NCAA’s Withdrawal Deadline Looms For Draft’s Early Entrants
College players who are “testing the draft waters” this spring, having entered the 2022 NBA draft pool while maintaining their NCAA eligibility, will have to make a final decision this week on whether or not to go pro.
The NCAA has set a withdrawal deadline of Wednesday, June 1 at 11:59 pm Eastern time (10 days after the end of the draft combine). A player who still has college eligibility left but who doesn’t pull out of the draft pool by that deadline will forgo his remaining eligibility and won’t be able to return to his school or transfer to a new one for the 2022/23 season.
A total of 247 college players – either underclassmen or seniors who still have an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 – initially entered the draft prior to April’s early entry deadline.
In the weeks since then, many have either opted to withdraw after getting feedback on their stock, or have made a final decision to remain in the draft. However, as our early entrant tracker shows, there are still dozens with decisions to make by Wednesday night.
A college player who doesn’t withdraw from the draft by Wednesday’s deadline still technically has another 12 days to do so, since the NBA’s own withdrawal deadline is on Monday, June 13 at 5:00 pm ET, 10 days ahead of the June 23 draft.
However, a college player who pulls out of the draft pool at that point would no longer have his NCAA eligibility, so he’d have to play in a non-NBA league for the 2022/23 season. That’s why the NBA’s withdrawal deadline is often only meaningful for international players, who don’t have to worry about the NCAA’s rules.
NC State’s Terquavion Smith, Duke’s Trevor Keels, Wake Forest’s Jake LaRavia, and Colorado State’s David Roddy are some of the top-50 prospects on ESPN’s big board who have yet to formally confirmed whether they’ll stay in the draft. We’ll be tracking their decisions – and all the rest – ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.
2022 NBA Offseason Preview: Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets took some real steps forward in 2021/22. After posting a 33-39 record and the NBA’s 23rd-best net rating (-1.9) a year earlier, Charlotte registered a positive net rating and won an additional 10 games, finishing at 43-39.
The end result was the same, however. In both years, the Hornets finished 10th in the Eastern Conference, went on the road for their first play-in game, and lost it in blowout fashion due to a lackluster defensive performance.
Rather than focusing on the positive strides the Hornets made this past season, the team’s front office and ownership group instead focused on the repeated play-in disappointments. As a result, head coach James Borrego was dismissed and roster changes are likely around the corner for a Hornets team looking to play more than just a single postseason game in 2023.
The Hornets’ Offseason Plan:
The Hornets are the only NBA team that still has a head coaching vacancy, after the Kings and Lakers filled their respective openings. Hiring a replacement for Borrego will be the first order of business and will be one of the most important decisions of the offseason.
Ideally, Charlotte would want a coach capable of maximizing LaMelo Ball‘s talents, developing prospects like James Bouknight and Kai Jones, solidifying the defense, and turning a lottery team into a legitimate playoff threat. Finding a candidate who checks all those boxes won’t be easy.
Mike D’Antoni‘s name has frequently been linked to the Charlotte job, which makes some sense given his history with point guards, but he’s not exactly known as a defensive mastermind. Darvin Ham was reportedly considered a serious candidate, but he’s off the table now that he has agreed to coach the Lakers. Frank Vogel, Terry Stotts, Kenny Atkinson, David Vanterpool, Charles Lee, and Sean Sweeney are among the others who have reportedly interviewed, but it’s unclear whether any of them have captured the Hornets’ imagination with their vision for the franchise.
Once their head coaching search is complete, the Hornets will shift their focus to addressing a roster that still has a few holes. I’d expect the front office to do all it can to retain restricted free agent Miles Bridges, who was the team’s leading scorer in 2021/22. Charlotte would presumably prefer not to go all the way up to the maximum salary to re-sign Bridges, and it’s possible that won’t be necessary if no other team makes a serious run at him. But the cost to lock him up long-term will almost certainly be $25MM+ per year.
Assuming they secure Bridges, the Hornets will have to determine how best to surround him and rising star Ball going forward. Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington, Montrezl Harrell, Kelly Oubre, Mason Plumlee, Cody Martin, and Jalen McDaniels filled out the rotation in 2021/22, but there are questions surrounding many of those players.
Hayward has battled injury issues since arriving in Charlotte — will the Hornets be able to use his contract in a trade or will they have to count on him being healthier going forward? Washington is extension-eligible this offseason, but is he a long-term keeper or a potential trade chip in a deal for an impact player?
Will Harrell be re-signed or will he be a roster casualty as the Hornets look to upgrade their center spot? Will Oubre and Plumlee, who both have partial guarantees, be retained on their current deals? What will it cost to re-sign RFA-to-be Martin? And does it make sense to turn down McDaniels’ option and negotiate a new contract with him this summer instead of waiting for him to reach unrestricted free agency in 2023?
While one of Harrell or Plumlee could be back, I’d expect acquiring a starting center to be at or near the top of the Hornets’ offseason to-do list. The team’s poor defensive numbers can be attributed in part to lacking the sort of big man who can protect the rim and control the boards.
Myles Turner has long been on Charlotte’s radar, but may not be on the trade block anymore following the Pacers’ decision to move Domantas Sabonis. If the Hornets want to swing big, Rudy Gobert or Deandre Ayton could be options, either via trade or free agency. If they want to play it a little safer, targeting players like Richaun Holmes or Mitchell Robinson could make more sense.
The Hornets control two first-round picks next month, at No. 13 and No. 15, which should create additional options for them on the trade market. It’s possible Charlotte could simply use both picks, but after not getting much out of last year’s first-rounders, Bouknight and Jones, it seems unlikely that the team would want to bring in more rookies in 2022/23, especially with the pressure to make the playoffs increasing.
If the Hornets can’t make a deal on or before draft night that sends out one of those picks in a deal for veteran talent, don’t be surprised if they trade one of them for a future first-round selection, plus maybe a second-rounder or two. Those picks could subsequently be used as sweeteners in a trade for win-now help during free agency or even at next season’s deadline.
Salary Cap Situation
Note: Our salary cap figures are based on the league’s latest projection ($122MM) for 2022/23.
Guaranteed Salary
- Gordon Hayward ($30,075,000)
- Terry Rozier ($21,486,316)
- Nicolas Batum ($8,856,969) — Waived via stretch provision.
- LaMelo Ball ($8,623,920)
- P.J. Washington ($5,808,435)
- Kelly Oubre ($5,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Rest of salary is noted in non-guaranteed section below. 1
- James Bouknight ($4,362,240)
- Mason Plumlee ($4,262,500) — Partial guarantee. Rest of salary is noted in non-guaranteed section below. 2
- Kai Jones ($2,909,040)
- JT Thor ($1,563,518)
- Total: $92,947,938
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Jalen McDaniels ($1,930,681): Bird rights 3
- Total: $1,930,681
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Kelly Oubre ($7,600,000) 1
- Mason Plumlee ($4,817,917) 2
- Nick Richards ($1,782,621) 4
- Total: $14,200,538
Restricted Free Agents
Miles Bridges ($7,921,300 qualifying offer / $16,264,479 cap hold): Bird rights- Cody Martin ($2,228,276 qualifying offer / $2,228,276 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $18,492,755
Two-Way Free Agents
- Arnoldas Kulboka ($1,616,044 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Scottie Lewis ($1,616,044 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $3,232,088
Draft Picks
- No. 13 overall pick ($4,069,080)
- No. 15 overall pick ($3,672,120)
- No. 45 overall pick (no cap hold)
- Total: $7,741,200
Extension-Eligible Players
Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2022/23 season begins.
- Gordon Hayward (veteran)
- Jalen McDaniels (veteran) 5
- Mason Plumlee (veteran)
- Nick Richards (veteran)
- P.J. Washington (rookie scale)
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Montrezl Harrell ($12,637,170 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Isaiah Thomas ($1,811,516 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $8,684,044
Offseason Cap Outlook
The Hornets could theoretically open up some cap room, but it would require, at the very least, letting Bridges walk. That seems unlikely.
If we assume Bridges will be back and Charlotte will have to account for some combination of Oubre, Plumlee, McDaniels, Martin, and its first-round picks, it’s more likely that team salary will approach luxury tax territory rather than being below the cap.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $10,349,000 6
- Bi-annual exception: $4,050,000 6
Footnotes
- Oubre’s salary will become fully guaranteed after June 30.
- Plumlee’s salary will become fully guaranteed after June 21.
- McDaniels’ salary will remain non-guaranteed until August 1 even if his option is exercised.
- Richards’ salary will become fully guaranteed after July 7.
- McDaniels would only be eligible if his option is exercised.
- These are projected values. If the Hornets decide to go under the cap and use cap room, they’ll forfeit these exceptions and instead gain access to the room exception ($5,329,000). If the Hornets approach or cross the tax line, they may not have access to the full mid-level exception and/or bi-annual exception and would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($6,392,000).
Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post.
Trail Blazers Hiring Sergi Oliva As Assistant GM
The Trail Blazers are making another addition to their front office, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Sergi Oliva is coming aboard as an assistant general manager.
Oliva will be the third assistant GM hired by new permanent general manager Joe Cronin in 2022. Portland also brought in Andrae Patterson during the season and reached an agreement earlier this month with ESPN’s Mike Schmitz, who will officially join the team in July. The Blazers reportedly parted ways with assistant GM Bill Branch.
Oliva was part of the Sixers’ front office from 2014-20, beginning as a basketball operations analyst and eventually being promoted to vice president of strategy. He joined the Jazz in 2020 as an assistant coach on Quin Synder‘s staff and has spent the last two years in Utah.
Prior to arriving in the NBA, Oliva spent 12 years coaching at the youth and senior amateur levels in Catalonia and earned a PhD in Computational Complexity.
The Athletic listed Oliva in their “40 Under 40” feature in March, identifying him as one of the NBA’s young coaches/executives to watch.
Pelicans Ownership Reluctant To Offer Zion Fully Guaranteed Extension
During his end-of-season media session last month, Zion Williamson expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of signing a long-term contract extension with the Pelicans this offseason.
However, a fully guaranteed maximum-salary offer is unlikely to be on the table for Williamson, according to Brian Windhorst, who said on ESPN’s Get Up (video link) that team ownership is expected to seek protections in any extension agreement.
“From what I have been told, the Pelicans at this point are not willing to offer a full five-year guaranteed deal,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “And a lot of it is flowing down from ownership. Gayle Benson, the owner, is also the owner of the New Orleans Saints and I have been told they are going to take a football-style, Saints-style mentality with this contract negotiation. They will offer him a huge contract, but will not guarantee all of it.
“If Zion accepts those terms and still protects himself and maybe gets $100-plus million guaranteed, he signs it and everything’s fine. If he doesn’t sign it and wants the full thing guaranteed, we could have some drama into the fall.”
A former No. 1 overall pick, Williamson missed the entire 2021/22 season while recovering from right foot surgery and has appeared in just 85 career games since entering the NBA in 2019. The 21-year-old has played at an All-Star level when healthy, averaging 25.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 31.7 minutes per contest.
Williamson’s situation has frequently been likened to the one Joel Embiid was in following his third year with the Sixers, a comparison Windhorst invoked during his appearance on Get Up.
Following Embiid’s third season, injuries had limited him to just 31 career games, but Philadelphia was confident enough in his superstar potential to offer him a five-year, maximum-salary extension that included injury protection. The deal was worth $146.45MM, but would have been guaranteed for as little as $84.2MM if Embiid sustained a “contractually agreed upon injury” and the 76ers waived him. Embiid, of course, stayed healthy enough and played at such a high level that the Sixers never considered the possibility of letting him go.
The Pelicans could take a similar route with Williamson, offering him a maximum-salary contract that includes a substantial guarantee while also giving the team an out if he continues to be impacted by injuries. As Windhorst notes, it remains to be seen whether Zion would be willing to accept such an offer now that he no longer has any restrictions related to his foot surgery.
While Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin figures to take the lead on negotiations with Williamson, Windhorst stresses that the desire to reduce the team’s risk is being driven more by the club’s owners than by the front office.
“From what I understand, it’s not even about the Pelicans, it’s about ownership,” Windhorst said. “It’s about them saying, “Look, we have to make decisions on football players all the time that we’re worried about their injuries. We’ll guarantee them a certain amount of money and if they play, they can have all the money.’ And that’s what’s going to be presented.”
Draft Decisions: Ndefo, Cook, Hutcherson, J. Brown
Senior forward KC Ndefo, one of the standout players on the St. Peter’s squad that made an unexpected Elite Eight run this spring, will be withdrawing from the 2022 NBA draft to use his last year of NCAA eligibility, a source tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
However, Ndefo won’t be returning to St. Peter’s, instead opting to transfer to Seton Hall for his final college season, says Rothstein. Ndefo isn’t a big-time scorer, averaging just 10.5 PPG last season, but he fills up the box score on defense — he has registered an impressive 2.9 blocks and 1.3 steals per game in his last three college seasons.
Here are a few more updates on the early entrants for the NBA draft:
- Tulane sophomore guard Jalen Cook is withdrawing from the 2022 draft and returning to school for at least one more season, tweets Rothstein. Cook had a breakout year after transferring from LSU, putting up 18.0 PPG on .429/.391/.795 shooting in 24 games (33.8 MPG) for the Green Wave in 2021/22.
- Despite appearing in just four games for Illinois due to health issues after transferring from Wesleyan, junior guard Austin Hutcherson has decided to remain in the draft pool and go pro, he tells Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Louisiana junior forward Jordan Brown is expected to withdraw from the draft and spend at least one more season in college, a source tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). Brown was the Ragin’ Cajuns’ leading scorer (15.3 PPG) and rebounder (8.6 RPG) last season.
Celtics’ Brown, Horford Benefit Financially From ECF Win
A pair of Celtics players benefited financially in a major way as a result of the team’s Game 7 win over Miami on Sunday in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Swingman Jaylen Brown, who previously earned a bonus worth $321,429 for making the Eastern Finals, had that bonus voided and replaced by a bonus worth triple that amount, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who tweets that Brown will receive $964,286 for making the NBA Finals.
Meanwhile, big man Al Horford didn’t receive a bonus on this year’s salary as a result of Boston’s Eastern Finals victory, but his salary guarantee for next season’s salary has increased. Horford is on the books for $26.5MM in the final year of his contract in 2022/23, but only $14.5MM had been guaranteed. That partial guarantee has increased to $19.5MM now that the Celtics are in the NBA Finals, tweets Marks.
If the Celtics defeat the Warriors and win the NBA Finals, Brown would receive another bonus and Horford’s ’22/23 salary would become fully guaranteed. In that scenario, the Celtics – who are currently $358K below the tax line – would go into the tax as a result of Brown’s final bonus, making them a taxpaying team, tweets Marks.
While the Celtics made an effort at the trade deadline to stay out of tax territory by sending Bol Bol and PJ Dozier to Orlando in a salary-dump deal, it’s safe to assume team ownership would be comfortable paying a very modest tax bill in exchange for a title. The Bucks were in a similar situation a year ago, when Jrue Holiday‘s championship bonus pushed their team salary over the tax line.
Stein’s Latest: Pinson, Boban, Hornets, Connelly, Handy
The Mavericks are “determined” to find space on their roster for Theo Pinson next season, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article. Pinson appeared in just 19 regular season games in 2021/22 and wasn’t eligible to play in the postseason, but the Mavs view the 26-year-old wing as an important part of the team dynamic in Dallas, Stein explains, noting that center Boban Marjanovic falls into this category too.
Marjanovic has a $3.5MM contract for next season, so the Mavericks will have no problem keeping him around if they want to, but Pinson’s two-way deal is set to expire, making him an unrestricted free agent. Since he’ll have four years of NBA service under his belt, Pinson will no longer be eligible to sign a two-way contract in 2022/23 — he’d have to get a standard contract and be part of the 15-man roster if the Mavs want to retain him.
Pinson was viewed as the unofficial ring leader of the Mavs’ bench mob that earned the team $175K in fines during the playoffs due to its “bench decorum” violations.
Here’s more from Stein:
- With Darvin Ham off the board, it’s unclear which head coaching candidate is the frontrunner for the Hornets‘ job. However, Stein says there was some “fresh buzz” over the weekend that if Mike D’Antoni is hired by Charlotte, he could bring former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen along with him as an assistant. Stein reported a couple weeks ago that D’Antoni was in a strong position to land the job, but later cast some doubt on that report.
- Sources with knowledge of the situation tell Stein that the “equity” aspect of Tim Connelly‘s deal with the Timberwolves has been overstated. Stein’s understanding is that Connelly’s contract includes a bonus based on the value of the franchise increasing during his five-year contract, but he doesn’t actually own a stake in the team.
- It remains to be seen whether veteran assistant Phil Handy will return to the Lakers under Ham, according to Stein, who believes the Nets could be a fit for Handy if he doesn’t stay in L.A. Handy worked well with Kyrie Irving during their Cleveland days, and the Nets have a need on the player development side following Adam Harrington‘s exit, Stein observes.
Jayson Tatum Wins Larry Bird Trophy As Eastern Finals MVP
Following the Celtics‘ dramatic victory over the Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday, Jayson Tatum was named the Most Valuable Player of the series, making him the first-ever winner of the Larry Bird Trophy, according to the league (Twitter press release).
The NBA introduced the award earlier this month in an effort to honor the players who played crucial roles in leading their teams to the Finals. Last week, Warriors star Stephen Curry became the first player to win the Magic Johnson Trophy award as the MVP of the Western Conference Finals.
Tatum averaged 25.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game over the course of the seven-game series vs. Miami, playing big minutes (40.8 MPG) and putting up a shooting line of .462/.353/.860. He only had one poor performance in the series, when he scored just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting and turned the ball over six times in Game 3. He scored at least 22 points in the other six games.
The award was voted on by nine local and national media members who were covering the series. Tatum earned eight of nine votes, with Heat star Jimmy Butler receiving the only other vote, from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
Butler averaged 25.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.4 APG, and 2.0 SPG, and looked like the best player on the court in several games of the series — he was limited by a knee injury and scored just 27 total points from Games 3 to 5, but averaged 38.0 PPG in Games 1, 2, 6, and 7. He likely would’ve been the unanimous MVP pick if Miami had won the series.
Tatum will look to carry over his Eastern Finals success into the NBA Finals vs. the Warriors. The series will tip off in Golden State on Thursday — the full schedule can be found right here.
Mavs Notes: Gobert, LaVine, Brunson, Doncic
The Mavericks remain focused on acquiring another All-Star caliber player to complement Luka Doncic after tacitly acknowledging by trading Kristaps Porzingis in February that he wasn’t the right fit, sources tell veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein. The Mavs won’t have salary cap space to sign a player of that caliber outright anytime soon, so if they’re going to try to acquire a star this summer, it will probably have to be via trade.
Dallas has been linked to Jazz big man Rudy Gobert, but Stein’s sources say the Mavs’ interest in the three-time Defensive Player of the Year has been overstated. As Stein explains, the team knows it needs to improve its rim protection and rebounding, but had success with a five-out approach this postseason and will likely pursue a more “cost-efficient” option at center.
According to Stein, Bulls guard Zach LaVine is a potential target that intrigues the Mavericks, who apparently like the idea of adding another wing slasher and scorer, particularly after seeing how effective Spencer Dinwiddie was this season alongside Doncic.
However, LaVine is a free agent this summer and it would be a challenge for the Mavs to sign-and-trade for him and re-sign Jalen Brunson, since team salary would be well beyond the projected tax apron — any club that acquires a player via sign-and-trade becomes hard-capped at the apron for the rest of that league year. If acquiring LaVine isn’t realistic, Dallas will likely pivot to other options on the wing, Stein says.
Here’s more on the Mavs, whose season ended on Thursday in Golden State:
- President of basketball operations Nico Harrison downplayed the need to bring in another All-Star caliber player. “There’s teams … that have a bunch of All-Stars, and they were sitting at home watching us play,” Harrison said during his end-of-season presser on Friday (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News). “Yeah, you need to keep upgrading the roster, but I don’t think it’s just about getting a bunch of All-Stars. It’s about getting people that fit.”
- Harrison said that re-signing Jalen Brunson will be the Mavericks’ “top priority” this offseason (Twitter link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). “We want to re-sign him. He knows it,” Harrison said. “We want him back. He’ll be a big part of our future.” Mavs owner Mark Cuban also spoke about the team’s desire to retain Brunson, as we outlined earlier today.
- As Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News relays, Cuban admitted that he didn’t know what to expect entering the 2021/22 season after the team underwent front office and coaching changes. He was pleased to see the Mavs establish an identity over the course of the year. “Hard-playing. Physical. Multi-talented, able to complement Luka,” Cuban said in describing the type of player that fits that identity. “Knowing how to play with Luka. That probably is number one. But yeah, you saw how we played it. Guys like Reggie Bullock. Spencer, when he came, got it. Davis Bertans. (Dorian Finney-Smith). Dwight (Powell). Everybody. There’s nobody that you can name that that wasn’t just playing as hard as they possibly can and knew their role.”
- An Eastern Conference executive who spoke to Tim MacMahon of ESPN believes the Mavericks are “one player away” from being a legitimate title contender. According to MacMahon, that opinion is shared by other rival coaches, executives, and scouts he has spoken to about Dallas’ outlook. For his part, Doncic said after Thursday’s loss that he thinks the Mavs are “on a great, great path.”
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) and Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype have published their offseason previews for the Mavericks, while Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report and SI.com’s Chris Mannix and Howard Beck also took a closer look at the team’s roster situation going forward.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Heat, Hornets, Magic
After several years of mixed results when picking late in the lottery and in the middle of the first round, the Wizards should aggressively try to move up from No. 10 in this year’s draft, David Aldridge of The Athletic argues.
Aldridge suggests specifically targeting the No. 3 pick and making any assets besides Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis available, including a future first-round pick and some combination of recent first-rounders Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, and Corey Kispert. If the Rockets’ asking price is too steep, the Wizards should shift their focus to the No. 4 pick, says Aldridge.
I’m skeptical that the Wizards will be able to pry No. 3 away from Houston, given the relative consensus on the top three prospects in this year’s draft, and I’m not sure how eager they should be to give up any future first-round picks, given their current roster situation. But Aldridge believes it would be worth it to roll the dice to land a player like Paolo Banchero or Keegan Murray.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- The Heat won’t make any changes to their starting lineup for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference, head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters today (Twitter link via Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel). That means Kyle Lowry and Max Strus will continue to start, despite calls to bench them.
- In a mailbag for The Charlotte Observer, Roderick Boone considers whether Deandre Ayton is a realistic free agent target for the Hornets, looks at where their head coaching search stands, and discusses what to expect from 2021 first-rounder Kai Jones going forward.
- Kai Sotto, a draft-eligible center from the Philippines, had a workout with the Magic on Thursday, tweets Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Sotto played in Australia’s NBL last season after initially committing to the G League Ignite in 2020. He didn’t end up playing for the Ignite due to travel and COVID-19 complications.