Mavs Plan To Sign Scotty Hopson To 10-Day Deal
The Mavericks intend to sign former NBA swingman Scotty Hopson to a 10-day contract in the coming days, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Dallas currently has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so the club won’t need to waive anyone to make room for Hopson.
Hopson, 28, had a very brief stint in the NBA during the 2013/14 season, when he played in two games for the Cavaliers. He then had an eventful 2014 offseason that saw him traded from the Cavs to the Hornets to the Pelicans to the Rockets to the Kings before he was finally waived by Sacramento. He hasn’t played an NBA game since then.
Although he hasn’t seen much NBA action, the former Tennessee star, who went undrafted in 2011, has built an extensive professional résumé in international play. Hopson has spent time with teams in Greece, Israel, Turkey, Spain, and China since going pro. This season, he has played for Turkish club Galatasaray, averaging 10.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 14 Turkish League games, with 11.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 13 EuroCup contests.
Based on their schedule, the Mavs will likely wait until next week to make Hopson’s signing official, tweets MacMahon.
Lonzo Ball Returning Friday For Lakers
Lakers guard Lonzo Ball is set to return to the court for the Lakers on Friday night, head coach Luke Walton confirmed today (Twitter link). Ball, who has been recovering from a knee injury, last played on January 15.
According to the Lakers (Twitter link), Ball won’t play in back-to-back games for the time being, which means he’ll sit out Saturday’s game against Sacramento. The rookie point guard will also be on a minutes restriction for now.
Still, Ball’s return is an encouraging step for a Lakers team that will be focusing on developing its young players like Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Brandon Ingram down the stretch this season. It will also be interesting to see how the team splits minutes at point guard between last year’s No. 2 overall pick and Isaiah Thomas, acquired from Cleveland two weeks ago in a deadline deal.
As we noted earlier today, Ball has talked enthusiastically about teaming with Thomas, suggesting their styles make them an ideal match, since Ball is a pass-first point guard while Thomas is more of a shooter and scorer. Still, it’s not clear how often they’ll play together, or if they’ll both get a chance to start for L.A. during the last couple months of the 2017/18 season.
Warriors, Wolves, Thunder Eyeing Joakim Noah?
Several playoff-bound teams are keeping an eye on Joakim Noah‘s situation in New York and would consider signing him if he reaches free agency, sources tell Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. According to Isola, the Warriors, Timberwolves, and Thunder are among the teams monitoring the Knicks center.
As Isola notes, the Wolves represent an obvious fit for Noah since the team already features several familiar faces for the veteran center, including Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, and head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau. Golden State and Oklahoma City also believe that Noah’s experience and defensive ability would help shore up their respective benches, Isola adds.
If the Knicks do decide to release Noah, he’d want it to happen by March 1 so that he’d be eligible to play in the postseason for a new team. However, the two sides appear to be engaged in a stalemate, so there’s certainly no guarantee he’ll be available in the coming days.
As Ian Begley of ESPN details (via Twitter), both Noah and the Knicks would likely welcome a fresh start, but the team is reluctant to eat his entire contract by waiving him, and Noah has thus far been unwilling to give back much – if any – of the money left on his lucrative deal. Counting his remaining prorated salary this season, the big man is still owed approximately $42.5MM through 2019/20.
If they do get a chance to sign Noah, the Warriors would have to waive a player, since they currently have a full 15-man squad. The Timberwolves and Thunder each have an open roster spot.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Luxury Tax Penalties
Although some NBA teams can become hard-capped during a given league year if they use certain exceptions or make certain transactions, the NBA doesn’t have a set hard cap for all teams. In addition to its soft cap though, the league does have a luxury tax threshold, which serves to discourage excessive spending. When a team’s total salary ends up over that tax line at season’s end, the NBA charges a tax for every extra dollar the club spends.
The formula to determine the luxury tax line is a complicated one, related to the NBA’s projected basketball related income (BRI) and projected benefits. Generally though, it comes in around 20-22% above the salary cap line. For instance, in 2017/18, the league’s salary cap was set at $99.093MM, while the luxury tax threshold is at $119.266MM. So any team whose total ’17/18 salary exceeds $119.266MM on the last day of the regular season is subject to a tax bill.
The NBA’s luxury tax system is set up so that the penalties become more punitive if teams go further beyond the tax line. Here’s what those penalties look like:
- $0-5MM above tax line: $1.50 per dollar (up to $7.5MM).
- $5-10MM above tax line: $1.75 per dollar (up to $8.75MM).
- $10-15MM above tax line: $2.50 per dollar (up to $12.5MM).
- $15-20MM above tax line: $3.25 per dollar (up to $16.25MM).
- For every additional $5MM above tax line beyond $20MM, rates increase by $0.50 per dollar (ie. $3.75 for $20-25MM, $4.25 for $25-30MM, etc.).
For instance, if a team is over the tax by $14MM, its tax bill would be $26.25MM — $7.5MM for the first $5MM over the tax, $8.75MM for the $5-10MM bracket, then $10MM for the final $10-14MM increment.
While those are the rates that apply to most taxpayers, including the Warriors, Thunder, and Wizards this season, a team can become subject to a “repeater” penalty if it paid the tax in three of the previous four seasons. This scenario currently applies to Cleveland — the Cavaliers were a taxpaying club in 2015, 2016, and 2017, which means they’ll be a repeat offender this season. Here are the penalties that apply to repeat taxpayers:
- $0-5MM above tax line: $2.50 per dollar (up to $12.5MM).
- $5-10MM above tax line: $2.75 per dollar (up to $13.75MM).
- $10-15MM above tax line: $3.50 per dollar (up to $17.5MM).
- $15-20MM above tax line: $4.25 per dollar (up to $21.25MM).
- For every additional $5MM above tax line beyond $20MM, rates increase by $0.50 per dollar (ie. $4.75 for $20-25MM, $5.25 for $25-30MM, etc.).
If the team described above, over the tax by $14MM, was a repeat taxpayer, its bill would increase to $40.25MM.
Generally speaking, luxury tax penalties are calculated by determining a team’s total cap hits at the end of the regular season. So a team that starts the year above the tax line could get under it before the end of the season by completing trades or buyouts. The Trail Blazers did just that when they sent Noah Vonleh and his $3.5MM salary to Chicago in a deadline deal earlier this month, slipping below the luxury tax threshold.
However, team salary for tax purposes is calculated slightly differently than it is for cap purposes. Here are a few of the adjustments made at season’s end before a team’s tax bill is calculated:
- Cap holds and exceptions are ignored.
- “Likely” bonuses that weren’t earned are removed from team salary; “unlikely” bonuses that were earned are added to team salary.
- If a player with 0-1 years of NBA experience signed a minimum-salary free agent contract, the minimum-salary cap charge for a two-year veteran is used in place of that player’s cap charge.
- If a player with a trade bonus is acquired after the final regular season game, that trade bonus is added to team salary.
So let’s say that five teams finish the season owing a total of $50MM in taxes. Where does that money go? Currently, the NBA splits it 50/50 — half of it is used for “league purposes,” while the other half is distributed to non-taxpaying teams in equal shares. In that scenario, the 25 non-taxpaying teams would receive $1MM apiece.
As cap expert Larry Coon explains in his CBA FAQ, “league purposes” essentially covers any purpose the NBA deems appropriate, including giving the money back to teams. In recent years, the NBA has used that money as a funding source for its revenue sharing program. Coon also notes that the CBA technically allows up to 50% of tax money to be distributed to non-taxpaying teams, but there’s no obligation for that to happen — in other words, the NBA could decide to use 100% of the tax money for “league purposes.”
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
An earlier versions of this post was published in 2012 by Luke Adams.
Poll: Will James Harden Win MVP?
A year ago, Russell Westbrook made NBA history by becoming the first player in over five decades to average a triple-double for an entire season. Despite the fact that his Thunder were only sixth in the Western Conference, Westbrook earned MVP honors.
This season, Westbrook’s Thunder sit in fifth in the West, and the star point guard is nearly averaging a triple-double again, with 25.3 PPG, 10.4 APG, and 9.5 RPG. This time around though, Westbrook is an afterthought in the MVP discussion — he finished seventh in a recent poll of NBA reporters conducted by Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
Westbrook’s triple-double average was at the center of his 2016/17 MVP case, but it wasn’t the only point in his favor. He also led the NBA in scoring, and the fact that he wasn’t playing alongside an established star like Paul George buoyed his case. Still, the contrast between the general perception of last year’s performance and this year’s is an indication that MVP votes often rely on a narrative as much as anything.
In 2017/18, James Harden‘s narrative is the one gaining momentum. The best player on what has been the league’s best team, Harden has led the Rockets to a 44-13 mark and has posted staggering numbers in the process. He’s leading the NBA with 31.3 PPG, and has also contributed 9.0 APG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.8 SPG on .448/.384/.865 shooting.
Harden’s excellent season earned him the top spot on 91 of the 100 ballots Bontemps received in his informal MVP poll earlier this month. Only one of the 100 writers polled left Harden out of the top two. Those figures suggest that the race isn’t close, but should it be?
ESPN’s Zach Lowe suggested earlier today that you could make a real case for Giannis Antetokounmpo as a co-favorite in the MVP conversation. Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 27.8 PPG, 10.4 RPG, and 4.8 APG with a .540 FG%, is putting up monster numbers of his own, and his on/off-court numbers are striking — the Bucks have a +5.6 net rating when he plays, and a rating of -9.7 when he sits.
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, the first two runners-up in Bontemps’ poll, are both having big seasons for the Warriors, and LeBron James should be part of the MVP discussion too, especially if he and the new-look Cavaliers have a strong finish. The Raptors and Celtics are the top two teams in the East right now, so DeMar DeRozan and Kyrie Irving shouldn’t be written off either. And the way Jimmy Butler has led the Timberwolves this year has been impressive.
In other words, there are no shortage of worthy candidates for this year’s Most Valuable Player award, so should Harden be considered the overwhelming favorite to win it, as the results of Bontemps’ poll suggest?
What do you think? Will Harden be this year’s MVP? Who is his biggest threat to claim that award? Vote below in our poll and jump into the comment section so share your thoughts!
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L.A. Notes: Bradley, Clippers, Thomas, Ball
As the Clippers headed to Phoenix for Friday night’s game against the Suns, Avery Bradley stayed behind in Los Angeles to receive treatment on a sports hernia injury that has nagged at him for much of the season, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The Clippers, who could have used Bradley on defense during Thursday’s 134-127 loss to Golden State, aren’t sure exactly when the veteran guard will return to action.
“We are concerned,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “We’ve got to go through the right stuff and make sure he’s in a good place with his health. I think we’re going to send him to a doctor and let him check and see.”
Here’s more out of Los Angles on both the Clippers and Lakers:
- The Clippers currently have one opening on their 15-man roster, which would allow the team to give a full-fledged roster spot to one of its two-way players. However, it’s not clear whether Tyrone Wallace or C.J. Williams would be first in line for that spot, as both players are expected to receive consideration, according to Turner. “Hopefully we can get something resolved pretty soon,” Rivers said. “We just got to figure out what we’re going to do. We may be able to sign one.”
- With the Lakers focusing on developing younger players and Isaiah Thomas in need of a showcase before he hits free agency, the union between the two doesn’t exactly look like a marriage made in heaven, writes Rob Mahoney of SI.com. Still, Lonzo Ball is looking forward to playing with Thomas, suggesting that his pass-first style and Thomas’ score-first mentality should mesh well together, as Bill Oram of The Orange County Register details.
- In a conversation with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma addressed several topics, including the team’s recent trades of Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson, his friendship with Ball, and the possibility of the Lakers landing a star in free agency.
Top Prospect Michael Porter Jr. Cleared For Basketball Activities
Missouri power forward Michael Porter Jr. has received full medical clearance to participate in basketball activities, a source tells Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports.
Porter, projected to be a top-10 pick in the 2018 draft, underwent back surgery in November that was expected to sideline him for the entire college season. While he has been cleared for full contract, it’s uncertain whether he’ll return to the court for Missouri before season’s end, writes Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
In Porter’s absence, the Tigers have posted an 18-10 record, with an 8-7 mark in SEC play, putting themselves into the conversation for the NCAA tournament. So it’s possible Missouri’s season will run well into March, giving the freshman time to return.
Whether or not Porter plays another college game, his medial clearance represents an important step for his draft prospects. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) had Porter coming off the board at No. 6 to the Bulls. However, Givony cautioned that the results of Porter’s medical examination will play a major role in where he’s ultimately drafted. According to Givony, NBA teams don’t currently seem overly concerned about the youngster’s long-term prognosis.
Southwest Notes: Leonard, Okafor, Benson, Grizzlies
The strange injury situation with the Spurs and superstar Kawhi Leonard took an unexpected turn earlier this week. Head coach Gregg Popovich said that it is unlikely that Leonard returns this season. A separate report indicated that Leonard — who has been medically cleared to resume his return — has personally made the decision to remain inactive.
Leonard, last year’s third-place finisher in MVP voting, has missed all but nine games this season. The Spurs have not missed much of a step without Leonard, wielding the third-best record in the Western Conference (35-24). Leonard’s longtime teammate and Spurs legend, Manu Ginobili, weighed in on the situation.
“Nobody is in his body,” Ginobili said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter). “He feels the way he feels and we don’t know. Yeah, we know he has been cleared. But, again, if he is feeling pain, isn’t sure, he is not ready to come back, then he’s not.”
Check out other Southwest Division notes:
- Emeka Okafor has fought his way back to the NBA and earned a pair of 10-day contracts with the Pelicans, Rod Walker of The New Orleans Advocate writes that Okafor, a former second overall pick, is glad to be back in the league. “It’s been an awesome ride so far,” Okafor said. ” I’m happy to be here trying to earn my way back in. Now that I’m back, it feels good and it feels natural. I’m going to keep on going until I’m told otherwise.”
- Pelicans owner Tom Benson was recently admitted to a Louisiana medical facility after experiencing flu-like symptoms, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Benson, 90, is resting comfortably and is receiving top-notch care, per the statement.
- The Grizzlies are finishing up a poor season that will not end in a postseason berth, but the team – led by veteran Marc Gasol and interim head coach J.B Bickerstaff – wants to finish the year well, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal writes.
New York Notes: Ntilikina, Rebuild, Russell, Dinwiddie
The Knicks kicked off the second half with a 120-113 win over the Magic in Orlando. As planned, the trio of Frank Ntilikina, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Trey Burke shared the backcourt duties with veteran Jarrett Jack taking a DNP. Burke contributed 26 points in 29 minutes while Ntilikina (29 minutes) and Mudiay (22 minutes) also tallied significant time.
While the acquisition of Mudiay at the deadline signaled the Knicks’ plan to acquire young talent, the 19-year-old Ntilikina should not worry about his standing with the team, Al Iannozzone of Newsday writes.
“You look at Frank right now and he’s a great defender for a 19-year-old kid,” Hornacek said. “The offense will come — his speed and strength, all that stuff. You can’t expect a lot more from a 19-year-old kid. So he’s been great.”
The Knicks have made it clear that the second half of the season will revolve around young players and essentially auditioning for the future. Ntilikina is as strong a part of that future as anybody on the roster.
Check out other NBA news out of New York:
- A solid early start to the season fooled many into thinking the Knicks could make a run at the playoffs. With 22 games left, the postseason is all but ruled out and the team must now focus on the future, Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes. Sloppy play on the road and numerous injuries stalled what looked to be a promising season in the first two months. “You still go back to, ‘It’s kind of a long-term plan.’ We got off to a good start, maybe changed everyone’s thoughts. But they were home games, we knew we had a long way to go,” Hornacek said.
- D’Angelo Russell made his first start for the Nets since mid-November on Thursday and the plan to have him and Spencer Dinwiddie share the backcourt is in full-swing, Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays. “We’ve started to do it more, get a sample size. It’s something similar to Jeremy [Lin] and D’Angelo in the beginning,” Atkinson said. “I do like that. I do like having two guards that can really handle the ball.”
- Michael Scotto of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended) takes a look at Sean Marks‘ reign as Nets general manager and the organization’s transformation in two years under Marks’ watch.
Cavs Notes: James, Hill, Communication, Roster
LeBron James will hit free agency after the season and his next move has been – and will be – one of the biggest stories in basketball. Based on past and recent comments, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report examines the possibilities surrounding James’ third stint in free agency.
Most of Beck’s story focuses on James’ motives as he looks for his next NBA contract. With three championships to his credit, it’s possible LeBron will not choose his next solely based on his best chance to win a title. Other factors will be in play, such as James’ desire to play with his close friends — and fellow impending free agents — Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade; lasting long enough to possibly play with or against his son; and establishing a media presence in a larger market. One major factor this summer will also be James’ strained relationship with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, Beck writes.
“Dan Gilbert’s not going to do what it takes to keep him,” one source speculatively said to Beck. “Not a chance in hell he’s going to give him a no-trade clause, or let him dictate contract terms.”
James has publicly said that any reports of his intentions this summer are false unless they come directly from him.
Check out other Cavaliers news below:
- Veteran George Hill was one of several players the Cavaliers acquired at the trade deadline as the team restructured the roster. Hill is happy to be back with a contending team that is in pursuit of a title, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. “It’s a blessing,” Hill said. “I was in a tough situation. I thanked them for all they did, but I think my time there was done. To get another opportunity, not just to come and play but to possibly play for a championship is something that I’ve had early in my career going against him in Miami with the three-headed monster and the cat spoiling my summer. Now I get a chance to be a part of something special and get an opportunity to go to the Finals.”
- With a huge chunk of the roster consisting of new talent, the Cavaliers are aware it will take time to integrate the new talent with the current crop, Fedor writes in a separate story.
- After internal talks between front office personnel about a possible Kyrie Irving trade were relayed to Irving, it sealed his desire to be traded. For the future, the Cavaliers want to tighten up their communication channels to that private talks are not leaked, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.