Cavs Rumors: Sexton, Luxury Tax, Osman, LeBron
The Cavaliers have “a lot of confidence” that restricted free agent Collin Sexton will be back with the team next season, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com told Jake Fischer during the latest episode of Fischer’s Please Don’t Aggregate This podcast.
As Fedor explains, there has been no indication that the Cavs are seriously exploring any sign-and-trade scenarios or that a suitor with cap room will make an aggressive play for Sexton, so it may just be a waiting game to see what kind of contract the former lottery pick ends up on.
As Fedor explains, when Sexton and the Cavs discussed an extension a year ago, they were exploring a Bogdan Bogdanovic-type contract — approximately $72MM over four years. However, after Sexton missed nearly all of 2021/22 due to a torn meniscus, the Cavs would like to get him back on a deal in the range of $12-14MM per year. Fedor has previously reported that the team put a three-year, $40MM offer on the table.
Given that agent Rich Paul is a tough negotiator and won’t want to accept a long-term deal that he believes is below market value, Fedor still believes the most likely scenario is that Sexton accepts his $7.2MM qualifying offer, which would allow him to reach unrestricted free agency next summer. However, both Fischer and Fedor believe that there’s a case to be made for Sexton accepting that three-year offer, since it would give him some financial security and would still put him on track to enter unrestricted free agency at age 26.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- It’s “very important” to the Cavs that they don’t go into luxury tax territory this season, per Fedor. “I had it put to me that it’s not happening, that they’re not willing to go into the luxury tax” Fedor said. Currently, the team has about $13MM in breathing room below the tax line, though if Sexton accepts the club’s current offer, that cushion would all but disappear. That proximity to the tax is one reason why Cleveland isn’t willing to go higher for Sexton at this point.
- If Sexton re-signs with the Cavs, the team will need to trade or release a player on a standard contract before the regular season begins. Cedi Osman could be a trade candidate in that scenario, according to Fedor, who notes that the forward fell out of favor with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff near the end of last season. However, Fedor adds that the Cavs still value Osman and wouldn’t simply want to dump his salary. According to Fischer, the Timberwolves and Celtics are among the teams believed to have checked in on Osman in the past.
- Noting that LeBron James will be a free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Lakers before then, Fedor and Fischer both suggest the Cavaliers wouldn’t close the door on the idea of another reunion with the star forward, as long as it’s on their terms. “Of course Cleveland would be open to a LeBron return, but it does seem like the Cavaliers made it very clear…that (they) would really only be open to that on a deal or in a situation that made sense for everyone,” Fischer said. “They would be adding LeBron as a piece into this rebuild, not handing over the keys to the franchise like they had done in the past.”
- Fedor explored the LeBron speculation in more depth at Cleveland.com, writing that the Cavs “aren’t currently plotting a third go-around” with the former Finals MVP, but won’t rule it out either.
Northwest Notes: Gillespie, Edwards, Thunder, Micic
The lower left leg fracture that Nuggets two-way guard Collin Gillespie underwent surgery on last week occurred while he was at his alma mater of Villanova helping out with a team practice, his father Jim Gillespie told Mike Jensen of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“He was dribbling up court on fast break and someone in a trail position dove to take the ball away but got his leg,” Jim said in a text message. “Surgery was (Friday) and all the doctors feel he will (make) a full recovery.”
It’s a tough setback for the younger Gillespie, who went undrafted in June but quickly caught on with the Nuggets on a two-way deal that would likely have seen him splitting his time between the NBA and the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate. Jim told Jensen that his son will “hopefully (be) back on the floor in five or six months.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- In an entertaining conversation with Zion Olojede of Complex.com, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said that one of his goals for his third NBA season is to be an All-Star starter. Edwards also said he felt like the Wolves “handed” the Grizzlies their first-round playoff series this spring. “It was like taking candy from a baby and they took the candy,” Edwards said. “We had every game won, man, and I don’t know what happened.”
- Unlike the Sixers, who recently announced their plans for a privately funded arena development project, the Thunder will likely be seeking public funds when they begin formally working on a new arena of their own, writes Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman (subscription required). As Carlson writes, the franchise can use the threat of relocation as leverage to seek money from the city, whereas that approach wouldn’t work in Philadelphia. Carlson estimates that we’re probably still eight to 10 years away from the Paycom Center being replaced.
- In his latest mailbag for The Oklahoman, Joe Mussatto discusses Theo Maledon‘s tenuous future with the Thunder, whether Darius Bazley or Derrick Favors will still be on the team by season’s end, and Vasilije Micic‘s trade value. Mussatto believes Oklahoma City should be willing to trade Micic’s rights for a single second-round pick, since he gets the sense the EuroLeague star is using the threat of a move to the NBA to earn bigger contracts overseas.
Lakers Notes: Westbrook, Closing Lineup, Nunn, LeBron
While former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel benched Russell Westbrook late in games a small handful of times last season, new coach Darvin Ham will have more power to do so this season, assuming Westbrook remains on the roster and Ham decides there are better fits in crunch time, says Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Buha expects Westbrook to get opportunities to close out games, but notes that it will depend on his shooting, decision-making, and defense.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are, of course, locks to be part of the Lakers’ “closing” five, and Buha views Austin Reaves as the next-best bet to join that group because he can be a secondary ball-handler. Buha predicts that Juan Toscano-Anderson and Troy Brown will fill out the closing five in instances when Westbrook is on the bench.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Although Kendrick Nunn recently said he feels 100% healthy after missing the entire 2021/22 season due to a knee injury, he has yet to resume playing five-on-five, which will be the “next big hurdle” in his recovery process, Buha writes. The expectation for now is that Nunn will be ready to go for training camp.
- Buha believes that the Lakers are done adding veteran free agents this offseason, and that any additional roster changes would come via trade. He notes that the team could also be active on the buyout market after the 2023 trade deadline.
- LeBron James will become eligible on Thursday to sign a contract extension with the Lakers, but Chris Mannix of SI.com doesn’t believe James will be in any rush to sign that deal, since he can maintain leverage and keep pressure on the team by taking his time. He could sign that extension at any time up until June 30, 2023.
Contract Details: Dellavedova, McGruder, Knox
Matthew Dellavedova‘s new one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Kings, originally reported as partially guaranteed, is actually non-guaranteed for the time being, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Dellavedova will receive a partial guarantee of $250K if he’s not waived before Sacramento’s first game of the regular season, then would lock in his full $2.63MM guarantee if he remains under contract through the NBA’s league-wide guarantee deadline of January 7.
Here are a few more details on recently signed NBA contracts:
- Rodney McGruder‘s one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Pistons is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. That gives Detroit 17 players on guaranteed contracts, though one of those players (Kemba Walker) is very likely to be bought out. The Pistons would still have to trade or release one more player with a guaranteed salary in order to get to the 15-man regular season limit.
- Kevin Knox‘s two-year, $6MM contract with the Pistons is worth a flat $3MM in each of the two seasons. While the first year is guaranteed, the deal includes a team option for the 2023/24 season.
- As expected, Goran Dragic‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Bulls and JaMychal Green‘s with the Warriors are both fully guaranteed.
Celtics’ Final Roster Spots Expected To Be Up For Grabs In Camp
The Celtics are currently carrying 12 players on standard contracts who are considered virtual locks to make their 15-man regular season roster and are preparing to hold an open competition for the final spots, according to Jay King of The Athletic.
Former first-round picks Noah Vonleh and Bruno Caboclo recently agreed to training camp contracts that will give them an opportunity to fight for roster spots this fall. According to King, two-way restricted free agent Brodric Thomas and former Celtics forward Justin Jackson are also considered “strong candidates” to join the competition for those roster openings.
Assuming Vonleh and Caboclo officially completed their reported deals and Thomas and Jackson sign contracts of their own, the Celtics would still have two spots available on their 20-man offseason roster, so they could further expand the competition.
Free agent swingman Matt Ryan, who is fully recovered from a summer ankle injury, appears less likely to return to Boston, despite finishing last season on a two-way deal with the team and playing for the Celtics’ Summer League squad in Las Vegas, says King.
Additionally, while it’s possible the Celtics will add at least one more frontcourt player to vie for a roster spot, the team isn’t expected to go after a veteran like DeMarcus Cousins or Dwight Howard, according to King, who says the front office seems to prefer younger players who have room to improve and are willing to accept modest roles. Currently, Luke Kornet projects to be a rotation player in the frontcourt, with two-way big man Mfiondu Kabengele providing depth.
The Celtics’ projected tax bill will be worth keeping in mind as the club auditions players for its open roster spots. If ownership is concerned about the rising cost of the roster, Boston could enter the season with just 14 players on standard contracts instead of 15, meaning only two spots would be up for grabs this fall instead of three.
As King observes, current two-way player JD Davison could also emerge as a candidate for a promotion if he looks good in the preseason, since rookie minimum contracts for a team’s second-round draftees cost less for tax purposes than identical contracts signed by undrafted free agents.
International Notes: Patton, Holman, Dekker, Krejci
Veteran NBA center Justin Patton, who spent last season in Israel, is off to France for the 2022/23 campaign, having finalized a one-year deal with Cholet Basket, the team announced today in a press release.
The 16th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Patton only ended up playing in 22 NBA games for the Timberwolves, Sixers, Thunder, and Rockets between 2017-21 before heading overseas. A series of foot injuries derailed the early part of Patton’s professional career, but the 25-year-old was able to suit up for 21 games in 2021/22 for Hapoel Eilat, averaging 11.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.9 BPG in 27.5 minutes per contest.
Here are a few more items from around the international basketball world:
- Former Mississipi State big man Aric Holman has signed with Tezenis Verona, the Italian club announced today in a press release. While Holman is a G League veteran and inked a 10-day hardship contract with the Heat last December, he has yet to make his NBA regular season debut.
- The London Lions of the British Basketball League are in talks with veteran NBA forward Sam Dekker, according to Dario Skerletic and Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. A former first-round pick, Dekker began last season with the Raptors, but appeared in just one regular season contest and was waived early in the season, before his full salary became guaranteed.
- Although Vit Krejci of the Thunder is the only current NBA player on the Czech Republic’s initial 15-man roster for EuroBasket 2022, there are other notable names on the list, including Tomas Satoransky and Jan Vesely, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops details.
Raptors Sign Gabe Brown To Exhibit 10 Contract
The Raptors have signed rookie free agent forward Gabe Brown, the team announced today in a press release. According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Brown received an Exhibit 10 contract.
Brown, who declared for the draft this spring after spending four years at Michigan State, became a full-time starter for the Spartans as a senior in 2021/22, averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a .382 3PT% in 36 games (28.9 MPG). His performance earned him a spot on the All-Big 10 Third Team.
Brown suited up for the Thunder’s Summer League team last month, recording 11.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .421/.370/1.000 shooting in four Las Vegas contests (21.8 MPG).
Oddly, previous reports indicated that Brown had reached contract agreements first with Oklahoma City and then with Denver. Either one or both of those reports were erroneous, or Brown has had one or two changes of heart this offseason as he weighed where to begin his professional career.
The Raptors now have 19 players under contract, with second-round pick Christian Koloko still unsigned. Given the team’s roster crunch, Brown doesn’t have a clear path to a spot on the regular season roster, but his Exhibit 10 deal would entitle him to a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate.
NBA Maximum Salary Projections For 2023/24
Although a number of big-money free agent contracts have been completed since the 2022/23 NBA league year began, several of the most lucrative deals signed by players in ’22 have been contract extensions. And many of those extensions have been maximum-salary deals.
[RELATED: 2022/23 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
Because those extensions won’t go into effect until at least the 2023/24 season and the NBA won’t finalize the ’23/24 salary cap until next summer, we can only ballpark what many of year’s maximum-salary contracts will look like based on the league’s latest cap estimates.
When the NBA confirmed its salary cap data for the 2022/23 season on June 30, the league also updated its cap projection for the ’23/24 campaign, estimating a $133MM cap. That estimate has since risen to $136MM. We’re basing our figures on a projection of $136,021,000, which would be the maximum allowable increase.
Listed below are the early maximum-salary projections for 2023/24. The first chart shows the maximum salaries for a player re-signing with his own team — a player’s previous club can offer five years instead of four, and 8% annual raises instead of 5% raises. The second chart shows the maximum salaries for a player signing with a new team.
A player’s maximum salary is generally determined by his years of NBA experience, so there’s a wide gap between potential earnings for younger and older players. Unless they qualify for a more lucrative extension by meeting certain performance criteria, players with no more than six years of NBA experience are limited to a starting salary worth up to 25% of the cap. For players with seven to nine years of experience, that number is 30%. For players with 10 or more years of experience, it’s 35%.
Here are the the early max-salary projections for 2023/24:
A player re-signing with his own team (8% annual raises, up to five years):
| Year | 6 years or less | 7-9 years | 10+ years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | $34,005,125 | $40,806,150 | $47,607,175 |
| 2024/25 | $36,725,535 | $44,070,642 | $51,415,749 |
| 2025/26 | $39,445,945 | $47,335,134 | $55,224,323 |
| 2026/27 | $42,166,355 | $50,599,626 | $59,032,897 |
| 2027/28 | $44,886,765 | $53,864,118 | $62,841,471 |
| Total | $197,229,725 | $236,675,670 | $276,121,615 |
The “6 years or less” column here is what the new extensions for Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, and Darius Garland will look like if none of them make an All-NBA team in 2023. All three players have Rose Rule language in their contracts, however, and could move up to the 30% max column (“7-9 years”) if certain criteria are met.
The 30% max column will also apply to players who reach the free agent market next summer with between seven and nine years of NBA experience under their belts. That would be Fred VanVleet‘s maximum contract with the Raptors, for instance, assuming he doesn’t sign an extension before then.
The third column (35%) will apply to the new super-max extension signed by Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. Sixers center Joel Embiid also previously signed a super-max extension that will begin in 2023/24, though his deal is for four years, so it’d be worth a projected $213,280,144 instead of the projected $276MM+ that Jokic will earn over five seasons.
A player signing with a new team (5% annual raises, up to four years):
| Year | 6 years or less | 7-9 years | 10+ years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | $34,005,125 | $40,806,150 | $47,607,175 |
| 2024/25 | $35,705,381 | $42,846,458 | $49,987,534 |
| 2025/26 | $37,405,638 | $44,886,765 | $52,367,893 |
| 2026/27 | $39,105,894 | $46,927,073 | $54,748,251 |
| Total | $146,222,038 | $175,466,445 | $204,710,853 |
If a player changes teams as a free agent, he doesn’t have access to a fifth year or 8% raises. So if someone like Cameron Johnson were to sign an offer sheet with a new team next summer, he’d be limited to a four-year deal projected to be worth just over $146MM.
If a veteran free agent with between seven and nine years of NBA experience – wants to change teams in 2023, he would be able to sign a four-year contract worth up to a projected $175.47MM.
James Harden, Draymond Green, or another veteran with 10+ years of experience would be able to earn nearly $205MM across four years if they change teams as free agents in 2023. While it’s probably unlikely that Harden, Green, or any other 10-year veteran changes teams and signs a four-year, maximum-salary deal next offseason, it will theoretically be the first time in NBA history that a player could receive a $200MM+ contract while changing teams.
Kevin Durant To Meet With Nets Owner Joe Tsai?
It has been over a month since star forward Kevin Durant requested a trade out of Brooklyn, and with no indication that any deal is imminent, Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com cites a source who says a meeting between Durant and Nets owner Joe Tsai is expected to take place in the coming days.
“What I’m hearing is that KD is going to meet with the owner this week,” Bulpett’s source said. “He’s going to go directly to the owner, Joe Tsai, sometime this week. We’ll see how that works.”
Assuming that meeting takes place, it’s unclear what would come of it. It’s possible Durant wants to reiterate his request to be moved and to check in on where things stand. It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that he could back off that trade request if he gets certain assurances from Tsai and the Nets.
“I have no idea what’s going to come of that meeting,” the source told Bulpett. “There are some things that KD is unhappy about, and I’m not sure any of that gets fixed here. But maybe it does.”
The most recent solid rumor we heard related to the Durant sweepstakes surfaced last Monday, when ESPN and The Athletic reported that the Celtics had talked to the Nets about a possible deal and had been willing to include Jaylen Brown in their offer. Subsequent reporting has suggested that the offer in question was weeks old, and Bulpett says some of his sources have pushed back against the notion that it was ever really on the table.
The fact that the Celtics’ interest – and Brown’s potential availability – leaked at all didn’t sit well with some people around the NBA, one personnel executive from another club told Bulpett.
“I think there’s some teams that aren’t very happy that when they talk to Brooklyn it gets in the papers,” the executive said. “That doesn’t help. I’ve talked with a couple of teams that are not happy with the rumors that creep out of there through all this. It’s not a good way to do business.”
The exec added that he the Celtics and Nets “haven’t had any conversations for a while” and expressed skepticism that the two teams will get a deal done, according to Bulpett.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 8/2/2022
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today. Click here to read the transcript.
Our next live chat will take place on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 pm Central time, with Dana Gauruder!