Salary Cap Snapshot: Sacramento Kings
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Kings’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Kings currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Rudy Gay —$13,333,333
- Arron Afflalo —$12,500,000
- Tyreke Evans —$10,662,924
- Kosta Koufos —$8,046,500
- Garrett Temple —$8,000,000
- Anthony Tolliver —$8,000,000
- Matt Barnes —$6,125,000 [Waived by team]
- Darren Collison —$5,229,454
- Langston Galloway —$5,200,000
- Ben McLemore —$4,008,882
- Willie Cauley-Stein —$3,551,160
- Buddy Hield —$3,517,200
- Georgios Papagiannis —$2,202,240
- Malachi Richardson —$1,439,880
- Skal Labissiere —$1,188,840
- Ty Lawson —$980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,315,448]
- Wayne Ellington —$882,630 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Caron Butler —$517,220 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Isaiah Cousins —$100,000 [Waived by team]
- Lamar Patterson —$100,000 [Waived by team]
- Jordan Farmar —$66,384 [Waived by team (Nov 7)]
- Jordan Farmar —$16,595 [Waived by team (Oct 24)]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $95,668,673
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Trade Exception — $2,963,814 (Omri Casspi trade) — Expires on 2/20/18
- Room Exception — $2,898,000
Total Projected Payroll: $95,668,673
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: –$1,525,673
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $17,618,327
Last Updated: 2/22/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Fredette, Alexander, Hunter
Jimmer Fredette, who signed a one-year deal to play for the Shanghai Sharks in China, is disappointed he isn’t playing in the NBA this season, but looks at his overseas trek as the next chapter in his career, Dick Harmon of The Deseret News writes. “I’m anxious to get it started,” Fredette said. “It is very similar to an NBA style of play with the Sharks,” Fredette said. “And in a city three times the size of New York City, it will be a lot of fun. I can’t imagine a city that size after being in New York last year.”
The guard hopes his experience overseas will make him a better player and help him land another NBA shot in the future, Harmon relays. “I just want to get better. My goal is to improve everything I do,” Fredette said. “As an American, they want you to go over there and score the basketball, to be free and play your game and try to produce. That’s my game, to be aggressive, to score, make the right play. I think it will continue to grow my confidence and get me prepared for my future.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Magic training camp signee Cliff Alexander is a decent pick-and-roll player, has good hands and is physical around the rim and in the paint area, NBA.com’s Josh Cohen opines in his analysis of the player. The 20-year-old will compete for one of the remaining two regular season roster spots in Orlando during the preseason.
- LeBron James, James Jones and Chris Paul have been served with notices of deposition in former NBA players’ union executive director Billy Hunter’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the NBPA, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com reports. Paul is the union president, James serves as vice president and Jones as secretary treasurer. Hunter is suing the NBPA for $10.5 million in addition to attorney’s fees, for compensation he allegedly did not receive after his ouster in February 2013, Strauss notes.
- The Bulls, who completely overhauled their roster this offseason, could struggle mightily this season if the team is unable to get consistent production from its reserves, Bobby Marks of The Vertical opines in his look back at Chicago’s summer.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 23)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ve arrived at the No. 23 overall pick, which was held by the Jazz. In the “real world” draft. With that pick, Utah nabbed Kosta Koufos, who is still available in our re-draft. Will the franchise take Koufos once again, or head in a different direction? The answer is entirely up to you.
So cast your vote for who Utah selects and check back on Tuesday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Sonics/Thunder should have taken with the No. 24 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
- Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
- Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
- Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
- Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
- Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
- Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
- Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
- Kings — George Hill [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
- Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
- Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
- Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
- Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick — Marreese Speights]
- Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
- Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
- Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick — J.J. Hickson]
- Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
- Nets (from Mavs) — Omer Asik [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]
- Magic — D.J. Augustin [Actual Pick — Courtney Lee]
- Jazz — ?? [Actual Pick — Kosta Koufos]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Western Notes: Davis, Solomon, Karl
The Pelicans intend to rely on forward Anthony Davis more in clutch situations this season, the crew over at Basketball Insiders note in their season preview for the team. “At the end of the game, I think we need to get the ball to Anthony more,” coach Alvin Gentry said regarding Davis. “We need to start training him to be the guy down the stretch. If you’ve got a great player, that’s what you do. He is gonna be our closer. And that doesn’t necessarily mean making the shot. But I think he’s gonna be the guy more times than not that we’re gonna depend on to make the play at the end of the game. That means maybe finding the open guy, or when a double team comes being able to swing the basketball and put guys in the position where they can make the shot. I think we’re gonna have to start trying to go through him — and it may be a screen-and-roll situation, where he screens and rolls to the basket. But we’ve got to have him involved in a lot of the plays at the end of the game.”
Here’s more from out West:
- The Jazz held a workout today for unrestricted free agent forward Richard Solomon and will take another look at him on Tuesday, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports (via Twitter). The 24-year-old spent the 2015/16 campaign overseas in Japan with Toyota Alvark, appearing in 59 games and averaging 11.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists. Solomon’s shooting line was .536/.179/.660. Over the summer he played in Orlando for the Thunder’s summer league squad and then in Las Vegas for the Magic’s entry.
- The Lakers have officially named Coby Karl, who is the son of longtime NBA coach George Karl, as the coach of the L.A. D-Fenders, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. “We are excited to welcome Coby back to the D-Fenders family as our new head coach,” D-Fenders executive Joey Buss said. “His extensive experience as both a player and coach in this league is something we’re very happy to bring to the organization as we look to build on a season of success.”
- The Blazers will need to remain patient with guard Luis Montero, who displayed solid playmaking ability during summer league play, but didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes in his training camp preview of the player.
Community Shootaround: NCAA Transfer Rules
The NCAA’s rules regarding its restrictions on student-athlete transfers are facing a legal challenge. A lawsuit filed this past spring is asserting that these restrictions are illegal via antitrust laws. As it currently stands, the rule regarding student-athletes switching institutions is: If an athlete wishes to transfer from one four-year institution to another, he or she must sit out an entire academic year before being eligible to play again.
This rule doesn’t apply to coaches, who can change jobs at will without any penalty. So, as Tom Ziller of SB Nation points out, an athlete who chooses a particular school based on the desire to play for a specific coach and that coach then heads off to greener pastures (literally given the salaries these men/women pull down), would have to put his/her college career on hold for a full year. This system also creates circumstances where players wanting to transfer lose out because coaches generally prefer athletes who can contribute immediately.
I can’t see any circumstance or rationale where this is fair to the athletes. But it’s not just the NCAA who wants to keep things status quo, as many college basketball coaches fear what the elimination of the current transfer eligibility rules would do to the sport, as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman relayed. As Goodman notes in his article, there were a total of 750 transfers last year, and coaches claim that if the courts shoot down the transfer eligibility restriction, that number could rise to 1,000 or more.
Despite the current rules, transfers are on the rise as unhappy players are accepting the one-year penalty in order to find better situations for themselves. Plus, an increasing amount of players are using the graduate transfer rule to use their remaining NCAA eligibility while pursuing an advanced degree at a new school with no penalty. This is possible if players earn their Bachelor’s degree in three years or pick up a redshirt year, or both, as Ziller points out.
This brings me to the topic for today’s discussion: Should the NCAA transfer rules stay in place as is, or are alterations needed? If you believe that changes are in order, what would be a fair compromise for all parties?
One compromise that I believe should be implemented, is that if a head coach is fired, retires or leaves for another school, then his/her players should also be free to change schools without penalty. Many of these players based their decisions specifically on who would be their coach and who they felt comfortable with guiding them through their college years. Or year, in the case of many of the top players. The only sticky point with this idea is that coaches could theoretically switch schools and bring with them a large chunk of their roster. This could lead to some “package hires,” where coaches’ deals depend on who they can bring along with them. That could cause some major ethical issues, so perhaps some restrictions would be needed in those instances.
What do you think the answer is? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and potential fixes to the system. We look forward to what you have to say.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Portland Trail Blazers
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Blazers’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Blazers currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Damian Lillard —$24,328,425
- Allen Crabbe —$18,500,000 [Contract contains 15% trade kicker]
- Evan Turner —$16,393,443
- Maurice Harkless —$9,488,764 [$500K in unlikely bonuses earned]
- Meyers Leonard —$9,213,484
- Al-Farouq Aminu —$7,680,965
- Festus Ezeli —$7,400,000
- Ed Davis —$6,666,667
- C.J. McCollum —$3,219,579
- Noah Vonleh —$2,751,360
- Anderson Varejao —$1,913,345 [Waived via Stretch Provision; $1,984,005 salary reduced by set-off]
- Jusuf Nurkic — $1,921,320
- Shabazz Napier —$1,350,120
- Pat Connaughton —$874,636
- Jake Layman —$600,000
- Tim Quarterman —$543,471
Total Guaranteed Salary= $112,845,579
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $2,925,000. Sent $2,850,000 to Nuggets in Jusuf Nurkic trade. Sent $75,000 to Magic in Shabazz Napier trade. [Amount Remaining $575,000]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Room Exception — $2,898,000
- Trade Exception — $407,210 (Mason Plumlee trade) — Expires on 2/13/18
Total Projected Payroll: $112,845,579
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: –$18,702,579
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Total Projected Payroll For Tax Purposes: $113,282,539
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $4,461
Last Updated: 4/15/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 21)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ve arrived at the No. 21 overall pick, which was held by the Nets. The team, which still called New Jersey home at the time, had acquired the pick from Dallas in a trade that February. The specifics of that swap were: The Nets acquired Dallas’ 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, DeSagana Diop, and Keith Van Horn in exchange for Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright and Malik Allen. In the “real world” draft, the Nets used this pick to nab Ryan Anderson, whom the team already landed at No. 10 in our re-draft.
So cast your vote for who the Nets select and check back on Sunday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Magic should have taken with the No. 22 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
- Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
- Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
- Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
- Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
- Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
- Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
- Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
- Kings — George Hill [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
- Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
- Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
- Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
- Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick — Marreese Speights]
- Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
- Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
- Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick — J.J. Hickson]
- Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
- Nets (from Mavs) — ?? [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Western Notes: Garnett, Looney, Hayes
Despite the start of training camp being less than three weeks away, the Wolves are still awaiting word from Kevin Garnett on whether or not he intends to play this season, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “Kevin hasn’t told me or informed me yet if he’s coming back to play or if he isn’t coming back,” Wolves owner Glen Taylor told Aschburner “I can only assume I’ll be hearing from him in the next three weeks.” The veteran has one year remaining on his contract and is set to earn $8MM if he suits up for what would be his 22nd season in the league.
Here’s more from out West:
- The Jazz held free agent workouts on Friday for guard Jermaine Taylor and center Henry Sims, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter). Taylor, 29, last appeared in the NBA during the 2010/11 season, while Sims appeared in 14 games for the Nets last season, averaging 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per outing. Sims has also been mentioned as a possible training camp signee for Brooklyn.
- The Nuggets have named Chuck Hayes as their Associate of Basketball Operations, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports (on Twitter).
- Warriors forward Kevon Looney, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum on his left hip earlier this year, is on track to make his return to basketball activities by the start of training camp on September 27th, Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle relays (subscription required). “I’m really eager,” Looney said. “I’ve been watching, running and doing drills now for what feels like two years. To be able to get on the court and actually be healthy, I’m really excited for that.”
- In his look back at the Rockets‘ offseason, The Vertical’s Bobby Marks notes that the team’s medical staff will play a vital role this season in trying to keep new additions Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Nene healthy.
Josh Richardson Suffers Knee Injury
SEPTEMBER 10th: Richardson has been told that he will miss six to eight weeks due to his knee injury, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (via Twitter).
SEPTEMBER 9th: Heat swingman Josh Richardson has suffered a partially torn MCL in his right knee, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). His return time will depend on how well his rehabilitation efforts go, the scribe adds. Based on Charania’s wording, it does not appear that surgery is currently planned for the player. Richardson suffered the injury during practice when he landed awkwardly after a dunk attempt, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets.
This news is certainly a blow to the Heat, who touted the second-year player as one of their building blocks and defensive leaders. The only consolation for Miami is that the team is deep in the backcourt and were going to have to do some rotation shuffling in order to dole out playing time to the other guards and swingmen on its roster.
Richardson was the No. 40 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and he appeared in 52 games for the Heat in 2015/16. The 22-year-old posted averages of 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the campaign was .452/.461/.667. His contract for this season, which is fully guaranteed, will pay him $874,636.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 9/4/16-9/10/16
Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- We asked readers to do over the 2008 NBA Draft. Here’s who you selected for picks No. 15, No. 16, No. 17, No. 18, No. 19 and No. 20 overall.
- We released our first installment of our 2017 Free Agent Power Rankings.
- You can stay up to date on any contract extensions agreed to this season with our tracker.
- We ran down the teams currently projected to be above or near the luxury tax line this season. We also looked at the teams currently below the salary floor.
- In a reader poll, we asked what the Kings can expect from Ty Lawson this season.
- Will Joseph highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- We looked at the 2016/17 Salary Cap figures for the:
- Arthur answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag. Here’s how you can submit your own questions for our mailbag feature.
- We ran down the players poised to become free agents in 2017.
- In our Community Shootarounds this week we discussed:
- What was bigger for the Heat — forming the “Big Three” or trading for Shaquille O’Neal?
- Which players hitting free agency next summer are likeliest to switch teams?
- Whether or not Paul Pierce should play this season or retire??
- Which Western Conference team that missed last season’s playoffs will make the postseason in the upcoming season?
- Our Free Agent Tracker continues to have up-to-date data on this summer’s contract agreements and signings from around the NBA.
- We ran down the teams that have 15 or more guaranteed contracts on the books.
- If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Trade Rumors app for your iOS or Android device.