Olynyk Not Stressing Over Extension
Kelly Olynyk and the Celtics have until October 31st to agree to a contract extension, but the center isn’t stressing whether or not a deal is struck, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). “I’m not really worried about that. If they want to do it, they do,” Olynyk said. “If not, you can’t worry about things you can’t control. That’s completely up to them, so we’ll see what happens. … There’s a lot of things that you can’t control in life. If you worry about them, you’re not going to enjoy life.”
Free Agent Spending By Division: Atlantic
Over the course of this week, we’ve been breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this July.
These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.
Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.
With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Atlantic division. Let’s dive in…
1. New York Knicks
- Total money committed: $164,387,929
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $153,474,723
- Largest expenditure: Joakim Noah (four years, $72,590,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Courtney Lee (four years, $48,003,340)
- Lance Thomas (four years, $27,549,950)
- Mindaugas Kuzminskas (two years, $5,773,035)
- Brandon Jennings (one year, $5,000,000)
- Notes:
- Sasha Vujacic will earn a $1,410,598 salary, but the Knicks will be on the hook for just $980,431 of that total, with the NBA picking up the rest of the bill.
- The exact terms of reported deals for Chasson Randle and J.P. Tokoto aren’t yet known, so they haven’t been included here.
- The Knicks also signed Willy Hernangomez, but he was a draft-and-stash player, rather than a free agent, so his deal isn’t included here.
- The fourth year of Thomas’ deal, worth $7,583,975, is fully non-guaranteed, contributing significantly to the gap between the team’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
2. Toronto Raptors
- Total money committed: $146,025,440
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $143,228,000
- Largest expenditure: DeMar DeRozan (five years, $137,500,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Jared Sullinger (one year, $5,628,000)
- Notes:
- The Raptors were one of just three teams that didn’t go under the cap this summer, so their free-agent expenditures came using Bird rights (DeRozan), the mid-level exception (Sullinger), and the minimum-salary exception (other signees).
3. Boston Celtics
- Total money committed: $130,306,661
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $122,306,661
- Largest expenditure: Al Horford (four years, $113,326,230)
- Other notable signings:
- Tyler Zeller (two years, $16,000,000)
- Notes:
- Gerald Green will earn a $1,410,598 salary, but the Celtics will be on the hook for just $980,431 of that total, with the NBA picking up the rest of the bill.
- The second year of Zeller’s deal, worth $8MM, is fully non-guaranteed, creating the gap between the team’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
4. Brooklyn Nets
- Total money committed: $78,488,356
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $74,963,953
- Largest expenditure: Jeremy Lin (three years, $36,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Trevor Booker (two years, $18,375,000)
- Justin Hamilton (two years, $6,000,000)
- Luis Scola (one year, $5,500,000)
- Greivis Vasquez (one year, $4,347,826)
- Randy Foye (one year, $2,500,000)
- Notes:
- If offer sheets for Allen Crabbe ($74MM+) and Tyler Johnson ($50MM) hadn’t been matched by the Blazers and Heat, respectively, the Nets likely would have been the Atlantic’s highest-spending team.
- Anthony Bennett, Joe Harris, Beau Beech, Yogi Ferrell, and Egidijus Mockevicius all have contracts that include some non-guaranteed money.
5. Philadelphia 76ers
- Total money committed: $57,346,160
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $44,220,000
- Largest expenditure: Jerryd Bayless (three years, $27,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Gerald Henderson (two years, $18,000,000)
- Sergio Rodriguez (one year, $8,000,000)
- Notes:
- The totals above don’t include the Sixers’ previously-reported agreement with Cat Barber, which has not been made official.
- The Sixers also signed Dario Saric, but he was a draft-and-stash player, rather than a free agent, so his deal isn’t included here.
- The second year of Henderson’s deal, worth $9MM, is fully non-guaranteed, contributing significantly to the gap between the team’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Boston Celtics
Here’s a breakdown of where the Celtics currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Al Horford — $26,540,100 (Deal includes 15% Trade Kicker)
- Amir Johnson — $12,000,000
- Avery Bradley —$8,269,663
- Tyler Zeller — $8,000,000
- Isaiah Thomas — $6,587,132
- Jae Crowder —$6,286,408
- Jonas Jerebko — $5,000,000
- Jaylen Brown — $4,743,000
- Marcus Smart — $3,578,880
- Kelly Olynyk — $3,094,013
- Terry Rozier — $1,906,440
- James Young — $1,825,200
- Demetrius Jackson — $1,450,000
- Jordan Mickey — $1,223,653
- R.J. Hunter — $1,200,240 [Waived by team]
- Gerald Green — $980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,410,598]
- Ben Bentil — $250,000 [Waived by team]
- Damion Lee — $50,000 [Waived by team]
- Marcus Georges-Hunt — $25,000 [Waived by team]
- Jalen Jones — $25,000 [Waived by team]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $93,035,160
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Room Exception: $2,898,000
Total Projected Payroll: $93,035,160
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: $1,107,840
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $20,251,840
Last Updated: 1/10/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Olynyk, Sloan, Nets
The Raptors have focused on keeping as much of their own talent as possible in free agency, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Over the years, Toronto has been a place that star players have left, with the list including Marcus Camby, Damon Stoudamire, Vince Carter and Chris Bosh. This summer, the Raptors didn’t have the cap room to keep backup center Bismack Biyombo, but they held onto DeMar DeRozan as part of a core that is largely tied up with long-term contracts. “The improvement of our team is going to come from inside,” said GM Masai Ujiri. “Kyle [Lowry], DeMar, and Jonas [Valanciunas] and Patrick [Patterson] and Terrence [Ross]. They will probably take it to another level.” The Raptors’ major addition in free agency was former Boston power forward Jared Sullinger.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics will probably wait until next offseason to make a long-term decision on Kelly Olynyk, Washburn writes in the same piece. Olynyk can sign an extension up to the October 30th deadline, but Boston wants to see the 25-year-old big man for one more season before making a commitment. Olynyk has missed 43 games in his first three seasons, and Washburn writes that the Celtics want him to display more “toughness and consistency.”
- Donald Sloan, who played 61 games for the Nets last season, has reached an agreement to play in China with the Guangdong Tigers, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. His teammates will include former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer and one-time lottery pick Yi Jianlian. The 28-year-old Sloan averaged 7.0 points and 4.4 assists with Brooklyn in 2015/16.
- The $100K guarantees the Nets gave to Yogi Ferrell and Egidijus Mockevicius are the largest the organization has ever handed out to an undrafted college player, according to NetsDaily. Brooklyn signed both players to partially guaranteed training camp contracts this week, along with Beau Beech, who got $45K in guaranteed money. Brooklyn now has 18 players under contract, and the website projects veteran big man Henry Sims and summer league standout Marcus Georges-Hunt as possibilities if GM Sean Marks decides to go with the league maximum of 20.
Celtics Notes: Green, Iverson, Zeller, Thornton
The Celtics’ disappointment in James Young made the signing of Gerald Green necessary, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. In examining Boston’s offseason moves, Blakely sees Green as an “X-factor” who may not play a lot but could be the difference in four or five games next season. The veteran forward signed a one-year minimum deal with the Celtics last week. Blakely adds that team officials are impressed by the aggressiveness that No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown showed during summer league, where he averaged 10.2 free throws per game, and that second-rounders Demetrius Jackson and Ben Bentil are expected to spend most of 2016/17 in the D-League.
There’s more news out of Boston:
- The Celtics haven’t discussed a contract for next season with Colton Iverson, tweets Jared Weiss of CLNS Radio in Boston. The rights to Iverson, who spent last season in Turkey, have belonged to Boston since a 2013 draft-night deal with Indiana. The seven-foot center reportedly believes he’s ready to try the NBA.
- Tyler Zeller‘s new contract includes $8MM guaranteed for next season and a non-guaranteed $8MM for 2017/18, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Making the second year non-guaranteed rather than a team option gives the Celtics more flexibility if they decide to trade Zeller (Twitter link).
- Marcus Thornton, a second-round pick by the Celtics in 2015, will play in Italy next season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The 6’4″ guard played in Australia in 2015/16 and spent 12 games at the end of the season with Boston’s D-League affiliate in Maine.
Contract Details For Ben Bentil
- The Celtics have a crowded roster with 18 players currently under contract, and as a result, will have some difficult decisions to make during the preseason. Logan Mullen of 93.7FM’s Green Street broke down who he thinks will make the regular season roster and who is ticketed for Boston’s D-League affiliate in Maine.
- Ben Bentil‘s three-year contract with the Celtics includes a partial guarantee of $250K for the first season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The Celtics have officially renounced their rights to Gigi Datome, Pincus relays (on Twitter). The 27-year-old last appeared in the league during the 2014/15 campaign.
Contract Details For Demetrius Jackson, Ben Bentil
- Bobby Marks of The Vertical has the details on Demetrius Jackson‘s and Ben Bentil‘s contracts with the Celtics. Jackson’s four-year deal, which is worth nearly $5.5MM in total, starts at $1.45MM fully guaranteed in 2016/17, and declines annually in subsequent seasons. Bentil, meanwhile, got a three-year, minimum-salary pact that is partially guaranteed for $250K in year one.
No Deal Yet For Celtics, Colton Iverson?
10:19am: A source tells Jay King of MassLive.com that there is no agreement at this point between Iverson and the Celtics, despite the fact that the seven-footer wants a shot to play in the NBA.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Iverson and the C’s won’t eventually finalize a deal — Pick’s report didn’t materialize out of thin air, so it seems likely that the two sides are talking. We’ll pass along any updates as they become available.
8:51am: Three years after landing him on draft night, the Celtics have agreed to a deal with big man Colton Iverson, according to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link). It’s not clear if there’s any guaranteed money included on Iverson’s deal, which will bring him to camp with the C’s.
Iverson, who played his college ball at Minnesota and Colorado State, was selected 53rd overall in the 2013 draft with a pick Boston acquired from Indiana in exchange for cash. Since then, Iverson has played overseas, spending time with various teams in Turkey and Spain. The 27-year-old played for Pinar Karsiyaka last season, averaging 11.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 33 Turkish League contests (21.2 MPG).
The timing of Iverson’s move is interesting, since the Celtics’ depth chart looks pretty crowded this season. Iverson will be the team’s 19th player under contract, not counting 2016 second-round pick Abdel Nader, who remains unsigned. Of those 19 players, 16 are believed to have guaranteed contracts for the coming season, while John Holland‘s deal is non-guaranteed and Ben Bentil received a partial guarantee.
With an uphill battle to make the regular-season roster, Iverson could end up being one of the players the Celtics cut in training camp and assign to their D-League affiliate in Maine.
Celtics Ink Jaylen Brown
The Celtics have officially signed 2016 lottery pick Jaylen Brown, the team announced via press release. Brown was one of the five remaining 2016 first round picks who had yet to put pen to paper on their rookie deals.
Brown was selected with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He appeared in six games this summer for the Celtics split between the Utah and Samsung Summer Leagues in Las Vegas, averaging 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 29.0 minutes per game. Brown was named to the Samsung All-NBA Summer League Second Team in Las Vegas.
The 6’7” forward from the University of California was selected to the five-player USBWA Freshman All-America team, was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was the lone freshman this season to make the All-Pac 12 First Team, according to the release. He averaged 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 34 appearances and shot .431/.294/.654 from the field in his lone collegiate season.
Celtics, Ben Bentil Finalize Contract
6:10pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
11:46am: After signing second-round pick Demetrius Jackson, the Celtics have also finalized a deal with another second-rounder, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, who reports (via Twitter) that Ben Bentil received a three-year deal with a partial guarantee in year one. Himmelsbach first reported over the weekend that Boston and the young power forward had agreed to terms on a contract.
[RELATED: Update on unsigned 2016 draft picks]
There had been some uncertainty about whether or not Bentil would join the Celtics right away, since the team selected six players in the draft. However, first-round picks Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic will be stashed overseas, and Boston hasn’t yet committed to adding Abdel Nader to its roster. That left the door open for Bentil, Jackson, and third overall pick Jaylen Brown to join the C’s as rookies.
Of course, just because Bentil received a contract from the Celtics, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s guaranteed a roster spot for the regular season. Including Tyler Zeller and Gerald Green, Boston has 14 guaranteed salaries on its books for the 2016/17 season. Jackson figures to receive a more sizable guarantee than Bentil, and the team also has John Holland on a non-guaranteed deal, so it may be an uphill battle for Bentil to crack the regular-season roster unless the Celtics make a trade or cut a player with a guaranteed contract.
Bentil, who left school after his sophomore year, averaged 21.1 PPG and 7.7 RPG during his last season at Providence. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com ranked him as this year’s 45th-best prospect, and the Celtics made him the 51st pick in last month’s draft.