Warriors Sign James Wiseman To Rookie Contract
The Warriors have officially signed No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release.
While that No. 2 pick was the subject of trade rumors for months, the Warriors ultimately hung onto it and selected the top center in this year’s draft class. He’ll receive a $8.73MM salary in his rookie season and will have a four-year contract worth nearly $40MM in total, assuming he receives the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale.
Scouts and college basketball fans only got a brief look at Wiseman during his three-game career at Memphis. After being embroiled in an eligibility battle with the NCAA, the 7’1″ big man left school in December to focus on preparing for the NBA. He was dominant in his brief time with the Tigers, averaging 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.
The Warriors also confirmed in today’s announcement that they’ve signed second-round pick Nico Mannion to a two-way deal, as was expected.
Wolves Rumors: Hernangomez, Edwards, Rubio, Beasley
Timberwolves restricted free agent forward Juan Hernangomez initially sought an offer in excess of $10MM per year, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Unwilling to meet that price right off the bat, the Wolves “essentially told” Hernangomez to prove he could get an offer from another club while they went looking for possible alternatives at power forward, writes Krawczynski.
Minnesota ended up reaching out to a number forwards in free agency, including Derrick Jones (as previously outlined), Paul Millsap, Jae Crowder, and JaMychal Green, and inquired on possible trades involving Magic forward Aaron Gordon, Rockets forward P.J. Tucker, and Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr., sources tell Krawczynski.
The Timberwolves didn’t have any luck with any of those potential targets, but held firm on their offer to Hernangomez, who mulled the possibility of accepting the one-year qualifying offer worth $4.64MM, per Krawczynski. Ultimately, the two sides came to an agreement on a three-year, $21MM deal that has a third-year team option.
Here’s more out of Minnesota:
- The Timberwolves chose Anthony Edwards with the No. 1 pick last week because they believe he has the clearest path of any of this year’s draft-eligible prospects to becoming a multi-time All-Star, says Krawczysnki.
- Sources tell The Athletic that the team’s acquisition of Ricky Rubio was partly motivated by seeing what the veteran point guard did for Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker at his previous stops and a belief that he’ll aid Edwards’ development.
- The Knicks told Malik Beasley he’d be their Plan B in free agency if they couldn’t land Gordon Hayward, according to Krawczynski. Recognizing that New York could be a threat to put forth a troublesome offer sheet, the Wolves went in with an aggressive pitch on the opening night of free agency and secured a commitment from Beasley on the spot. Sources tell The Athletic that Beasley has appreciated the support he’s received from the franchise since running into off-court legal problems.
- The Timberwolves officially announced Beasley’s new deal today. Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) has the year-by-year financial breakdown of that contract, which guarantees the swingman $43MM+ over three years.
Raptors Signing Henry Ellenson, Yuta Watanabe, Alize Johnson
The Raptors will be adding big man Henry Ellenson, forward Yuta Watanabe, and forward Alize Johnson to their training camp roster, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (via Twitter).
As Murphy outlines, Ellenson will sign a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a $50K partial guarantee on year one. Details aren’t provided for Watanabe’s deal or Johnson’s, but the safe bet would be a pair of Exhibit 10 contracts, which are essentially non-guaranteed one-year deals.
All three players will have an uphill battle to earn a spot on the regular season roster, though the 15th spot could be up for grabs if the Raptors don’t sign second-round pick Jalen Harris to a standard contract, promote two-way player Paul Watson, or retain two-way RFA Oshae Brissett.
The 18th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Ellenson has bounced around from Detroit to New York to Brooklyn since entering the league, appearing in just 81 total games over four seasons. The former Marquette standout, who is still just 23 years old, started last season on a two-way contract with the Nets but was waived in January.
Watanabe, one of just two Japanese-born players currently in the league, spent the last two seasons on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies. The 26-year-old didn’t see much playing time at the NBA level, but was solid in the G League, averaging 17.2 PPG and 6.0 RPG on .546/.364/.816 shooting in 22 games for the Memphis Hustle in 2019/20.
Johnson was the 50th overall pick in the 2018 draft and has spent his first two professional seasons under contract with the Pacers. The 24-year-old logged just 182 total minutes in 31 games at the NBA level over those two years, but posted big numbers for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League, with 19.5 PPG, 13.4 RPG, and 3.7 APG on .514/.363/.699 shooting in 50 career NBAGL contests. The Pacers didn’t tender him a qualifying offer last week, so he entered the market as an unrestricted free agent.
The moves will take the Raptors’ unofficial roster count to 19, not including Brissett.
Knicks Add Austin Rivers Via Sign-And-Trade
The Knicks have officially completed their addition of Austin Rivers in a sign-and-trade deal with the Rockets rather than signing him outright, announcing the move today in a press release.
The move also sends the draft rights of three players – guard Sergio Llull, forward Tadija Dragicevic, and forward Axel Hervelle – to New York. In exchange, the Rockets receive the draft rights to guard Issuf Sanon and create a modest trade exception.
Rivers had agreed over the weekend to sign a three-year, $10MM deal with the Knicks. The final two years of his new contract are non-guaranteed, which is permitted under sign-and-trade rules.
The inclusion of Llull in this deal is the most interesting new piece of information. The Rockets have long attempted to get the Spanish guard, who was selected 34th overall in the 2009 draft, to come stateside and play in the NBA, but he has preferred to remain in his home country with Real Madrid — he has played for the EuroLeague club since 2007.
At age 33, Llull seems increasingly unlikely to ever make the move to the NBA. That’s even more true of Dragicevic and Hervelle, who were drafted in 2008 and 2005, respectively, and are in their mid-30s now. However, their rights could be useful as filler in future trades.
Sanon, who has played for Slovenian and Ukrainian teams since being drafted in 2018, is still a candidate to eventually sign an NBA contract. He was the 44th overall pick two years ago and is still just 21 years old.
Of course, the only player of immediate importance in the deal is Rivers, who will add some veteran experience to the Knicks’ backcourt in 2020/21. He averaged 8.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .421/.356/.703 shooting in 68 games (23.4 MPG) for the Rockets last season.
New York will technically be hard-capped as a result of acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. The team remains far below the cap for the time being though, so it’s fair to assume that $138.93MM hard cap won’t become an issue in 2020/21.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Warriors To Sign Nico Mannion To Two-Way Deal
Second-round pick Nico Mannion will be signing a two-way contract with the Warriors, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Mannion, who started 32 games for Arizona as a freshman last season, averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG with a .392/.327/.797 shooting line before declaring for the 2020 draft.
He was widely viewed as a potential first-round pick, but slipped down to No. 48, where the Warriors nabbed him. Executives around the NBA were surprised to see Mannion fall so far, according to a report last week.
Undrafted wing Dwayne Sutton is said to be the favorite to earn Golden State’s other two-way contract. The Warriors’ other second-round selection, No. 51 pick Justinian Jessup, is expected to spend season in Australia, where he’s already a member of the Illawara Hawks.
NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2020/21
The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $109,140,000 threshold once their room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit of $132,627,000 as well — the Warriors project to have a nine-figure tax bill this season as a result of their spending.
The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows a club like Golden State to build a significant payroll without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped, as we explain in a glossary entry.
When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion ($5,718,000) of the mid-level exception, that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.
When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron was set $6MM above the luxury tax line in 2017/18 (the first year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement) and creeps up a little higher each time the cap increases. For the 2020/21 league year, the tax apron – and hard cap for certain clubs – is set at $138,928,000.
More than half the teams in the NBA have been willing to hard-cap themselves this offseason, and in some cases, it will significantly impact a team’s ability to add further reinforcements later in the league year. The Bucks and Lakers are among the teams right up against the hard cap, which may prevent them from being players in free agency during the season unless they can shed salary.
For other clubs, the hard cap is just a technicality that won’t affect their plans. The Hawks and Thunder are among the hard-capped clubs that will have zero practical concerns about reaching that threshold in 2020/21.
Listed below are the hard-capped teams for the 2020/21 league year, along with how they created a hard cap.
Atlanta Hawks
- Acquired Danilo Gallinari from the Thunder via sign-and-trade.
Boston Celtics
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Tristan Thompson.
Charlotte Hornets
- Acquired Gordon Hayward from the Celtics via sign-and-trade.
Dallas Mavericks
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Burke.
Denver Nuggets
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on JaMychal Green and Bol Bol.
- Using bi-annual exception on Facundo Campazzo.
Detroit Pistons
- Acquired Jerami Grant from the Nuggets via sign-and-trade.
Houston Rockets
- Acquired Christian Wood from the Pistons via sign-and-trade.
Los Angeles Clippers
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Serge Ibaka.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Montrezl Harrell.
- Using bi-annual exception on Wesley Matthews.
Miami Heat
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Avery Bradley and Maurice Harkless.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on D.J. Augustin and Bryn Forbes.
- Using bi-annual exception on Bobby Portis.
New York Knicks
- Acquired Austin Rivers from the Rockets via sign-and-trade.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Acquired Kenrich Williams, Josh Gray, and Zylan Cheatham from the Pelicans via sign-and-trade.
Phoenix Suns
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Jae Crowder.
Portland Trail Blazers
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Derrick Jones.
Toronto Raptors
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Aron Baynes and Alex Len.
Utah Jazz
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Derrick Favors.
Washington Wizards
- Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Robin Lopez.
This list could continue to grow during the offseason if other teams acquire a player via sign-and-trade, use more than the taxpayer portion of their mid-level exception, or use their bi-annual exception.
2020/21 NBA Contract Extension Tracker
A number of 2020 free agents, including Brandon Ingram, Gordon Hayward, and Davis Bertans, did extremely well for themselves on the open market this fall. However the most lucrative contracts signed since the new league year began weren’t free agent deals at all — they were contract extensions.
Extensions, of course, don’t involve adding a new player to the roster. By extending a contract, a team ensures that a current player will remain locked up for multiple years to come. Although a contract extension may not change the club’s outlook on the court, it can have a major impact on that team’s salary cap situation for the next several seasons.
Rookie scale extensions have typically been the most common form of contract extension. Former first-round picks who are entering the fourth and final year of their rookie deals are eligible to sign those up until December 21. It’s common for about four to eight players eligible for rookie scale extensions to sign them.
[RELATED: Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2020 Offseason]
While they used to be less common than rookie scale extensions, veteran extensions are happening more frequently these days, with the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement expanding the rules for eligibility and creating some additional incentives for star players to sign new deals before they reach free agency. In 2019/20, a total of 12 veteran extensions were signed, compared to just nine rookie scale extensions.
The deadline for a veteran extension for a player who isn’t in the final year of his current contract is December 21. That’s also the super-max extension deadline, so it applies to Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, extension-eligible players who are on expiring deals can sign new contracts throughout the season too.
Listed below are the players who have finalized contract extensions so far in the 2020/21 league year. This list, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site (or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu) will be kept up to date throughout the offseason — and throughout the ’20/21 regular season if any veteran players ink an extension at that point.
Rookie scale contract extensions:
- Donovan Mitchell (Jazz): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $163,000,590. Projected value can increase to $195,600,710 if Mitchell earns All-NBA honors in 2021. Includes fifth-year player option and 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2021/22.
- Jayson Tatum (Celtics): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $163,000,590. Projected value can increase to $195,600,710 if Tatum earns All-NBA honors in 2021. Includes fifth-year player option and 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2021/22.
- Bam Adebayo (Heat): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $163,000,590. Projected value can increase to $195,600,710 if Adebayo earns MVP honors in 2021 ($185,820,675 for All-NBA First Team; $179,300,645 for Defensive Player of the Year). Starts in 2021/22.
- De’Aaron Fox (Kings): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $163,000,590. Projected value can increase to $195,600,710 if Fox earns First Team All-NBA honors in 2021 ($182,560,660 for Second Team; $169,522,180 for Third Team). Starts in 2021/22.
- OG Anunoby (Raptors): Four years, $72,000,000 (story). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
- Jonathan Isaac (Magic): Four years, $69,600,000 (story). Includes $10.4MM in incentives and Exhibit 3 injury protection. Starts in 2021/22.
- Derrick White (Spurs): Four years, $68,000,000 (story). Includes $5MM in incentives. Starts in 2021/22.
- Luke Kennard (Clippers): Four years, $56,000,000 (story). Includes $7.64MM in incentives and a fourth-year team option. Starts in 2021/22.
- Markelle Fultz (Magic): Three years, $50,000,000 (story). Includes $3MM in incentives and partial guarantee in third year. Starts in 2021/22.
- Kyle Kuzma (Lakers): Three years, $39,000,000 (story). Includes third-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
Veteran contract extensions:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks): Five years, super-max salary (story). Projected value of $228,200,830. Includes fifth-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
- Rudy Gobert (Jazz): Five years, $205,000,000 (story). Includes fifth-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
- Paul George (Clippers): Four years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $176,265,468. Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
- Jrue Holiday (Bucks): Four years, $134,997,334 (base value) (story). Includes approximately $25MM in incentives. Starts in 2021/22.
- LeBron James (Lakers): Two years, $85,660,532 (story). Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2021/22.
- Steven Adams (Pelicans): Two years, $35,000,000 (story). Includes 7.5% trade kicker. Starts in 2021/22.
- Monte Morris (Nuggets): Three years, $27,300,000 (story). Includes incentives. Starts in 2021/22.
Mavericks Re-Sign J.J. Barea
DECEMBER 1: The signing is official, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link).
NOVEMBER 27: Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that Barea’s new guaranteed one-year deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum. He’ll earn $2.56MM, with a cap hit of $1.62MM.
NOVEMBER 22: Barea will get a guaranteed contract from the Mavs, per Towsend (Twitter link). Considering he’s coming off a one-year, minimum-salary deal, it’s a safe bet that Barea will sign the same contract this time around.
NOVEMBER 21: The Mavericks are planning to re-sign veteran guard J.J. Barea, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
Barea, 36, has seen his role diminish and he’s also dealt with some injuries over the past two seasons but he remains a fan favorite. He appeared in 29 regular-season games last season, including six starts, and averaged 7.7 PPG and 3.9 APG in 15.5 MPG.
Dallas agreed to a three-year deal with another free agent guard, Trey Burke, so Barea would many serve as insurance in case of backcourt injuries. It also has Jalen Brunson as a point guard option behind star Luka Doncic.
Dallas has agreed to trade another guard, Delon Wright, in a three-team swap and Townsend speculates the Mavs might make more backcourt moves to clear a logjam. Barea has been on Dallas’ roster since the 2014/15 season.
Nets Re-Sign Tyler Johnson
After joining the Nets for the NBA’s summer restart in Orlando, guard Tyler Johnson has signed a new contract to return to Brooklyn, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Johnson, 28, was sent from Miami to Phoenix at the 2019 trade deadline and appeared in 44 total games for the Suns, including 31 in 2019/20. Formerly a solid rotation player with the Heat, Johnson had a down year in Phoenix and was released following the trade deadline.
The Fresno State alum bounced back nicely as a member of the Nets, having signed as a substitute player when a number of Brooklyn players pulled out of the restart. Johnson averaged 12.0 PPG, 3.0 APG, and 3.0 RPG on .405/.389/1.000 shooting in eight seeding games (24.3 MPG), then added 13.8 PPG on .457/.393/1.000 shooting in the club’s four playoff contests.
If Johnson makes the Nets’ regular season roster as the team’s 15th man, he’ll add extra depth to an impressive group of ball-handlers that already includes point guards Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Bruce Brown, as well as Kevin Durant and Caris LeVert.
And-Ones: 2021 Draft, NBAGL, New Coaches, Training Camp Rosters
With the 2020 NBA draft in the rear view, several draft experts have begun previewing what promises to be a loaded 2021 draft class.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN supplies his top 60 best prospects, noting that the race for pole position among them remains fairly open. In his own top 60 list, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic observes that the draft is heavy in wings, always a position of need in the league. Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report comments in his top 30 ranking that NBA scouts believe several prospects in 2021 sport All-Star potential.
Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham, G League Ignite shooting guard Jalen Green and Kentucky shooting guard Brandon Boston Jr. comprise the top three selections of all three draft prognosticators, though the ordering of the rest of their lists is fairly different.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- Though the fate of the NBA G League’s 2020/21 season has not yet officially been confirmed, a spokesperson for the league informs Jordan Schultz of ESPN (via Twitter) that they are “committed to playing a 2020/21 season.”
- Several of the NBA’s new coaching hires have immediately faced unexpected challenges even before the 2020/21 NBA season kicks off, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. While Stephen Silas grapples with his two Rockets superstars striving for trades out of town, Stan Van Gundy has seen two Pelicans starters get replaced. Meanwhile, new Clippers coach Tyronn Lue and new Sixers coach Doc Rivers will need to integrate significant personnel changes on their rosters.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that he has been told that some NBA clubs do not intend to field full training camp rosters this season due to potential coronavirus risks.