Teams With Dead Money Against The Salary Cap
The NBA’s salary cap for the 2014/15 season is set at $63.065MM and the luxury tax line at $76.829MM. Not all the money that teams pay out in player salary goes toward the players currently on their regular season rosters. When players with guaranteed contracts are waived, their teams are still on the hook for any dollar amount that fell under a full or partial guarantee. The player is removed from the franchise’s roster, but their salary still counts against the team’s salary cap figure.
Teams are already on the hook for approximately $40.627MM in “dead money” this season to players who won’t score a point, grab a rebound, or even warm a spot on the bench for the teams writing their checks. The Magic are the biggest spenders in this category, owing $14,705,259 in salary to players who no longer wear their jersey, or approximately 23.3% of this year’s cap amount.
Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders recently took a look at the salary owed to players no longer on rosters around the league, and since then, millions more in dead money accumulated as teams made a flurry of cuts to set their opening-night rosters. Listed below are the players who are owed “dead money” from their former teams for the 2014/15 season. Please note that these amounts do not include any cash owed to players who were let go using the amnesty provision. Teams that amnesty players are still responsible to fulfill the contracted dollar amounts, but that money doesn’t count against the salary cap.
76ers
- Drew Gordon ($40K)
- Pierre Jackson ($400K)
- Malcolm Lee ($50K)
- Eric Maynor ($1,120,920)
- Travis Outlaw ($3MM)
- Ronald Roberts Jr. ($35K)
- Malcolm Thomas ($474K)
- Jarvis Varnado ($75K)
Total=$5,194,920
Bucks
- None
Total=$0
Bulls
- Richard Hamilton ($333,333)
Total=$333,333
Cavaliers
- Chris Crawford ($20K)
Total=$20K
Celtics
- Will Bynum ($2,915,908)
- Erik Murphy ($100K)
Total=$3,015,908
Clippers
- Carlos Delfino ($650K)
- Miroslav Raduljica ($300K)
Total=$950K
Grizzlies
- Jamaal Franklin ($163,296)
- Fab Melo ($437,080)
Total=$600,376
Hawks
- John Salmons ($1MM)
Total=$1MM
Heat
- Khem Birch ($50K)
- Larry Drew II ($25K)
- Tyler Johnson ($75K)
Total=$150K
Hornets
- None
Total=$0
Jazz
- Dee Bost ($65K)
- Jack Cooley ($65K)
- Carrick Felix ($816,482)
- Kevin Murphy ($65K)
Total=$1,011,482
Kings
- Sim Bhullar ($35K)
- Wayne Ellington ($923,780)
Total=$958,780
Knicks
- Langston Galloway ($31K)
- Arnett Moultrie ($1,136,160)
- Orlando Sanchez ($15K)
- Jordan Vandenberg ($27K)
- Metta World Peace ($555,166)
Total=$1,764,326
Lakers
- None
Total=$0
Magic
- Kadeem Batts ($150K)
- Drew Crawford ($75K)
- Seth Curry ($150K)
- Glen Davis ($6.6MM)
- Al Harrington ($3,804,900)
- Jameer Nelson ($2MM)
- Anthony Randolph ($1,825,359)
- Peyton Siva ($100K)
Total=$14,705,259
Mavericks
- Eric Griffin ($150K)
- Bernard James ($915,243)
- Ivan Johnson ($25K)
Total=$1,090,243
Nets
- None
Total=$0
Nuggets
- Jerrelle Benimon ($35K)
- Quincy Miller ($150K)
Total=$185K
Pacers
- None
Total=$0
Pelicans
- None
Total=$0
Pistons
- Aaron Gray ($1,227,985)
Total=$1,227,985
Raptors
- Marcus Camby ($646,609)
- Will Cherry ($25K)
Total=$671,609
Rockets
- Jeff Adrien ($915,243)
- Robert Covington, ($150K)
- Akil Mitchell ($150K)
- Ish Smith ($915,243)
Total=$2,130,486
Spurs
- Bryce Cotton ($50K)
- Josh Davis ($20K)
- JaMychal Green ($60K)
- John Holland ($20K)
Total=$150K
Suns
- Michael Beasley ($777,778)
Total=$777,778
Thunder
- None
Total=$0
Timberwolves
- J.J. Barea ($4,519,500)
Total=$4,519,500
Trail Blazers
- Diante Garrett ($30K)
Total=$30K
Warriors
- Aaron Craft ($35K)
- Sean Kilpatrick ($35K)
- James Michael McAdoo ($35K)
- Nemanja Nedovic ($1.1MM)
- Mitchell Watt ($35K)
Total=$1.24MM
Wizards
- None
Total=$0
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week…
- Chuck Myron took a look at undrafted rookies who made opening night rosters.
- With the deadline for players to sign extensions now passed, Chuck reviewed both the players who inked new deals, as well as those who failed to sign extensions and will become restricted free agents next summer.
- I ran down the dates that teams are able to trade players who were signed this offseason.
- Chuck held our weekly chat, and here is the transcript.
- Zach Links interviewed former Bulls guard Craig Hodges.
- Check out our free agent tracker to look back on the past offseason.
- Chuck Myron asked readers to predict who would win the 2014/15 NBA title, and a plurality of you voted for the Spurs to repeat as champs.
- Now that teams’ regular season rosters are set, check out our complete posting of Roster Counts.
- Our Rookie Scale Team Option Tracker lets you see the options that were exercised prior to the deadline.
- Follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, and your RSS feed.
- The Trade Rumors App is finally here! Download the app today to get up-to-the-second updates from Hoops Rumors, MLBTradeRumors, and Pro Football Rumors.
- Play nice, everyone. Review our commenting policy.
Week In Review: 10/27/14-11/2/14
NBA teams combined to hand out more than $450MM in rookie scale extensions this year, based on estimates of the maximum salaries that Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson are set to receive and the outcome of incentive clauses for a number of others. A total of nine players out of 21 who were eligible to sign rookie scale extensions did so, and those who failed to do so are now set to become restricted free agents next summer. Here’s a recap of the week that was…
- Jimmy Butler rejected the Bulls‘ extension proposals that were reportedly set to pay him approximately $11MM per season.
- The Thunder and Reggie Jackson failed to come to terms on an extension.
- Extension talks were unsuccessful between the Cavs and Tristan Thompson.
- Ricky Rubio inked a four-year, $55MM deal, which includes $1MM in incentives with the Wolves.
- The Lakers, Pacers, and Rockets are interested in signing Quincy Miller.
- Norris Cole and the Heat were unable to reach an agreement on an extension.
- The Warriors signed Klay Thompson to a four-year max extension.
- Anderson Varejao came to terms with the Cavs on a three-year, $30MM extension.
- The Jazz and Alec Burks signed a four-year, $42MM extension.
- Brandon Knight was unable to agree to an extension with the Bucks.
- The Cavs waived A.J. Price and signed free agent guard Will Cherry.
- Extension talks were unsuccessful between the Magic and Tobias Harris.
- Kawhi Leonard will become a restricted free agent next summer after he and the Spurs failed to reach an agreement on an extension.
- The Knicks declined their team option for Shane Larkin.
- The Sixers picked up their team options for Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams, and Tony Wroten.
- Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas had their team options exercised by the Rockets.
- Russell Westbrook had surgery and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
- In the wake of Westbrook’s injury, the Thunder are considering signing Gal Mekel.
- The Hawks declined their team option for John Jenkins.
- Dennis Schröder had his team option picked up by the Hawks.
- The Warriors picked up the team options for Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, and declined to pick up Nemanja Nedovic‘s.
- Kemba Walker inked a four-year, $48MM extension with the Hornets.
- The Celtics exercised their team options for Tyler Zeller, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk, and waived Jarell Eddie.
- J.J. Barea cleared waivers and signed with the Mavericks.
- The Hornets opted in with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Cody Zeller.
- Gal Mekel was waived by the Mavs.
- The Lakers‘ Julius Randle broke his leg and is expected to miss the entire season.
- Enes Kanter was unable to come to terms on an extension with the Jazz.
- Former Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien is interested in buying the Hawks.
- The Clippers opted in with guard Reggie Bullock.
- Former Rocket Josh Powell is considering retirement and a possible move to the coaching ranks.
- The Bucks fully guaranteed Kendall Marshall‘s contract for the 2014/15 season.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. had his team option picked up by the Knicks.
- The Jazz signed and waived Tre’ Bussey.
- Travis Outlaw was waived by the Sixers, after being acquired in a trade with the Knicks for Arnett Moultrie, who was waived by New York as well.
- The Bucks waived Michael Eric.
- Marquis Teague and Elliot Williams were waived by the Sixers.
- The Kings brought free agent Terrence Williams in for a workout.
- Miles Plumlee‘s fourth year option was picked up by the Suns, and the team also exercised its options on Alex Len and Archie Goodwin.
- The Bulls picked up their team option with Tony Snell.
- Carrick Felix was waived by the Jazz, who also claimed Jordan Hamilton and Joe Ingles off waivers.
- The Blazers exercised the rookie scale options for Meyers Leonard and CJ McCollum.
- Will Bynum was waived by the Celtics.
- The Blazers declined Thomas Robinson‘s team option.
- Rodney McGruder, Erik Murphy, Tim Frazier and Christian Watford were waived by the Celtics.
- The Nuggets waived Quincy Miller, Marcus Williams and Jerrelle Benimon.
- Malcolm Thomas signed a free agent deal with the Sixers.
- The Rockets waived Jeff Adrien and Ish Smith, as well as Robert Covington.
- The D-League draft was held and Covington was the top pick.
- Earl Clark and Akeem Richmond were also released by Houston.
- The Nuggets intend to pick up their 2015/16 team option on Timofey Mozgov.
Cavs Waive A.J. Price, Sign Will Cherry
SUNDAY, 12:20pm: The Cavs have officially signed Cherry, the team announced.
4:54pm: Cherry’s deal will be for two years, Chris Haynes of The Plain Dealer reports (Twitter link), though it’s still unknown if any portion of his salary will be guaranteed.
SATURDAY, 4:28pm: The Cavaliers have waived A.J. Price, the team has announced. Price’s salary was non-guaranteed, so the move won’t cost Cleveland any cash. This reduces the Cavs’ roster count to 14, one player below the regular season maximum. Cleveland intends to use the open roster spot to sign guard Will Cherry, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports is reporting (Twitter link). No contract details were made available, but Cleveland is limited to offering Cherry no more than the minimum salary.
The big shocker here is that the team isn’t signing Ray Allen, who would seem like a perfect fit for a Cavs squad looking to contend in the Eastern Conference. Allen still hasn’t decided on whether or not he is going to play this season, though he has been mentioned as a target for the Spurs as well as the Cavs.
The 6’1″, 23-year-old Cherry averaged 12.8 PPG and 4.0 RPG while logging 25.3 minutes per contest in five games for the Cavs Summer League team in Las Vegas. Cherry also played for the Cavs’ D-League affiliate last season, when he provided 11.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 30.4 MPG. He was waived by the Raptors at the end of training camp last month.
Price hasn’t appeared in either of Cleveland’s regular season games this season. His career numbers are 5.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG. His slash line is .381/.321/.749.
Robert Covington Tops D-League Draftees
The NBA D-League Draft was held today and the event was kicked off with Robert Covington being selected first overall by the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons D-League affiliate. Covington’s selection was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old forward was arguably the most talented player in the D-League draft, though he isn’t expected to spend the full season in Grand Rapids, notes Chris Reichert of SB Nation, since he is on the radar of numerous NBA teams.
Covington spent much of last season with Houston’s D-League affiliate despite being on the team’s NBA roster the entire year. He earned himself a trip to the D-League’s All-Star game by averaging 23.2 PPG and 9.2 RPG in 34.1 minutes per game in 42 D-League appearances. He spent the preseason on Houston’s roster, though he was away from the team for weeks mulling offers to play in Europe before being waived. Covington came close to inking a deal with the Sixers, but decided to take the D-League route to begin the season.
Elliot Williams, a former 2010 first round pick of the Blazers, was selected by the Warriors affiliate with the second overall pick. The 6’5″ guard was a rotation player for the Sixers last year, averaging 6.0 PPG in 17.3 MPG, but was waived by Philadelphia when the team needed to pare its preseason roster count down to 15 players.
Other players selected in the opening round who had prior NBA regular season experience were Marquis Teague, Ben Hansbrough, Erik Murphy, Carrick Felix and Damien Wilkins.
One other player to keep an eye on is Milos Milisavljevic, a 21-year-old Serbian point guard who was selected by the Texas Legends, who serve as the affiliate of the Mavericks. Milisavljevic will be NBA draft-eligible in 2015, and is on the radar of NBA scouts, though he isn’t currently projected to be taken in either round by DraftExpress.
Here is the full list of first round selections:
- Grand Rapids Drive (via Delaware) — Robert Covington
- Santa Cruz Warriors (via Erie) — Elliot Williams
- Austin Spurs — Erik Murphy
- Santa Cruz Warriors (via Maine) — Carrick Felix
- Grand Rapids Drive — Ben Hansbrough
- Texas Legends — Milos Milisavljevic
- Idaho Stampede — Tre’ Bussey
- Bakersfield Jam — Robert Vaden
- Oklahoma City Blue — Marquis Teague
- Reno Bighorns (via Westchester) — Joonas Caven
- Reno Bighorns — Brady Heslip
- Canton Charge — Michael Dunigan
- Santa Cruz Warriors — Melvin Johnson III
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers — Chane Behanan
- Sioux Falls Skyforce — Fuquan Edwin
- Iowa Energy — Damien Wilkins
- Los Angeles D-Fenders — Eloy Vargas
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (via Fort Wayne) — Justin Jackson
And-Ones: Varejao, Bryant, Cavs
Given Anderson Varejao‘s injury history, the Cavs signing him to a three year deal might seem risky, but Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer explains why it was a smart move for the team. Pluto cites the team’s desire to win now, Cleveland’s lack of depth at center, and that Varejao’s $10MM per season salary won’t seem that high once the new CBA kicks in and player salaries escalate. Pluto also notes that the non-guaranteed third year of the contract was added because the organization views it as a potential trade chip.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Lakers look to be in for a long season that is more likely to end with a lottery pick than a playoff berth. Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel believes that Los Angeles should consider trading Kobe Bryant to the Knicks for Amar’e Stoudemire‘s expiring contract. This would get Bryant’s deal off of the books in time for next summer’s free agent class, as well as reunite Bryant with Phil Jackson, and help the Knicks implement the triangle offense more effectively, Schmitz opines.
- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s comments about a willingness to spend whatever it took to put LeBron James back on top, no matter the cost, were a jab at the Heat organization and team owner Micky Arison, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. Moves such as amnestying Mike Miller in 2013, or the team declining to use their mid-level exception last season despite a lack of roster depth, were rumored to rub James the wrong way and possibly contributed to him returning to Cleveland, notes Winderman.
- Lorenzo Brown and Josh Bostic agreed to contracts with the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA D-League, David Mayo of MLive reports (Twitter link). Both players were waived by the Pistons who will retain their D-League rights.
Bucks Notes: Knight, Marshall, Extensions
Brandon Knight is disappointed that he and the Bucks were not able to come to terms on an extension by the deadline, Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times notes (Twitter link). Knight said, “It’s unfortunate. I wanted to get something done.” By failing to come to terms on an extension Knight will become a restricted free agent next summer.
Here’s more from the land of beer and bratwurst:
- Knight relayed that he doesn’t feel any extra pressure to perform well this season despite not inking an extension with the Bucks, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. “It’s no pressure. You either get it [a contract] now or get it later, one or the other,” Knight said.
- There is no animosity between the two sides, notes Gardner, and the team has said they intend to try and reach an agreement with Knight this summer. When asked if there was any tension between he and the team, Knight said, “No. If we’re going to revisit it [the negotiations], it’s definitely not. I haven’t really spoken a whole lot to my agents about it. They said they were talking. I love the Bucks. It’s a great organization and we’re continuing to improve as you see. It’s definitely something I would like to be a part of. When we revisit it in the future, hopefully it will work at that time.”
- When the Bucks decided to fully guarantee Kendall Marshall‘s $915K salary for this season it demonstrated their commitment to the young point guard, Gardner writes in a separate article. “It’s a sense of comfort to see that the organization has that trust in me,” Marshall said of his contract being guaranteed. “I haven’t really seen too much of that since I’ve been in the league. It’s just the beginning. I see it as a great foundation for me and for where I want to be with this team. The main thing is team success. My college coaches always told me, ‘Winners get the awards and the rewards.’ If we take care of things as a team, everybody will look good.”
Russell Westbrook Has Surgery
Injured guard Russell Westbrook had surgery this morning to repair a fracture in his right hand, the Thunder announced. Westbrook is scheduled to be reevaluated in a month at which point a timetable for his return would be decided. This means that the player will miss a minimum of 15 games, and possibly more depending on how his recovery fares.
This comes on the heels of the Thunder losing superstar Kevin Durant with a broken foot for at least six to eight weeks. Oklahoma City, which has the maximum 15 players on their roster, had already applied to the league for a hardship provision before Westbrook’s injury, but the NBA turned them down because they had yet to play three regular season games. The team is expected to apply again after tonight’s game. If the hardship provision is granted, it would allow the team to add a 16th player to their roster, but the Thunder would have to pare the roster back down to 15 once one of their injured players made his return.
The immediate problem for the team is the lack of depth at point guard, with Sebastian Telfair being the only healthy point man on the roster. The Thunder are considering signing free agent Gal Mekel, and other available point guards include Will Bynum, John Lucas III and Ish Smith.
Wolves Notes: Rubio, Incentives, Taylor
The NBA’s new $24 billion TV deal helped sway Wolves owner Glen Taylor to make a final push to sign Ricky Rubio to an extension, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press writes. With the salary cap set to increase over the next few seasons, Rubio’s deal won’t seem quite as large in the near future, especially in comparison to the deals that will be inked once the new CBA is ironed out, notes Krawczynski.
Here’s more out of Minnesota:
- Taylor acknowledged that in the wake of the Kevin Love trade, Rubio would be the player that would lead the team’s young core into the future, Krawczynski adds. “He [Rubio] came to us with such high expectations and he immediately proved why we were so high on him,” Taylor said. “Unfortunately he got hurt at the end of his rookie season, but he has worked so hard to come back and we believe he has a long and successful career ahead of him. He’s a great foundation for our franchise and we’re very happy to keep Ricky here long term to work and grow with the young nucleus that we have.”
- For his part, Rubio understands the pressure that comes along with signing a large contract, notes Krawczynski. “You’re getting paid more, you have to earn it,” Rubio said. “You have to show why you’re getting paid this money. Of course there’s going to be extra pressure. I wanted to be more of a leader and take this team to another level.”
- The reported $1MM in incentives contained in Rubio’s extension with the Wolves are tied to several shooting percentage benchmarks, primarily field goal percentage and free throw percentage, Krawczynski tweets. Rubio has a career slash line of .369/.323/.799.
Wolves Sign Ricky Rubio To Extension
The Timberwolves have officially signed Ricky Rubio to a contract extension, the team announced (on Twitter). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported the four-year, $55MM deal, which includes $1MM in incentives, as Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune adds (Twitter link). There are no team or player options in the arrangement, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
“We are excited to sign Ricky to a contract extension and keep him as a foundation for years to come,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations/coach Flip Saunders said in the team’s statement. “He is annually among the league leaders in assists and steals, and his intangibles make him a very valuable player to our team. Ricky is only in his fourth season and because of his work ethic and determination, we are confident that he will continue to grow as a player and as a team leader. We look forward to many great years ahead of Ricky in a Timberwolves uniform.”
Agent Dan Fegan had reportedly been seeking the maximum salary for his client, which likely would have been at least $85MM over five years, so the Wolves achieved some level of success in negotiating Rubio’s camp down from that amount. The Wolves had initially talked about four years and $44MM, and upped the offer to $48MM, then to $52MM and beyond for the 24-year-old.
Rubio’s extension matches the average annual salary that fellow point guard Eric Bledsoe netted in his new five-year contract with the Suns, at least with Rubio’s $1MM in incentives factored in, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The dollar figure represents the sort of high-leverage negotiations that had been taking place for a franchise that lost Kevin Love via trade this summer, as Charlie Adams of Hoops Rumors examined when he looked at Rubio’s extension candidacy. The Wolves ultimately saw the prospect of increased revenues from the league’s recent $24 billion TV deal as motivation to come up in their offers, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press, who adds that the team wanted to show faith in the former No. 5 overall pick.
The deal gives Minnesota approximately $50.2MM in guaranteed salary commitments for the 2015/16 season, though that figure doesn’t account for Thaddeus Young‘s $9,971,739, Chase Budinger‘s $5MM, or Corey Brewer‘s $4,905,000 player options.
In his three years in the league, Rubio has averaged 10.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 8.1 APG. His slash line is .369/.323/.799.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Chuck Myron contributed to this post.