Poll: Should The NBA Adopt 1-16 Playoff Seeding?
The conversation surrounding NBA playoff seeding has reached its zenith now that LeBron James has become the latest in a long line of Eastern Conference stars to defect west.
In fact, according to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports, only one* single NBA player with an All-NBA 1st-Team nod under their belt currently plays in the Eastern Conference… and no it’s not Giannis Antetokounmpo but Joakim Noah.
The question at hand is whether the league should think long and hard about ditching the current system that seeds eight teams from each conference separately in favor of one that seeds the best 16 teams in the league, regardless of conference, 1-16.
According to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press, the most concerning aspect of making such a change would be the increased travel for teams in the postseason. Per league commissioner Adam Silver, such a change would add an overall total of 40,000 travel miles for teams in the postseason.
Currently, the league says it averages about 90,000 miles of total travel, noting that the regular season mark comes in significantly higher at 130,000 miles.
Of course changing the playoff structure would likely mean that the league would be obligated to balance the regular season schedule between conferences, too, something the league estimates would add an additional 150,000 miles of travel between October and April.
That doesn’t mean that it couldn’t still be worth it. Mavs owner Mark Cuban doesn’t see the problem (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports), arguing that the league’s smartest decision in the past decade was to extend the season to allow for more time off between games. Playoff schedules, he says, could be similarly optimized when necessary.
Our question for Hoops Rumors readers, then, is what they think of the debate? Would the NBA benefit from ditching the current format in order to accommodate 1-16 seeding irrespective of conferences?
Let your voice be heard.
*Since this tweet, Dwight Howard has committed to the Wizards, so technically two.
Should the NBA change to 1-16 playoff seeding?
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Yes 57% (1,725)
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No 43% (1,324)
Total votes: 3,049
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Rockets Sign Pair, Waive Aaron Jackson
The Rockets have signed undrafted rookie Gary Clark and second-round pick Vince Edwards, the team announced in a press release. Shortly thereafter, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweeted that the franchise had parted ways with Aaron Jackson, whom they inked at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
Although terms of the signings have not yet been revealed, it was reported last month that the club had come to terms on a two-way deal with at least Clark. There’s no mention of a two-way contract in Houston’s announcement, so it’s possible Clark received a standard NBA contract, perhaps with an Exhibit 10 attachments. A team can convert an Exhibit 10 contract into to a two-way deal prior to the start of the regular season.
Clark, a renowned rebounding threat out of Cincinnati, spent four seasons with the Bearcats before going undrafted last month. Edwards, similarly, just played out his senior season with Purdue before Houston made him a second-round pick in June.
Jackson, the 32-year-old guard who played a single regular season game for the Rockets last April and played sparingly for the club in the postseason, is expected to pursue a new deal in China, perhaps returning to the Beijing Ducks, Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania reports. His salary for 2018/19 was non-guaranteed.
Wizards Sign First-Rounder Troy Brown
JULY 5: The Wizards have officially signed Brown to his rookie deal, per the NBA’s transactions log. He’ll have a first-year salary of about $2.75MM.
JUNE 25: The Wizards have agreed to terms on a rookie contract for first-round pick Troy Brown, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link). The deal can be made official once the new NBA league year begins on July 1.
Brown, a 6’7″ wing, is coming off a freshman year at Oregon in which he averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.2 APG. The youngster has strong upside as a versatile defender who is capable of guarding any position from one through four. He was drafted 15th overall by the Wizards last Thursday.
Brown will be subject to the NBA’s rookie scale, making negotiations with the Wizards a simple process. He’ll be in line for two guaranteed seasons, followed by third- and fourth-year team options.
Under the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the rookie scale is tied to the salary cap, so we won’t know the exact salary amounts for this year’s rookies until the cap is set for 2018/19. However, based on a $101MM cap projection, Brown should be in line for a first-year salary worth approximately $2.73MM.
Clippers Sign Jerome Robinson To Rookie Deal
The Clippers have signed first-rounder Jerome Robinson to his rookie contract, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. The team inked fellow lottery pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to his first NBA deal earlier this week.
Robinson, a 6’6″ guard out of Boston College, improved his stock in the weeks leading up to the draft and was ultimately the 13th prospect off the board in June. In his junior year in 2017/18, Robinson averaged a career-high 20.7 PPG with an impressive .485/.409/.830 shooting line. He also chipped in 3.6 RPG and 3.3 APG.
Although Robinson can play on or off the ball and can probably handle either guard position, it’s not clear how he’ll fit into the Clippers’ rotation in his rookie season. The team’s backcourt is crowded, with Robinson and Gilgeous-Alexander joining a group that currently features Avery Bradley, Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Milos Teodosic, and Jawun Evans.
Robinson’s rookie contract will pay him a first-year salary of about $3MM, as our chart shows.
Lowe’s Latest: Kawhi, Sixers, Celtics, Scott, More
The Sixers have not made Markelle Fultz available in Kawhi Leonard trade talks with the Spurs, and the Celtics haven’t been willing to include Jaylen Brown in their discussions with San Antonio, ESPN’s Zach Lowe confirms in his latest article.
We’ve heard variations on Lowe’s report for the last week or two, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link) recently suggesting that the Sixers don’t want to discuss Fultz, Joel Embiid, or Ben Simmons in Leonard talks, and adding that the Celtics’ top five players have been “off-limits” in negotiations with the Spurs — presumably, Woj was referring to Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford.
Lowe’s full piece on the Leonard situation features several more tidbits of note, including some items only tangentially related to a possible Leonard trade. Let’s round up the highlights…
- LeBron James isn’t pressuring the Lakers to add a second star for now, according to Lowe, who says that James “has faith in the combined powers of his supernova talent and the Lakers brand.” LeBron also recognizes that Brandon Ingram has considerable upside and is aware that many star free agents could be on the market in 2019, Lowe notes.
- Lowe classifies rumors that Jimmy Butler and Kyrie Irving want to play together as “credible chatter.” However, the Celtics remain confident that they’ll be able to re-sign Irving next year, per Lowe.
- Details of Mike Scott‘s contract agreement with the Clippers have yet to surface, but Lowe indicates the deal will use part of the team’s mid-level exception rather than being a minimum-salary signing.
- Lowe’s piece is worth checking out in full, particularly for a section in which he brainstorms hypothetical wild-card suitors for Leonard, exploring whether the Raptors, Trail Blazers, Wizards, Timberwolves, Thunder, Heat, Rockets, Bucks, Nuggets, Warriors, Pistons, or Kings might be fits — many are quick “no”s, but some generate some intriguing hypothetical deals.
Pelicans, Bucks, Others To Be Hard-Capped
The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $101.869MM threshold when that room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit as well, with clubs like the Thunder, Warriors, and Nuggets projected to go well beyond that tax line this year.
The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows those clubs to build significant payrolls without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped. When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception, that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.
When a club becomes hard-capped, its team salary cannot exceed the tax “apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. For the 2018/19 league year, the apron is $129.817MM, approximately $6MM above the $123.733MM tax line.
Based on the agreements reported so far in free agency, it appears that five teams are set to hard-cap themselves for the 2018/19 league year. Here are the details on those teams:
New Orleans Pelicans
When the Pelicans agreed to sign Elfrid Payton to a one-year, $2.7MM deal, we assumed they’d use a portion of their mid-level exception rather than their bi-annual exception, to avoid creating a hard cap. However, the team then reached a two-year agreement worth a reported $18MM with Julius Randle.
It now appears that the Pelicans will sign Randle using their full ($8.641MM) mid-level exception. With Rajon Rondo headed to the Lakers, it’s possible the two teams will arrange some sort of sign-and-trade agreement to allow New Orleans to preserve its MLE, but there’s been no indication so far that that’s in the works. And either way, the Pelicans would become hard-capped.
The projected salaries for Randle and Payton bring the Pelicans’ total team salary to about $112MM. With Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins headed elsewhere, New Orleans likely doesn’t have any other big-money investments coming, so the hard cap shouldn’t be a major issue.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks agreed to a deal with Ersan Ilyasova worth a reported $21MM over three years. The taxpayer mid-level exception would only allow for about $16.8MM over three seasons, so Milwaukee figures to exceed that amount and create a hard cap.
Taking into account Ilyasova’s projected salary, the Bucks are up to almost $108MM in guaranteed team salary. Keeping Brandon Jennings and Tyler Zeller, who have non-guaranteed deals, would increase that number to nearly $112MM. That would leave less than $18MM in breathing room under the hard cap as Milwaukee considers what to do with restricted free agent Jabari Parker.
Minnesota Timberwolves
When word of the Timberwolves‘ agreement with Anthony Tolliver initially surfaced, the one-year deal was said to be worth about $5-6MM. That amount lined up with the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.337MM), so it made sense that Tolliver would receive that taxpayer MLE. However, subsequent reports said the forward will actually earn $5.75MM, meaning Minnesota will be using the full MLE and will become hard-capped.
Tolliver’s signing isn’t yet official, so it’s possible that final number will look a little different, but if the Wolves’ flexibility this season ends up limited by paying Tolliver an extra $400K, that move will be questioned. For now, Minnesota projects to have a team salary of about $118MM for 11 players, assuming they stretch Cole Aldrich‘s partial guarantee. That should give the Wolves enough room to fill out their roster and stay well below the apron, perhaps even avoiding the tax too.
San Antonio Spurs
Like the Timberwolves, the Spurs appear to have imposed a hard cap on themselves by barely exceeding the taxpayer mid-level exception. A two-year deal using the tax MLE would end up just shy of $11MM, but San Antonio’s reported agreement with Marco Belinelli is for $12MM, suggesting the team will be using its full MLE.
Taking into account new deals for Belinelli and Rudy Gay, the Spurs appear to have a team salary of approximately $108MM. That puts them more than $20MM below the tax apron, so as long as they don’t have to break the bank for restricted free agents Kyle Anderson, Davis Bertans, and Bryn Forbes, they should be fine.
New York Knicks
In order to secure a commitment from Mario Hezonja, the Knicks had to go over the taxpayer mid-level, agreeing to sign the veteran forward for $6.5MM. New York will be using the full MLE, dedicating most or all of the remaining portion to second-rounder Mitchell Robinson.
The hard cap shouldn’t be a factor for the Knicks, who are currently at about $109MM in team salary, and don’t have any other major expenditures planned.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Magic Sign Isaiah Briscoe
JULY 6: The Magic have officially signed Briscoe, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
JULY 5: The Magic have agreed to a deal with free agent guard Isaiah Briscoe, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, Briscoe impressed the team in a recent mini-camp.
Briscoe, 22, declared for the 2017 draft as an early entrant out of Kentucky, but wasn’t selected last June. Although he caught on with the Trail Blazers for training camp last fall, the youngster didn’t make Portland’s regular-season roster, and was cut in October.
Rather than heading to the G League, Briscoe began his professional career overseas, signing with BC Kalev in Estonia. He had a big year as a rookie, averaging 16.0 PPG and 4.3 APG in 23 games and winning a title with the club.
If Briscoe earns a spot on the Magic’s regular-season roster, he’ll likely slot in as their third-string point guard, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando may still be eyeing another Isaiah for a spot higher on the depth chart — a report earlier this week indicated that the team was talking to Isaiah Thomas about a possible deal.
Celtics Sign Robert Williams To Rookie Contract
The Celtics have officially signed first-round pick Robert Williams to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release. It’ll be a four-year deal worth a total of approximately $9.28MM, with third- and fourth-year team options.
Williams, considered a potential lottery pick heading into the draft, slipped further than expected and landed in Boston at No. 27 overall. While one reason for that fall may have been a lack of medical information available to some teams, there were also reported character concerns about the big man coming out of Texas A&M.
Williams didn’t exactly quiet those whispers to start his NBA career. After sleeping through an introductory conference call on the day after the draft, the rookie missed his flight to Boston for the start of Summer League practices over the weekend. Upon eventually arriving, he called it a “real wake-up call” and took responsibility for the mistake.
With Williams under contract, 24 of 30 first-round picks have now formally signed their rookie contracts. No real negotiations are involved for those deals due to the rookie scale, and teams have no reason to wait on them, since they can be finalized during the July moratorium.
Jared Terrell Signs Two-Way Deal With T-Wolves
JULY 5, 12:19pm: Terrell’s contract is official, the Wolves announced on Twitter.
JUNE 23, 8:55am: Rhode Island guard Jared Terrell has agreed to a two-way deal with the Timberwolves, the school’s men’s basketball team tweets.
Despite getting passed over on Thursday night, Terrell had attracted Minnesota’s attention during the pre-draft process. Terrell worked out twice for the club.
Terrell was a four-year starter for the Rams and his senior season was his best. The 6’3” Terrell averaged 16.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.4 APG and 1.5 SPG. His shooting also improved, as he drained 41.4% of his 3-point tries.
Terrell led Rhode Island to the NCAA Tournament, where it defeated Oklahoma and Trae Young in overtime during the first round of the Midwest Region before succumbing to Duke.
Latest On Dennis Schroder
The Hawks would like to find a trade involving point guard Dennis Schroder, but so far the packages available to them haven’t been strong enough to warrant a deal, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports. According to Schultz, Atlanta is “content” with the idea of starting the 2018/19 season with both Schroder and top pick Trae Young on its roster.
Schultz’s report is in line with the public stance conveyed by the Hawks since last month’s draft. While a report in mid-June indicated that Schroder was on the trade block in Atlanta, general manager Travis Schlenk and head coach Lloyd Pierce each expressed confidence after the draft that the incumbent point guard could co-exist with the incoming rookie Young.
The Pelicans may be one potential suitor for Schroder. According to Fletcher Mackel of WDSU in New Orleans (Twitter link), the Pelicans have “had discussions” about the possibility of acquiring the Hawks’ point guard in a trade.
It’s unclear if those were internal talks or if the Pelicans actually negotiated with Atlanta at all, but either way, nothing appears imminent. Mackel notes that New Orleans is high on Schroder’s talent and potential on-court fit, but has “major” concerns about off-court factors, including his legal issues.
Schroder was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge last September, with Georgia officials recommending in March that he be prosecuted for felony aggravated battery. The 24-year-old figures to face discipline from his team and/or the league when that case is resolved.
With concerns about Schroder’s legal troubles and locker-room fit suppressing his value, the Hawks figure to have a hard time finding a favorable deal for him this offseason, but Schlenk and the front office will likely remain on the lookout.