Pistons’ Second-Rounder Koprivica Signs With KK Partizan
Center Balsa Koprivica has signed with KK Partizan, the Serbian club announced today in a press release. According to the team, the deal is for three years.
Koprivica, who spent two seasons at Florida State, averaged 9.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 24 games (19.5 MPG) in 2020/21. He declared for the draft following his sophomore year and was selected with the No. 57 overall pick. Although the Hornets technically drafted him, they did so on behalf of the Pistons, who officially acquired his draft rights after the new league year began.
Koprivica was one of four players the Pistons added in last month’s draft. While Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Livers received standard contracts and Luka Garza got a two-way deal, there wasn’t room on the roster for Koprivica, who will be stashed overseas for at least a season. His new contract with Partizan covers three years, but I expect it will include NBA outs.
Koprivica, 21, was born in Belgrade and lived in Serbia until 2012, so his deal with Partizan represents a homecoming.
As our tracker shows, Koprivica is the fourth player from the 2021 draft class to be stashed overseas, joining Rokas Jokubaitis (Knicks), Juhann Begarin (Celtics), and Filip Petrusev (Sixers).
Mavericks Sign Feron Hunt, Carlik Jones
AUGUST 21: The Mavericks have officially signed Hunt and Jones, per a team press release. The signings of Onu and Omoruyi were previously completed.
The Mavs training camp roster is now finalized at 20 players. Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but they’re almost certainly Exhibit 10 contracts.
JULY 30: The Mavericks didn’t have a pick in Thursday’s draft, but they’ve been busy lining up deals with a handful of rookies who went undrafted in last night’s event.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Oregon’s Eugene Omoruyi and Louisville’s Carlik Jones have agreed to sign with Dallas, while Jeremy Woo of SI.com says (via Twitter) that Shawnee State’s EJ Onu has reached an agreement on a camp deal with the Mavs.
Omoruyi, who transferred to Oregon for his senior year after beginning his college career at Rutgers, averaged 17.1 PPG and 5.4 RPG on .473/.376/.765 shooting in 28 games (30.6 MPG) in 2020/21. The 6’6″ small forward earned All-Pac 12 First Team honors.
A 6’1″ guard, Jones also transferred for his senior year, making the move from Radford to Louisville. He put up 16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 19 games (37.5 MPG) for the Cardinals and made the All-ACC First Team.
Onu, a 6’11” forward who was the 24th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s list of undrafted players, helped lead Shawnee State to a NAIA championship this spring.
SMU’s Feron Hunt also tweeted that he’s joining the Mavericks, and his marketing firm congratulated him on signing with Dallas, but it’s unclear if that’s just for Summer League or if he’ll be with the club for training camp. Hunt, a 6’8″ forward, declared for the draft after a junior year in which he recorded 11.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG in 16 games (28.2 MPG).
Knicks Sign M.J. Walker To Exhibit 10 Contract
AUGUST 20: The Knicks have officially signed Walker, the team tweets.
AUGUST 2: The Knicks have reached an agreement to sign former Florida State shooting guard M.J. Walker to an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link).
Walker, who went undrafted last Thursday, averaged 12.2 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.5 RPG in 24 games (29.0 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21. He posted an impressive three-point shooting percentage of 42.3% and earned a spot on the All-ACC Second Team.
Walker is the second undrafted rookie reported to have reached a contract agreement with the Knicks, who also lined up a training camp deal for Clemson’s Aamir Simms.
An Exhibit 10 contract will put Walker in position to either have his deal converted to a standard contract or two-way deal if he makes the team. If not, he could earn a bonus worth up to $50K by joining the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate.
How Teams Are Using 2021/22 Mid-Level Exceptions
In addition to receiving approximately $112.4MM in cap room and being allowed to surpass that threshold in order to sign players using Bird Rights or the minimum salary exception, each NBA team also receives a mid-level exception. The value of this exception varies depending on a club’s total team salary.
A team that goes under the cap to use its available cap room, for instance, receives only a modest form of the MLE known as the room exception. An over-the-cap team receives the full mid-level exception, unless that team is also over the tax apron, in which case it gets a taxpayer version of the MLE that falls in between the full MLE and the room exception. We detailed the exact values of each form of mid-level exception earlier this offseason, but here’s a quick breakdown:
- Room exception: Can be used for contracts up to two years, with a starting salary worth up to $4,910,000.
- Taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to three years, with a starting salary worth up to $5,890,000.
- Full/non-taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to four years, with a starting salary worth up to $9,536,000.
- Note: Though its name suggests otherwise, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception doesn’t mean a team can’t or won’t be above the tax line ($136,606,000) at season’s end; it simply means the team’s total salary can’t surpass the tax “apron” ($143,002,000).
Now that nearly all of the NBA’s teams have used up their cap space, it’s worth keeping an eye on which teams still have part or all of their mid-level exceptions available, which we’ll do in the space below. This list will be kept up to date throughout the 2021/22 league year.
Note: As of January 10, the value of the exceptions below began to prorate downward by 1/174th per day, based on the amount of the exception on Jan. 10. For instance, if a team had $1MM of its exception left on Jan. 10, it declines in value by $5,747 per day for the rest of the season.
Here’s where things currently stand:
Mid-Level Exception:
Non-taxpayer: $9,536,000
Taxpayer: $5,890,000
Atlanta Hawks
- Used: $4,000,000 (Gorgui Dieng)
Boston Celtics
- Used: $5,890,000 (Dennis Schröder)
Brooklyn Nets
- Used: $5,890,000 (Patty Mills)
- Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.
Chicago Bulls
- Used: $8,600,000 (Alex Caruso); $925,258 (Marko Simonovic)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Used: $1,669,178 (Kevin Pangos)
Dallas Mavericks
- Used: $9,536,000 (Reggie Bullock)
Denver Nuggets
- Used: $4,500,000 (Jeff Green)
Golden State Warriors
- Used: $0
- Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.
Houston Rockets
- Used: $1,489,065 (Armoni Brooks); $2,000,000 (Garrison Mathews); $612,000 (Daishen Nix)
Indiana Pacers
- Used: $4,878,049 (Torrey Craig); $950,000 (Duane Washington); $600,000 (Terry Taylor)
Los Angeles Clippers
- Used: $3,902,439 (Justise Winslow); $1,062,303 (Jason Preston); $925,258 (Brandon Boston)
- Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Used: $5,000,000 (Kendrick Nunn)
- Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.
Miami Heat
- Used: $7,000,000 (P.J. Tucker); $290,967 (Haywood Highsmith)
Milwaukee Bucks
- Used: $4,000,000 (George Hill); $925,258 (Georgios Kalaitzakis); $28,799 (Rayjon Tucker)
- Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Used: $0
New Orleans Pelicans
- Used: $1,700,000 (Herb Jones); $1,500,000 (Jose Alvarado)
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Used: $3,500,000 (Mike Muscala); $2,000,000 (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl); $925,258 (Vit Krejci)
Orlando Magic
- Used: $5,000,000 (Robin Lopez); $100,000 (Devin Cannady)
Philadelphia 76ers
- Used: $3,300,000 (Georges Niang); $925,258 (Charles Bassey)
- Note: The Sixers could technically use more than taxpayer portion of mid-level exception, but are in the tax and likely won’t.
Phoenix Suns
- Used: $5,000,000 (JaVale McGee)
Portland Trail Blazers
- Used: $925,258 (Greg Brown); $436,482 (Trendon Watford)
Sacramento Kings
- Used: $3,732,000 (Alex Len)
Toronto Raptors
- Used: $6,350,000 (Khem Birch); $250,000 (Armoni Brooks)
Utah Jazz
- Used: $5,890,000 (Rudy Gay)
- Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.
Washington Wizards
- Used: $1,500,000 (Isaiah Todd)
Room Exception:
Available: $4,910,000
Charlotte Hornets
- Used: $4,500,000 (Ish Smith)
Detroit Pistons
- Used: $4,910,000 (Cory Joseph)
Memphis Grizzlies
- Used: $1,901,625 (Killian Tillie)
New York Knicks
- Used: $4,910,000 (Taj Gibson)
San Antonio Spurs
- Used: $4,500,000 (Bryn Forbes)
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Warriors Targeting Christmas Return For Klay Thompson?
The Warriors are aiming to have Klay Thompson back in the lineup for their Christmas Day game in Phoenix, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said today during an appearance on The Jump (video link).
According to Shelburne, December 25 is a “conservative target” for Thompson, but the Warriors will exercise plenty of patience with a star player who hasn’t seen any NBA game action since June of 2019.
“He could come back a little bit before (December 25), but in terms of getting his conditioning right, they’re targeting the Christmas Day game against the Suns,” Shelburne said. “I know that sounds a little late to people, but he was injured on November 18, so this is 13 months from an Achilles injury.
“… If he does well and his conditioning is up and he feels like he wants to come back earlier, he will,” Shelburne continued. “… (But) you need time to build your conditioning back up when you miss two NBA seasons.”
Thompson suffered a torn ACL during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals on June 13 and missed the entire 2019/20 season while recovering from that injury. Just when he appeared to be on the verge of returning to action last fall, he tore his Achilles tendon in November, resulting in another lost year.
Thompson, 31, is one of the Warriors’ most important two-way players, providing elite shooting and floor-spacing on offense while often handling some of the toughest assignments on defense. Having a fully healthy and effective version of Thompson back on the court will be crucial if Golden State hopes to contend for a title again in 2022, so it makes sense that the team would be careful not to rush him back for early-season games in October and November.
Until Thompson returns, the Warriors figure to lean more on free agent additions Otto Porter, Nemanja Bjelica, and Andre Iguodala to provide outside shooting and to defend wings and forwards.
2021/22 NBA Schedules By Team
The schedule for the 2021/22 NBA regular season was officially unveiled by the league on Friday. As expected, the regular season will begin on October 19 and conclude on April 10.
The NBA’s 75th Anniversary Season will feature 75 “Classic Matchups” over the course of the year.
For instance, the contest between the Knicks and Raptors on November 1 will mark the 75-year anniversary of the NBA’s first-ever regular season game between the Knicks and the Toronto Huskies on November 1, 1946. More of those Classic Matchups are highlighted within the NBA’s official press release.
The NBA also confirmed several previously-reported marquee matchups, including its five-game Christmas Day slate and an opening night doubleheader of Nets at Bucks and Warriors at Lakers.
Listed below are links to the full 2021/22 season schedules for each NBA team, organized by conference and division. The team-by-team schedules for ’21/22 can also be viewed in a single document right here.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
Lakers Rumors: Gasol, Frazier, Sampson, Thomas, LeBron
Veteran center Marc Gasol told reporters following his stint with the Spanish team at the Tokyo Olympics that he intends to play out the 2021/22 season with the Lakers, but NBA reporter Marc Stein (subscription required) has heard that Gasol isn’t a lock to return to the team.
Stein’s report is a little vague — it’s not clear, should the two sides part ways before the end of Gasol’s deal, whether that split would be initiated by the Lakers or by the 36-year-old big man. Stein suggests it’s also unclear whether Gasol would seek another NBA opportunity in that scenario or if he’d want to finish his playing career with a team in Spain like his brother Pau Gasol.
As we keep an eye on that situation, let’s round up a few more Lakers-related rumors and notes…
- After a recent report identified free agent guards Isaiah Thomas, Darren Collison and Mike James as some players the Lakers have worked out and are considering signing, Stein adds a couple more names to that list, suggesting that the team also has guard Tim Frazier and forward JaKarr Sampson on its radar. Although Los Angeles doesn’t intend to carry a full 15-man roster to open the season, the team currently has just 12 players on guaranteed deals, so a couple more additions will be necessary.
- Thomas’ workout with the Lakers happened a few weeks ago, before he scored 81 points in a pro-am game in Seattle, Stein says.
- LeBron James took exception to the fact that 10 executives and scouts polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps all named either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant as the NBA’s best player entering 2021/22. As Bontemps details in a separate story, James tweeted that he intends to use the snub as fuel going forward.
Jason Terry Named Coach Of Nuggets’ G League Affiliate
6:56pm: The Nuggets have officially hired Terry as the Grand Rapids Gold head coach, according to a team press release.
2:39pm: Former NBA guard Jason Terry is finalizing a deal to coach the Nuggets‘ new G League affiliate, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Terry, a former NBA champion and Sixth Man of the Year winner, last played in the NBA in 2018. He joined the Texas Legends – Dallas’ G League affiliate – as an assistant general manager in 2019, then left the team to become an assistant coach at his alma mater of Arizona for the 2020/21 season.
Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, who reported in June that Terry was in the mix for an assistant role on Jason Kidd‘s coaching staff, tweets that Terry spent some time in Las Vegas observing the Mavericks’ coaches and weighing the possibility of joining the team as an assistant. However, it seems Terry determined that becoming a head coach at the G League level will move him closer to his goal of eventually coaching an NBA team, notes Townsend.
The Nuggets, who had previously been one of the only NBA teams without an NBAGL affiliate, entered a partnership with the Grand Rapids Drive earlier in 2021 and rebranded the franchise, which will now be known as the Grand Rapids Gold.
Since the Gold are based in Michigan, it won’t be easy for the Nuggets to quickly shuttle players back and forth between Denver and Grand Rapids. But it will give the franchise an opportunity to assign players to the G League without having to worry about how another team’s affiliate will use and develop them.
Raptors’ Ujiri Talks Potential Return To Toronto, Player Development Plans
While Masai Ujiri‘s new deal and promotion to vice chairman doesn’t give him a stake in the Raptors‘ ownership, sources who spoke to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca believe there may be “equity-like” elements in Ujiri’s deal, such as bonuses based on revenues or on an increased valuation of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the Raptors.
The terms of Ujiri’s new contract with the team haven’t been announced or reported, so it’s unclear how much the Raptors’ president of basketball operations is being paid or how many years the deal covers. However, given that it has been called a “significant” multiyear deal, Grange says he’d be surprised if it’s not at least a four- or five-year agreement.
Ujiri spoke to reporters on Wednesday about his new deal with the Raptors and the team’s offseason. Here are a few of the highlights from that presser:
- Ujiri is optimistic the Raptors will be able to play in Toronto in 2021/22 after spending a season in Tampa, suggesting that there’s no real backup plan at this point. “I told (MLSE chairman) Larry (Tanenbaum) and Adam (Silver) and even Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau that playing away set us back a couple of years,” Ujiri said, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. “We know that and we are ready for that challenge, (but) playing another year somewhere else will set us back five years. We are not trying to do that. We have no interest (in playing anywhere else). We have not looked elsewhere, we are not going to look elsewhere, we’re playing at home; we’re trying to play at home. That’s the goal for us.”
- The Raptors could have created a chunk of cap space this offseason and pursued a veteran free agent or two, but they’re instead focusing on the development of returning young players like OG Anunoby and Malachi Flynn and newcomers like Scottie Barnes and Precious Achiuwa. “I said it when I sat here eight years ago (and) I’m saying it again,” Ujiri said, according to Lewenberg. “We are going to continue to develop these players and we’re going to find a way to win a championship here based on our development of our players, and whatever comes from that, sometimes trades, sometimes you acquire (players) through free agency.”
- Ujiri added that the Raptors are willing to be patient with their young players and will give them an “opportunity to grow,” rather than trying to take a short-cut to contention, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “There’s going to be super-teams, there are going to be three superstars on one team and maybe they’ll get as many as 10 one day,” Ujiri said. “We’re not taking that route, at least not for now. Our route is to grow our young players and be excited. It might not be the big three and winning now and super-teams. But in our minds, it’s a little bit super. Super young, but super hopeful.”
Pelicans Notes: Hart, Offseason Moves, Murphy, Summer League
Josh Hart‘s new three-year deal with the Pelicans includes some unique terms, according to ESPN’s Will Guillory and Bobby Marks (Twitter links). In an Instagram video, Marks provides a more in-depth breakdown of the agreement.
After earning a guaranteed $12MM salary in year one, Hart will have a $12.96MM non-guaranteed salary in year two, says Guillory. If the Pelicans want to avoid paying Hart that salary, they’ll have to waive him by June 25, meaning he’d get a head-start on finding a new team in free agency.
If Hart plays out the first two years of his deal, his $12.96MM salary for 2023/24 would be non-guaranteed as well, but he also has a player option for that third year. It would essentially be a mutual option for Hart and the Pelicans. He’d have until June 24 to decide whether to exercise or decline his player option, then – if he opts in – New Orleans would have until June 25 to decide whether to guarantee his salary.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Scouts and executives polled by Tim Bontemps of ESPN were critical of the Pelicans’ offseason, questioning the team’s decision to replace Lonzo Ball with Devonte’ Graham. “They’re a sinking ship and reaching for a life preserver that just isn’t going to help,” one Western Conference executive said. “I don’t understand how (Jonas Valanciunas) is going to fit. I don’t understand how Devonte’ is worth what they paid. It’s just weird.”
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic loved what he saw from the Pelicans and Trey Murphy at Las Vegas Summer League, noting that he talked to two separate scouts who thought Murphy was the best rookie in Vegas. Vecenie referred to New Orleans’ Summer League team as “juggernaut” on the defensive end, singling out Murphy, Naji Marshall, Herb Jones, and Kira Lewis for their performances.
- Murphy was one of seven players named to the All-Summer League First Team, per the NBA, as he joined co-MVPs Davion Mitchell and Cameron Thomas, among others.