The three-year contract Khris Middleton signed with the Bucks only has a base value of about $93MM, well below the reported figure of $102MM, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
As Marks explains, the deal features approximately $9MM in total incentives — $2MM are currently considered likely to be earned, while the other $7MM are unlikely (meaning Middleton and/or the Bucks didn’t achieve the criteria last season). For now, the forward’s annual cap hits, which take into account his base salaries and likely incentives, will be $29.3MM, $31.7MM, and $34MM.
Meanwhile, Brook Lopez‘s two-year, $48MM contract with the Bucks has a declining structure, according to Marks. The veteran center will earn $25MM in 2023/24 and $23MM in ’24/25.
Here are a few more contract and cap details from around the NBA:
- Marks also has the specifics (via Twitter) on Cameron Johnson‘s four-year contract with the Nets, which includes several incentives and declines in years two and three before rising again in year four. Johnson has base salaries of $24.5MM, $22.5MM, $20.5MM, and $22.5MM, with annual bonuses of $4.9MM, $4.5MM, $4.1MM, and $4.5MM. Currently, a total of $4.4MM of those incentives are considered likely, while the other $13.6MM are unlikely.
- The Suns‘ deal with Yuta Watanabe is a two-year, minimum-salary agreement with a second-year player option, confirms Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). That was the common structure on the contracts Phoenix offered to free agents — Eric Gordon, Keita Bates-Diop, and Drew Eubanks received similar deals.
- A pair of two-way contracts that have been signed early in the 2023/24 league year will cover two seasons instead of just one. Craig Porter‘s deal with the Cavaliers and Jaylen Martin‘s agreement with the Knicks are each for two years, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter links).
- A handful of teams using cap room this season have renounced their free agent rights to one or more players in order to maximize their space. According to RealGM’s transaction log, the Pacers (George Hill), Kings (Terence Davis, Jeremy Lamb, Corey Brewer), Pistons (Hamidou Diallo, Rodney McGruder, and Buddy Boeheim), and Thunder (eight players, including Dario Saric, Jared Butler, and Nick Collison) all renounced players. In some cases, those cap holds had been on teams’ books for multiple seasons — they won’t be there going forward.
Yuta couldn’t get more than minimum? His market was that soft? This was his chance to get a bag, for his standards and relatively speaking of course.
He’s probably chasing a ring first then get paid.
Is there any kind of advantage to keeping the cap hold of someone who hasn’t played for a while? I get not wanting to renounce your rights to someone if you’re hoping to re-sign them, but Nick Collison hasn’t played in five years.
Having them there can give you more options about how you want to manage your cap. For instance, if your guaranteed salaries put you $10MM below the cap but you have $15MM in player cap holds, you can operate over the cap and gain access to the mid-level, bi-annual, and all your trade exceptions.
There’s also just no real downside to letting them linger, since they’re just placeholders — you’re not actually paying that money or anything.
Now I know. I have been wondering. Thanks.
Celtics aren’t in the Central
Luke: Anyway Knicks can inquire of or kick the tires on former Spurs guard Josh Primo? If Miles Bridges and Meyers Leonard can get back into the league, why not Josh?
6’5 point guard great length, good on 3s, decent defender and still young. Why not take a flyer…Just sayin’…
Glad to see Craig Porter Jr getting a 2 year deal. He will need time to adjust to the Pro game. He looked good in the Summer League which should be similar to what he will see in the G League. It is likely the defensive part of his game will transfer to the NBA more easily than the offensive part of his game. At least the plan is to give him time to adjust at both levels.