Checking In On Remaining Restricted Free Agents
Of the players who finished last season on an NBA roster and didn’t have a contract for 2022/23, there are still dozens of unrestricted free agents on the open market. However, the number of restricted free agents is far smaller.
As our list of current free agents shows, there are just eight restricted free agents still unsigned — four who received standard qualifying offers and four who received two-way QOs.
We’re already a month into the 2022 free agent period, but it’s possible that some of these restricted free agents will remain on the market for another month or two. Let’s take a closer look at the RFAs still available…
Standard RFAs:
- Miles Bridges (Hornets)
- Jordan Nwora (Bucks)
- Collin Sexton (Cavaliers)
- Joe Wieskamp (Spurs)
It’s no surprise that Bridges remains unsigned. He was arrested just before free agency began and now faces multiple felony charges related to domestic violence. The Hornets will certainly be in no rush to re-sign him as the legal process plays out, and Bridges’ $7.9MM qualifying offer won’t expire until October 1, so he’ll be in no hurry to accept it either. If and when Bridges is back under contract, the NBA would have the option of placing him on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation.
The other three cases here look more like straightforward examples of how restricted free agency often works. In all likelihood, the Bucks, Cavaliers, and Spurs have made preliminary offers to Nwora, Sexton, and Wieskamp, respectively, and have encouraged them to explore the market to see if they can get a more lucrative offer sheet elsewhere. Until that happens, those teams are unlikely to bid against themselves by increasing their offers.
We know, for instance, that the Cavs have reportedly offered Sexton a three-year deal worth roughly $40MM. He’s believed to be seeking a salary closer to $20MM per year.
All three players would have the option of accepting their qualifying offers and heading into the season on a one-year contract, but that may be a more viable path for Sexton, who is coming off a lost season and has a QO worth $7.2MM, than for Nwora ($2.1MM). Wieskamp’s qualifying offer is also relatively modest ($1.8MM), but his NBA résumé is far more limited than Sexton’s or Nwora’s, so it’s unclear if he’ll get a better offer than that.
Two-way RFAs:
- David Duke (Nets)
- Malcolm Hill (Bulls)
- David Johnson (Raptors)
- Brodric Thomas (Celtics)
A report in early July suggested that Duke was hoping to earn a standard contract from the Nets, and following a Las Vegas Summer League in which he averaged 19.0 points per game in five appearances, there’s no reason to think his stance has changed. Brooklyn only has 13 players on standard contracts, so a promotion remains in play for Duke, but the team likely wants resolution on the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving sagas before locking in those back-of-the-roster spots.
Once Goran Dragic officially signs, the Bulls will have 15 players on standard guaranteed contracts and just one on a two-way deal, so they’d probably like to see Hill accept his two-way qualifying offer to fill that second slot.
It’s unclear what the Raptors‘ plans are for Johnson. The team has filled its two-way slots with new signees (Ron Harper Jr. and Jeff Dowtin) and there will be stiff competition for a spot on the 15-man regular season roster — the team already has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus three with partial guarantees and second-rounder Christian Koloko still unsigned. We’ll see if Johnson gets a chance to vie for one of those roster spots.
There may be a cleaner path for Thomas to earn a place on the Celtics‘ 15-man roster. Only 12 of Boston’s regular season roster spots are accounted for so far, so Thomas could get the chance to compete to be the 13th or 14th man. The team has already filled both its two-way slots with new additions (JD Davison and Mfiondu Kabengele).
And-Ones: T. Scott, 2023 Draft, ’23 Cap, Freedom
NBA and G League veteran Tre Scott is headed overseas for the 2022/23 season, having signed with Fos Provence Basket, the French team announced in a press release.
Scott, who went undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2020, has spent most of his first two professional seasons in the NBAGL, playing for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, and the Cleveland Charge.
The 6’8″ forward earned a call-up to the NBA last December during the league’s COVID-19 outbreak, signing a 10-day hardship deal with the Cavaliers. He appeared in two games for the Cavs during his brief NBA stint, scoring six points and grabbing a couple rebounds in 11 total minutes of action.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report shares his first 2023 mock draft, headed by French big man Victor Wembanyama and G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson. Overtime Elite wing Amen Thompson, Duke swingman Dariq Whitehead, and Villanova forward Cam Whitmore round out Wasserman’s initial top five.
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a look at the teams currently projected to have the most cap room in 2023, including the Spurs, Rockets, Pistons, and Magic.
- In an interview with Israeli outlet Walla, free agent center Enes Freedom said he hasn’t received any offers from NBA teams this offseason (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops). Freedom attributed that lack of NBA interest to the comments he has made denouncing China, though it’s worth noting that his minutes were already on the decline due to his subpar outside shooting and defense.
Warriors Sign JaMychal Green
Nearly two weeks after word first broke that he had reached a buyout agreement with the Thunder and intended to sign with the Warriors, forward JaMychal Green has officially signed with Golden State, the team announced today in a press release.
The Warriors didn’t disclose the terms of Green’s new deal, but it’s believed to be a one-year, minimum-salary contract. The 32-year-old would earn $2,628,597 (the amount he gave up in his buyout with Oklahoma City) and Golden State would take on a cap hit of $1,836,090.
An eight-year veteran, Green had a down season in 2021/22, averaging 6.4 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .486/.266/.871 shooting in 67 games (16.2 MPG) for the Nuggets. However, he has proven to be an effective stretch four over the years — entering ’21/22, he had knocked down 38.0% of his three-point attempts in his first seven NBA seasons.
Green, who entered the summer on an expiring $8.2MM contract, was traded from Denver to Oklahoma City in June before being officially waived by the Thunder last month.
Assuming Green’s new contract is fully guaranteed, as expected, he’ll be the 13th Warrior with a guaranteed salary. That leaves at least one spot available on the club’s projected regular season, though Andre Iguodala would presumably be the frontrunner to be the 14th man if he decides to continue his career.
The Warriors could carry up to 15 players in the regular season, but they may open the year with just 14 in order to reduce their projected end-of-season tax bill, unless there’s someone they really like for that 15th spot.
NBA Players With Trade Kickers In 2022/23
A trade kicker is a contractual clause that pays an NBA player a bonus when he’s traded. They’re one of the tools teams have at their disposal to differentiate their free agent offers from the ones put on the table by competing clubs — or to incentivize a player to sign an extension before he reaches free agency.
Sometimes the kicker is worth a fixed amount, but usually it’s based on a percentage of the remaining value of the contract. So, a player who has a 10% trade kicker is eligible for a bonus worth 10% of the amount of money he has yet to collect on his deal.
Regardless of whether a trade kicker is set at a fixed amount or a percentage, the bonus can’t exceed 15% of the remaining value of the contract. Most trade kickers are worth 15%, the highest percentage allowed.
A trade bonus must be paid by the team that trades the player, rather than the team acquiring him. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement also allows a player to waive his trade kicker as part of a deal, if he so chooses.
If you want a more detailed explanation of how trade kickers work, check out the Hoops Rumors Glossary entry on the subject.
Here’s a list of the NBA players who have active trade kickers for 2022/23, listed alphabetically, along with the details of those trade bonuses:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (15%)
- Bogdan Bogdanovic, Hawks (15%)
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks (10%)
- Reggie Bullock, Mavericks (5%)
- Jimmy Butler, Heat (15%)
- Anthony Davis, Lakers (15%)
- Donte DiVincenzo, Warriors (15%)
- Dorian Finney-Smith, Mavericks (5%): Traded
- Draymond Green, Warriors (15%)
- James Harden, Sixers (15%)
- Tobias Harris, Sixers (5%)
- Isaiah Hartenstein, Knicks (5%)
- Gordon Hayward, Hornets (15%)
- Richaun Holmes, Kings (15%)
- Kyrie Irving, Nets (15%): Traded
- Reggie Jackson, Clippers (15%)
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (15%)
- Caleb Martin, Heat (15%)
- Donovan Mitchell, Jazz (15%)
- Bobby Portis, Bucks (15%)
- Julius Randle, Knicks (15%)
- Marcus Smart, Celtics (15% or $1MM, whichever is lesser)
- Jalen Smith, Pacers (10%)
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics (15%)
- Klay Thompson, Warriors (15%)
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves (5%)
- Jonas Valanciunas, Pelicans (15% or $1MM, whichever is lesser)
The following players have trade bonuses on their contracts, but those bonuses would be voided if they were to be traded during the 2022/23 league year, since they’re already earning this season’s maximum salary:
- Bradley Beal, Wizards (15%)
- Stephen Curry, Warriors (15%)
- Luka Doncic, Mavericks (15%)
- Kevin Durant, Nets (15%)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (15%)
- Brandon Ingram, Pelicans (15%)
- LeBron James, Lakers (15%)
- Zach LaVine, Bulls (15%)
- Trae Young, Hawks (15%)
The following players have signed contract extensions that will include trade kickers, but those extensions won’t go into effect until at least the 2023/24 season:
- Devin Booker, Suns (10%)
- Darius Garland, Cavaliers (15%)
- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (15%)
- Ja Morant, Grizzlies (15%)
NBA Opens Tampering Investigation Into Knicks
The NBA has begun an investigation into the Knicks for possible tampering related to the team’s free agent signing of Jalen Brunson, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. According to Haynes, the league will attempt to determine whether New York made contact with Brunson before the free agent period started.
The Knicks signed Brunson to a four-year, $104MM contract last month. Days before free agency opened, word began to trickle out that Brunson was “widely anticipated” to sign with New York for a four-year deal exceeding $100MM, with multiple reports suggesting that the Mavericks had believed for weeks that the point guard was bound for the Knicks.
A June 29 report stated that Brunson planned to meet with the Knicks, Mavs, and Heat when free agency began, but the meetings with Dallas and Miami never took place, with the Heat disputing that they’d scheduled a sit-down at all with the former second-round pick.
We don’t know exactly what happened behind the scenes, but the sequence of events created the impression that the Mavs and Heat knew Brunson would be joining the Knicks and didn’t want to waste their time, while the guard’s camp was trying to create the impression that a final decision hadn’t yet been made.
It’s not unusual for free agents’ presumed destinations to leak before the negotiating period officially begins on June 30. However, it raises eyebrows in the league office when the details of a rival team’s offer to a free agent leaks days in advance and there’s a publicly-reported widespread belief that the player will join that team. The Sixers are facing a similar investigation due to their free agency moves, including a contract agreement with P.J. Tucker that leaked early.
Brunson’s case is further complicated by the fact that he has personal relationships with so many people within the Knicks’ organization. Leon Rose represented Brunson as a player agent before he joined New York’s front office, and his son Sam Rose is now one of Brunson’s reps at CAA. Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, was hired by the Knicks as an assistant coach several weeks before free agency began.
While the NBA has ostensibly made more of an effort to penalize teams for violations related to tampering and free agency gun-jumping in recent years, it’s not as if Brunson’s contract with the Knicks is in any danger of being voided.
The Bulls, Heat, and Bucks have all been penalized for similar free agency violations since 2020, and all three teams were forced to forfeit a future second-round pick. It will be surprising if the Knicks face a stiffer penalty than that once the investigation into their contact with Brunson is complete.
It will likely take some time for the NBA to announce the results of its probe. Last year, the investigation into the Heat and Bulls was reported on August 7 and the penalties weren’t announced until December 1.
Hoops Rumors’ 2022 NBA Free Agent Tracker
We’re now a full month into the 2022 free agent period, and all but two of the NBA’s 30 teams have signed at least one free agent. With training camps set to tip off next month, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason.
To this end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.
A few notes on the tracker:
- Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect tentative agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
- Similarly, contract years and dollars will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in some cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
- Players who have reportedly agreed to training camp/Exhibit 10 deals won’t be added to the tracker until those deals become official.
- A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet won’t be included in the tracker right away. We’ll wait to hear whether the player’s original team will match or pass on that offer sheet before we update our tracker, in order to avoid any confusion.
- If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.
Our 2022 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. On our mobile site, it can be found in our menu under “Free Agent Lists.”
The tracker will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.
Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.
Contract Details: Hernangomez, Fontecchio, Rollins, Harris
Juancho Hernangomez‘s one-year contract with the Raptors is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. That full guarantee should put the veteran forward in a good position to earn a spot on the team’s 15-man regular season roster. Hernangomez’s deal is worth the veteran’s minimum, so he’ll earn a $2,298,385 salary while Toronto takes on a cap hit of $1,836,090.
Here are a few more notes on new contracts from around the NBA:
- Simone Fontecchio‘s two-year, $6.25MM deal with the Jazz is fully guaranteed and was completed using a portion of the club’s mid-level exception. Fontecchio will earn $3,205,128 in 2022/23 and $3,044,872 in ’23/24.
- Ryan Rollins‘ three-year contract with the Warriors is worth the minimum salary and is fully guaranteed for the first two seasons, as previously reported. The third year includes a partial guarantee worth $600K — that third year would become fully guaranteed if Rollins hasn’t been waived by June 28, 2024. Golden State used a portion of the taxpayer mid-level exception to complete the signing.
- Kevon Harris‘ two-way contract with the Magic is for two years, Hoops Rumors has learned. Most two-way deals are for just one year, but Harris is the third player this offseason to sign a two-year two-way pact, joining Cole Swider (Lakers) and Vince Williams (Grizzlies).