Sixers Expected To Add Peter Dinwiddie, Prosper Karangwa To Front Office
4:42pm: Dinwiddie will become the Sixers’ executive vice president of basketball operations, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
1:40pm: Having vowed to make changes to their front office this offseason, the Sixers are expected to bring in Pacers executive Peter Dinwiddie and Magic executive Prosper Karangwa to join GM Elton Brand‘s group, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Dinwiddie has been with the Pacers for nearly a decade and a half, getting his start in ticket sales before eventually transitioning to a front office role, as Scott Agness detailed in a story for The Athletic last year. He received a promotion in 2017 from VP of basketball operations to senior VP of basketball ops, and has played a key role in Indiana’s salary cap management.
Karangwa, meanwhile, joined the Magic as a scout in 2012 after spending several years playing professionally overseas. He was promoted through the department in recent years and was named Orlando’s director of scouting in 2019.
It’s not clear yet what titles Dinwiddie and Karangwa will have in the Sixers’ front office, but reports since August have indicated the team was looking at changing its front office personnel and structure.
The expectation is that Brand will retain his GM role – or receive a promotion and a new title, per Pompey – and be the primary decision-maker going forward, but there are a number of changes happening around him. Executive VP of basketball operations Alex Rucker isn’t expected to return and – as we wrote on Thursday – VP of strategy Sergi Olivia has also left the organization.
2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder
Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Salary Cap Outlook
After paying tax penalties for five of the last six seasons, the Thunder don’t project to be above the luxury-tax line in 2020/21. Still, with $101.75MM already committed to nine roster spots (eight guaranteed contracts and a first-round pick), it won’t be easy to create any cap room. Barring a trade that significantly reduces salary, Oklahoma City will likely operate as an over-the-cap team.
In that scenario, the Thunder would have access to the full mid-level exception ($9.26MM) and bi-annual exception ($3.62MM). If the team cuts costs and ends up using cap space, it would lose those exceptions along with a couple sizeable trade exceptions, but would gain access to the room exception ($4.77MM).
Our full salary cap preview for the Thunder can be found right here.
Roster Decisions To Watch
Options:
- Mike Muscala, player option: $2,283,034
- Abdel Nader, team option: $1,752,950
- Note: Salary doesn’t immediately become guaranteed if option is exercised.
- Deonte Burton, team option: $1,663,861
- Note: Salary will become partially guaranteed for $1.1MM if option is exercised.
- Hamidou Diallo, team option: $1,663,861
Non-Guaranteed Contracts:
- None
Two-Way Contracts:
- Kevin Hervey (expiring)
- Note: Hervey has signed with Russia’s Lokomotiv Kuban.
Free Agents:
- Danilo Gallinari (Bird)
- Andre Roberson (Bird)
- Nerlens Noel (Early Bird)
- Devon Hall (N/A)
- Note: Hall won’t have any form of Bird rights because he was signed as a substitute player.
2020 Draft Assets
First Round:
- No. 25 overall pick
Second Round:
- No. 53 overall pick
The Thunder’s first-round pick this year is Denver’s pick, which they acquired last July. Oklahoma City’s own pick (No. 21) was sent to Philadelphia back in 2016. In an odd coincidence, both selections were traded for Jerami Grant.
The second-round pick is the Thunder’s own. Because they technically won a three-way tiebreaker in the first round (which the Sixers benefited from), the Thunder’s second-rounder landed at No. 53 instead of 51 or 52.
Three Key Offseason Questions
1. Is Sam Presti ready to launch a rebuild?
The Thunder finished the 2019/20 season tied for the fourth-best record in the Western Conference (44-28) and pushed the Rockets to seven games in the first round before being eliminated.
The team outperformed expectations this season, but there’s reason to believe that success could be replicated in 2020/21. Chris Paul, Dennis Schröder, and Steven Adams are still under contract. So are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, and Darius Bazley, and they should only improve going forward. Danilo Gallinari could be re-signed without going into tax territory. And with all the future first-round picks Oklahoma City has in hand, adding an impact player in a trade isn’t out of the question either.
However, there are signs the Thunder aren’t planning to go in that direction. The most glaring of those is the team’s inability to come to an agreement with head coach Billy Donovan, who elected to part ways with OKC despite receiving a multiyear contract offer from the club.
Reports at the time of the split – as well as comments from Presti himself – indicated that the Thunder and Donovan might not have been on the same page regarding the direction in the franchise. In other words, Donovan didn’t want to stick around only for the roster to undergo a retooling process, while Presti seems far more prepared to go in that direction.
With Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, and Bazley all locked up for multiple years, the Thunder have a promising young core and won’t require a full teardown. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if Paul, Gallinari, Schröder, and Adams are all gone a year from now.
Gallinari is an unrestricted free agent this fall, so if the Thunder don’t re-sign him, their only hope of getting value in return would be through a sign-and-trade. Schröder and Adams will each be on expiring contracts in 2020/21, but the former will have much more trade value than the latter, whose $27.5MM cap hit will make it tricky find a taker. Paul, who is owed $85MM+ over the next two years, is the most fascinating trade candidate of the bunch — we’ll dig deeper into his situation below.
While I expect the Thunder to explore the trade market for all of those veterans this offseason, I don’t think there’s any urgency for the team to make deals right away. That’s especially true for guys like Paul and Adams. If trade partners aren’t willing to take on their oversized contracts without draft compensation, Oklahoma City can afford to be patient.
Adams will be off the books in 2021 and Paul will be entering the final year of his deal at that point. It’s not as if the Thunder need to clear cap room immediately in order to pursue free agents. Dipping into their cache of future first-round picks just to get off Adams’ or Paul’s contracts a year early would be a misuse of those resources.
In essence, while Presti and the Thunder may be prepared to retool their roster, there’s no need for a full teardown and there’s no rush to clear out the veterans as soon as possible. This rebuild can be a gradual one, and fully bottoming out shouldn’t be necessary.
2. Will Chris Paul be traded this offseason?
Paul is one of the NBA’s most interesting trade candidates this fall. He’s only a year removed from being attached to two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps in a deal for Russell Westbrook, but his value has increased since then for a few reasons.
For one, Paul had a terrific year in 2019/20, staying healthy all season and averaging 17.6 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 5.0 RPG with a .489 FG% in 70 games (31.5 MPG), earning his first All-Star nod since 2016. Teams with interest in acquiring CP3 will recognize that he’s still an injury risk, but the fact that he continues to play at such a high level is encouraging — his production is unlikely to fall off a cliff in 2020/21 as long as he stays relatively healthy.
Paul’s oversized contract is also one year closer to ending now. If a team acquires him and doesn’t get the sort of production it hoped for, his cap hits ($41.4MM in ’20/21, $44.2MM in ’21/22) will be onerous in the short term, but won’t ruin the club’s flexibility for years to come.
This year’s week free agent class also helps boost Paul’s appeal. There are two 2020 All-Stars who are free agents this offseason, but both of them – Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram – are highly likely to return to their current teams. Teams looking to add an All-Star caliber impact player may view a trade for Paul as their best bet to do so.
Paul’s fate will ultimately come down to what sort of offers Oklahoma City gets. The Thunder’s ability to extract a first-round pick in a package for CP3 – or willingness to include one themselves – will hinge on what the rest of the return looks like.
For instance, I don’t think there’s any way the Thunder will attach a future first-rounder to Paul if the Sixers want them to take on Tobias Harris‘ or Al Horford‘s long-term contract, or if the Bucks want them to take Eric Bledsoe and other salary filler. In those scenarios, OKC would likely ask its trade partner to include a first-rounder.
On the other hand, if the Thunder’s return includes a promising young player who could become a building block in Oklahoma City, the team would presumably be more willing to surrender a future first-rounder in addition to Paul. It’s more difficult to construct a hypothetical deal along these lines. If the Knicks were willing to include Mitchell Robinson in their offer, they could probably land Paul and draft assets. But I don’t think New York would do that.
Although Paul’s value is difficult to nail down, I don’t see the Thunder viewing him as a salary dump. If they’re going to move him this fall, they’ll want some combination of cap relief, a draft pick, and/or players who can contribute. If the Thunder don’t get any offers that fit that bill, they can afford to hang onto their veteran point guard for the time being, as they did a year ago.
3. Who will the Thunder hire as their head coach?
There haven’t been many updates out of Oklahoma City on the team’s head coaching search since Donovan’s departure more than a month ago. I imagine the Thunder began the process of seeking a replacement at some point since then, so the radio silence is likely by design rather than an indication of inactivity.
Even without any leaks, we can make a few assumptions about the Thunder’s search.
For instance, based on the divide between Donovan and the organization, it’s a good bet that the club will be seeking a coach who’s comfortable with the idea of overseeing a rebuild.
Additionally, given the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, I can’t see Oklahoma City paying big money to a head coach if the club doesn’t expect to be contending in the short term.
Those clues point to the Thunder targeting an up-and-coming candidate who may not have any previous head coaching experience. That lack of experience should keep his – or her – price tag in check. Still, the Thunder will want someone who has spent some time on NBA staffs so that they’re not hiring an entirely unknown commodity.
That profile fits with the few names we’ve heard linked to the job. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst initially identified Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and Spurs assistant Will Hardy as contenders, while Shams Charania of The Athletic later confirmed OKC’s interest in Hardy and added Thunder assistant Brian Keefe to the list of candidates.
Griffin and Keefe each have more than a decade of experience as NBA assistants under their belts and have worked for at least three teams apiece during that time. Vanterpool began his coaching career as a CSKA Moscow assistant and has worked on the Blazers’ and Wolves’ staffs since returning stateside in 2012. Hardy has only worked for the Spurs, but has made an impressive rise through the ranks since joining the team’s video department in 2011 and is now one of Gregg Popovich‘s top lieutenants.
It’s possible the Thunder’s list of coaching candidates will continue to grow in the coming days or weeks. Based on what we know so far though, it sounds like the club will be targeting a veteran assistant who has proven his bona fides at the NBA level and is ready for a promotion.
Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Clippers Rumors: Lue, Young Players, Kawhi
After parting ways with Doc Rivers, the Clippers initially put together a list of about 10 possible candidates to replace him, according to Jovan Buha and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The team seriously considered five of those candidates before narrowing their search to three finalists.
Although the Clippers did conduct a full search, Tyronn Lue was the first candidate they contacted following Rivers’ departure and was one of just two candidates who checked every one of the team’s boxes. As Buha and Vardon explain, the Clippers consider Lue an “elite tactician” and viewed his familiarity with the roster as a positive — having spent the 2019/20 season as Rivers’ lead assistant, Lue got to see first-hand what went wrong, and has ideas for potential solutions.
[RELATED: Clippers to promote Tyronn Lue to head coach]
According to The Athletic’s duo, the Clippers also like that Lue isn’t a “staunch idealist” like Mike D’Antoni or Tom Thibodeau, and is more willing to tinker with lineups and styles, adapting to the roster he has. The club hopes to keep Kawhi Leonard and Paul George around for multiple seasons but recognizes that the roster might change around them. L.A.’s front office believes Lue is capable of adjusting to those changes and getting the best out of his players.
Speaking of Leonard and George, they were consulted by the Clippers’ top decision-makers during the search, per Buha and Vardon. However, neither star forward wanted to steer the search in a particular direction and told the team that they trusted the front office. They were both ultimately on board with the choice of Lue.
Here’s more on the Clippers and their new head coaching hire:
- Lue will be aiming to bring more ball movement and a faster pace to the Clippers next season, sources tell Buha and Vardon. He also intends to switch up defensive coverages more often and give the club’s younger players – such as Ivica Zubac, Landry Shamet, Terance Mann and Mfiondu Kabengele – more playing time.
- Lue’s five-year contract is believed to be worth in the neighborhood of $7MM per year, according to Buha and Vardon.
- The Clippers would like to establish better “synergy” between the coaching staff and front office, sources tell The Athletic. Lue is willing to work with the front office as he fills out his staff.
- Buha and Vardon also reiterated a point that we’ve heard in the past, writing that some Clippers players – including Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell, and Lou Williams – bristled at the preferential treatment that Leonard received during his first season in L.A. The star forward was allowed to dictate to Rivers when he came out of games and was often late for team flights because he lived in San Diego, according to The Athletic’s reporters.
- In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton offers up three areas for Lue to focus on as he attempts to get the Clippers to the NBA Finals. Those include tightening up the defense and not overreacting to a disappointing postseason outcome.
Heat Rumors: Adebayo, Giannis, Jones, Dragic, Crowder
The expectation heading into the 2020 offseason is that the Heat will prefer to wait on a new deal for Bam Adebayo, since signing him to a maximum-salary extension would cut into the team’s available cap room for 2021. Miami could maximize that space by keeping Adebayo’s more modest RFA cap hold on the books for 2021, then eventually going over the cap to re-sign him.
Adebayo could get the same max contract whether he signs it this offseason or waits until 2021, but if he’d rather lock it in sooner rather than later, it might become an awkward situation for the Heat, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. In Jackson’s view, Miami actually may have had more leverage to ask Adebayo to wait when there was a perception that the team needed another star to become championship contenders. After this year’s Finals appearance, that argument is more tenuous.
The Heat’s plan is to go “all-in” for Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021 if the Bucks star reaches free agency, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. If Antetokounmpo agrees to an extension with Milwaukee before then, the Heat may not feel as compelled to hold onto their ’21 cap room, which would lessen the need to wait on Adebayo’s next contract.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Unrestricted free agent wing Derrick Jones is expected to receive interest from the Cavaliers, Hornets, and Hawks, among others, sources tell Charania. At just 23 years old, Jones is an unusually young UFA and still has room to develop, which explains why several rebuilding teams will likely kick the tires.
- There’s mutual interest in a new deal between Goran Dragic and the Heat, according to Charania, who says the veteran point guard will have multiple suitors.
- If the Heat are only willing to offer one-year contracts this offseason, Dragic and Jae Crowder may have to decide whether they prefer to remain in Miami or seek longer-term security, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I’m going to obviously give it thought on both sides — having security and my comfort with this organization,” Crowder told Winderman. “So, hopefully, it all comes together from both sides. And that’s what I really want to do.”
- Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald examines how the Heat could theoretically re-sign Dragic and Crowder to lucrative one-year contracts while also adding a quality player with the mid-level exception — and staying out of tax territory.
Rockets Notes: Next Steps, Westbrook, Green, Nwaba
It has been an eventful day in Houston, as word broke this morning that one of the NBA’s longest-tenured general managers, Daryl Morey, has decided to step down from his position in the Rockets‘ front office.
Few – if any – lead executives were more closely associated with a team’s identity and philosophy than Morey was, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN, who notes that Morey’s analytical approach to the game resulted in the Rockets pushing the limits on pace and three-point attempts. We don’t have a clear sense yet of what sort of influence GM Rafael Stone will have on Houston’s playing style, so the team’s new head coach may determine its direction in the short term, writes Pelton.
According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Stone is a believer in small-ball, but it’s not clear if he’s as enthusiastic about playing a full 82-game season without any traditional centers. As such, it will be interesting to see how aggressively the Rockets attempt to fortify their frontcourt this offseason.
Of course, bigger roster decisions will be on the horizon for Stone and the Rockets, especially if the team fails to make a deep playoff run again in 2021. I’d be surprised if Stone does anything drastic right away, but sources who have spoken to Marc Berman of The New York Post believe the Rockets are likelier to consider the possibility of a Russell Westbrook trade following Morey’s departure.
“I can’t imagine they are keeping (James) Harden and Russ together,” one NBA executive told Berman. “Russ excels best as the best player on a team and Harden needs outside shooters around him – not a ball-dominant guard. I think Russ will be the one traded.”
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- After thriving in Houston down the stretch and during the postseason, Rockets forward Jeff Green is expected to receive interest from “a slew of contending teams” this offseason, writes Shams Charania of The Athletic. As I noted last week, Houston only holds Green’s Non-Bird rights, so it may be tricky to re-sign him without using the mid-level or bi-annual exception.
- Following Doc Rivers‘ exit from Los Angeles, the Rockets initially wanted to hire him to fill their head coaching vacancy, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. However, Rivers quickly reached an agreement with Philadelphia, taking him off the board for Houston. With Rivers and Tyronn Lue unavailable, the franchise is reportedly focusing on three potential finalists.
- Kelly Iko of The Athletic conducted an extensive Q&A with Rockets wing David Nwaba, who spoke about his Achilles recovery, his fit in Houston, and more. Nwaba said he anticipates being good to go for the start of the 2020/21 season. “I’m working on getting in shape. It’s taken longer than what I thought to get back into shape, but that’s going to happen through time,” he said. “… The season’s probably going to start in two, three months — I should be more than ready.”
- In another piece for The Athletic, Iko and Danny Leroux took an in-depth look at the Rockets’ short- and long-term salary cap situation.
- If Morey seeks another NBA job, there will be no shortage of opportunities for him, writes Chris Mannix of SI.com.
Sixers To Hire Dave Joerger As Assistant Coach
Former Grizzlies and Kings head coach Dave Joerger has agreed to join the Sixers as an assistant on Doc Rivers‘ new staff, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Joerger, who took over as the Grizzlies’ head coach in 2013, led the team to a 147-99 (.598) regular season mark, with three consecutive playoff appearances. His time in Sacramento wasn’t quite as successful, as the Kings had a 98-148 (.398) record and no postseason berths during his three years with the club. However, it’s worth noting that his 39-43 record in 2018/19 represented the Kings’ most successful mark since 2005/06.
The Pacers interviewed Joerger for their head coaching position and Wojnarowski had reported earlier this month that he was a strong contender for the job. However, with Indiana preparing to narrow its field of candidates to three finalists, it appears Joerger didn’t make the cut.
Frank Isola first reported on Wednesday that Joerger was receiving consideration to join Rivers’ staff.
Latest On Pacers’ Head Coaching Search
After conducting initial interviews with a lengthy list of head coaching candidates, the Pacers are expected to bring back three finalists to meet with team ownership before the end of the month, reports J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
It’s not clear yet which three candidates will be part of that group of finalists. However, Michael hears that Mike D’Antoni thinks he’ll be one of the three. Michael also believes that – despite reports he’ll join Tyronn Lue‘s staff in Los Angeles – Chauncey Billups remains in the running for Indiana’s top job and could be a finalist.
Pelicans assistant Chris Finch and former Grizzlies and Kings coach Dave Joerger look like other contenders to be finalists for the Pacers’ coaching vacancy. A report earlier this week indicated that Finch may be Indiana’s frontrunner, while Joerger was identified earlier this month as a strong contender for the position.
[UPDATE: Dave Joerger joining Sixers’ staff as assistant]
Heat assistants Dan Craig and Chris Quinn were reportedly scheduled to meet with the Pacers this week and may also still be in the mix.
For what it’s worth, Scott Agness of VigilantSports tweeted 12 days ago that the six names he continued to hear connected to the Pacers’ head coaching opening were D’Antoni, Billups, Finch, Joerger, Craig, and Quinn. It sounds likely that Indiana’s three finalists will come from that group, though the team has considered no shortage of other candidates, as our tracker shows.
Rockets’ Coaching Search Focused On JVG, Silas, Lucas
2:49pm: Lucas’ bid to be promoted to head coach has continued to gain momentum, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times, who says that James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Stone are among Lucas’ “key admirers” in Houston (Twitter links).
2:24pm: Tyronn Lue was believed to be one of the top candidates for the Rockets‘ head coaching opening, but now that Lue is off the board, Houston is focusing its search on three other primary candidates, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). According to MacMahon, those candidates are Jeff Van Gundy, Stephen Silas, and John Lucas.
Van Gundy, who met with Rockets ownership and management on Wednesday, extended those conversations with the team into Thursday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) and Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
Within his story, Feigen wrote that the Rockets intend to have follow-up interviews with a handful of finalists. Based on MacMahon’s report, it sounds like Van Gundy, Silas, and Lucas could be the candidates brought in for those follow-up meetings.
The Rockets also interviewed Lue, Kenny Atkinson, David Vanterpool, and Wes Unseld Jr. for their head coaching job earlier in the process.
If Atkinson, Vanterpool, and Unseld are now out of the running and Houston chooses from its group of three presumed finalists, the team will end up hiring someone who either hasn’t been an NBA head coach for more than a decade (Van Gundy, Lucas) or is a first-time head coach (Silas).
The Rockets are completing their head coaching search amidst a front office overhaul, as longtime general manager Daryl Morey has reportedly stepped down from his position.
Houston appears to be staying in-house for Morey’s replacement, promoting executive VP of basketball operations Rafael Stone to GM, so the team won’t have to worry about an incoming executive wanting a say in the coaching hire. Morey is reportedly sticking around in an advisory role until a new head coach has been hired.
Charania’s Latest: Grant, Mavs, Pelicans, Thunder, Pacers
Denver forward Jerami Grant intends to decline his player option for 2020/21, and he and the Nuggets have “significant mutual interest” in negotiating a new contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. With Grant’s Bird rights in hand, the Nuggets are probably the favorites to sign him this offseason, but they’ll face competition from rival suitors.
A previous report singled out the Pistons, Suns, and Hawks as teams that will have interest in Grant. Charania adds a new club to that list today, writing that the Mavericks are also expected to show interest in the versatile forward.
Dallas likely won’t have much cap flexibility this offseason and is believed to be preserving its 2021 cap room in order to make a run at a star who can complement Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. However, if the Mavericks can acquire that third star in a trade, preserving cap room for next year wouldn’t be necessary. According to Charania, Dallas is willing to absorb larger salaries in order to land a star.
Here are a few more items of interest from Charania:
- We know that Stan Van Gundy and Tyronn Lue are two of four finalists for the Pelicans‘ head coaching job. Charania says that the two other finalists are expected to interview with the club next week. While the identities of those two candidates is unknown for now, Jason Kidd – who has previously been linked to the position – isn’t part of the process for now, per Charania..
- Spurs assistant Will Hardy and Thunder assistant Brian Keefe are receiving consideration for Oklahoma City’s head coaching vacancy, sources tell The Athletic.
- The Pacers are expected to narrow their pool of coaching candidates and will conduct in-person interviews with a few finalists next week, according to Charania. Indiana will zero in on a decision after that, he adds.
- Charania’s rumors round-up includes several more items, many of which we’ve already turned into full stories. Those include Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope being expected to turn down their player options, the Bucks’ possible pursuit of Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the Warriors’ potential interest in Dwight Howard.
Warriors Expected To Have Interest In Dwight Howard
Veteran center Dwight Howard will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and he and the Lakers have mutual interest in working out a new contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
However, Los Angeles won’t be the only team looking to sign Howard. Sources tell Charania that the Warriors are among the potential contenders expected to have interest in the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
After missing nearly the entire 2018/19 season for health reasons, Howard bounced back in a big way in ’19/20, appearing in 69 regular season games and another 18 postseason contests for the Lakers.
The 34-year-old willingly took on a reduced role, playing a career-low 18.9 MPG. However, he made a major impact in that role, with 7.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.1 BPG, and a .729 FG%. Howard also flashed his old DPOY form in certain matchups, agitating Nikola Jokic during the Western Conference Finals.
As he enters his age-35 season, Howard won’t be in line for a big-money multiyear deal, but he could receive offers that exceed the minimum salary he earned in 2019/20. The Warriors will have the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth approximately $5.72MM) available and may decide to use some or all of that exception to make Howard an offer.
Golden State has some options at center, including Marquese Chriss, Kevon Looney, and Draymond Green, but may be seeking a more physical big man to share minutes at the five. Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area argued last week that Howard would be an ideal fit, suggesting he could be a lob threat on offense and would provide the same sort of physicality that veteran Warriors centers like Andrew Bogut and Zaza Pachulia did in previous years.
The Lakers hold Non-Bird rights on Howard, so if they want to offer him more than the minimum, they can go up to about $3.08MM using the Non-Bird exception. A more lucrative offer would mean dipping into their mid-level or bi-annual exception.