Lakers Re-Sign Marcelo Huertas
AUGUST 5: The Lakers have officially signed Huertas, the team announced today in a press release.
“Marcelo’s understanding of the game, unselfishness, and professionalism are assets to our team and he has an uncanny ability to change the pace of the game,” GM Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. “He’s fundamentally solid but also has a flair and excitement to his style of play, which makes him a fan favorite.”
Estimates from Bobby Marks of The Vertical and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders put the value of Huertas deal at about $1.6-1.7MM annually over two years.
JULY 7: The Lakers and restricted free agent Marcelo Huertas have agreed to a deal that will keep the point guard in Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. It’s a two-year pact, Wojnarowski notes, but the scribe does not relay the amount, nor what guarantees, if any, are included in the arrangement.
Los Angeles had tendered the 33-year-old a qualifying offer worth $1,074,636, which made Huertas a restricted free agent. He’ll be the the third-string point guard behind recently acquired Jose Calderon and 2015 lottery pick D’Angelo Russell, the scribe adds.
Huertas appeared in 53 games for the Lakers in 2015/16, averaging 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 16.4 minutes per outing. His shooting numbers on the campaign were .422/.262/.931.
Players With Trade Kickers
Trade kickers are contractual clauses that pay players a bonus when they’re traded, and they represent one of the tools teams have to differentiate their free agent offers from the deals competing clubs put on the table. According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the bonus must be paid by the team that trades the player, rather than the acquiring team.
Sometimes the kicker is 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 given 10% of the amount of money he’s yet to collect on his deal. Regardless of whether the trade kicker is set at a fixed amount or a percentage, the bonus can’t exceed 15% of the remaining value of the contract. That means that if a set amount of $1MM would equal more than 15% of what the player is owed, the kicker would pay out less than $1MM in the event of a trade. If you want a more detailed explanation of how trade kickers work, check out our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry on the subject.
Most trade kickers are worth 15%, the highest percentage allowed. The trade kicker that Tyreke Evans is unusual, as it calls for him to see either a set amount ($1MM) or 15% of the value of his contract, whichever is less. Below is a list of every NBA player with an active trade kicker, listed alphabetically, along with the details of the kickers. Players who signed deals this summer are marked with an asterisk.
- * Steven Adams (Thunder) — 15%
- LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs) — 15%
- Carmelo Anthony (Knicks) — 15%
- * Harrison Barnes (Mavericks) — 8%
- * Tarik Black (Lakers) — 10%
- Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets) — 15%
- Jimmy Butler (Bulls) — 5%
- Vince Carter (Grizzlies) — 15%
- * Allen Crabbe (Trail Blazers) — 15%
- Andre Drummond (Pistons) — 8%
- * Kevin Durant (Warriors) — 15%
- Tyreke Evans (Pelicans) — 15% [Capped at $1MM]
- Danilo Gallinari (Nuggets) — 15%
- Marc Gasol (Grizzlies) — 15%
- Blake Griffin (Clippers) — 15%
- James Harden (Rockets) — 15%
- Gordon Hayward (Jazz) — 15%
- * Al Horford (Celtics) — 15%
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors) — 15%
- Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers) — 15%
- * Tyler Johnson (Heat) — 15%
- DeAndre Jordan (Clippers) — 15%
- Enes Kanter (Thunder) — 15%
- Kawhi Leonard (Spurs) — 15%
- * Jeremy Lin (Nets) — 10%
- Nikola Mirotic (Bulls) — 15%
- Chris Paul (Clippers) — 15%
- J.J. Redick (Clippers) — 5%
- * Dion Waiters (Heat) — 15%
- Brandan Wright (Grizzlies) — 15%
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: New Orleans, Bogut, Gabriel
The NBA formally removed the All Star Game from Charlotte on July 22nd because of concerns about North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which eliminated anti-discrimination protections for those who fall into the LGBT demographic. It appears the event is close to landing a new venue, with the league closing in on a deal with New Orleans to act as host, Scott Kushner and Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate relay. The 2016/17 NBA All-Star game is scheduled for February 19th, 2017.
Here’s more of the latest from around the league:
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is excited about the team’s addition of Andrew Bogut, who fills a big need for the team at center if he can remain healthy, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “You know, it gives us not only a legitimate starting center, but it gives us one of the best centers in the game,” Carlisle said of the trade with the Warriors. “I’m looking forward to getting to know Andrew. He’s overseas in Australia with their national team. And you know, it will be a lot happening quick.”
- Forward Kenny Gabriel, who played for the summer league squads of both the Cavs and the Heat this offseason, has signed a one-year deal that will pay him in excess of $1MM with the Russian club Kuban, international journalist David Pick tweets.
- Kansas swingman Josh Jackson tops the first Big Board for the 2017 NBA Draft from ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required). Rounding out Ford’s top three are Duke freshman Harry Giles and Washington guard Markelle Fultz.
Atlantic Notes: D-League, Sixers Coaches, Celtics
The Nets are taking their new D-League affiliate in Long Island seriously and with the team sharing the NBA club’s facilities this season while work is completed on the Nassau Coliseum, it places affiliate players in a somewhat unique situation, NetsDaily writes. “Every time you walk into the practice facility, you should want to work hard because, as you see, throughout our practices now, Coach [Kenny] Atkinson is just sitting here, walking around just to see who is working. So, you never know.” said guard Sean Kilpatrick. “You could be one of the D-League guys in the gym, and Coach just so happens to see you, and is like, ‘Yo, we should give this guy a look.’”
“No other D-League team will operate as we’re operating this year,” Long Island Nets coach Ronald Nored said. “If you’re a player and you want to get into the NBA, you’re practicing in an NBA facility every single day. Our guys will get world-class treatment, first-class treatment and we’ll have the same opportunities to amenities and things like that, that the NBA guys have. If you can’t appreciate this opportunity, man, there’s another place for you.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers officially announced via press release that the team has named Jim O’Brien and Kevin Young as assistant coaches, John Bryant and Alvin Williams as player development coaches, John Townsend as shooting coach, Chris Babcock as assistant director of player development and Dr. Lance Pearson as director of applied analytics. Philadelphia also relayed that Eugene Burroughs, who spent the last two seasons as the Sixers’ shooting coach, has been promoted to head coach of the team’s D-League affiliate in Delaware.
- A panel of NBA writers, facilitated by Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com, weighed in on whom the Celtics will start alongside newly signed Al Horford at power forward. The group was divided, with Amir Johnson narrowly edging out Kelly Olynyk for the starting nod. According to the panel, coach Brad Stevens‘ choice will come down to his preference for Olynyk’s scoring ability versus Johnson’s superior rebounding and defense. Feel free to weigh in on who you’d pick in the comments section below.
- We at Hoops Rumors are in the process of breaking down each teams’ cap situation heading into the new season and we’ve already looked at the Celtics and Nets from the Atlantic Division.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Dallas Mavericks
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors ware tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once new financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. The next franchise we’ll be looking at are the Dallas Mavericks, who currently are well over the league’s salary cap of $94,143,000 for the 2016/17 season. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Mavericks’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Mavs currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Dirk Nowitzki — $25,000,000
- Harrison Barnes — $22,116,750 [Deal includes 8% Trade Kicker]
- Wesley Matthews — $17,145,838
- Deron Williams — $9,000,000 [Waived by team]
- Dwight Powell — $8,375,000
- Nerlens Noel —$4,384,490
- Devin Harris — $4,227,996
- J.J. Barea — $4,096,950
- Seth Curry — $2,898,000
- DeAndre Liggins —$1,015,696
- Salah Mejri — $874,636
- A.J. Hammons — $650,000
- Quincy Acy — $593,233 [Waived by team; $1,050,961 cap hit reduced by setoff]
- Nicolas Brussino — $543,471
- Dorian Finney-Smith — $543,471
- Jonathan Gibson — $543,471 [Waived by team (Oct 22)]
- Maurice Ndour — $437,318 [Waived by team]
- Gal Mekel — $315,759 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Yogi Ferrell — $207,798
- Jonathan Gibson — $137,466 [Waived by team (Dec 27)]
- Kyle Collinsworth — $70,000 [Waived by team]
- Manny Harris — $57,672 [10-day contract (Mar 9); actual salary — $59,747]
- Manny Harris — $57,672 [10-day contract (Mar 19); actual salary — $59,747]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $47,953
- Pierre Jackson — $41,560 [Waived by team (Jan 6)]
- Pierre Jackson — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 15)]
- Pierre Jackson — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 25)]
- Yogi Ferrell — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 28)]
- Ben Bentil — $31,969 [10-day contract (Feb 26)]
- Quinn Cook — $31,969 [10-day contract (Feb 26)]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $31,969 [10-day contract (Mar 9)]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $31,969 [10-day contract (Mar 19)]
- Jameel Warney — $20,000 [Waived by team]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $103,625,983
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: Sent $3,227,286 to Jazz as part of Jeremy Evans trade [Amount Remaining $272,714]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Trade Exception: $6,642,537 (Andrew Bogut trade) — Expires on 2/23/18
- Trade Exception: $1,514,160 (Justin Anderson trade) — Expires on 2/23/18
- Room Exception: $0 (used on Seth Curry)
Total Projected Payroll: $103,625,983
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Available Cap Space: –$9,482,983
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Estimated Amount Below Luxury Tax: $9,661,017
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: 2005 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 3)
Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. While life, and the NBA, doesn’t often allow for second chances, we at Hoops Rumors believe it’s fun to give our readers a second take at picking players, complete with the benefit of hindsight.
We’ve previously tackled the 2003 and 2013 NBA Drafts and the next one we’re tackling is 2005’s, the year that the Bucks nabbed big man Andrew Bogut with the No. 1 overall pick. That year’s draft class is generally viewed as one of the weaker ones in recent memory, though, there were quite a few second-rounders that year (Ersan Ilyasova, Monta Ellis, Lou Williams, Amir Johnson and Marcin Gortat) who have gone on to have very solid NBA careers.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll provide a series of reader polls that ask you to vote on the player whom you believe should have been selected with each pick. We’ll continue onward with the Jazz, who held the No. 3 pick that season. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Utah’s pick and check back Friday night for the results, as well as for your chance to vote for whom the New Orleans Hornets should have taken at No. 4. But 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. Also, if I fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and I’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
Selections
- Bucks — Chris Paul [Actual Pick — Andrew Bogut]
- Hawks — Deron Williams [Actual Pick — Marvin Williams]
- Jazz — ? [Actual Pick — Deron Williams]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.
Thunder, Russell Westbrook Discuss Renegotiation, Extension
The Thunder and Thad Foucher of Wasserman Media Group, the agent for Russell Westbrook, are engaged in talks regarding a renegotiation and extension of the guard’s current deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. The talks are centering around an arrangement that would lock up Westbrook through the 2018/19 campaign, Wojnarowski adds. The Vertical’s Bobby Marks had recently noted the possibility that the All-Star and OKC could work out a short-term extension.
No deal has been finalized, notes Wojnarowski, but the momentum is increasing toward the two sides coming to terms on a three-year, $85MM+ arrangement. The proposed contract would include a player option on the third year, which would allow Westbrook to hit unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2018, the scribe relays. The structure of a proposed deal would up Westbrook’s salary for 2016/17 from $17,769,374 to a $26.5MM max salary, per the article. Westbrook would then earn $28.5MM in 2017/18 and $30.6MM in the final season, provided he didn’t opt out.
Westbrook’s scoring average may have dipped a bit in 2015/16, averaging 23.5 per outing after his league-leading 28.1 PPG in 2014/15, but he averaged career highs in both rebounds (7.8) and assists (10.4). It should be noted that Westbrook’s decrease in scoring output was due to Kevin Durant making his return after missing the bulk of the previous season, not due to a decline in performance. Without Durant as a teammate, Westbrook will be a favorite to snag the MVP award, and will be looked upon to carry the franchise in its first campaign without the Slim Reaper.
The Thunder desperately need to lock up Westbrook, especially after losing Durant to the Warriors via free agency this summer. If no extension can be agreed upon, the 27-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, one who will be in extremely high demand around the league. Securing Westbrook will also greatly aid OKC in free agency next summer, since the team can use the guard’s continued presence as a major selling point to prospective free agent targets.
And-Ones: Beal, Oladipo, Gasol, Gobert
Turnover among NBA coaches has been extremely high over the past few seasons, with only four current head coaches having been with their respective teams for at least five seasons. Just this calendar year alone there have been 12 new coaching hires made, with more likely to come if some teams get off to rocky starts to the 2016/17 season. Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders ran down the coaches who are under the most pressure to perform well this coming campaign, including Alvin Gentry (Pelicans), Steve Kerr (Warriors) and Quin Snyder (Jazz).
Here’s more from around the league:
- Each season there are a number of players who exceed expectations or fail to live up to the hype or their previous season’s performance. Looking ahead to 2016/17, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders weighed in on who he believes will have bounce back seasons (ie: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal, Joakim Noah) and those who will disappoint (ie: Kyle Korver, Pau Gasol).
- With most offseason moves now officially in the books, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider Subscription required) broke down the teams he believes to be winners. Franchises getting high marks from the scribe include the Warriors, Celtics, Cavs and Wolves.
- Teams have until October 31st to work out extensions with eligible players and Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com notes that the most likely candidates to reach new agreements prior to the deadline are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Oladipo, Rudy Gobert, Dennis Schroder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Western Notes: Nowitzki, Wiggins, Knight
Mavs owner Mark Cuban was never concerned that Dirk Nowitzki would elect to head elsewhere this offseason, as he detailed to Brandon Robinson of CBSSports.com. “Dirk wasn’t even in the country and people couldn’t even reach him when free agency started,” Cuban told Robinson “I basically told him, look, you tell me the price and it actually started lower. His agent said ‘how about this much’ and we said ‘we’ll have a little more money, we’ll give you more’ and as the numbers started getting bigger and bigger, it was like ‘what about this number?’ ‘We’ll give you more.’ Finally, it was like ‘this is what we got left, take it!’
We wanted to make it a two-year deal with a team option so that people wouldn’t speculate that he was going to retire because Dirk is the type of guy, he’s just a good guy. He would hate going city to city to city and everyone asking him if he was going to retire because he has no intention of retiring after this year and, with the team option that we have, he gave us the flexibility that said ‘if we find somebody that we can send the money to that he likes, we all like, then let’s do it and if not, let’s give the money to Dirk again which I’m fine with too.”
Here’s more from out West:
- Andrew Wiggins expects big things this season from himself and his Wolves teammates, adding that the addition of Tom Thibodeau as coach and executive will make him a better player, Martin Rickman of Dime Magazine relays. “We’ve done a lot of good things this year. And we beat a lot of good teams – we can beat any team out there on a given day,” Wiggins told Rickman. “But we’re getting stronger. We’re getting older. We’re getting more experienced. And we’re building chemistry. We’re just getting better every game. We have a lot of things to accomplish this coming year. We’re all looking forward to it, and our expectations are getting higher. We want more. We’re young, and hungry, and we want to see the playoffs.“
- The Suns are excited about what Brandon Knight can do in 2016/17 if he remains healthy, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays. “He has the ability to play either guard spot,” Suns GM Ryan McDonough said of Knight. “He can play the 1. He can play the 2. He’s an elite shooter. People who just saw Brandon playing last year when he was a little bit banged up and wasn’t 100% probably don’t realize how well he shoots the ball when he’s healthy and right. We think, with our top four or five guards, they will be interchangeable. They’ll be able to play either spot. We have at least four, maybe five guys now, who can get in the paint, break down defenses and kick to open shooters.“
Atlantic Notes: Olynyk, Randle, Nets
Kelly Olynyk and the Celtics have until October 31st to agree to a contract extension, but the center isn’t stressing whether or not a deal is struck, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). “I’m not really worried about that. If they want to do it, they do,” Olynyk said. “If not, you can’t worry about things you can’t control. That’s completely up to them, so we’ll see what happens. … There’s a lot of things that you can’t control in life. If you worry about them, you’re not going to enjoy life.”
The 25-year-old appeared in 69 games this past season and averaged 10.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.2 minutes per contest. Olynyk is set to earn $3,094,013 in 2016/17 and will be eligible for restricted free agency next summer provided no extension is worked out and Boston tenders him a qualifying offer worth $3,094,013.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Chasson Randle, who agreed to a partially guaranteed deal with the Knicks earlier today, has a good shot to stick as the team’s third point guard, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Despite New York being thin in the backcourt, the young guard isn’t taking this opportunity for granted, the scribe adds. “He’s still got to come in and earn it,” Randle’s agent, Kevin Bradbury, told Berman. “He feels this is the place where he can make the next step.”
- The Knicks‘ offseason moves were geared about winning immediately, not with an eye on the future, Ian Begley of ESPN.com opines in his look back at the team’s summer. The scribe notes that the team has depth concerns and lacks the outside shooters necessary to maximize coach Jeff Hornacek‘s system, but adds that the squad’s defense and pace of play should be much improved over last season.
- Bobby Marks of The Vertical weighed in on the offseason moves the Nets have made.
- Want to see where the Atlantic Division teams stand roster-wise? Check out the complete breakdowns along with depth charts at Roster Resource for the Nets, Celtics, Knicks, Sixers and Raptors.