And-Ones: Team Canada, Ownership Stakes, Cap Room, Giles
While a Team USA roster led by Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Brandon Ingram, and Mikal Bridges will enter the 2023 World Cup as the frontrunner next month, Team Canada’s initial 18-man group features some real star power.
The extended roster, announced this week by Canada Basketball, is headlined by Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder forward Luguentz Dort, Knicks forward RJ Barrett, and Rockets forward Dillon Brooks.
It also features five other players currently on NBA rosters: veteran big men Dwight Powell (Mavericks) and Kelly Olynyk (Jazz), guards Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Timberwolves) and Cory Joseph (Warriors), and forward Oshae Brissett (Celtics). Purdue’s star center Zach Edey is on the roster too.
Team Canada will have to make a few cuts to get down to 12 players for the World Cup, and it’s possible some of the more notable names will drop out in order to focus on the NBA season. However, league sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic that Murray has reaffirmed his commitment to the team despite a lengthy postseason run with the Nuggets this spring.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The minimum stake that someone can own in an NBA franchise has been lowered, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, who says a minority shareholder can now control as little as 0.5% of a team, down from 1%.
- A total of eight teams operated below the cap this offseason, having entered the league year with $277MM in combined cap room, per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. As Gozlan outlines, over half of that league-wide cap space was used to accommodate trades or contract negotiations rather than free agent signings.
- Sean Cunningham of FOX40 in Sacramento (video link) caught up with free agent big man Harry Giles to talk about the 25-year-old’s efforts to make it back into the NBA, as well as the new rule related to two-way contracts that will unofficially be named after him.
Eight 2023 Draft Picks Have Yet To Sign NBA Contracts
Of the 58 players who were selected in last month’s draft, 50 have signed their first NBA contracts during the first two weeks they’ve been permitted to do so.
As our tracker shows, the breakdown is as follows:
- First-round picks signed using the rookie scale exception: 29
- Second-round picks signed using the new second-round pick exception: 13
- Note: Of these 13 players, 12 received four-year contracts, while one (Rayan Rupert) signed a three-year deal.
- Second-round picks signed to two-way contracts: 8
That leaves eight players from the 2023 draft class who have yet to sign with their respective NBA teams. Those players are as follows:
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Mavericks
- James Nnaji, Hornets
- Tristan Vukcevic, Wizards
- Sidy Cissoko, Spurs
- G.G. Jackson, Grizzlies
- Mojave King, Pacers
- Jordan Miller, Clippers
- Tarik Biberovic, Grizzlies
Not all of these players will sign an NBA contract in 2023/24. King and Biberovic are each expected to spend at least one season playing overseas before coming stateside. Vukcevic is another candidate to become a draft-and-stash prospect.
It’s also unclear whether the Hornets plan to sign Nnaji right away or let the 18-year-old big man continue developing his game in Europe. For now, Charlotte only has 12 players on guaranteed contracts for 2023/24, but depending on which restricted free agents (P.J. Washington, Theo Maledon) and players on non-guaranteed deals (JT Thor, Kobi Simmons) return, there might not be a spot for Nnaji, who remains under contract with FC Barcelona and – as a No. 31 overall pick who would require an international buyout – wouldn’t be a candidate for a two-way deal.
Prosper is the only unsigned first-rounder in this year’s class, but the delay doesn’t seem like anything to worry about. The Mavericks, who continued this past week to explore the trade market and consider how to fill out their roster, have taken their time getting around to signing a handful of players, with deals for free agents like Seth Curry and Dante Exum only becoming official on Friday. I’d expect Prosper’s contract to be finalized soon.
That leaves Cissoko, Jackson, and Miller, each of whom look like candidates to receive two-way contracts. Some of the other players drafted in their range, including No. 41 pick Amari Bailey and No. 46 pick Seth Lundy, have received two-way deals, and the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers all have roster logjams, meaning there may not be room on their 15-man rosters for their unsigned second-rounders.
The Spurs will have 17 players on standard contracts once they officially re-sign Tre Jones and Sandro Mamukelashvili. The Grizzlies also have 17 players under contract and would have a full 15-man roster even if they trade or waive Josh Christopher and Isaiah Todd. The Clippers have 16 players on standard contracts (15 guaranteed). However, all three teams have at least one two-way slot available.
Contract Details: Exum, Vezenkov, Stevens
Dante Exum‘s new deal with the Mavericks was initially reported to be a one-year, minimum-salary agreement, but the terms were adjusted between July 1 – when the two sides struck a deal – and today, when it was made official.
According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), Exum ended up signing a two-year, $6.15MM contract that is non-guaranteed for the second season. It will be worth $3MM in 2023/24 and $3.15MM in ’24/25, with this year’s salary coming out of the Mavericks’ mid-level exception.
Giving Exum a portion of the MLE wouldn’t have been possible if the Mavericks’ offer sheet for Matisse Thybulle had been successful, since Thybulle would have received $10.5MM of the $12.4MM mid-level. Once Portland matched Dallas’ offer for Thybulle, the Mavs’ MLE fully freed up, allowing the team to renegotiate its deal with Exum.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Mavs also use a chunk of the mid-level to complete their reported agreement with Seth Curry, who was initially expected to be signed using the bi-annual exception. Signing Curry with the MLE would preserve the BAE for 2024/25.
Here are a couple more contract-related notes from around the NBA:
- Sasha Vezenkov‘s three-year contract with the Kings comes in just below $20MM, Hoops Rumors has learned — its exact value is $19,975,609, including a $6,341,464 starting salary in 2023/24. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets, the first two years of Vezenkov’s deal are guaranteed, while the third is a team option (worth $6,975,609).
- As part of the trade that sent him from Cleveland to the Spurs, Lamar Stevens had his minimum salary partially guaranteed for $400K, tweets Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. Stevens also had his salary guarantee deadline moved up from January 7 to July 17, so San Antonio will have to decide in the coming days whether or not to fully guarantee the forward’s 2023/24 cap hit.
- In case you missed it, we passed along contract details on a few other recently reported deals on Thursday.
Eastern Notes: J. Brown, Raptors, J. Howard, Sixers
The Celtics and Jaylen Brown are expected to temporarily pause their negotiations on a super-max extension for the All-NBA swingman, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
As Himmelsbach explains, the stoppage in negotiations will come as a result of logistics, not any tension or animosity between the two sides. Brown, who is a vice president of the players’ union, is traveling overseas for an NBPA event.
Although it’s unclear when exactly the two sides will resume their talks, it now appears unlikely that a new deal for Brown will be in place before the Las Vegas Summer League ends. Still, as Himmelsbach writes, Brown and the Celtics have until October to finalize a super-max extension and there’s no indication that there have been any setbacks.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Michael Pina of The Ringer makes the case that the Raptors should go all-in for Damian Lillard by acquiring the star point for a package centered around 2022 Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes. Pina argues that such a move would provide clarity of direction for a team that appears to be stuck in the middle, giving the Raptors a Fred VanVleet replacement at point guard and allowing them to focus on extending – rather than potentially trading – veteran forwards Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.
- In a conversation with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, new Magic guard Jett Howard – the No. 11 pick in last month’s draft – said he likely would have stayed in college for another year if he hadn’t gotten the blessing of his father (Juwan Howard) to go pro. “If my dad told me to come back another year, I probably would’ve,” Jett said. “It being my dream is the reason I came out. This has always been my main dream. But you actually have to be honest with yourself and ask people if you’re ready. My dad said I’m ready now.”
- Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com surveys the free agent market to see whether any of the available veterans would make sense as targets for the Sixers, considering players like Christian Wood, Jaylen Nowell, and Kelly Oubre. Neubeck isn’t convinced that anyone on the free agent market would be a great addition for Philadelphia, but acknowledges that some could become better fits depending on whether James Harden‘s trade request ultimately shakes up the roster.
Hornets Sign Amari Bailey To Two-Way Contract
The Hornets have officially signed second-round pick Amari Bailey to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
A one-and-done college player, Bailey spent his lone NCAA season at UCLA, averaging 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 26.9 minutes per game (30 contests) before declaring for the NBA draft as an early entrant.
The 6’5″ shooting guard was the 41st overall pick last month, drafted by the Hornets with a pick they acquired from Oklahoma City. Of the eight players selected in the 2023 draft who have officially signed two-way deals in the last two weeks, none were picked higher than Bailey.
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
Bailey’s two-way contract will pay him just shy of $560K (half of the rookie minimum) and will allow him to be active for up to 50 regular season games as a rookie. The 19-year-old will likely see plenty of action with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.
The Hornets now have 14 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals, with Leaky Black also expected to join the team on a two-way pact.
However, there will likely be more roster shuffling to come, given that P.J. Washington and Theo Maledon are still restricted free agents, No. 31 pick James Nnaji remains unsigned, and JT Thor and Kobi Simmons are on non-guaranteed contracts.
How Teams Are Using 2023/24 Bi-Annual Exceptions
The bi-annual exception is one of the tools available to NBA teams who are over the cap, giving those clubs the flexibility to offer free agents more than the minimum salary. In 2023/24, the bi-annual exception is worth $4,516,000 and can be used to offer a deal worth up to $9,257,800 over two years.
However, the bi-annual exception isn’t available to every team. Clubs that go below the cap in order to use cap room lose access to the exception. Additionally, using the BAE imposes a hard cap of $172,346,000 (the first tax apron) on a team. So if a club has surpassed the tax apron – or wants to retain the flexibility to do so – it can’t use the bi-annual exception.
Finally, as its name suggests, the bi-annual exception can’t be used by a team in consecutive years. In 2022/23, two teams used the BAE — the Sixers (Danuel House) and Heat (Kevin Love). As such, the exception isn’t available to those clubs during the 2023/24 league year. They’ll be able to use it again next summer.
With all those factors in mind, here’s a breakdown of how teams are using – or not using – their respective bi-annual exceptions in 2023/24:
Available Bi-Annual Exceptions:
Unused:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Dallas Mavericks
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Orleans Pelicans
- New York Knicks
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Washington Wizards
Although all of these teams technically have the ability to use their bi-annual exceptions at some point in 2023/24, it’s more plausible for some than others.
For instance, the Timberwolves still have their full $12MM+ mid-level exception available and are aren’t far from the luxury tax line, so I wouldn’t expect them to use the BAE this season. If they need to offer more than the veteran’s minimum to sign a player, it will likely come out of their MLE.
Used:
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Used: $2,439,025 (Ty Jerome)
- Available: $2,076,975
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Used: $4,516,000 (Taurean Prince)
- Available: $0
- Toronto Raptors
- Used: $4,516,000 (Jalen McDaniels)
- Available: $0
Typically, about two to four teams in a given league year use the bi-annual exception, and this season has yet to buck that trend.
The Lakers and Raptors are the only two teams to use their entire bi-annual exceptions to date, so they won’t have it available in 2024/25. Neither will the Cavaliers, even though they’ve only used a little over half of the BAE so far this season.
Unavailable Bi-Annual Exceptions:
Went under cap:
- Detroit Pistons
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs
- Utah Jazz
These eight teams forfeited their right to the bi-annual exception when they went under the cap and used space this offseason.
Over (or near) tax apron:
- Boston Celtics
- Denver Nuggets
- Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Phoenix Suns
In theory, cost-cutting moves by these teams could put them in position to use their bi-annual exceptions. In actuality though, that’s a long shot, especially for clubs like the Clippers, Warriors, and Suns, whose team salaries are well beyond the second tax apron.
Used last year:
- Miami Heat
- Philadelphia 76ers
As noted in the intro, these are the two teams that used their bi-annual exceptions in 2022/23 and, as a result, won’t have them again until 2024/25.
And-Ones: Waiters, Wade, Hernangomez, C. Brown
Speaking to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report after a workout for teams in Las Vegas this week, veteran guard Dion Waiters openly discussed the reasons he has been out of the NBA for the last three seasons and what he feels he needs to do to earn another shot. According to Waiters, he took his time in the NBA for granted, so his exit from the league has been a learning experience that he has been able to pass along to his son.
“I told him, ‘Bro, your dad is not [out of] the league because of talent. It was my attitude, my character, and not understanding that it’s bigger than me,'” Waiters said. “I feel like I had to go through this so I could explain that to my son, and that’s the dead truth.”
A former fourth overall pick, Waiters has appeared in 419 regular season games, but hasn’t played in the NBA since 2020. Still just 31, the former Syracuse standout tells Haynes that he feels like he still has “a lot left in the tank” and that he believes he can be a positive leader in the locker room in addition to helping a team on the court.
“I’m healthy. I just want that opportunity just to show I’m not who I once was. And I know a lot of people talk about that, but for me, I think it’s more about showing that I’ve changed,” Waiters said. “That’s why I’m here, man. I still got that love. I still got that itch.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Dwyane Wade, a 13-time NBA All-Star who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in August, has invested in the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and will become part of the team’s ownership group, writes Alexa Philippou of ESPN.com. “It’s a great opportunity to be a part of the league in its very early stages,” Wade said. “… Growth is going to happen, and so I want to be a part of the growth of this league.”
- While there have been rumblings that Juancho Hernangomez may join brother Willy Hernangomez in signing with FC Barcelona, Juancho said in a conversation with Spanish outlet Marca that “speculation is just speculation” and stressed that he remains focused on finding another NBA job, as Alessandro Maggi of Sportando relays.
- Free agent guard Charlie Brown Jr. has been a standout for the Knicks at the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 17.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG in three games (28.4 MPG). Zach Braziller of The New York Post takes a closer look at the play of Brown, who is hoping that his performance in Vegas will inspire a team to sign him for training camp.
- In an entertaining article for The Athletic, John Hollinger discusses the eight “nerdiest” things that happened in free agency, digging into the details of the Rockets’ sign-and-trade for Dillon Brooks, Paul Reed‘s offer sheet, and Oklahoma City becoming a dumping ground for unwanted contracts, among other moves.
Fischer’s Latest: Washington, Stewart, Hornets, Herro
After Miles Bridges put himself on track for unrestricted free agency in 2024 by accepting his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent last week, the Hornets will probably want to avoid putting P.J. Washington on a similar path, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. However, it remains to be seen whether the Hornets and Washington will be able to find common ground on a multiyear deal.
According to Fischer, coming into Summer League, league personnel believed that Washington and the Hornets remained far apart in their discussions on a four-year contract, though there was some optimism they’d come to terms after Summer League.
Marc Stein has reported that Washington is seeking $18MM+ annually, while Fischer previously suggested that the Charlotte forward may be looking for $20MM per year. In his latest article, Fischer says Washington still hasn’t received an offer from the Hornets that matches or exceeds what Isaiah Stewart got on his new extension with Detroit ($15MM in guaranteed money per year; up to $16MM annually with incentives).
Because teams around the NBA are essentially limited to mid-level money at this point, a sign-and-trade would be necessary to get Washington his desired salary from a non-Hornets team. While it’s not clear whether there’s a club out there with serious interest in such a scenario, Fischer says Charlotte would probably prefer a sign-and-trade over Washington accepting his qualifying offer.
Here’s more from Fischer:
- Before he signed his extension, Stewart had generated more trade inquiries in 2023 than any player on the Pistons‘ roster besides Cade Cunningham, sources tell Fischer. The fact that the big man signed a rookie scale extension so early in the offseason indicates that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
- With the Hornets undergoing an ownership change, there’s a sense in league circles that president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak and head coach Steve Clifford could be on the hot seat in 2023/24, Fischer writes. Even if the Hornets’ new owners aren’t eager to make an immediate change, Kupchak and Clifford are each entering the final guaranteed year of their respective contracts, Fischer notes, so next offseason might be a logical time to shake things up anyway.
- According to Fischer, league personnel are optimistic that if Tyler Herro is included in a Damian Lillard trade with the Heat, the Trail Blazers will be able to flip Herro to a third team for at least a first-round pick.
- In case you missed it, we passed along several notes and rumors from Fischer on Wednesday.
Pacific Notes: Vincent, Gordon, Vezenkov, Jackson-Davis
Discussing his move from Miami to Los Angeles, Gabe Vincent said that he was “honored (the Lakers) reached out to me” when he became a free agent, as Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (subscription required) writes.
After earning the minimum salary during his first four seasons in the NBA, Vincent received a considerable raise as a free agent this summer and will make $11MM annually on his new three-year deal with the Lakers. Despite the substantial pay bump, the 27-year-old is ready to accept whatever role the team he wants him to play, big or small.
“I’m just here to add on,” Vincent said. “They have a great core, a great situation, and hopefully I can just add to it and help us bring home a championship.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- After falling short of an NBA title during his time in Houston, Suns guard Eric Gordon is bullish about his chances of contending for a championship with his new team, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Gordon took a significant pay cut, agreeing to a minimum-salary deal with Phoenix. “I’m older in my career so I’ve played for a long time and money is not always such an issue,” Gordon said. “Of course, I want a lot more, don’t get me wrong. But at the end of the day, I want to do well here every year that I’m here and we’ll just see what happens down the line, but that’s why I want to come here, win a championship.”
- Although Sasha Vezenkov has officially signed his contract with the Kings, who submitted it to the NBA’s league office, the forward is still awaiting a letter of clearance from FIBA in order for that contract to become legally binding, a source tells Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. That’s expected to happen soon, at which point the Kings will officially announce the signing.
- After missing the Warriors‘ first three Las Vegas Summer League games due to a right hamstring injury, second-round pick Trayce Jackson-Davis made his debut on Thursday, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 20 minutes. C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at what Golden State is getting in Jackson-Davis, a mature 23-year-old rookie who may nonetheless find minutes hard to come by in his first NBA season.
Mavs Notes: Draft Picks, Bogdanovic, McGee, Centers
The Mavericks‘ acquisition of Grant Williams in a three-team sign-and-trade agreement with Boston and San Antonio was initially reported on July 5, but wasn’t officially completed until a week later. According to Tim Cato of The Athletic, that delay was by design, as the three clubs agreed to keep the deal unofficial through Tuesday evening to give everyone a chance to explore expanding it further. No opportunities materialized, so the teams completed the trade as planned on Wednesday.
The Mavs were – and remain – willing to immediately flip the 2025 and 2028 second-rounders they acquired from San Antonio in order to further upgrade their roster, but they’ve been “incredibly cautious” about trading their own 2027 first-round pick, a team source tells Cato.
Because Dallas has already moved its 2029 first-rounder, it would be difficult to put any protections on its 2027 first-rounder due to the Stepien rule, which prohibits a team from leaving itself without a first-round selection in any two consecutive future drafts.
If the Mavs were to trade their 2027 pick, it would have to either be unprotected or turn into a second-rounder (or multiple second-rouders) if it were to fall into its protected range in ’27, since it couldn’t be rolled over to 2028. An unprotected pick would be an extremely valuable trade chip, whereas one that would become a second-rounder if not conveyed in 2027 would have more limited appeal to potential trade partners.
Here’s more on the Mavs:
- Confirming an ESPN report, Cato says that the Mavericks and Pistons recently revisited conversations about a possible Bojan Bogdanovic trade. League sources tell The Athletic that the two teams discussed a framework that would’ve sent Bogdanovic and Killian Hayes to Dallas, with Tim Hardaway Jr. and JaVale McGee going to Detroit. It’s unclear what level of draft compensation the Pistons would’ve been seeking in such a deal or how far discussions advanced, says Cato.
- As previously suggested during Tim MacMahon’s Howdy Partners podcast (YouTube link), the Mavericks are considered likely to trade or waive McGee before the 2023/24 regular season begins, according to Cato.
- Assuming McGee is moved or let go, the Mavericks’ centers would be Richaun Holmes, Dwight Powell, and Dereck Lively. The team could still trade for another big man, but would be content to open the season with that trio, according to Cato. While Powell would be the favorite to start, Mavs staffers are optimistic about Holmes’ bounce-back potential, believing that he’ll be a better fit in the team’s “guard-based schemes” than he was in a Sacramento system centered around Domantas Sabonis, Cato adds.