And-Ones: Anthony, Thibodeau, R. Paul, No. 1 Picks
Former NBA big man Joel Anthony has been hired by the Hamilton Honey Badgers, a Canadian team, as a player consultant, the club announced in a press release. Anthony, a Canadian himself, appeared in nearly 500 regular season NBA games from 2008-17, winning a pair of titles with Miami.
“Joel Anthony brings extensive playing experience at the highest level of basketball that will help in the development of our players this season,” Honey Badgers general manager Jermaine Anderson said in a statement. “… He has learned the game under the guidance of coaches such as Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra, Brad Stevens, and Stan Van Gundy. He has a lot to offer our players, coaches, and staff.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Appearing on The Woj Pod this week with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, veteran NBA head coach Tom Thibodeau talked about what he has learned since being let go by the Timberwolves, addressing load management, the increased size of coaching staffs, and more. Ian Begley of SNY.tv shares a few of highlights from Thibodeau, who is expected to be a candidate for the Knicks‘ job and others later this year.
- With Klutch Sports branching out beyond basketball to represent football and baseball stars as well, agent Rich Paul spoke to Joe Vardon of The Athletic about that transition. The conversation also touched on several other topics, including whether or not Paul would have advised Darius Bazley to play in the G League if the NBAGL’s professional path had looked two years ago like it does now.
- With his usual NBA power rankings column on hiatus, Zach Harper of The Athletic tries his hand at ranking all 70 first overall picks in NBA history, from the best (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James) to the worst (LaRue Martin, Gene Melchiorre, and Anthony Bennett).
2020/21 NBA Salary Cap Preview Series
Even as it remains unclear when exactly the 2020 NBA offseason will happen, Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 teams, breaking down the guaranteed salaries, non-guaranteed salaries, options, free agents, and cap holds on each club’s books.
Due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the salary cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that the cap for next season will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, and the numbers in our previews reflect that. However, it’s entirely possible next year’s cap will end up higher or even lower than that.
You can find the link to your favorite team’s offseason salary cap digest below. You can find this post anytime on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or under “Features” in our mobile menu.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
Central
Southeast
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest
Pacific
Southwest
Draft Updates: J. Harris, Watson, Wiseman
Nevada guard Jalen Harris, who declared for the draft before April’s early entry deadline, has decided to keep his name in the 2020 pool and go pro, according to his father (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports). Harris published a tweet of his own saying goodbye to Reno and indicating that he’s ready for his “next chapter.”
Harris, who began his college career at Louisiana Tech, transferred to Nevada and had a huge year in 2019/20 as a junior, averaging 21.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 3.9 APG with a .446/.362/.823 shooting line in 30 games (33.0 MPG). He’s not a lock to be drafted, but should be in the second-round mix, ranking 60th on SI.com’s big board and 85th on ESPN’s top-100 list.
Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:
- Dayton guard Ibi Watson has decided to withdraw from the draft and will return to school for his senior season, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Watson elected to test the draft waters this spring after averaging 10.1 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 31 games (22.5 MPG) off the bench for the Flyers as a junior.
- After Jeff Goodman of Stadium polled 35 NBA evaluators and found that 20 picked James Wiseman as the top prospect in the 2020 class, Goodman asked Wiseman for his reaction. The former Memphis Tigers big man stressed that he’s not concerned about whether or not he’s picked first overall, adding that his focus is on continuing to improve as a player, regardless of where he’s drafted (video link).
- In case you missed it, our Thursday poll focused on whether Wiseman or another player is the best prospect in the 2020 NBA draft.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Jordan, Heat, Wizards
After the final two episodes of The Last Dance aired on Sunday, Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer writes that the second act of Michael Jordan‘s life in basketball has been “the polar opposite” of the first. While ESPN’s 10-part documentary series accurately portrayed Jordan as a wildly successful player on the court, he has been largely unsuccessful as a team owner since gaining control of the Hornets.
As Fowler acknowledges, a team owner doesn’t have nearly the same impact on night-to-night results as a star player would, but Jordan has been heavily involved in the Hornets’ personnel decisions. Since Jordan took over as the organization’s majority owner, Charlotte has just three winning seasons and hasn’t advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs.
Fowler wonders if Jordan has any more appreciation for former Bulls GM Jerry Krause than he did during his playing days, since the current Hornets owner could have used his own version of Krause since arriving in Charlotte.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- There are teams in the NBA that wouldn’t be significantly affected if the NBA’s cap projection for 2020/21 (and potentially 2021/22) dips by a few million dollars. However, the Heat would feel the impact of such a change. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald examines how the NBA’s new financial reality could alter the club’s approach to free agency in 2020 and 2021.
- Two sources close to Heat players praised the way the franchise has been handling the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Team president Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra have both remained in constant contact with players and have advised them to put their health and families’ health first, Jackson writes. “Guys consistently have been getting attended to,” one source told The Herald.
- Due to a positive trend in COVID-19 cases in D.C., Washington’s stay-at-home order may no longer extend through at least June 8, as previously anticipated. That could be good news for the Wizards, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, who notes that the team is still waiting for government clearance to reopen its practice facility.
Former Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan Passes Away
Former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has passed away due to complications from Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia, the team announced today in a press release. Sloan was 78 years old.
“Jerry Sloan will always be synonymous with the Utah Jazz,” the club said in a statement. “He will forever be a part of the Utah Jazz organization and we join his family, friends and fans in mourning his loss. We are so thankful for what he accomplished here in Utah and the decades of dedication, loyalty and tenacity he brought to our franchise.”
After a two-and-a-half-year stint coaching the Bulls from 1979-82, Sloan took over as Utah’s head coach during the 1988/89 season. He remained in that role for 23 years, compiling a 1,127-682 (.623) regular season record with the franchise during that time. He also won 96 postseason contests with the Jazz, leading the club to two NBA Finals appearances against Michael Jordan‘s Bulls in 1997 and 1998.
Sloan’s 1,221 wins as an NBA head coach place him fourth in league history, behind only Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, and Gregg Popovich. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Prior to becoming an NBA coach, Sloan was a standout player, having been drafted fourth overall by the Baltimore Bullets in 1965. He spent most of his playing career in Chicago, earning a pair of All-Star berths and six All-Defensive nods for the Bulls.
We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to Sloan’s family and friends.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Micic, Sixers, Knicks
Approximately two-thirds of the NBA’s teams have reopened their practice facilities, but the Celtics aren’t yet among that group. According to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald, the club is still waiting on the go-ahead from the state government before moving forward with those plans. The C’s, who have been in frequent contact with Massachusetts officials, are hoping they’ll get that green light soon, as Bulpett details.
“I mean, we’re hoping it’s any day. We’re just waiting to hear,” Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said. “… What we’re trying to do is have one-on-zero workouts. Like, it’s probably the cleanest environment that anybody’s working at in the country, with the sanitization that has to go on and the coaches wearing masks and gloves. I mean, heck, it doesn’t seem that complicated. But I understand that people in leadership have very difficult jobs right now.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Serbian point guard Vasilije Micic is coming off an impressive season with EuroLeague team Anadolu Efes and is one of the NBA’s most intriguing draft-and-stash players. The Sixers hold Micic’s NBA rights, prompting Derek Bodner, Mike O’Connor, and Rich Hofmann of The Athletic to explore whether this offseason is the right time for Philadelphia to try to convince the 26-year-old to come stateside.
- In Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Pascal Siakam (Raptors), and Ben Simmons (Sixers), the Atlantic Division features a trio of rising young wings who appear poised to play important roles for their teams for years to come. In a two-part series, Jared Weiss, Blake Murphy, and Mike O’Connor of The Athletic debate which of the three players has the brightest future.
- It has been a bit of an awkward transition period for the Knicks and new president of basketball operations Leon Rose, who was officially hired just nine days before the NBA’s season was suspended. However, Rose has received positive reviews for the changes he has made to the club’s front office so far, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.
And-Ones: LaMelo, BBL, Salary Cap, Penny
The Illawarra Hawks of Australia’s NBL were unready for the enormous impact inking LaMelo Ball to a contract had on the 2019/20 season, according to ESPN’s Kane Pitman. “It was weird because you had ‘Melo who was like a rock star and just followed so heavily online and with the social media stuff it made it interesting,” Ball’s teammate David Andersen told Pitman.
In just 12 games, Ball won the NBL’s Rookie of the Year award sporting a slash sheet of 17 PPG/7.5 RPG/7 APG. The 18-year-old younger brother of Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball is expected to be a top-five pick in the forthcoming NBA draft.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga will resume play, after pausing the league due to the coronavirus pandemic, with a three-week final tournament commencing June 6, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando.
- An adjusted salary cap would affect each of the NBA’s teams in a variety of ways, as John Hollinger of The Athletic details. Though the 2020/21 cap was projected at $115MM per team in February, that number was predicted prior to the coronavirus pandemic and will almost certainly end up being lower.
- Memphis Tigers coach Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway opined to ESPN’s The Jump that the G League’s recent recruitment of players straight out of high school will greatly impact college recruitment, including his program, according to ESPN News Services. “It’s going to have a huge impact, because it’s just a recruiting war right now when it comes to that,” Hardaway said. “But I think it’s going to affect us because we’re recruiting a bunch of five-stars.”
Southwest Notes: D’Antoni, Grizzlies, Hardaway, Ingram
Potential lame-duck Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni‘s expiring contract with the team will not affect his tenure with the team for the rest of the 2019/20 season, if play resumes, per Sam Amick of The Athletic. D’Antoni’s contract is technically set to expire on July 1st.
The 40-24 Rockets not need fear D’Antoni walking before the season is over, according to the coach’s agent, Warren LeGarie. “It’s obviously something we have to work out,” LeGarie told Amick, “but he would never, ever walk away from what he feels is a moral responsibility to see it through with his team and especially with his players.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- The 32-33 Grizzlies, currently the No. 8 seed in the West, will be confronting some interesting questions during the offseason, according to The Athletic’s Peter Edmiston and John Hollinger. De’Anthony Melton, a restricted free agent, could command a deal in the range of the mid-level exception. The versatile Justise Winslow, acquired as part of a larger trade deadline deal with the Heat, remains an exciting potential fit with core pieces Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant, though his health has been an issue throughout his early career.
- Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban is excited about how Tim Hardaway Jr. has fit with the squad during his first year in Dallas, according to an interview with WFAN recounted by Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “Quickest release in the NBA,” Cuban raved. “Probably one of the top three catch-and-shoot players in all of the NBA now.” This season, the 28-year-old shooting guard has averaged 15.8 PPG, 3.1 PG, and 2.0 APG on 43.7% shooting from the field. He has converted 40.7% of his 7.2 three-point attempts per game.
- Pelicans All-Star Brandon Ingram, a restricted free agent in the offseason this year, has earned a maximum contract with his growth during 2019-20, according to William Guillory and Danny Leroux of The Athletic. The actual amount of that contract remains up in the air, due to a salary cap that will be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
L.A. Notes: Lakers, Clippers, Rondo
With a potential return to NBA activity on the horizon, Lakers All-Star LeBron James has recently been conducting private workouts in a home court, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link). According to Charania, James has played with up to two teammates per session, but Charania maintains that “all the (necessary) safety measures have been taken, I’m told, in these private workouts.”
The Lakers were having one of the best seasons in the NBA when league play was paused in March due to the spread of the pandemic. Led by All-Star starters James and Anthony Davis, the squad currently boasts a 49-14 record, good for the top seed in the Western Conference.
There’s more out of Los Angeles:
- The Clippers, too, have been holding safe private workouts and on-court practices involving a limited number of players, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium in the same video conversation (Twitter link). The identity of the Clippers players participating was not disclosed.
- Brett Dawson, Bill Oram and the Kamenetzkys of The Athletic examines how the Lakers are being impacted by the extended season suspension. On May 16, the Lakers reopened their practice facility, the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo. The team is allowing its players to access the facility while respecting pandemic-imposed restrictions. The Lakers’ older veteran players (including James) may struggle to get back into game shape, the authors speculate.
- During the NBA season intermission, Lakers bench guard Rajon Rondo was actively supporting the community in his childhood home town of Louisville, Kentucky, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The 2008 NBA champion has recently returned to Los Angeles and is staying in touch with his Lakers teammates over Zoom workouts. “We are still training like we are coming back to make a run for it,” Rondo said.
2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Portland Trail Blazers
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.
After arguably overachieving in 2018/29 by winning 53 games and earning a trip to the Western Conference Finals, the Trail Blazers came back to earth in 2019/20. Plagued by some bad injury luck that resulted in Jusuf Nurkic, Rodney Hood, and Zach Collins missing nearly the entire season, Portland was just 29-37 when the NBA went on hiatus.
Fortunately, the team will finally be out from under its ill-advised 2016 spending spree going forward. Although that doesn’t mean that the Blazers will gain any cap room during the 2020 offseason, it does mean that the club probably won’t be flirting with the tax anymore and should have a little extra spending flexibility going forward.
Here’s where things stand for the Trail Blazers financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:
Guaranteed Salary
- Damian Lillard ($31,626,953)
- CJ McCollum ($29,354,152)
- Jusuf Nurkic ($14,138,889)
- Zach Collins ($5,406,255)
- Andrew Nicholson ($2,844,430) — Waived via stretch provision
- Anfernee Simons ($2,252,040)
- Nassir Little ($2,210,640)
- Anderson Varejao ($1,913,345) — Waived via stretch provision
- Trevor Ariza ($1,800,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below. 1
- Gary Trent ($1,663,861)
- Total: $93,210,565
Player Options
- Rodney Hood ($6,003,900)
- Mario Hezonja ($1,977,011)
- Total: $7,980,911
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Trevor Ariza ($11,000,000) 1
- Total: $11,000,000
Restricted Free Agents
- Wenyen Gabriel ($1,820,524 qualifying offer / $1,820,524 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Moses Brown (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Jaylen Hoard (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $4,711,918
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Hassan Whiteside ($32,742,000): Bird rights 2
- Caleb Swanigan ($3,665,787): Bird rights 3
- No. 16 overall pick ($3,121,080)
- Carmelo Anthony ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $41,149,431
Offseason Cap Outlook
If we add the cap hold for their first-round pick to their guaranteed salaries and assume Hood and Hezonja opt in, the Blazers will be up near $105MM in commitments for 10 roster spots, eliminating the possibility of cap room.
Portland’s spending ability from there will depend in large part on what the club does with Ariza and Whiteside. Both veterans played well for the Blazers, but it may not make sense to guarantee Ariza’s $12.8MM salary or to pay market value to re-sign Whiteside with Nurkic due back. If neither player returns, the team would be able to comfortably use its full mid-level exception and bi-annual exception without nearing the tax line. If even one is retained, using those exceptions in full would be more challenging.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 4
- Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 4
- Trade exception: $7,069,662 (expires 1/21/21)
- Trade exception: $2,338,847 (expires 2/8/21)
- Trade exception: $1,790,993 (expires 7/8/20)
Footnotes
- Ariza’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 18.
- Whiteside’s cap hold will be equivalent to 30% of the 2020/21 salary cap.
- The Trail Blazers can’t offer Swanigan a starting salary worth more than his cap hold, since his rookie scale team option for 2020/21 was declined.
- These are projected values. If team salary gets high enough, it’s possible the Trail Blazers would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.