Headlines

Author: Luke Adams

NBA, NBPA Extend CBA Termination Deadline

By | at May 11, 2020 10:41 am

The NBA and the NBPA have reached an agreement to extend the window during which the league can terminate the Collective Bargaining Agreement, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The previous 60-day period, which began when the season was suspended on March 11, had been set to expire. The deadline will be pushed back to September, according to Wojnarowski.

It may sound ominous that the NBA will continue to have the ability to “terminate” the CBA, but it’s more of a necessary formality at this point. The “force majeure” provision gives the league that power, but the NBA has no interest in taking advantage of it for now, since both the league and the players’ union want to resume the 2019/20 season in the coming months.

In order for that to happen, the Collective Bargaining Agreement will need to be restructured, so delaying this deadline gives the two sides more time to gather information on the league’s projected financial losses and to work through issues like next season’s salary cap and luxury tax thresholds, as Woj explains. When the time comes, the NBA and the NBPA figure to work together to negotiate the necessary adjustments to the CBA.

“This CBA was not built for an extended pandemic,” Silver said on Friday’s conference call with players, per ESPN. “There’s not a mechanism in it that works to properly accept a cap when you’ve got so much uncertainty; when we’d be going in next season saying, “Well, our revenue could be $10 billion or it could be $6 billion. Or maybe it could be less.”

Besides figuring out salary cap details going forward, the league and the players’ union will have to negotiate a number of other issues, including how the players will be paid for whatever portion of the 2019/20 season can be played, how free agency will work, and what the NBA schedule will look like in 2020/21 and beyond.

2 comments Collective Bargaining Agreement Newsstand Salary Cap

Kai Sotto Opts For G League Professional Path

By | at May 11, 2020 9:20 am

Kai Sotto, a 7’2″ center from the Philippines, intends to pass on college ball and will instead join the G League’s revamped professional program, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The G League’s new Select Team has landed a number of notable high school recruits, including guards Jalen Green and Daishen Nix, as well as forward Isaiah Todd. Sotto represents the first international prospect who will sign a contract with the NBAGL program, as Charania notes.

A four-star recruit who comes in at No. 62 overall on ESPN’s 2020 rankings, Sotto arrived stateside in 2019 and joined The Skill Factory, a prep program based in Georgia. A handful of colleges were believed to be keeping an eye on the big man, including Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Auburn, and USC, but he’ll opt to go pro as he pursues an eventual NBA career.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz wrote in February about their impressions of Sotto at the Basketball Without Borders camp, with Givony noting that the youngster’s talent stood out in drills, even as he “struggled to make his presence felt in the games.” According to ESPN’s scouting report, Sotto has a versatile skill set given his size, handling the ball well and displaying three-point range on his jump shot.

Meanwhile, Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside wrote on Sunday that he viewed Sotto and the G League Select Team as a good fit for one another, pointing out that taking on a project like Sotto would allow the program to prove it’s capable of developing prospects who are still fairly raw.

1 comment NBA G League Newsstand

2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: New York Knicks

By | at May 9, 2020 1:00 pm

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the NBA calendar, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

It was another dismal season for the Knicks, who were on track to miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive year when the season was suspended in March. And while RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson look like potential long-term building blocks, former top-10 picks Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina still aren’t producing consistently for the club.

The good news? The Knicks have a new president of basketball operations (Leon Rose) who will likely bring in a new head coach and some new voices in the front office. Plus, with plenty of cap flexibility going forward, the team isn’t locked into the current roster.

Here’s where things stand for the Knicks financially in 2020/21, as we launch our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • Taj Gibson ($8,450,000) 1
  • Wayne Ellington ($7,000,000) 2
  • Elfrid Payton ($7,000,000) 3
  • Reggie Bullock ($3,200,000) 4
  • Mitchell Robinson ($1,663,861) 5
  • Kenny Wooten (two-way)
  • Total: $27,313,861

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

In theory, the Knicks could operate as an over-the-cap team if they retain all of their veterans with team options or non-guaranteed salaries. In reality, I’d expect only two or three of those players to be back. Besides Robinson, who will obviously be retained, Bullock looks like a solid value, and Gibson and/or Payton are candidates to stick around.

Even if they retain all of those players, plus their guys on guaranteed deals and their two first-round picks, the Knicks project to open up more than $25MM in cap space, assuming the cap doesn’t drop from its 2019/20 level. Moving on from Gibson, Payton, and/or Bullock would push that number even higher and could result in New York having the second- or third-most room of any NBA team this offseason.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Room exception: $4,767,000 6
  • Trade exception: $3,988,766 (expires 2/8/21) 7

Footnotes

  1. Gibson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  2. Ellington’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  3. Payton’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  4. Bullock’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  5. Robinson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  6. This is a projected value.
  7. The Knicks will have to renounce this exception in order to use cap room.

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

11 comments Hoops Rumors Originals New York Knicks Offseason Salary Cap Digest

Coronavirus Notes: Facilities, Resuming Season, More

By | at May 8, 2020 5:01 pm

By allowing teams to reopen their practice facilities, the NBA is hoping to give players a safe environment in which to work out — and to encourage them not to frequent public gyms which won’t have the same safety protocols in place. However, as ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne writes, there’s skepticism among some league executives that players will be enthusiastic about jumping through so many hoops to get an hour-long workout in.

“Players are saying, ‘I can do my stuff at high school gyms, or whatever else I’ve been using right now, without having to go through all these protocols,'” a Western Conference general manager told ESPN. “And I can work out as long as I want there — not just an hour.”

Additionally, many players have left their home teams’ markets since the league went on hiatus nearly two months ago, and may be reluctant to return to those cities until they have a clearer sense of a timeline to resume the season, according to Shelburne. One team executive told ESPN he’d be surprised if any of his players returned to town right away to use the club’s reopened facilities.

“It took two to three weeks for everything to unwind when we shut down,” one high-profile agent said. “It’ll take at least that long for guys to get back to town. And they’re not going to start flying back until they hear the league is starting up again.”

Here’s more on the coronavirus and how it’s affecting the NBA:

  • NBA teams believe that local government officials would need to permit gatherings of up to 50 people for full practices to resume and gatherings of up to 200 people to actually play games, sources tell Shelburne.
  • Some team officials around the league are worried about the psychological effects that returning to organized activities during the coronavirus pandemic might have on certain individuals, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. As Holmes points out, there are a number of players, coaches, and executives across the NBA who could be considered “germaphobes” — the players in that group may not be comfortable being back on the court in the coming weeks.
  • As teams begin to reopen their practice facilities, they have been informed by the NBA that anyone with a temperature greater than 99 Fahrenheit should not be permitted to enter, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
  • Chris Mannix of SI.com has heard that the NBA could wait as long as late June before making any decisions on the resumption of its 2019/20 season.
  • In case you missed it, we’ve published several other coronavirus-related items today, including some updates on the NBA’s discussions to resume the season, Michele Roberts‘ concerns about the “bubble” location concept, and the NBA allowing teams to begin testing asymptomatic individuals for COVID-19.
2 comments COVID-19

2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: New Orleans Pelicans

By | at May 8, 2020 4:07 pm

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

The Pelicans were considered a playoff sleeper prior to the 2019/20 season and again by the time the season went on hiatus. In between, things were a little up and down — the team got off to a dismal 6-22 start in the fall while No. 1 pick Zion Williamson recovered from a knee injury. However, New Orleans bounced back nicely and showed some tantalizing potential in the 19 games Williamson played, as he meshed nicely with young building blocks Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram.

The priority this offseason for the Pelicans will be re-signing Ingram, who will be in line for either a maximum-salary contract or something close to it. The franchise has enough cap flexibility to accommodate that deal without approaching tax territory.

Here’s where things stand for the Pelicans financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

With just $76MM in guaranteed money on their books for next season so far, the Pelicans could theoretically create cap room. However, there would be no better way to use that room than by re-signing Ingram. He’ll be a restricted free agent, giving New Orleans the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs, and his new deal figures to erase any cap space the Pelicans could carve out.

Fortunately, even with a max deal for Ingram on their books and without a cap increase, the Pelicans would have plenty of room to maneuver below the tax threshold. That should give the team the option of re-signing Favors and/or Moore, or potentially using its full mid-level exception.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 2
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 2

Footnotes

  1. Miller’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
  2. These are projected values. If team salary gets high enough, it’s possible the Pelicans would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000). If they want to use cap room, they’d have to renounce these exceptions and would gain access to the room exception ($4,767,000).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

4 comments Hoops Rumors Originals New Orleans Pelicans Offseason Salary Cap Digest

NBA Starts Allowing Teams To Test Asymptomatic Players For Coronavirus

By | at May 8, 2020 2:43 pm

After previously being advised by the NBA not to test asymptomatic players for COVID-19, teams have now been informed by the league that they’ll be permitted to administer those tests — as long as they’re in areas where testing is readily available to at-risk health care workers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Magic, for instance, have been granted written authorization from the Orange County Department of Health – as well as approval from the NBA – to test their players and staffers for the coronavirus, whether or not they’re exhibiting symptoms, a spokesperson confirmed. A Magic official told Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link) today that May 12 is the most likely target date for the team to reopen its practice facility.

“We have been assured we are not taking any tests from healthcare workers, first responders, or anyone whether they are experiencing symptoms or asymptomatic,” the Magic told Woj in a statement (Twitter link). “As we’ve been told, the general public in our community can go to numerous locations to receive a coronavirus test.”

The Lakers and Clippers are among the other clubs that are expected to receive permission soon from the NBA and local health authorities to conduct coronavirus tests on players entering their facilities, according to Wojnarowski.

Although the NBA is allowing teams to reopen their practice facilities, the league has been reluctant to ramp up testing for its players and staffers yet. When the NBA suspended its season in March, multiple teams were able to conduct immediate tests on dozens of asymptomatic players and staffers, drawing criticism from politicians who were dealing with local shortages.

The NBA doesn’t want to create the impression that the league is receiving preferential treatment, which is why any teams in municipalities with testing shortages still won’t be permitted to test asymptomatic players for now.

However, if an increasing number of teams get the go-ahead to move forward with testing asymptomatic individuals, that will represent a crucial step forward for the NBA. If the league wants to resume its 2019/20 season, it will need access to thousands – and potentially tens of thousands – of tests to regularly administer them to players, staffers, and other officials.

As long as those tests still aren’t readily available for asymptomatic people in many areas of the country, it would be a bad look for the NBA to procure them in massive quantities. But if and when shortages are no longer a concern, that would no longer be a roadblock for a potential return to play.

3 comments COVID-19 Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Newsstand Orlando Magic

Bulls’ Karnisovas, Eversley Leaning Toward Coaching Change?

By | at May 8, 2020 1:58 pm

While the Bulls aren’t saying much publicly about Jim Boylen‘s future, new executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have received a “mixed bag of feedback” on Boylen and are believed to be leaning toward making a coaching change later this year, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

As Cowley details, the Bulls’ owners and advisor John Paxson, who made Boylen the head coach in the first place, are in favor of retaining him and have told him as much. Karnisovas doesn’t want to “rock the boat” early in his tenure with the team, but he was promised full autonomy and is expected to be given the go-ahead if he wants to make a change.

According to Cowley, Boylen has spoken to both Karnisovas and Eversley on a regular basis since they were hired. However, the new Bulls execs have also been in frequent contact with players and others in the organization, and Cowley says that “several key players” have been critical of the head coach, who has a 39-84 (.317) record since taking the reins.

A source tells The Sun-Times that, with the evaluation period ongoing, both Boylen and Bulls players have been advised to avoid interviews about the coach’s standing with the team.

Although Boylen remains under contract beyond this season, his salary is believed to be modest, so financial considerations wouldn’t stand in the way of a change. It’s fairly common for new heads of basketball operations to bring in their own head coach within a year or two, so even if Boylen holds the job for now, that wouldn’t mean the franchise is committed to him long-term.

Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and Sixers assistant Ime Udoka have been cited as head coaching candidates the Bulls may look at if they do replace Boylen.

9 comments Chicago Bulls Newsstand

NBPA’s Roberts Expresses Concerns About ‘Bubble’ Concept

By | at May 8, 2020 12:46 pm

The possibility of resuming and completing the 2019/20 NBA season in a “bubble” location is widely viewed as the most viable path to playing games this summer. In theory, bringing the necessary players, staffers, and officials to a single location where they can be quarantined and tested for COVID-19 would be far less risky than having teams traveling to and from their home cities for games.

[RELATED: Latest On NBA’s Discussions To Resume Season]

However, while the idea of making Walt Disney World or Las Vegas that bubble in which to resume the NBA season has gained momentum in some corners, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts tells ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the players’ union has some reservations.

As Roberts explains, via Shelburne, players would have to submit to some level of surveillance in order to enforce a quarantine for several weeks – or months – and to ensure the “bubble” is impenetrable. That idea is somewhat unsettling for Roberts and a number of players.

“Are we going to arm guards around the hotel?” Roberts said. “That sounds like incarceration to me.”

Of course, while the NBPA may have concerns about bubble enforcement being too “draconian,” as Shelburne writes, creating restrictions that are too lax could also be a problem. In that scenario, the league would risk having a player or staffer leave the bubble, contract the coronavirus, and put those inside the bubble at risk, potentially necessitating a shutdown.

The NBA continues to explore all potential options, so there’s no guarantee that the league will move forward with the bubble-location concept. If it does, there are concessions that could be made, such as allowing family members to join players in the bubble location. Still, Roberts tells Shelburne that regardless of what the NBA decides, the league and its players will have to prepare for some level of coronavirus-related risk.

“This is a world with the virus,” Roberts said. “And we have to figure out a way to work, play and live in a world with the virus. The questions have now evolved from, ‘Are we going to play again?’ to, ‘If we play, what are the risks going to look like?'”

As Roberts point out, even after the NBA makes a decision on what it feels is the safest possible path for resuming play, there may still be players who aren’t comfortable with those risks. She’s not sure yet how to address that issue.

“That is the million-dollar question,” Roberts told Shelburne. “I’ve got to confront that. It’s an issue employers everywhere are going to have to confront. Because I guarantee there’s going to be at least one player, if not many more than that, that are going to have genuine concerns about their safety. We have to figure out what the response is to that. It’s a tough one, and I don’t pretend that I have an answer to that one yet.

7 comments COVID-19 National Basketball Players Association

Nuggets Postpone Reopening Date To Monday

By | at May 8, 2020 11:46 am

Initially expected to be one of three teams opening their practice facilities for individual voluntary workouts on Friday, the Nuggets will delay their reopening until Monday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

May 8 is the first day that the NBA is permitting teams to reopen their buildings for individual player workouts, with strict regulations in place to help avoid the spread of the coronavirus. As far as we know, the other two teams expected to reopen today – the Cavaliers and Trail Blazers – are still moving forward with those plans.

The Nuggets will now join the Kings and Raptors as clubs targeting May 11 as their reopening date.

It remains to be seen how many players will take advantage of the newly-reopened facilities in Denver and elsewhere. Some players have access to their own workout equipment and private baskets and may not need to use a team facility. A few may stay away from team facilities for now due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

[RELATED: McCollum apprehensive about Blazers’ reopening facility]

Of course, not every player remained in his team’s home city during the NBA’s shutdown either. Mike Singer of The Denver Post said earlier this week that a “significant portion” of the Nuggets aren’t currently in Denver.

1 comment COVID-19 Denver Nuggets

Poll: 2020 All-Rookie Second Team

By | at May 8, 2020 11:09 am

The NBA’s usual award season is in flux in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under normal circumstances, the regular season would be over by this point and voting would have taken place on the league’s major awards. This year, however, it’s still unclear if or when the season will resume after being suspended in March, creating uncertainty about whether players will get any more regular season games to make their cases for award consideration, and about when voting will take place.

Resolving end-of-season awards is hardly the most pressing concern facing the NBA, but while we wait for further updates on the fate of the ’19/20 season, we’re passing the time with some award-related speculation.

Earlier this week, we asked you to vote on your All-Rookie First Team for 2019/20, and the results of that poll are now in. Here are the players you selected:

All-Rookie First Team:

As those results show, many of this year’s most impressive rookies could be found on just two clubs, with Memphis and Miami each getting a pair of first-year players on the First Team.

While Morant was expected to have a significant impact after being selected second overall last June, Herro (No. 13), Clarke (No. 21), and Nunn (undrafted in 2018) flew under the radar during the 2019 offseason and have exceeded expectations as rookies. They’re all worthy First Team choices, in my opinion.

Williamson rounds out the team, despite playing just 19 games so far. His per-game numbers (23.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.2 APG) and his impact on the Pelicans were so impressive that it’s hard to argue with the choice, though I wonder a few voters will leave him off their First Team ballots this summer due to his limited playing time.

Today, we’re moving onto our vote on the 2020 All-Rookie Second Team. Unlike the All-NBA squads, which feature 15 players, there are only a pair of All-Rookie teams, featuring 10 total players. As such, this will be our last All-Rookie poll. We’ll break down the results on Monday.

You can make your picks below for the players you believe are worthy of spots on the All-Rookie Second Team. Be sure to choose five players, regardless of position, then take to the comment section to explain your choices!

Who should be on the All-Rookie Second Team for 2019/20?

  • RJ Barrett (Knicks) 12% (528)
  • Eric Paschall (Warriors) 11% (446)
  • Rui Hachimura (Wizards) 10% (440)
  • Coby White (Bulls) 10% (440)
  • P.J. Washington (Hornets) 8% (321)
  • Cameron Johnson (Suns) 7% (281)
  • Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets) 7% (280)
  • Terence Davis (Raptors) 5% (231)
  • Matisse Thybulle (Sixers) 5% (227)
  • De'Andre Hunter (Hawks) 5% (195)
  • Jaxson Hayes (Pelicans) 3% (146)
  • Cam Reddish (Hawks) 3% (140)
  • Jarrett Culver (Timberwolves) 3% (138)
  • Darius Garland (Cavaliers) 3% (133)
  • Kevin Porter Jr. (Cavaliers) 3% (115)
  • Luguentz Dort (Thunder) 2% (92)
  • Ky Bowman (Warriors) 2% (91)

Total votes: 4,244

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

7 comments 2020 NBA Awards Hoops Rumors Originals Hoops Rumors Polls
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors