”
Gilbert added that other front office moves are expected to take place. “We are looking forward to announcing additional restructuring involving these remarkable executives in the very near future,” said Gilbert.
Altman has his work cut out for him in Cleveland. Kyrie Irving recently requested a trade and as Austin Kent of Hoops Rumors noted, the organization may have helped itself in trade negotiations by legitimizing Altman’s role.
Pau Gasol Re-Signs With Spurs
July 24: The signing is official, according to a team press release. The deal will be for $48MM over three seasons with the final year’s salary being partially guaranteed, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (ESPN Now link)
July 21: Veteran center Pau Gasol has agreed to a three-year contract with the Spurs, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports. The third year will be partially guaranteed, Wojnarowski adds.
Gasol opted out of the final year of his contract this summer but was expected all along to rejoin the Spurs. Gasol, 37, left $16.2MM on the table when he made that decision but he wanted to facilitate the team’s offseason.
The tradeoff was getting a couple more years of security. That helped the Spurs sign several free agents, including Rudy Gay.
Gasol played a lesser role last seson for San Antonio than he had for other clubs. However, he remained efficient when he did play. Averaging a career-low 25.4 minutes per game, the Spaniard chipped in 12.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 1.1 BPG. He also developed into a three-point shooter, shooting an eye-popping 53.8% from outside, with 0.9 threes per game.
Heat Sign Matt Williams
The Heat have signed Matt Williams, according to the team’s website. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweets that as of now, the agreement won’t be a two-way deal. He adds that as long as Williams’ guaranteed salary isn’t over $50K, the deal could eventually be converted into a two-way contract.
Williams played for Miami’s two summer league teams this offseason, where he averaged 9.9 points per game. The combo guard made 39% of his shots from behind the arc during the eight contests.
The University of Central Florida alum was not selected in the 2017 draft. He spent five seasons at the school, including one year where he was redshirted. During his senior campaign, he averaged 15.1 points per game while making 40.9% of his shots overall.
Hoops Rumors’ 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker
With the 2017/18 NBA league year well underway, and news of contract agreements still coming in, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason. To that end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, years, salary, and a handful of other variables.
A few notes on the tracker:
- Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect reported agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data.
- Similarly, contract years and dollars will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in many cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Listed salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
- A restricted free agent who agrees to or signs an offer sheet will be included in the tracker, but the team won’t be specified until his original club matches or passes on the offer sheet, in order to avoid confusion.
- Two-way contracts and draft pick signings aren’t included in the tracker.
- Click on a player’s name for our full report on his deal.
- If you’re viewing the tracker on mobile, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.
Our 2017 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. It will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.
Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.