Southeast Notes: Waiters, Capela, Hornets, Beal
After declining to comment on it earlier in the season, former Heat guard Dion Waiters has published a Players’ Tribune article in which he addresses the incident on the team flight in November that led to a 10-game suspension. Waiters reportedly experienced a medical episode on the flight after consuming a “gummy,” an edible form of marijuana.
In his Players’ Tribune piece, Waiters took responsibility for the incident, calling it “idiotic” on his part.
“What’s crazy is, my whole life I been a leader. I’m not a follower,” Waiters wrote. “(Heat president) Pat (Riley) knows me. He knows I don’t do drugs. But sometimes when you’re going through dark times, you can fall trap to things you’d never do in your right mind.”
While Waiters took responsibility for what did happen on the flight, he adamantly denied one detail that showed up in some reports following the incident.
“I never had a seizure,” Waiters said. “Ask the doctors. Ask my Heat teammates. They can speak on it. For that b.s. to come out, it ain’t right. I made a mistake, but for someone to leak that, and for my family to hear it? S–t. It ain’t right.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- In a conversation with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Hawks center Clint Capela spoke about the experience of being traded, his expectations for next season, and his foot issues — the big man said he’s feeling healthier, but is still unsure if he’ll play if the season resumes in June or July. Capela also expressed optimism about his fit alongside John Collins: “I think we’re going to do well. I think we’re good enough to really figure out how to be efficient at what we do. He can shoot 3s and do other stuff. I think we can figure this out.”
- Roderick Boone and John Hollinger of The Athletic take an in-depth look at the Hornets‘ future, with Hollinger suggesting that the team missed a chance to kickstart its rebuild by not trading Kemba Walker before he reached free agency. While there are fewer impediments on their cap than there were a year ago, Hollinger thinks the Hornets may still be a lottery team for a few more seasons.
- Bradley Beal wasn’t always a vocal leader for the Wizards, but he has turned into one in recent years. Fred Katz of The Athletic explores how that happened.
Poll: 2020 All-NBA First Team
The NBA’s usual award season is in flux 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 unclear if or when the season will resume after being suspended last month, 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.
That’s hardly the most pressing concern facing the NBA, but as we remain in a holding pattern waiting for updates on how the league may proceed, we might as well engage in some award speculation.
For now, our assumption is that if the regular season isn’t entirely over, it’s very close to it. Even if the league is able to resume play this summer, there will likely only be a handful of regular season games on an abridged schedule. Those games are unlikely to have a massive impact on players’ cases for awards, so we’re moving forward with our annual vote on our All-NBA teams now.
We want to give you an opportunity to make your own picks, starting today with the First Team. We’ll move onto the Second Team later in the week, and the Third Team after that.
Polls for the guards, forwards, and center are below — you’ll have the opportunity to pick two players apiece in the guard and forward polls. We’ll leave today’s polls open for at least the next 48 hours before naming the players with the most votes to our All-NBA First Team and moving on to voting for the Second Team.
A couple caveats before we move onto the polls:
- If there’s a player you believe deserves All-NBA consideration who isn’t named below, be sure to mention him in the comment section — if I agree, I’ll make sure he’s included in our Second and Third Team polls.
- There are a few players I’ve listed at multiple positions. If there are any other players you believe deserve to be listed at a second position, please make your case in the comments and I’ll consider making adjustments for the Second and Third Team polls.
Vote for your All-NBA First Team below, then take to the comment section to explain your picks!
Guards:
(Choose two)
Who are your All-NBA First Team guards?
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Luka Doncic (Mavericks) 38% (924)
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James Harden (Rockets) 27% (663)
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Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers) 9% (224)
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Trae Young (Hawks) 4% (102)
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Bradley Beal (Wizards) 4% (92)
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Chris Paul (Thunder) 3% (74)
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Kemba Walker (Celtics) 3% (74)
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Russell Westbrook (Rockets) 3% (63)
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Jimmy Butler (Heat; also at F) 2% (52)
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Ben Simmons (Sixers) 2% (48)
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Kyle Lowry (Raptors) 2% (40)
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Devin Booker (Suns) 2% (37)
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Donovan Mitchell (Jazz) 2% (37)
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Jrue Holiday (Pelicans) 0% (11)
Total votes: 2,441
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First Team guards.
Forwards:
(Choose two)
Who are your All-NBA First Team forwards?
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Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) 42% (1,013)
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LeBron James (Lakers) 34% (815)
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Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) 7% (178)
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Anthony Davis (Lakers; also at C) 6% (135)
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Jayson Tatum (Celtics) 4% (88)
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Khris Middleton (Bucks) 3% (65)
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Pascal Siakam (Raptors) 2% (45)
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Jimmy Butler (Heat; also at G) 1% (21)
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Bam Adebayo (Heat; also at C) 1% (18)
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Brandon Ingram (Pelicans) 1% (17)
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Tobias Harris (Sixers) 1% (13)
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Paul George (Clippers) 0% (11)
Total votes: 2,419
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First Team forwards.
Center:
(Choose one)
Who is your All-NBA First Team center?
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Anthony Davis (Lakers; also at F) 52% (615)
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Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) 18% (217)
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Joel Embiid (Sixers) 10% (117)
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Bam Adebayo (Heat; also at F) 5% (58)
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Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves) 4% (52)
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Rudy Gobert (Jazz) 3% (39)
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Domantas Sabonis (Pacers) 2% (25)
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LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs) 1% (17)
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Andre Drummond (Pistons/Cavaliers) 1% (15)
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Hassan Whiteside (Trail Blazers) 1% (14)
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Nikola Vucevic (Magic) 1% (7)
Total votes: 1,176
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First Team center.
Central Notes: Pistons, Doumbouya, Giannis, Cavs
The NBA’s hiatus and the coronavirus pandemic prevented Pistons head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski from making a planned scouting trip to Europe this spring, but he still feels as if his club will be ready for the draft if it moves forward as scheduled on June 25. Without in-person workouts or meetings available this year, the Pistons have been watching “a ton of video,” according to Stefanski.
“I think if June 25 rolled around, there’s no doubt we’d be prepared,” Stefanski said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “Maybe in a different manner. Obviously, we wouldn’t have live workouts. We would have to do more virtual – virtual interviews with players – and we’d get the medical done, I’d think, in all different cities. But we’re ready to adapt. We’ve talked about many different scenarios that could happen. I feel comfortable with whatever.”
The Pistons have traded away their second-round pick for 2020, but would have the fifth-best odds for the No. 1 pick in the first round if the current NBA standings are used for lottery purposes.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Although the NBA has instructed players to limit their travel during the league’s hiatus, Pistons rookie Sekou Doumbouya has returned home to France. A source informed Emiliano Carchia of Sportando that the Pistons were unaware that Doumbouya had left the U.S. to return to France, but a team spokesperson said over the weekend that the club is in the loop. Doumbouya went to France to be closer to family during the pandemic, the team spokesperson said, per The Associated Press.
- It’s too early to say what the NBA’s salary cap will look like in 2020/21, let alone 2021/22, but the unusual nature of this stoppage may impact when the Bucks are able to offer a super-max contract extension to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the exact value of that offer. As Eric Nehm and Danny Leroux of The Athletic explain, Milwaukee will still be able to offer significantly more than any other team, whenever the Bucks get the chance to do so.
- Within a mailbag, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com explores the Cavaliers‘ long-term outlook at small forward and considers which prospect they’d draft if they land the No. 1 pick. Fedor also reports that the team recently conducted a virtual interview with Virginia big man Mamadi Diakite, a possible second-round target.
Baylor’s Jared Butler Enters 2020 NBA Draft
Baylor sophomore guard Jared Butler has entered his name in the 2020 NBA draft pool, he announced today (via Twitter). He’ll maintain his college eligibility throughout the process, leaving the door open for a return to Baylor.
The 41st overall prospect on ESPN’s big board for 2020, Butler averaged a team-high 16.0 PPG in 30 games (30.4 MPG) for Baylor as a sophomore, earning All-Big 12 honors. He also chipped in 3.2 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.6 SPG with a .381 3PT%.
Butler is the second Baylor underclassman to declare for the draft this spring, joining junior guard MaCio Teague. The Bears teammates are just two of nearly 150 names on our early entrants list so far. The deadline for early entrants to declare for the draft is Sunday, April 26.
As of now, Butler, Teague, and the rest of this year’s early entrants will have until early June to decide whether or not to stay in the draft, though that deadline could change if the NBA draft date does.
Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Knicks, Sixers, Celtics
Despite playing in just his second NBA season, Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson is already on his fifth agent since going pro, as Marc Berman of The New York Post details. Robinson signed with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports earlier this year, and Paul is confident that he can provide the sort of stable representation that will alleviate some concerns for the young center.
“When you get the right representation, there’s an ease that comes to your mind that allows you to focus on other things,” Paul told Berman. “It’s hard to sleep with both eyes closed in this business. It’s a lot more mental than people think.”
With a non-guaranteed salary for 2020/21 and a team option for ’21/22, Robinson is still a ways away from reaching free agency. However, Paul sounds as if he’s looking forward to eventually negotiating a second contract for the big man with new Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose, who previously represented Klutch’s current star client, LeBron James.
“He’ll shoot me straight when it comes to Mitchell and I’ll shoot him straight,” Paul said of Rose. “The Knicks know what’s best for him. They see him as a future guy. Leon knows the game. He’ll handle that properly.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- After declaring for the 2020 draft, potential lottery pick Cole Anthony – who grew up in New York – told Zach Braziller of The New York Post that he’d welcome the chance to play for the Knicks. “It would be pretty cool,” Anthony said. “I was a fan for a good amount of time. I do like the Knicks. I think they definitely can use a guard, a good scoring point guard.” As Braziller notes, the former Tar Heel added that he’d be fine dropping several spots in the draft if it means landing with a team that’s an ideal fit for him.
- Appearing on The Sixers Beat podcast with Derek Bodner and Rich Hofmann of The Athletic, former Sixers sharpshooter J.J. Redick said he doesn’t believe head coach Brett Brown should be made the scapegoat for any issues in Philadelphia (audio clip). “I would love to play for Brett again,” Redick said. “I don’t think Brett is the problem, if there’s a problem. Sometimes things maybe just don’t work.”
- A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston revisits the Celtics‘ 2019 draft decisions, exploring whether the team should have gone in a different direction with any of its four selections.
Southwest Notes: Aldridge, Finley, Rockets, Cash
Asked earlier this week by a fan which former teammate he’d like to add to the Trail Blazers‘ current roster, Damian Lillard named Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge. That tweet – sent from Portland’s official Twitter account – was soon deleted, but not before Aldridge replied to it with an eyeballs emoji.
Speaking to Michael C. Wright of NBA.com, Aldridge downplayed the significance of his response, but acknowledged that he wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to the idea of returning to Portland and finishing his career with the Trail Blazers. He also diplomatically didn’t rule out the idea of remaining with the Spurs for the remainder of his career.
“I think either one would be fine with me. I feel like I’ve made some good memories in San Antonio. I feel like I’m in a really good family in San Antonio. They understand me. I understand them. So, I like that,” Aldridge said. “I feel I have a lot of history in Portland. So, going back there to finish would be fine also. I’m perfectly fine with finishing my career in San Antonio riding it out until my next chapter, or if things have to change there, and if (the Spurs) decide to go young, then I wouldn’t mind going to (the Trail Blazers).”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Appearing on the McNeil & Parkins Show on 670 The Score in Chicago, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was evasive when asked whether the Bulls have asked to interview Michael Finley for a front office position. However, he said he’d grant Chicago permission to speak to Finley if asked. Finley was identified last week as a potential candidate for the Bulls’ GM opening.
- As Kelly Iko of The Athletic details, the Rockets only played 14 games after trading away Clint Capela before this year’s trade deadline. That small sample size could be problematic, especially if the season doesn’t resume, since the Rockets will have to make offseason decisions based on whether or not they feel the center-less lineup is a viable approach going forward.
- William Guillory of The Athletic examines the role that Pelicans vice president of basketball operations Swin Cash has played in her first year with the franchise and the impact she has had on the team’s young players.
NBA, NBPA Agree On Deal To Withhold Portion Of Players’ Pay
4:04pm: The NBA has issued a press release officially confirming the agreement detailed below.
2:29pm: The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have reached an agreement on a deal that will see 25% of players’ pay checks withheld beginning on May 15, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, the players’ May 1 checks will be paid in full, as the ones on April 15 were.
The league had previously proposed that players’ pay checks be reduced by 50% beginning on April 15, with the NBPA counter-proposing the deal that has now been agreed upon. Today’s agreement will ensure a more gradual reduction of players’ salaries as they prepare for the likely possibility that some games will be canceled and they’ll have to give up some money as a result.
As cap guru Albert Nahmad and others have explained, if the NBA has to officially cancel regular-season and/or playoff games, the “force majeure” clause in the CBA would allow the league to recoup a portion of players’ salaries — approximately 1% per canceled game. While the NBA still hopes to resume and finish its season, there’s an expectation that the schedule will be reduced to some extent in that scenario.
If they had continued to receive their full pay checks beyond May 15, the players would have put themselves in a position of eventually having to return some of that money to the NBA – if and when the force majeure provision was enacted – to help balance the revenue split between players and owners.
Taking a quarter of players’ pay checks starting on May 15 should help the league and the players’ union remain flexible no matter what happens with the remainder of the season, avoiding any substantial lump-sum payments from one side to the other in the coming months. The players could end up getting money back if the NBA is able to play most or all of its remaining games, whereas if the season is fully canceled, the league would keep that withheld pay and the players would likely owe additional money.
Most NBA players receive their annual pay checks in 24 regular installments through November 1. However, there are some players who receive their salary in just 12 installments through May 1. Those players will have been paid in full by the time today’s plan goes into effect on May 15, so presumably they’ll be required to give back some money. We’ll have to wait for more extensive details on today’s deal to find out exactly how that will work.
And-Ones: Holiday Brothers, Green, NBA China
Asked in a group interview by Shams Charania of Stadium (video link) about the possibility of playing together in the future, the Holiday brothers expressed interest, even as Pacers guard Aaron Holiday acknowledged that it’s “probably unrealistic” for the time being.
Justin Holiday, who currently plays in Indiana alongside his younger brother on a one-year deal with the Pacers, said that the brothers probably get asked about the idea of teaming up more than they think about it themselves. Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, meanwhile, said that he thinks the three brothers would “be good together” if they did play on the same team.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Top high school recruit Jalen Green, who decided to sign with the G League as part of the league’s revamped developmental program, will be provided with a full-ride college scholarship by the NBAGL if he wants to go to school at a later date, he tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). “I’m still going to be able to go back to college and finish school,” Green said. “So, it’s not really that I’m missing out on college because I can go back and finish whenever I need to.”
- In a conversation at The Athletic, former NBA team executives Seth Partnow and John Hollinger traded some big-picture, outside-the-box suggestions for how to change the league. Among the ideas proposed: Expanding the league to 32 teams, revamping the draft workout process, and introducing a “suck tax,” which would hit the league’s worst teams with financial penalties.
- NBA China CEO Derek Chang is stepping down from his position, the league announced on Thursday in a press release. Chang, who assumed the role in June 2018, will officially depart after May 15, as the NBA seeks a new executive for the position. It has presumably been a challenging year for Chang, who had to deal with the rift between the NBA and China as a result of Daryl Morey‘s tweet supporting Hong Kong protestors.
2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Denver Nuggets
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.
After placing second in the Western Conference and winning a playoff series in 2018/19, the Nuggets were on nearly an identical pace this season, holding a 43-22 record prior to the NBA’s hiatus, the best mark of any non-L.A. team in the West.
In order to seriously contend for a title, Denver may need Jamal Murray and/or Michael Porter Jr. to evolve into a bona fide star alongside Nikola Jokic. In the meantime, the team isn’t weighed down by a ton of onerous contracts, but also may not be in a position to comfortably retain both Jerami Grant and Paul Millsap if and when they reach unrestricted free agency this offseason.
Here’s where things stand for the Nuggets financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:
Guaranteed Salary
- Nikola Jokic ($29,542,010)
- Jamal Murray ($27,285,000) 1
- Gary Harris ($19,160,714)
- Will Barton ($13,723,214)
- Michael Porter Jr. ($3,550,800)
- Vlatko Cancar ($1,517,981)
- PJ Dozier ($1,200,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.
- Total: $95,979,719
Player Options
- Jerami Grant ($9,346,153)
- Total: $9,346,153
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Keita Bates-Diop ($1,663,861) 2
- Monte Morris ($1,663,861) 3
- PJ Dozier ($562,796)
- Bol Bol (two-way)
- Total: $3,890,518
Restricted Free Agents
- Torrey Craig ($2,500,000 qualifying offer / $3,800,000 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $3,800,000
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Paul Millsap ($38,199,000): Bird rights 4
- Mason Plumlee ($21,061,644): Bird rights
- No. 22 overall pick ($2,379,840)
- Noah Vonleh ($2,400,000): Non-Bird rights
- Troy Daniels ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights
- Richard Jefferson ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 5
- Total: $67,281,612
Offseason Cap Outlook
The Nuggets have just shy of $96MM of guaranteed money on their books for 2020/21, but that’s only for six or seven players. If we assume they’ll retain Morris and Bates-Diop on their minimum-salary deals and keep their first-round pick, that salary total surpasses $100MM, likely eliminating the possibility of cap room for the 2020 offseason.
The Nuggets will have Bird rights on their three most important free agents – Grant, Millsap, and Craig – and could theoretically retain all three. However, depending on the price tags, that could push the club up into luxury tax territory, so some tough decisions may be on the horizon.
For now, we’re assuming that Denver will look to avoid the tax, but if the team is willing to cross that threshold, it would lose the full mid-level exception and bi-annual exception, gaining access to the more modest taxpayer MLE.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 6
- Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 6
- Trade exception: $3,321,030 (expires 2/5/21)
- Trade exception: $1,845,301 (expires 2/8/21)
Footnotes
- This is a projected value. Murray’s actual maximum salary will be 25% of the cap, wherever it lands.
- Bates-Diop’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 24.
- Morris’ salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 18.
- Millsap’s cap hold will be the lesser of $45,525,000 or 35% of the 2020/21 cap.
- The cap hold for Jefferson remains on the Nuggets’ books because he hasn’t been renounced after going unsigned since 2018. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- This is a projected value.
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.
UNC’s Cole Anthony Declares For 2020 NBA Draft
UNC freshman guard Cole Anthony has declared for the 2020 NBA draft, officially announcing his decision on Twitter.
A potential lottery pick, Anthony averaged 18.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 22 games (34.9 MPG) as a freshman. His first and only college season was derailed for a few weeks by a partially torn meniscus, but he returned to the Tar Heels’ lineup following that injury.
Draft guru Mike Schmitz, who – along with Jonathan Givony – has Anthony ranked 11th on ESPN’s big board, notes that the young point guard is more of a scorer than a facilitator at this point, and is a streaky shooter, having made just 38.0% of his field goals (34.8% from three) at UNC.
However, Schmitz praises Anthony’s offensive confidence and versatility, as well as his competitiveness and ability to fight through screens on defense.
[RELATED: 2020 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]
The 2020 draft class looks heavy on point guards, so despite being ESPN’s 11th overall prospect, Anthony ranks just fifth at his position, behind LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, Killian Hayes, and RJ Hampton. NBA teams eyeing point guards early in the draft may also consider the likes of Nico Mannion and Theo Maledon.