Five Key Stories: 6/23/18 – 6/30/18
Don’t worry if you missed any of this week’s biggest NBA headlines, because we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Listed below are the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days.
LeBron James has chosen to forego the final year of his contract and not exercise his $35.61MM player option for the 2018/19 season. As a result, James will reach the open market as an unrestricted free agent tonight at midnight. Because teams like the Rockets likely needed James to opt in to his contract in order to facilitate a trade, only three suitors realistically remain for James – the Cavaliers, Lakers, and Sixers.
The Nuggets intend to sign big man Nikola Jokic to a five-year, maximum-salary contract worth approximately $146.45MM once free agency begins tonight. In order to make Jokic a restricted free agent, the team declined Jokic’s $1.6MM team option and extended a qualifying offer. Jokic, 23, could have been kept him under team control for his $1.6MM option next season, but the Nuggets chose not to do so for fear of alienating Jokic and his representatives and potentially losing him in unrestricted free agency next summer.
Approximately a week after Spurs general manager R.C. Buford told reporters that the club still hoped to smooth things over with Kawhi Leonard, it now appears that the Spurs are ready to move on, with San Antonio “fully engaged” in Leonard trade talks with a number of teams, including the Lakers, Celtics, and Sixers. The Lakers, who hope to woo James to Los Angeles, are reportedly feeling pressure to make a deal for Leonard in order to help convince James to leave Cleveland.
The league held its second annual NBA Awards Show on Monday night, with the following players taking home the following awards:
- Ben Simmons – Sixers – Rookie of the Year
- Victor Oladipo – Pacers – Most Improved Player
- Rudy Gobert – Jazz – Defensive Player of the Year
- Lou Williams – Clippers – Sixth Man of the Year
- James Harden – Rockets – Most Valuable Player
Two other notable free agents, Paul George and DeAndre Jordan, have also chosen not to exercise their player options for next season. Jordan is reportedly interested in going to Dallas, while George is likely to decide between the Thunder and Lakers. James, George, and Jordan represent a minority of players who opted not to exercise player options this year, as the market has shrunk since the salary cap boom in the summer of 2016.
Here are 10 more notable NBA headlines from the last week:
- Knicks big man Enes Kanter has opted to exercise his $18.6MM player option for the 2018/19 campaign.
- Clippers guard Milos Teodosic exercised his $6.3MM player option for next season.
- Hawks frontcourt player Mike Muscala opted in to his $5MM player option.
- The Suns and 2018 second-round draft pick Elie Okobo have agreed to a four-year contract worth approximately $6MM.
- The Magic waived veteran reserve point guard Shelvin Mack.
- Lance Stephenson had his $4.36MM team option declined by the Pacers, putting him on track to be an unrestricted free agent.
- Spurs veteran guard Danny Green exercised his $10MM player option for next season.
- Pacers forward Thaddeus Young opted in to the final year of his contract for next season worth $13.7MM.
- Kings guard Garrett Temple has opted to exercise his $8MM player option for the 2018/19 season.
- The Warriors and head coach Steve Kerr are finalizing a contract extension that will make Kerr one of the NBA’s highest paid coaches.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Bulls, Bobby Portis Discuss Rookie Scale Contract Extension
Per the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player is not permitted to sign a rookie scale contract extension until after the July Moratorium ends at noon on July 6. However, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls have already discussed a multiyear contract extension offer with big man Bobby Portis.
Portis, 23, has until the day before the 2018-19 season begins to sign a rookie scale extension. If he declines to do so, the Bulls will be able to make him a restricted free agent next summer by extending him a qualifying offer, currently projected to be worth just over $3.6MM.
The Bulls have drafted promising young big men Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter with top-10 picks in both of the last two drafts. Yet, Johnson’s report clearly demonstrates that the Bulls see Portis as a reliable and important backup moving forward after he averaged a career-high 13.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 73 games with the Bulls during the 2017/18 season.
Nemanja Bjelica Receives QO From Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have issued a qualifying offer to forward Nemanja Bjelica, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The move ensures that Bjelica will become a RFA this Sunday, giving Minnesota the right to match any offer he receives.
The move doesn’t come as a big surprise, with the team saying earlier this week that they were interested in bringing the reliable, 30-year-old veteran back to Minneapolis next season.
Bjelica, who averaged a career-high 6.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 67 contests (21 starts) during the 2017/18 season, has a qualifying offer worth about $4.9MM after making just under $4MM last season.
As with any other restricted free agent, Bjelica now has the option of accepting his one-year qualifying offer, negotiating a new agreement with the Wolves, or securing an offer sheet from another team. In a separate tweet, Krawczynski adds that Bjelica is expected to test the market, and that Minnesota is already bracing for an offer that would be too pricey to match.
Bjelica was one of three Timberwolves’ players eligible for restricted free agency this season. The team has already opted not to extend a QO to Marcus Georges-Hunt and has until Saturday to make a decision on Amile Jefferson.
Thaddeus Young Exercises Player Option
Pacers’ forward Thaddeus Young has exercised his $13.7MM player option and will bypass free agency this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Young, 30, strongly considered becoming a free agent this offseason, but given the lack of cap space around the NBA, is opting to remain in Indiana for at least another season after averaging 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 81 contests during the 2017/18 campaign.
The Pacers, who could still enter free agency with as much as $20MM in salary cap space, were reported earlier today to have interest in restricted free agent Aaron Gordon. However, Gordon is apparently seeking the maximum salary, so the Pacers likely won’t have the cap space to accommodate the type of offer Gordon is seeking absent a roster move or two.
After Young’s decision, the top-remaining player option decisions now belong to LeBron James, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, and Enes Kanter. Those four players have until tomorrow to make a decision.
Clippers, Wizards Swap Austin Rivers, Marcin Gortat
10:29pm: Both teams have now officially announced the trade.
6:29pm: The Clippers are trading guard Austin Rivers to the Wizards in exchange for center Marcin Gortat, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, making it perhaps even more likely that center DeAndre Jordan is on his way out of L.A.
It was reported earlier today that Jordan, who has yet to decide on his 2018/19 player option, is considering exercising his option in order to facilitate a trade to another team, a la former teammate Chris Paul last season. While nothing has been reported officially, it seems odd that the Clippers would trade for Gortat if they have any expectation of keeping Jordan in Los Angeles.
After drafting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson in the lottery last week, Rivers appears to be a casualty of the Clippers’ guard heavy roster moving forward, especially given his price tag of $12.65MM, which is approximately twice the amount that the Clippers will pay their two rookies combined.
Meanwhile, it had already been reported that the Wizards were hoping to move on from Gortat. The Wizards needed a proven reserve guard to give John Wall and Bradley Beal some backup and, as detailed by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, to move on from Gortat from a locker room standpoint. As was highly publicized, Gortat and Wall had an inconsistent relationship, culminating in a public social media spat last season.
The Wizards now figure to enter the free agent period this weekend in search of a center. Ian Mahinmi and Jason Smith are currently under contract for next season.
From a salary cap perspective, the salaries of Rivers and Gortat match nicely, with Gortat scheduled to make $13,565,218 next season, only $915,218 more than Rivers. Assuming the swap is made official before the new league year begins on Sunday, the Wizards will create a trade exception worth $957,609, the difference between the two players’ 2017/18 salaries.
The Wizards will also save about $1.4MM in luxury tax penalties by taking on Rivers’ salary in exchange for Gortat’s, as noted by ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Both Rivers and Gortat are in the final year of contracts, and will become unrestricted free agents next summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Spurs, Morey, Gasol
Despite perhaps winning the 2018 NBA Draft with the selection of some pundits’ top-ranked player, Luka Doncic, Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram doesn’t see the Mavericks making the playoffs next season, writing that Dallas will likely end up picking in the NBA Draft Lottery for a second straight summer in 2019.
The projected lineup of Dennis Smith Jr., the aforementioned rookie Doncic, Harrison Barnes, Dirk Nowitzki and a center-to-be-named-later, while an improvement, is not enough to crack the top eight of Western Conference, in Engel’s opinion, even if that new center is potential free agent DeAndre Jordan or free-agent-to-be DeMarcus Cousins.
Despite the hype surrounding Doncic and his experience playing with professionals overseas, he will still be an NBA rookie next season, and as Mavericks’ president Donnie Nelson puts it, that means “he’s going to get his rear end handed to him.” Add in the fact that Smith Jr. is also still only 20 years old, and you’re left with one of the youngest – albeit most talented – backcourts in the NBA, which is probably not enough in the deep Western Conference.
There’s more from the Southwest Division.
- With Danny Green choosing to opt in for the 2018/19 season, the Spurs are situated to be near the projected salary cap line of $101MM at the beginning of free agency, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN. Marks adds that in addition to renouncing free agents Tony Parker and Rudy Gay, the Spurs would also likely need to unload some heftier contracts like those belonging to Green and Pau Gasol in order to create cap room this summer.
- Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey said the team wasn’t really close to making a deal to move up in last week’s NBA Draft, but that there was an opportunity to move into the No. 20 to No. 25 range.
- Pau Gasol is doubtful that the Spurs and Kawhi Leonard can mend their relationship, telling EpDeportes, via Jeff Garcia of Spurs Zone, “I do not know if the situation can be rectified after Kawhi’s request to leave, I do not know if a multi-million dollar offer would fix it, he has not talked to him for a long time, he’s a very reserved player.”
Warriors Extend Qualifying Offer To Patrick McCaw
The Warriors have extended a qualifying offer to swingman Patrick McCaw, per Chris Haynes of ESPN, putting McCaw on track for restricted free agency come July 1.
McCaw’s qualifying offer is worth $1.7MM, calculated by adding $200K to his projected minimum salary for the upcoming 2018/19 season.
Given McCaw’s recent injury and an all-around difficult 2017/18 campaign, it will be interesting to see whether the Warriors are interested in discussing a larger contract for McCaw moving forward and/or whether McCaw will garner any interest from other teams around the league.
McCaw, 22, only averaged 4.o points per game in 57 games with Golden State this past season, with a relatively pedestrian shooting line of .503/.238/.765.
Yogi Ferrell Receives Qualifying Offer From Mavericks
The Mavericks have tendered a qualifying offer to guard Yogi Ferrell, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Ferrell now becomes a restricted free agent on July 1.
Ferrell’s qualifying offer is worth $2.92MM as a result of reaching starter criteria this year, which can be reached by starting at least 41 games or playing at least 2,000 minutes during the regular season. Ferrell played 2,282 minutes for Dallas this season.
As we’ve noted before, players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. Rather, their team must extend a qualifying offer, which functions as a one-year contract offer. If Ferrell were to sign the $2.92MM qualifying offer, he’d put himself in line for unrestricted free agency next summer.
Ferrell has stated publicly that he’d like to remain with the Mavericks, so it’s probable that he will either sign his qualifying offer or ink a long-term deal with Dallas barring a substantial offer from another team.
Ferrell, 25, played all 82 contests and averaged 10.2 points and 2.5 assists per game in 2017/18, with a shooting line of .477/.373/.796. His per game numbers were likely somewhat reduced from the 2016/17 campaign due to the addition of rookie first-round pick Dennis Smith Jr.
Nuggets Decline Nikola Jokic’s Option, Extend QO
JUNE 25, 10:20pm: The Nuggets filed the paperwork to decline their team option late Monday night, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. That clears the way for Jokic to sign what will likely be a five-year max contract next month, Wojnarowski adds.
JUNE 25, 2:19pm: The Nuggets have officially extended a qualifying offer to Jokic, per RealGM’s transactions log. That’s a signal that the club has formally turned down his option.
As we heard earlier today, Jokic and the Nuggets are expected to finalize a five-year, maximum-salary contract once free agency begins.
JUNE 24, 1:50pm: In a story primarily regarding the decision of Wilson Chandler to exercise his player option with the Nuggets for the 2018/19 season, Gina Mizell of The Denver Post is reporting that a league source says Denver will decline the $1.6MM team option for franchise big man Nikola Jokic.
By declining the option, the Nuggets will make Jokic a restricted free agent eligible to sign a maximum-salary contract with Denver this summer – something that Jokic’s camp has been jockeying for since early-May (link).
The reported declination, while substantial, really comes as no surprise, with Jokic’s agent telling the Nuggets earlier this year that picking up his client’s 2018/19 option would hinder Denver’s chances of locking Jokic up long-term.
Moreover, if Denver does exercise the option, Jokic would become an unrestricted free agent next summer, leaving the Nuggets without a right of first refusal during free agency
“Nikola’s going to be here for a long, long time,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said following Thursday night’s 2018 NBA draft. “I think whatever we do, we’re going to ensure he’s here as long as possible. When that moment happens, we’re going to talk to Nikola and his brothers and his representation. He’ll be in Denver for a long, long time. He’ll be buying (a home) here.”
Assuming the report is accurate and the Nuggets decline his option, Jokic, 23, will be eligible to sign a five-year contract worth approximately $146.45MM this summer.
Pelicans Notes: Cousins, Rondo, Carr, Staff
DeMarcus Cousins is still recovering from a torn left Achilles he suffered in January, but the All-Star center, who becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, has been documenting certain aspects of his rehabilitation process on social media and appears to be fully embracing the challenge, reports William Guillory of The Times-Picayune.
According to Pelicans’ general manager Dell Demps, Cousins has been working out in Las Vegas and hasn’t experienced any setbacks during his recovery, with the big man’s desire to get back on the court as strong as ever.
“He’s right on schedule. He’s right where he’s supposed to be (and) he’s committed to getting back and ready to play.”
That being said, it remains to be seen whether the Pelicans will be able and/or willing to sign Cousins to a new contract this summer, with the Mavericks being one of many teams who will likely have interest in Cousins’ services going forward.
As Guillory notes, New Orleans was once poised to offer Cousins a five-year maximum-salary contract this summer. However, a story from ESPN’s Zach Lowe in April reported that the Pelicans were now considering the idea of offering Cousins a shorter deal at less than the max because of the uncertain future that often accompanies an Achilles injury.
Despite that report, Demps continues to reiterate that the team wants Cousins back in New Orleans, telling reporters that Cousins has been a big part of the Pelicans’ success and that he hopes the team is able to being Cousins back next season.
There’s more from New Orleans:
- In the same article, Guillory also touches upon the upcoming free agency of point guard Rajon Rondo, who like Cousins, will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Pelicans are planning to enter into negotiations on a new deal with Rondo, per Demps, who notes that “in a perfect world,” both Cousins and Rondo would be back in New Orleans next season.
- With their only selection in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Pelicans selected Penn State guard Tony Carr with the No. 51 overall pick. Carr, 20, averaged 19.6 points and five assists per game for the Nittany Lions last season, but his role for New Orleans next season is still up in the air. Per Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com, Demps has already expressed that Carr will need to compete for a roster spot as a rookie
- In another story for The Times-Picayune, Guillory writes that the Pelicans are emphasizing stability with their coaching staff this offseason, with the front office recently denying a request from Toronto to hire away assistant coach Chris Finch.
- Per Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated, the Pelicans’ front office scouting department has been retained with two-year extensions.