Nets Notes: Extension Talks, Vaccinations, Two-Way Slot, Aldridge
With a week left until training camp commences for the Nets, general manager Sean Marks expressed optimism during a press conference today that the club will be able to come to terms on contract extensions for All-Star guards James Harden and Kyrie Irving, writes Peter Botte of the New York Post.
“Regarding the extension conversations, we’ve had very positive conversations with both those guys and whether it’s family members, (their) people, and so forth, I think it always helps to do these things in person,” Marks said. “We’re looking forward to sitting down with them over the course of the next week, two weeks, and furthering those discussions.”
As Botte writes, Irving is eligible to sign a contract that tacks on an additional four years and $181.6MM to his current agreement. Harden, the better player, can agree to terms on an extension that would pay him $161.1MM over three additional years. All-Star forward Kevin Durant signed a four-year, $197.7MM extension that will keep him on the Nets through the 2025/26 season.
There’s more out of Brooklyn:
- The Nets still need to get a few of their players fully vaccinated for COVID-19 so that they are permitted to practice and play in New York City under the terms of the city’s new vaccine mandate, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I won’t get into who it is, but we feel confident in the following several days before camp everybody would be allowed to participate and so forth,” Marks said about the situation. The Nets’ GM expects everyone to be vaccinated before the 2021/22 regular season begins. Per the new vaccine executive order, individuals over the age of 12 without at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will not be permitted inside certain indoor locations, including the Nets’ and Knicks’ home arenas.
- Marks said today that the Nets will have a “healthy competition” for the team’s current available two-way contract during training camp, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link). Big man Devontae Cacok and guard David Duke seem destined to be in the mix for the opening. Brooklyn still has an open spot on its 20-man roster, so the club may yet invite another candidate to compete for the second two-way slot before camp begins.
- During a press conference today, Marks admitted he was initially wary about bringing back center LaMarcus Aldridge, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Aldridge was compelled to retire just five games after joining the Nets during the 2020/21 due to an irregular heart beat issue. “I tried to talk him out of it,” Marks said. “I said, ‘You don’t need this. Why would you come back?’ I think it was important to see his conviction, and it’s not a conviction made without really doing due diligence.” According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post (via Twitter), Marks revealed that Aldridge reached out to the Nets as soon as he was medically cleared to return to the hardwood.
Magic Add Admiral Schofield
The Magic have finalized a deal with free agent forward Admiral Schofield, according to an official team press release.
Orlando currently has 15 guaranteed rosters, so the addition of Schofield appears most likely to be an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, though official terms of the contract have not been revealed. Schofield is the 20th player on the Magic’s 2021/22 roster ahead of the September 28 start of the team’s training camp.
This is not the first time Orlando has been interested in adding Schofield. Near the end of the 2021 season, with the Magic firmly ensconced in a full-on tank, chatter emerged about Schofield potentially getting a look with the club via a hardship exception. The Magic later moved on from the deal as a result of “inconsistencies” in Schofield’s COVID-19 testing, but clearly the team’s interest hasn’t waned.
Schofield could be competing for the Magic’s available two-way player slot. The undersized (6’5″) power forward out of Tennessee was originally drafted with the No. 42 pick in 2019 by the Sixers, before being sent to the Wizards in a draft-night trade. Schofield enjoyed a decorated NCAA run. He was named to the All-SEC First Team and the All-SEC Second Team during his four-year collegiate tenure.
Across 33 career NBA appearances (all during his rookie 2019/20 season), the 23-year-old Schofield holds averages of 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 11.2 MPG.
Schofield has also suited up for the NBAGL affiliates of both the Wizards and Hornets, the Capital City Go-Go and the Greensboro Swarm, respectively. In 47 G League contests, Schofield holds averages of 14.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 2.1 APG across 29.5 MPG.
Most recently, Schofield played for the Hawks’ 2021 Summer League roster.
Stein’s Latest: Simmons, Sixers, NBPA Executive Director
The structure of Ben Simmons‘ contract may embolden him in his plans to hold out from the Sixers, Marc Stein of Substack writes in his latest newsletter. As Stein explains, Simmons received 25% of his 2021/22 salary on August 1 and will receive another 25% on October 1, meaning he’ll already have earned half of his $33MM salary for the season by the time the preseason starts.
[RELATED: Ben Simmons Adamant About Not Attending Camp, Not Playing For Sixers]
League rules permit the Sixers to assess substantial fines for each game he misses during his holdout (approximately $228K per game), but Stein suggests those fines won’t be docked from Simmons’ pay until November, after the first pay period of the regular season. If Simmons was on a more traditional payment schedule, those fines would be more costly, but it will take a while for them to put a dent into the $16.5MM he’ll already have earned this season.
Here’s more from Stein:
- Don’t expect the Sixers and Simmons to follow the blueprint that Al Horford and the Thunder or John Wall and the Rockets have, according to Stein. While those rebuilding teams were comfortable holding out their veteran players until they found a suitable trade partner, the 76ers continue to try to convince Simmons to report to training camp and have “zero interest” in reaching a mutual agreement to allow the three-time All-Star to remain away from the team, says Stein.
- According to Stein, many of the teams that have engaged the Sixers in Simmons trade talks – including the Timberwolves, Raptors, Spurs, Cavaliers, and Kings – typically aren’t major players in free agency, and like the idea of securing a young impact player who is under contract for four years. However, most of those teams don’t have stars that would interest Philadelphia, or have made them unavailable in trade negotiations (such as the Wolves with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, or the Kings with De’Aaron Fox).
- The NBPA has enlisted Chicago-based search firm Heidrick & Struggles to help seek out a new executive director to replace Michele Roberts, according to Stein, who says that “well-placed observers” believe Roberts’ replacement could be an unexpected selection who hasn’t yet been publicly identified.
- Stein, who previously named Malik Rose as a candidate to become the NBPA’s executive director, suggests Noah Croom, Arne Duncan, Nichole Francis Reynolds, Pat Garrity, and Mark Termini are other viable contenders for the job. Croom and Garrity are veteran team executives, Termini is a longtime player agent, and Duncan and Reynolds work outside of the NBA in education/politics and business, respectively.
Texas Notes: Exum, Ntlikina, Rockets, Mavericks
In a tweet and Instagram video, Bobby Marks of ESPN breaks down the creative structure the Rockets employed for Dante Exum‘s contract, which was initially reported to be worth a fully non-guaranteed $15MM over three years.
The base salary for the first year is $2.5MM non-guaranteed, with $2.5MM in likely incentives. As Marks states in the video, Exum can earn $1MM for averaging 15.8 minutes per game and another $1.5MM for playing 15.8 MPG and recording a net rating of at least +2.7. Both incentives – which apply to all three seasons of the deal – are considered “likely” because Exum averaged 19.3 MPG with a +3.6 net rating in 2020/21.
The leaguewide salary guarantee date is January 10, so if Exum is still on the Rockets by that date his salary would be guaranteed and would be considered $5MM for trade purposes.
There’s more from Texas:
- In the same tweet, Marks states that the first year of Frank Ntilikina‘s contract with the Mavericks will be guaranteed.
- Kelly Iko of The Athletic breaks down what he thinks the Rockets‘ depth chart should look like, not necessarily what it actually will. Iko projects a starting lineup of Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Danuel House, Jae’Sean Tate, and Christian Wood. He also expects that rookie Josh Christopher and second-year forward Kenyon Martin Jr. might force the coaches to play them extended minutes because of their hard work.
- The Mavericks have a similar group as last season’s squad, essentially replacing wings Josh Richardson and the recently retired J.J. Redick with free agent acquisitions Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown. Zach Harper of The Athletic gave the team a B-minus for its offseason moves. He states that the team’s main improvement will have to come from internal development if it wants to climb the standings in the West.
- The Rockets have had one of the best overall team records over the past 15-plus years, so selling a rebuilding team to a fan base used to success will be a challenge. Jonathan Feigen of the Houson Chronicle explores what that might entail.
NBA Teams With Full 20-Man Rosters
NBA teams are permitted to carry up to 20 players in the offseason and the preseason, allowing them to audition training camp invitees and hold battles for roster spots before having to make cuts in advance of the regular season.
Teams structure their 20-man rosters in different ways, but a common avenue is the one currently taken by the Heat. Miami has 14 players on guaranteed contracts who are expected to make the team’s regular season roster, plus a pair of players on two-way contracts. The other four players on the 20-man squad are camp invitees on Exhibit 10 deals, who will likely end up being waived and playing for the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Not all teams have such a clean, easily-defined structure to their 20-man roster though. The Grizzlies, for instance, currently have 18 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus one on a two-way deal and one on an Exhibit 10 pact. They’ll have to trade or release at least three players with guaranteed salaries before opening night, and will likely still fill their second two-way slot at some point.
The Heat and Grizzlies are just two of the teams that currently have full 20-man rosters. With the help of our roster counts tool, here’s the full list of clubs with full rosters:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Dallas Mavericks
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Miami Heat
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Toronto Raptors
While it’s possible some of these teams will make roster moves, shuffling players on and off their 20-man squads within the next week, most of them look relatively set for training camp, which begins next Tuesday.
Besides the eight clubs listed above, there are four teams who have at least one roster spot available but have reportedly reached an agreement to sign a player to fill that opening. Those teams are as follows:
- Atlanta Hawks
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Sacramento Kings
- Washington Wizards
The Hawks currently have 19 players under contract and have reportedly agreed to sign Jahlil Okafor and Ibi Watson, so they’ll likely have to cut someone to accommodate both signings, depending on the order of operations. The Pelicans are in a similar boat — they have 18 players on their roster and have agreed to deals with Jared Harper, James Banks III, and Malcolm Hill.
The Kings, meanwhile, are carrying 18 players and have agreed to sign DJ Steward and Matt Coleman. The Wizards have 19 players under contract and are reportedly expected to sign undrafted rookie Kyree Walker.
The Clippers qualify for this group too — sort of. They have 19 players under contract, and their 20th spot could go to Amir Coffey, who is the NBA’s last remaining restricted free agent.
The rest of the NBA’s teams have at least one open spot on their roster, and some have a few openings still available. The Suns, for example, only have 15 players under contract, so they could theoretically sign five more players.
However, while many teams will fill their open roster spots by the start of training camp, some may simply not carry full 20-man rosters during the preseason. Since they don’t have their own G League affiliate, the Suns likely won’t make it a priority to audition players who could end up playing at that level. It won’t be surprising if Phoenix’s only camp invitees are players who have a legitimate chance at sticking with the team for the regular season.
Raptors Sign Reggie Perry
The Raptors have signed second-year forward Reggie Perry, per a team press release.
Financial details of the move were not disclosed, but Blake Murphy (formerly of The Athletic) tweets that it will be an Exhibit 10 contract for training camp. Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted into standard or two-way deals and give players like Perry the opportunity to earn bonuses worth up to $50K if they end up joining the club’s G League affiliate after being cut, which seems pretty likely in this case, as Murphy notes.
Both of the Raptors’ two-way contract slots are currently filled, so they would have to waive one of those players in order to convert Perry to a two-way contract. The signing of Perry means that the team’s 20-man training camp roster is now full.
The 57th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Perry played sparingly for the Nets as a rookie last season, seeing action in 26 games and posting averages of 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in just 8.1 MPG.
He did post strong numbers for their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, averaging 18.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 28.8 MPG across 15 games. The team was reportedly high on the former SEC co-player of the year, and he definitely has a chance to make it back to the NBA at some point.
Ben Simmons Adamant About Not Attending Camp, Not Playing For Sixers
While the Sixers have tried to encourage Ben Simmons to show up for training camp next week, the three-time All-Star hasn’t budged from his stance, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Wojnarowski, Simmons won’t report for camp and intends not to play another game for Philadelphia. He hasn’t spoken to the team at all since August, when he conveyed his plan not to attend training camp, Wojnarowski adds.
As Wojnarowski explains, Simmons is aware of the possible penalties he could face as a result of not attending camp, including fines and a suspension. However, he appears prepared to play hardball with the team, with the regular season just four weeks away.
Despite Simmons’ strong stance, his leverage may be somewhat limited. He still has four years and $147MM left on his contract and Philadelphia probably has a playoff-caliber roster even without him on the court, which means the Sixers can afford to be relatively patient in finding a deal they like. If Simmons doesn’t report, the team could recoup much of his salary via fines.
Sources told Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com on Monday that the 76ers were expecting “some sort of absence” from Simmons to open the preseason. However, Neubeck also says that most people believe the 25-year-old will eventually show up, given the unprecedented nature of a lengthy holdout in the modern NBA.
Philadelphia’s asking price for Simmons was extremely high throughout the offseason, given his age, his résumé, and the fact that he’s under contract for four more years. That price may come down a little now, but the Sixers appear unwilling to accept 50 cents on the dollar for a player like Simmons, who is limited by his lack of a jump shot but is still one of the league’s best play-makers and defenders.
As Neubeck writes, the 76ers could probably get a deal done today if they were willing to accept a package heavy on young players and draft picks, but they remain focused on a return that won’t compromise their ability to contend for a title in 2022.
“There are a few deals you could say, we do this, and we’ll gamble that sometime later, we’ll take draft picks and turn it back into having (a title) chance,” one team source told Neubeck. “But why do that? … There’s no reason to go get draft picks right now because you could just do it all at once. Why take the risk that you do that and you can’t flip back out of it? It makes no sense with Joel (Embiid) in his prime.”
Lakers Notes: Jersey Patch, Offseason, Expectations
The Lakers have a new jersey sponsor, announcing in a press release that they’ve partnered with Bibigo, a brand by the top food company in Korea. The Lakers’ uniforms, which previously featured an advertisement patch by the company Wish, will have a Bibigo patch going forward.
The new agreement will be a more lucrative one for the Lakers, who were taking in a reported $12-14MM per year as a result of their jersey ad deal with Wish. According to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times, the organization’s deal with Bibigo is worth in excess of $100MM over five years.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- The Lakers overhauled their roster more than virtually any other NBA team this offseason, bringing back just three players from last year’s roster (LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Talen Horton-Tucker). However, Zach Harper of The Athletic liked what the team did, assigning Los Angeles a grade of B-plus for its offseason moves.
- In Harper’s view, the Lakers got better from a talent standpoint, even if there are still questions about how the pieces will fit together. While the team sacrificed some depth this summer, the addition of another star player (Russell Westbrook) creates some injury insurance, since the club will still have two stars on the court if one of James, Davis, or Westbrook gets injured.
- Frank Urbina of HoopsHype, who recaps the Lakers’ offseason transactions and previews the team’s strengths and weaknesses for the season ahead, projects L.A. to be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference in 2021/22.
J.J. Redick Announces Retirement
Longtime NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick has announced his retirement from the league, confirming the news during the latest episode of his podcast, The Old Man and the Three (video link).
“The last 30 years of basketball have been beyond my wildest dreams,” Redick said in a prepared statement. “I never could have imagined that I would have played basketball for this long. After years of youth leagues, AAU, high school basketball, four years at Duke, and 15 years in the NBA, I’m retiring from the game that I love so much.”
Redick, 37, entered the league in 2006 as the 11th overall pick out of Duke. He spent the next 15 seasons appearing in a total of 940 regular season games for the Magic, Bucks, Clippers, Sixers, Pelicans, and Mavericks, averaging 12.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .447/.415/.892 shooting line in 25.5 minutes per contest. He also appeared in 110 postseason games, making it to the NBA Finals once with Orlando in 2009.
Redick is one of the most prolific three-point shooters in NBA history, having knocked down a total of 1,950 shots from beyond the arc. That puts him 15th on the league’s all-time list.
Redick’s final season in the NBA was marred by a heel injury, as he was limited to a total of 44 games for New Orleans and Dallas in 2020/21. In today’s announcement, he addressed his underwhelming last year
“Going into last season, I wanted it to be my last year, but wasn’t sure how the season would play out,” Redick explained. “It was difficult for a number of reasons — being injured, being away from my family, COVID protocols, and really, truly, not playing up my standards. I would like to describe last season as a seven-month exercise in coming face-to-face with my own athletic mortality, and it was scary and confusing.
“I wanted to give myself some time to reflect and figure out if I wanted to keep playing. It’s one of the reasons that I told teams that called during free agency that I would decide later on. I didn’t want to commit to anything until I was sure. I have some clarity now, and I know it’s time. It’s time for me to be a dad; it’s time for me to reflect, pause; it’s time for me to get ready for the next phase of my life.”
Redick stated last month that he didn’t plan to join an NBA team for training camp, but was still leaning toward signing later in the season and pursuing his first championship. As such, it sounds as if his decision to retire wasn’t finalized until the last few weeks.
It’s unclear whether Redick will have any interest in pursuing a coaching or front office role during the next phase of his career. Given the success of his Old Man and the Three podcast, a position in the media may be more up his alley.
And-Ones: Young, Scola, Breakout Candidates, Salary Cap
Guard Joe Young is taking a proactive approach to getting back in the league. He’ll work out for NBA teams in Houston this week, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets. Young, who appeared in 127 games for the Pacers from 2015-18, has been playing in China since the Pacers parted ways with him.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Longtime NBA forward Luis Scola has been named CEO of Italy’s Pallacanestro Varese, Sportando relays. Scola retired after playing for Varese last season and Argentina’s national team in the Tokyo Olympics.
- Darius Garland, Keldon Johnson and Jaren Jackson Jr. are some of the top breakout candidates for the upcoming season, according to a poll of 15 NBA executives conducted by Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto.
- The salary cap could increase significantly when new TV deals are signed, Morten Jensen of Forbes Sports notes. Citing a league source, Jensen writes that a $171MM salary cap is possible, assuming no cap smoothing, by 2025. Even with cap smoothing, the cap will likely increase by $15MM annually. However, it should be pointed out that it’s unknown how much the NBA’s next TV deal will be worth, so these figures are speculative.