Coaches To Receive Bonuses For In-Season Tournament Results
Like NBA players, the league’s coaches will benefit financially from advancing in the league’s new in-season tournament, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Wojnarowski, the head coach of the team that wins the in-season tournament will be awarded a $500K bonus, which is equivalent to the amount that each of the players on the winning team will earn.
Head coaches, like players, will also earn bonuses if they’re a tournament quarterfinalist ($50K), semifinalist ($100K), or runner-up ($200K), per Wojnarowski.
The assistant coaches on the final eight teams will share a prize pool that will be worth 75% of the head coach’s bonus, Wojnarowski adds. If I’m understanding Woj’s wording correctly, that means the assistants on the in-season tournament champion would divvy up $375K in bonus money.
The in-season tournament prize money for players was collectively bargained between the NBA and NBPA as part of the league’s newest CBA, but bonuses for coaches weren’t part of that agreement. According to Wojnarowski, a coaching leadership group met with commissioner Adam Silver in September to discuss the possibility of adding financial incentives for coaches, and the two sides ultimately agreed on this bonus structure.
Friday is the first day of group play for the first in-season tournament in NBA history. As the event’s schedule shows, 14 teams will compete in round robin games today, with Knicks vs. Bucks, Mavericks vs. Nuggets, and Warriors vs. Thunder among the marquee matchups.
Devin Vassell To Miss Time With Groin Injury
Spurs wing Devin Vassell is expected to be out for a while due to a left groin injury, head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after Thursday’s win in Phoenix, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required).
Vassell left the game late in the first half with tightness in his groin. Popovich said he told the 23-year-old to test the injury at halftime and to be honest about how it felt, and Vassell admitted he couldn’t go, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN.
The fourth-year swingman will undergo an MRI on Friday to assess the severity of the injury. The results of that MRI should help clarify Vassell’s recovery timeline, but it sounds like the team expects him to miss at least the next few games.
In his absence, the Spurs figure to lean more heavily on players like Cedi Osman, Doug McDermott, and Malaki Branham, who started the second half in Vassell’s place.
Vassell signed a five-year, $135MM+ rookie scale extension with the Spurs last month, securing his spot in the franchise’s long-term plans. He had gotten off to a strong start this season, averaging 19.4 points per game in his first five appearances – despite being limited to just 17 minutes on Thursday – and shooting 53.7% from the floor (40.7% on threes).
While it’s an unfortunate turn of events for the Spurs, Vassell’s injury was overshadowed on Thursday by a monster night for rookie Victor Wembanyama, who had the best game of his young career in leading San Antonio to a second consecutive road win over the Suns. Wembanyama put up 38 points and 10 rebounds, clinching the victory by scoring 10 points during a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter after Phoenix tied the game at 116.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 11/2/2023
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 11:00 am Central time (12:00 pm Eastern).
Roster Notes: Grizzlies, Hornets, Clippers, Warriors
The Grizzlies officially signed center Bismack Biyombo overnight, adding a 16th man to what we refer to as their 15-man roster. Memphis gained the ability to carry an extra player by moving Ja Morant to the suspended list, which is available for players serving longer-term suspensions following the fifth game of the ban.
Morant’s suspension is for 25 games in total, so the Grizzlies will be permitted to carry that extra player for their next 20 games, through their December 18 contest in Oklahoma City. Once Morant is eligible to be activated from the suspended list on Dec. 19, Memphis will have to waive one of its 16 players in order to make room on the roster for him.
While we don’t know the details of Biyombo’s contract yet, it will likely be non-guaranteed so that the Grizzlies can waive him in December without being on the hook for a full-season salary. Memphis has no other players on non-guaranteed contracts, so if Biyombo proves invaluable and the team doesn’t want to let him go, a player with a guaranteed salary would have to be cut.
The only way the Grizzlies would be able to keep Biyombo and their 15 players on guaranteed deals beyond Dec. 19 would be if they qualify at that time for a hardship exception, which grants an extra roster spot to teams with at least four injured players (who meet certain games-missed criteria).
Here are a few more roster notes on teams from around the NBA:
- Memphis isn’t the only team with a player serving a lengthy suspension. Hornets forward Miles Bridges will serve the fifth game of his 10-game ban on Saturday, so Charlotte could move him to the suspended list and add a 16th man for the final five games of his suspension. There haven’t been any reports yet indicating the Hornets plan to do so. They don’t have an obvious glaring hole to address like the Grizzlies did in their frontcourt.
- After completing their blockbuster deal with Philadelphia and then trading Filip Petrusev to Sacramento, the Clippers are carrying just 13 players on standard contracts. Teams can only carry fewer than 14 players on standard deals for up to two weeks at a time, so Los Angeles will have until November 15 to add at least one player via free agency or trade.
- The Warriors began the regular season, nine days ago, with just 13 players on standard contracts, so the clock is ticking for them to add a 14th man of their own. Next Tuesday (November 7) will be the two-week mark, so that will be the deadline for them to make a roster addition.
Clippers Trade Filip Petrusev, Cash To Kings
8:23pm: The trade is official, the Clippers announced (via Twitter).
7:59 pm: The Clippers will send Petrusev and cash to the Kings in exchange for the draft rights to Luka Mitrovic, a source tells Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Mitrovic, a 30-year-old forward currently playing in Serbia, was the final pick in the 2015 draft.
3:02pm: The Clippers and Kings have agreed to a trade that will send big man Filip Petrusev and cash to Sacramento, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Petrusev was dealt to Los Angeles along with James Harden and P.J. Tucker in the blockbuster trade that was officially completed on Wednesday. However, Law Murray of The Athletic reported at the time of the agreement that the Serbian rookie wasn’t in the Clippers’ plans and wasn’t expected to remain on the roster.
By trading Petrusev to Sacramento, the Clippers will open up a second roster spot on their 15-man squad. Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team can only carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for up to 14 days at a time and 28 total days during a season, so Los Angeles will have to replace Petrusev on its roster sooner rather than later.
Even after the Clippers add a 14th man, I’d expect them to keep their 15th roster spot open for the time being in order to maintain some flexibility and to avoid increasing their projected luxury tax bill.
The Kings, meanwhile, entered the season with an open roster spot of their own and will now use it to take a look at Petrusev, a draft-and-stash prospect who was selected 50th overall in 2021 and joined the 76ers two years later.
The 6’11” forward/center, who played college ball at Gonzaga, won a EuroLeague championship with Anadolu Efes in 2022, earned a Serbian League title with Crvena Zvezda in 2023, and was part of the Serbian national team that finished second at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Assuming the terms of his contract aren’t being adjusted as part of the trade, Petrusev’s salary is currently only partially guaranteed for $559,782 (50% of his full salary), so the Kings could waive him at some point with no real financial penalty if they want to reopen that 15th roster spot. His full cap hit is $1,119,563.
It’s unclear what the Kings are sending the Clippers in the trade, but based on the structure of the deal and how it’s been reported, I expect it to be either a heavily protected second-round pick or the draft rights to a player who will likely never sign an NBA contract.
And-Ones: Chiozza, Haliburton, Edwards, Team USA, Olympics
Veteran NBA point guard Chris Chiozza will continue his playing career in Spain, having signed with Baskonia through the end of the 2023/24 season, according to a press release from the team.
Chiozza appeared in 91 total regular season games for the Rockets, Wizards, Nets, and Warriors between 2018-22. After seeing NBA action in four straight seasons, he was waived by Brooklyn last October and wasn’t in the league in 2022/23.
However, Chiozza thrived for the Long Island Nets in the G League last season, averaging 12.6 points and 9.1 assists in 34.1 minutes per game across 46 total regular season and Showcase Cup contests, with a .433/.404/.729 shooting line. The performance earned him a spot on the All-NBAGL Third Team — but not another NBA opportunity this fall.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Speaking to Joe Vardon of The Athletic about his experience competing in the FIBA World Cup this summer, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said that he and Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards were “recruiting each other” during their team with Team USA and that they both believe they’re deserving of spots on the U.S. roster for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
- Team USA has secured Olympic berths in both men’s and women’s 3-on-3 basketball, making the U.S. the first national basketball federation to earn spots in Paris in all four basketball competitions (men’s and women’s 5-on-5 and 3-on-3), per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Former NBA lottery pick Jimmer Fredette is expected to be part of Team USA’s 3-on-3 roster at the 2024 Olympics. “People are starting to understand a little bit about 3-on-3, what it is, and as they do, they’re like, ‘Oh, this is kind of a cool sport,'” Fredette said. “We’ve been trying to raise awareness, build a program and become the best in the world at it. We’re headed that direction, but we’re not there yet.”
- The fact that James Harden ultimately got the trade he sought to his preferred destination in Los Angeles is proof that player empowerment remains very much alive in the NBA, Vincent Goodwill writes in a column for Yahoo Sports.
Sixers Notes: New Additions, Oubre, Trade Targets, Harden
The four players the Sixers acquired in their James Harden trade with the Clippers – Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and Kenyon Martin Jr. – arrived at the team’s facility on Wednesday but are unlikely to play on Thursday vs. Toronto, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Saturday’s home game against Phoenix is a more realistic target for those newcomers, Mizell adds.
Meanwhile, even though Harden hadn’t played yet this season for the 76ers, the deal removes a starter from the team’s lineup — since arriving in Philadelphia in 2022, P.J. Tucker had started all 89 regular season and playoff games he’d played for the club.
Forward Kelly Oubre will start in Tucker’s place for now, head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Wednesday, but that may not be a permanent change. As Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports explains (via Twitter), Nurse has said he likes the spark Oubre has provided off the bench, so he may want to return Oubre to that role once Morris, Batum, Covington, and Martin are up to speed, with one of those ex-Clippers moving into the starting five.
Here’s more on the Sixers:
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype and Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscriber link) each identified some players the Sixers may target on the trade market using their newly acquired draft assets, weighing the likelihood of those players becoming available this season and evaluating whether Philadelphia has the pieces to land them. A pair of Bulls (Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan) and Raptors (Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby) show up on both lists, which also feature a few other names.
- The draft assets the Sixers are receiving and their ability to move on from the Harden saga have been frequently cited in the last 36 hours as the most important aspects of Philadelphia’s trade with the Clippers. But the deal will also improve the 76ers’ depth, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who notes that Tucker’s role had declined, Filip Petrusev wasn’t ready for rotation minutes as a rookie, and Harden – of course – had yet to actually suit up for a game this season.
- When Harden showed up for the Sixers’ team flight last Wednesday after the team asked him to stay behind in Philadelphia and he wasn’t permitted to board the plane, it “inflamed the situation” on both sides and represented the “final straw” in the club’s efforts to reincorporate him, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Trade discussions with the Clippers resumed a couple days later and picked up steam after that, per Shelburne.
- Shelburne’s story on Harden’s final days is chock full of interesting tidbits, including the fact that Harden communicated directly with head coach Nick Nurse, general manager Elton Brand, and owner Josh Harris after making his trade request, but would only communicate with president Daryl Morey through agent Michael Silverman.
- Shelburne also hears from sources that Harden’s camp became convinced ahead of free agency in June that if he declined his option, Morey and the 76ers only intended to offer him a two-year deal with a second-year team option. The team, wary of gun-jumping after being penalized for it in 2022, insisted it would make a strong offer once free agency opened, but Harden “didn’t buy it,” Shelburne writes.
More Details On James Harden Trade
The formal press releases sent out by the Sixers, Clippers, and Thunder following the completion of the James Harden trade earlier today included some new details on the deal.
Among those details? The Sixers will only have the ability to swap 2029 first-round picks with the Clippers if Los Angeles’ pick isn’t in the top three; Philadelphia acquired cash in the trade; and the Thunder will have the ability to swap either their own 2027 first-round pick or the Nuggets’ 2027 first-round pick (top-five protected) for the Clippers’ ’27 first-rounder.
Those announcements didn’t address a few other aspects of the deal though, which Bobby Marks of ESPN has provided (via Twitter):
- The Clippers sent out $3.1MM in cash in the trade, per Marks — $2MM to Philadelphia and $1.1MM to Oklahoma City. As Marks notes, this is the last season in which teams whose salaries are over the second tax apron will be able to send out cash in a trade.
- In addition to the $559,782 trade exception the Sixers created by trading Filip Petrusev (whose salary is only partially guaranteed), the team generated a TPE worth $6,831,413, according to Marks. As we outlined on Tuesday, that means Philadelphia adhered to the salary-matching rules for over-the-apron teams, which restrict those clubs from taking back more than 110% of their outgoing salary. The 76ers could have used the more lenient salary-matching rules for teams below both tax aprons to create a trade exception worth $11MM+, but that would have hard-capped the club at the first apron ($172.3MM) for the rest of 2023/24 — the route Philadelphia chose won’t create a hard cap.
- As we reported earlier today, Harden received a $40,595 trade bonus as part of the deal. His full trade bonus was worth $5MM+, but $40,595 was the maximum portion he could receive based on the Clippers’ ability to match incoming salaries. According to Marks (Twitter link), that bonus will create an additional $233,421 in projected luxury tax penalties for the Clippers, though Philadelphia is responsible for paying the bonus itself.
Pacific Notes: Booker, Beal, Goodwin, Mann, Powell, Lakers, Warriors
There’s no specific timetable for the return of either Devin Booker (ankle) or Bradley Beal (back), Suns head coach Frank Vogel said on Tuesday, per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter links). Both players have been doing some on-court work, but it has mostly been light shooting, so they haven’t fully ramped up for game action yet.
While Beal has yet to make his Suns debut, Jordan Goodwin – the other player the team acquired in that blockbuster summer deal – has been playing regular minutes in his first four games in Phoenix.
Known known more as a defender, Goodwin has provided some scoring and play-making off the bench with Booker and Beal out, writes Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic. He has made just 34.3% of his shots from the floor, but has posted solid averages of 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 21.0 minutes per night.
“Just take advantage of the opportunity. Once we get all of our guys back, those shots, the ones I’m taking right now are gonna be even more open,” Goodwin told Scott over the weekend.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Clippers wings Terance Mann and Norman Powell were mentioned frequently in James Harden trade rumors in recent months, so they were relieved not to be on the move in the deal L.A. eventually made for the star guard, per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “It shows the value that they see in us,” Powell said. “You always want that as a player in a league like this: to find a team, organization, and front office that believes in your ability, believes in what you bring to the table, and believes you can help them win at a high level.”
- After promising to make tweaks to his rotation following Sunday’s loss to Sacramento, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham leaned on bigger lineups in Monday’s victory over Orlando, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Both Christian Wood (27) and Jaxson Hayes (10) set new season highs in minutes played, as the team frequently deployed a second big man alongside Anthony Davis. “Whenever (Wood is) in there with (Davis), they’re just two huge presences on the defensive glass,” Ham said. “Christian gets some of the toughest defensive rebounds I’ve ever seen anyone get. So, he and (Davis) being combined for, I think it was 25 defensive rebounds, we needed every one of them.”
- Although it’s a small sample size, the Warriors‘ second unit is thriving and the team’s depth has been a strength in the early going this season, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic and Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Stephen Curry believes the strong play of the second unit – led by Chris Paul – is having a ripple effect on the starters. “That’s different for us, when that unit is so impactful,” Curry said, per Slater. “We’re over on the bench enjoying what we’re watching. When you’re watching good basketball, you feel good about how we’re all playing. It flows.”
Recap Of 2024/25 Rookie Scale Option Decisions
Decisions on rookie scale options for the 2024/25 season were due on Tuesday — any team that wanted to exercise a third- or fourth-year option on a player for next season was required to do so by October 31.
As is typically the case, a huge majority of those options were picked up. Even for top picks, who are paid higher salaries due to the NBA’s rookie scale, those third- and fourth-year options are relatively team-friendly. So unless a player has fallen well short of his team’s expectations, it generally makes sense to lock in his salary for the following season at this point.
However, not every player with a 2024/25 team option had it exercised by Tuesday’s deadline. A player who had his option declined will now be on track to reach unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2024, assuming he’s not waived before then. At the end of the season, his team won’t be able to offer them a starting salary that exceed the value of his declined option.
Listed below are the players who had their options turned down, followed by the players whose options were exercised. If a player had his option picked up, his ’24/25 salary is now guaranteed and he won’t be eligible for free agency until at least 2025.
Declined options:
- James Bouknight, Hornets (fourth year, $6,064,496)
- Kai Jones, Hornets (fourth year, $4,693,735) *
- Keon Johnson, Suns (fourth year, $4,474,291) *
- Usman Garuba, Thunder (fourth year, $4,392,515) *
- Josh Christopher, Grizzlies (fourth year, $4,346,615) *
- TyTy Washington Jr., Thunder (third year, $2,431,080) *
Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) were waived.
Bouknight was the only player who was retained while his team declined his 2024/25 rookie scale option.
Even though Bouknight was the 11th overall pick in 2021, the option decision didn’t come as a surprise. The 23-year-old’s option salary was well above the veteran’s minimum, and injuries, legal issues, and on-court struggles have all diminished his stock since he entered the NBA. It wouldn’t be a shock if he’s cut before the end of the season, though the Hornets appear willing for now to wait out his recovery from meniscus surgery.
The other five players in this group were waived between the start of the 2023/24 league year in July and the beginning of the regular season — all but Jones have since found new homes on two-way deals, with Johnson reportedly set to officially sign a two-way contract with Brooklyn this week.
Like Bouknight, Jones didn’t establish himself as a rotation player in his first two NBA seasons, having been leapfrogged in the frontcourt rotation by Mark Williams in 2022/23. There also appeared to be some concerns about his maturity and mindset after he made a series of unusual social media posts this offseason — Jones wasn’t with the Hornets for training camp even before the team opted to waive him.
Of the four players Charlotte selected in the 2021 draft, only second-rounder JT Thor looks like a good bet to stick with the club beyond 2023/24.
Meanwhile, although they ended up being waived by the Thunder and Grizzlies following trades, Garuba, Christopher, and Washington were all former Rockets first-rounders. Houston selected seven players in the first rounds of the 2021 and 2022 drafts, then used cap room to bring in several veteran free agents this summer, creating a roster crunch. The young players who hadn’t already established themselves as core pieces didn’t survive that crunch.
Exercised options:
Fourth year:
Note: These players will become eligible for rookie scale extensions in July of 2024. If they’re not extended, they’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2025.
- Cade Cunningham, Pistons ($13,940,809)
- Jalen Green, Rockets ($12,483,048)
- Evan Mobley, Cavaliers ($11,227,657)
- Scottie Barnes, Raptors ($10,130,980)
- Jalen Suggs, Magic ($9,188,385)
- Josh Giddey, Thunder ($8,352,367)
- Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors ($7,636,307)
- Franz Wagner, Magic ($7,007,092)
- Davion Mitchell, Kings ($6,451,077)
- Ziaire Williams, Grizzlies ($6,133,005)
- Chris Duarte, Kings ($5,893,768)
- Moses Moody, Warriors ($5,803,269)
- Corey Kispert, Wizards ($5,705,887)
- Alperen Sengun, Rockets ($5,424,654)
- Trey Murphy, Pelicans ($5,159,854)
- Tre Mann, Thunder ($4,908,373)
- Jalen Johnson, Hawks ($4,510,905)
- Isaiah Jackson, Pacers ($4,435,381)
- Quentin Grimes, Knicks ($4,296,682)
- Bones Hyland, Clippers ($4,158,439)
- Cam Thomas, Nets ($4,041,249)
- Jaden Springer, Sixers ($4,018,363)
- Day’Ron Sharpe, Nets ($3,989,122)
- Santi Aldama, Grizzlies ($3,960,531)
Joshua Primo, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was waived by the Spurs in October 2022, so his 2024/25 option (worth $5,982,725) was declined at that time.
Third year:
Note: Teams will have to make fourth-year option decisions for 2025/26 on these players by October 31, 2024.
- Paolo Banchero, Magic ($12,160,800)
- Chet Holmgren, Thunder ($10,880,640)
- Jabari Smith, Rockets ($9,770,880)
- Keegan Murray, Kings ($8,809,560)
- Jaden Ivey, Pistons ($7,977,240)
- Bennedict Mathurin, Pacers ($7,245,720)
- Shaedon Sharpe, Trail Blazers ($6,614,160)
- Dyson Daniels, Pelicans ($6,059,520)
- Jeremy Sochan, Spurs ($5,570,040)
- Johnny Davis, Wizards ($5,291,160)
- Ousmane Dieng, Thunder ($5,027,040)
- Jalen Williams, Thunder ($4,775,760)
- Jalen Duren, Pistons ($4,536,840)
- Ochai Agbaji, Jazz ($4,310,280)
- Mark Williams, Hornets ($4,094,280)
- AJ Griffin, Hawks ($3,889,920)
- Tari Eason, Rockets ($3,695,160)
- Dalen Terry, Bulls ($3,510,480)
- Jake LaRavia, Grizzlies ($3,352,680)
- Malaki Branham, Spurs ($3,217,920)
- Christian Braun, Nuggets ($3,089,640)
- Walker Kessler, Jazz ($2,965,920)
- David Roddy, Grizzlies ($2,847,240)
- MarJon Beauchamp, Bucks ($2,733,720)
- Blake Wesley, Spurs ($2,624,280)
- Wendell Moore, Timberwolves ($2,537,040)
- Nikola Jovic, Heat ($2,464,200)
- Patrick Baldwin, Wizards ($2,448,840)
- Peyton Watson, Nuggets ($2,413,560)
For a team-by-team breakdown of this year’s rookie scale option decisions for the 2024/25 season, along with full stories on each decision, you can check out our tracker.