LeVert Extension Details; Harris Enjoying Time With Team USA
- Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights (Twitter link) passes along the official numbers for Caris LeVert‘s new rookie scale extension, which starts at about $16.2MM in 2020/21. As initially reported, the three-year deal with the Nets is worth exactly $52.5MM and is fully guaranteed, with no options.
- Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris, who put up 11 points and five rebounds today for Team USA, is relishing an opportunity to represent his country at the 2019 World Cup, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post details. ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter) that Harris should be one of the very best UFA shooting guards on what figures to be a weak NBA free agent market in 2020.
Joe Johnson To Work Out For Pistons, Bucks, Nets
Veteran NBA forward Joe Johnson is set to travel to Detroit, Milwaukee, and Brooklyn next week for workouts with the Pistons, Bucks, and Nets, league sources tell ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
McMenamin’s report adds Detroit and Brooklyn to the list of teams that Johnson will audition for as he pursues an NBA comeback. A previous report had indicated that the 38-year-old was working out for the Sixers and might do so for Milwaukee as well.
The Clippers and Nuggets were also identified in that story as clubs keeping an eye on Johnson.
After not playing for an NBA team during the 2018/19 season, Johnson joined Ice Cube‘s BIG3 league this summer and excelled in the 3-on-3 format. He was named the BIG3’s MVP after leading the league in points and assists, then scored 28 points on Sunday to lead the Triplets to a 50-39 win over the Killer 3’s in the 2019 championship game.
While the competition in the BIG3 clearly isn’t on the same level as in the NBA, Johnson’s impressive performance in the league has seemingly generated interest among a handful of teams who view him as a potential scorer off the bench.
[RELATED: Carmelo Anthony vs. Joe Johnson]
For his part, Johnson recently told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he didn’t join the BIG3 in an effort to make it back to the NBA. However, the seven-time All-Star added that he’d welcome another opportunity to make it back into the league since the way his last NBA stint (in Houston) ended didn’t “sit well” with him.
Nets Notes: Carmelo, LeVert, Prince, LiAngelo
In an interview with TMZ (video link), Carmelo Anthony offers little insight into a report last week that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are campaigning for the Nets to sign him. Anthony is close with the two stars and played with them, as well as new Brooklyn center DeAndre Jordan, on the 2016 Olympic team.
“That’s family,” Anthony said. “So, that’s bigger than basketball. If something happens, something’s gonna happen.”
A source told Frank Isola of The Athletic that Nets GM Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson have watched Anthony this summer and are considering adding him to the team. Brooklyn has a full roster, but will be able to sign a player once Wilson Chandler serves five games of his 25-game PED suspension. Anthony’s representatives have spoken to the Sixers as well, according to Isola.
There’s more this morning from Brooklyn:
- Fresh off signing a three-year, $52.5MM extension, Caris LeVert tells Bill Bender of The Sporting News that his next goal is to become one of the NBA’s best players. He also believes the Nets are ready to join the league’s elite teams after their success in free agency. “When you get guys like KD, Kyrie and DeAndre, expectations rise,” he said. “We’re looking forward to that. We’ve been working for that. I think everybody loves playing on a big stage. We’re definitely looking forward to this year and the challenges it’s going to bring.”
- Taurean Prince was a less celebrated addition for the Nets, but he could play an important role in making the team a contender, writes David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders. Brooklyn agreed to acquire Prince from the Hawks before the start of free agency, so he got to enjoy watching the team’s success in free agency. He called being traded “bittersweet,” but said he’s eager to be part of a rising power in Brooklyn. “I’m someone who wants to win more than they want to score,” Prince said. “My big thing is getting to the playoffs and being able to play in those type of opportunities and environment.”
- LiAngelo Ball claims the Nets were one of three teams that talked to him about a possible Summer League role, relays Ralph Orense of ClutchPoints. On an episode of “Ball in the Family,” Ball says the Thunder and Heat also expressed interest.
A Deeper Dive Into Wilson Chandler's PED Suspension
The NBA has revealed that Nets forward Wilson Chandler will miss the first 25 games of the regular season after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug called Ipamorelin, as we detailed on Thursday.
The Nets will now have several options for how they want to proceed. As of November 2, after the team plays its fifth game of Chandler’s suspension, they can move him to the Suspended List and free up a roster spot. Alternatively the club could waive a player altogether – they’ve got 15 guaranteed contracts – and look for a replacement… like *cough* Carmelo Anthony *clears throat*.
Wilson Chandler Suspended 25 Games For Failed PED Test
12:11pm: Chandler has issued a statement in response to his suspension, as Wojnarowski relays:
“During my injury rehab process, before I signed with the Nets, I was prescribed a treatment that included small doses of a substance recently added to the NBA’s prohibited substance list. I did not realize this substance was banned, and neither did the doctor. I accept responsibility and apologize to my Nets teammates, coaches, front office, and fans for this mistake. I will continue to work hard to prepare for the upcoming season.”
11:18am: The NBA has officially announced Chandler’s suspension, revealing that he tested positive for Ipamorelin.
10:46am: Nets forward Wilson Chandler is facing a 25-game suspension after testing positive for PED use, league sources tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, an official announcement from the NBA confirming the suspension is expected to come later today.
Chandler, 32, signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Brooklyn last month after spending the 2018/19 season with the Sixers and Clippers. He averaged 6.0 PPG and 4.2 RPG with a .418/.373/.720 shooting line in 51 total games (23.1 MPG).
Chandler was viewed as a low-cost option who could give the Nets some decent minutes off the bench at the three and four, but a 25-game suspension will keep him out of the team’s lineup for most of the first two months of the regular season. The 11-year veteran would be eligible to make his debut on December 15.
An NBA team can move a suspended player off its active roster following the fifth game of his ban, so the Nets would open up a roster spot to sign a temporary replacement for Chandler after November 1. Once Chandler is eligible to return, Brooklyn would have to trade or waive the replacement (or another player) to make room for the forward on its 15-man roster.
Suspensions longer than 20 games cost a player 1/110th of his salary per game. Chandler only counts for $1,620,564 against the Nets’ cap in 2019/20 but is earning a salary of $2,564,753. That figure will be reduced to $1,981,855 as a result of his 25-game ban.
The NBA’s policy on steroids and performance-enhancing drugs calls for a 25-game suspension for a first violation. If Chandler were to fail another PED test at a later date, his second suspension would be for 55 games.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Continue To Monitor Carmelo Anthony
Although Carmelo Anthony is scrimmaging with the Knicks today, New York’s other team appears to be his more likely suitor. According to Frank Isola of The Athletic, the Nets remain interested in possibly signing Anthony and continue to “closely monitor” the veteran forward.
While general manager Sean Marks will have the final say on whether or not the Nets sign Anthony, a source tells Isola that newly-added stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are “pushing” the team to add the former scoring champion.
Isola also hears that Marks and Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson have both watched Anthony train or play this summer. One team source says that the 10-time All-Star “certainly helped his cause” with his recent workouts in Los Angeles and that “his body looked great.”
Still, there are roadblocks in the way of Anthony reaching a deal with the Nets. For one, the team already has 15 players with guaranteed salaries under contract. Unless Brooklyn is willing to trade or waive one of those players, Carmelo’s best path to a regular season roster spot might be joining the club on a non-guaranteed deal once Wilson Chandler is eligible to be placed on the suspended list.
Chandler has been suspended 25 games for a positive PED test and can be removed from the active list five games into his ban. That would give Anthony a 20-game window to make an impression on the team and potentially earn a longer look, but it’s not clear if he (or the Nets) would be open to that sort of arrangement.
Anthony’s camp remains optimistic that the 35-year-old will find an NBA job, according to Isola, who notes that Carmelo’s representatives have also spoken to the Sixers.
Nets Notes: Kurucs, Prince, LeVert, Luxury Tax
Finding a power forward who can score from the perimeter won’t be a concern for the Nets during the 2020/21 season, but they’ll need someone to contribute until Kevin Durant recovers from an Achilles injury. Jason Max Rose of NetsDaily examines Brooklyn’s options, with the focus on Rodions Kurucs and Taurean Prince.
Kurucs, 21, is a holdover at the position after starting 46 games last year. He averaged 8.5 PPG and put up shooting numbers of 45/31/78 in what was essentially his first full professional season. He excels at passing and cutting, Rose observes, and works hard on defense. The biggest concern about his game has been rebounding, but reporters who saw him at Summer League said he has added weight and looks stronger.
Acquired in a July trade with the Hawks, Prince’s rebounding numbers last season were even worse than Kurucs, but he makes up for it with a better offensive game. He shot a career-best 39% from 3-point range and should get more opportunities to score from long distance under Nets coach Kenny Atkinson.
There’s more out of Brooklyn:
- This week’s rookie scale extension for Caris LeVert is more evidence that the Nets are willing to spend big to build a winner, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Ownership gave LeVert $52.5MM over the next three years and pushed its summer spending past $400MM after landing Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan in free agency.
- LeVert’s extension almost guarantees that the Nets will be a taxpaying team in 2020/21, salary cap expert Albert Nahmad writes for SNY.tv. Brooklyn already has $122MM in salary committed to nine players for that season, and Nahmad estimates the team will be about $15MM below the tax line when deciding whether to re-sign Prince and Joe Harris. He adds that Nets are unlikely to pay the tax this season, meaning a repeater tax won’t be a concern until 2023/24. They will probably exceed the apron in 2021/22 when an expected extension for Jarrett Allen would take effect.
- Stefan Weissenboeck, who serves as Brooklyn’s unofficial shooting coach, will be back for another season, according to Yanir A. Rubenstein of NetsDaily. Weissenboeck is an assistant coach in the German league, but provides tips to the Nets through videos and occasional trips to the United States. “I’m happy about the trust they put in me, and I love the job,” he said.
NBA Teams With Open Two-Way Contract Slots
Only a small handful of two-way players from 2018/19 had their contracts carried over to the 2019/20 season. A couple more of last year’s two-way players have signed new two-way deals. For the most part though, NBA teams have filled their two-way contract slots for the coming season with new faces, including several rookies who went undrafted in 2019.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Two-Way Contracts]
At the moment, 44 of 60 league-wide two-way contract slots are occupied. A 45th appears set to be filled if and when the Knicks finalize their reported agreement with Kris Wilkes. That leaves just 15 two-way deals available across the NBA as training camps approach.
Some clubs may not fill these slots before camps get underway, preferring to sign players to non-guaranteed NBA contracts and then convert those deals to two-way pacts later, depending on how players perform in camp and in the preseason. By the time the 2019/20 regular season begins though, I don’t expect many two-way slots to still be open.
With the help of our two-way contract tracker, which lists all the players currently on two-way deals, here are the teams who can still offer two-way contracts without waiving anyone:
Two open slots:
- Houston Rockets
- Miami Heat
- Toronto Raptors
One open slot:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Denver Nuggets
- New York Knicks
- Note: The Knicks only have a slot available if their reported deal with Wilkes isn’t finalized.
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Washington Wizards
Remaining Offseason Questions: Atlantic Division
NBA teams have now completed the brunt of their offseason work, with the draft and free agency practically distant memories. Still, with training camps more than a month away, many clubs around the league have at least one or two outstanding issues they’ve yet to address.
Over the next week, we’ll be looking at all 30 NBA teams, separating them by division and checking in on a key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2019/20 regular season begins.
We’re starting today with the Atlantic division, so let’s dive right in…
Boston Celtics
How will the Celtics’ World Cup contingent respond to the experience?
Six Celtics players are set to represent their respective countries at the 2019 World Cup in China, starting this weekend, including four for Team USA.
Boston’s top priority will be making sure that Kemba Walker (USA), Jayson Tatum (USA), Marcus Smart (USA), Jaylen Brown (USA), Vincent Poirier (France), and Daniel Theis (Germany) make it through the tournament healthy. But the team will also be curious to see how its international contingent performs in China and is affected by the experience.
A strong World Cup showing for a player like Poirier or Theis could increase his confidence heading into the 2019/20 season and put him in position to take on a more prominent rotation role. Meanwhile, a run at a gold medal could help the Team USA group develop the kind of on- and off-court chemistry that last year’s Celtics never quite had.
Brooklyn Nets
What’s next for second-round pick Jaylen Hands?
One of just four second-round picks who remains unsigned, Hands doesn’t project to be part of the Nets‘ regular season roster for 2019/20. The club already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and is unlikely to cut one of its veterans for the No. 56 overall pick.
The logical place for Hands to begin his career would be in one of Brooklyn’s two-way contract slots, where he’d spend much of his rookie season developing his game with the Long Island Nets in the G League. Henry Ellenson currently occupies one of the Nets’ two-way slots, but the other one is open.
Still, there were rumblings that Brooklyn had interest in Ron Baker as a potential two-way player before he headed overseas. And if the Nets had that second two-way slot earmarked for Hands, it seems like the two sides would have completed a deal by now. It’s still possible that he’ll end up on a two-way deal, but it’s far from a certainty — we should find it in the coming weeks what the team has in mind for the rookie out of UCLA.
New York Knicks
Does Frank Ntilikina have a place in the Knicks’ plans?
NBA teams have completed a total of 43 trades so far this offseason, but not one of them involved Ntilikina, who was among the league’s most frequently cited trade candidates heading into the summer.
The Knicks didn’t land the star free agents they were hoping for, but they reshaped their roster with a series of veteran signings in early July, jettisoning all of their own free agents. As New York goes through a transition period, it remains to be seen whether the club will recommit to finding out what it has in Ntilikina or whether his inevitable departure has just been delayed.
Shortly after the regular season begins, the Knicks will have to decide whether or not to exercise Ntilikina’s fourth-year option for 2020/21. But if the club revisits the trade market this fall, it’s possible another team will be making that decision on the the former lottery pick.
Philadelphia 76ers
Do the Sixers plan on making Trey Burke their 15th man?
Currently, the Sixers have 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, leaving a potential spot open on the team’s projected 15-man regular season roster. However, that count doesn’t include Burke, whose salary for 2019/20 is said to be partially guaranteed.
Although Burke appears likely to be Philadelphia’s 15th man, the specifics on his deal remain a question mark — if his partial guarantee isn’t significant, he’s not necessarily a lock to make the team.
The 76ers signed Raul Neto as a backup this offseason and may rely on Shake Milton to play a larger role behind Ben Simmons as well. If the team determines that it has a more pressing need at another position, perhaps it brings in someone else to fill that 15th and final roster spot.
Toronto Raptors
Will Pascal Siakam or Kyle Lowry sign an extension?
The Raptors have two of the more intriguing extension candidates in the NBA, as Siakam and Lowry each project to be top-10 free agents on the 2020 market if they don’t get new deals before then.
Lowry, who is eligible for a veteran extension, recently said that he’d “love” to sign a new deal to remain in Toronto rather than reaching unrestricted free agency next summer. It’s unclear whether he and the club will see eye-to-eye on his value though as his 34th birthday nears.
As for Siakam, he’s among the top candidates for a rookie scale extension. However, given the dearth of talent on the 2020 free agent market, he may only be willing to ink a new deal if he gets a max salary or something close to it — after all, he can reasonably expect to get offers in that range next summer if he continues to improve.
Siakam will certainly be a part of the Raptors’ long-term future. Since we can’t definitively say the same about Lowry, the up-and-coming forward is probably more likely to be extended within the next couple months than the veteran guard.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Sign Caris LeVert To Extension
AUGUST 26: The Nets have officially signed LeVert to an extension, the team announced today in a press release.
“Caris personifies what it means to be a Brooklyn Net, and we firmly believe his best basketball is in front of him,” GM Sean Marks said in a statement. “The growth he has displayed in his first three seasons is a testament to his tireless work ethic, along with an unrelenting will to maximize his talents and achieve team success. Our entire organization is excited to continue to have Caris as one of the leaders of our program moving forward.”
AUGUST 25: The Nets and guard Caris LeVert have agreed to a rookie scale extension, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the new deal is worth $52.5MM over three years. It will go into effect during the 2020/21 season, once LeVert’s rookie scale contract expires.
LeVert, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Sunday, was emerging as Brooklyn’s go-to option at the start of the 2018/19 season, averaging 19.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 3.7 APG in his first 13 games (30.7 MPG). However, a dislocated foot derailed his breakout season, forcing him out of action until February.
In his final 26 regular season contests, LeVert didn’t show the same explosiveness or shooting touch, averaging just 11.2 PPG on .394/.312/.661 shooting in 24.9 minutes per contest. However, in the Nets’ playoff series vs. the Sixers, he flashed that early-season form, scoring a team-high 21.0 PPG with a .493/.462/.724 shooting line in five games (28.8 MPG).
LeVert’s new three-year, $52.5MM deal – which will have annual cap hits of $16.2MM, $17.5MM, and $18.8MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks – is a fascinating deal for both sides. The Michigan alum has star upside, so the Nets may have themselves a steal by locking him up for a per-year salary of $17.5MM for three seasons in his prime.
On the other hand, as Marks observes (via Twitter), LeVert’s career has been plagued by injuries dating back to his college days, and he has yet to play a full NBA season, so getting some long-term security likely appealed to him. Plus, by accepting a three-year extension, he’ll be in position to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023 as he enters his age-29 season. Assuming he delivers on his potential, he could be in line for a bigger payday at that time.
It remains to be seen how LeVert’s game will be impacted by the arrival of veterans like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan, but the club clearly views him as one of its core players. Now that he has been locked up through the 2022/23 season, his contract is set to expire at the same time as those four-year deals (though Durant and Irving can opt out a year earlier).
With an eight-figure salary for Spencer Dinwiddie also on the books for next season, Brooklyn won’t have any cap room to work with in the summer of 2020. That shouldn’t be a problem — next year’s free agent class is expected to be weak, and it lost another intriguing name with LeVert coming off the board.
LeVert is the third player to reach an agreement with his current team on a rookie scale extension this offseason, with Ben Simmons (Sixers) and Jamal Murray (Nuggets) having previously signed max deals. There are still 17 players eligible to sign rookie scale extensions, including Pascal Siakam, Buddy Hield, and Jaylen Brown, among others.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.