2015/16 Salary Cap Update: Charlotte Hornets
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades now past and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts rapidly approaching, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Charlotte Hornets, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:
- 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
- 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $78,231,465*
- Remaining Cap Room= –$8,231,465
- Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $5,641,391**
*Note: This amount includes the $80K owed to Elliot Williams, who was waived.
**Note: Al Jefferson‘s salary for tax purposes is $12,886,364, Marvin Williams‘ is $6,985MM, and Tyler Hansbrough‘s is $1,185,784
Cap Exceptions Available:
- Mid-Level Exception= $5,464,000
- Trade Exception= $646,250 (Matt Barnes. Expires June 25th, 2016)
- Trade Exception= $548,000 (Luke Ridnour. Expires June 25th, 2016)
Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000
Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $2,857,286
Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Southwest Notes: Dwight, Stephenson, Lee
Many executives believe Dwight Howard‘s slumping productivity and recent history of injuries will keep him from receiving the max in free agency this summer, but the Rockets still see him as preferable to Al Horford or Ryan Anderson, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. Howard’s agent Dan Fegan sent word to the Bucks, Hornets and Hawks, among others, that Howard isn’t anxious to take any discounts this summer, and he didn’t indicate a willingness to opt in and push back his free agency until 2017, Amick notes, which reportedly turned off the Bucks, at least, if not other suitors. Adding to the confusion before the deadline was that Howard was giving serious thought to changing agents, Amick writes. The USA Today scribe indicates that Howard’s uncertainty regarding Fegan is in the past, though that’s not entirely clear. See more from the Southwest Division:
- The Grizzlies didn’t specifically target Lance Stephenson, Chris Andersen and P.J. Hairston, whom they garnered via trade before the deadline, and instead took them in merely because their contracts were a fit for the sort of draft asset collection the deals afforded Memphis, writes Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal. The protected 2019 first-rounder the Grizzlies received in the Stephenson trade is more likely than not to end up in another trade at some point, Herrington opines.
- There’s talk that the Grizzlies will pick up Stephenson’s $9.405MM team option for next season, according to Herrington (Twitter links), but it’s unclear if that talk is coming from the team, and the Commercial Appeal scribe dismisses it as “irrational exuberance.”
- David Lee said the Mavericks have told him rebounding will be his primary task, notes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (on Twitter). Conversely, the cohesiveness of the Mavs helped sell the new signee on Dallas, as Sneed also notes (Twitter link). “You can see the chemistry from playing against [the Mavericks], and that’s something I want to be a part of,” Lee said.
Eastern Notes: Morris, Frye, Varejao
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he had no clue that Markieff Morris‘ situation in Phoenix would take the turn that it did when he acquired his twin Marcus Morris this past offseason, writes Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic.com. “I didn’t have any idea,” Van Gundy said. “We just knew that we liked Marcus. He was a good player, a professional guy, hard worker. We never had any problems from our end with it. I mean, Marcus was upset when it happened, upset at Phoenix, but it never had any effect on what we were doing in Detroit. He was a real professional.”
Markieff intends to approach his new situation with the Wizards the same way, Standing adds. He already has the support of Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley, both of whom relayed positive things about Morris, the scribe notes. “You know, it’s just guys that actually know me, and not on the outside looking in,” Morris said. “Guys that I’ve actually played with and been in the locker room with. Things happen. It’s in my past. All I can do is move forward and learn from it. I’m happy to do it. And getting compliments from those guys means a lot. We’re good friends, we keep in touch. They know me as a person.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Cavaliers were able to land Channing Frye on Thursday despite having less in the way of assets to offer Orlando than the Clippers, who were also interested in the stretch-four, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal notes. Los Angeles backed away from Frye because of the two years and approximately $15MM remaining on his deal, a contract that Cleveland instead views as an asset with the cap set to jump this offseason, Lloyd adds.
- The Hawks would be wise to consider signing center Anderson Varejao, whom Portland waived after acquiring him from the Cavaliers, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders opines. Atlanta needs a backup center with Tiago Splitter lost for the remainder of the season, and inking Varejao would carry little risk and wouldn’t impact the franchise’s cap flexibility heading into the offseason, Greene notes.
- Despite a somewhat slow start to his NBA career, Hornets coach Steve Clifford believes Frank Kaminsky will become a solid starter in the league thanks to how hard he works off the court, Gary D’Amato of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. “He has an NBA game right now,” said Clifford. “His biggest issue is he’s physically not strong enough to play every night against the starters. He’s worked hard in the weight room. I think in another year you’ll see him take off because of his work ethic.” The 2015 No. 9 overall pick has appeared in 53 games this season and is averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per night.
Hornets Sign Jorge Gutierrez To 10-Day Pact
SATURDAY, 12:03pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
FRIDAY, 7:37pm: The Hornets intend to sign free agent point guard Jorge Gutierrez to a 10-day deal, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (on Twitter). Charlotte currently has a vacant roster spot with only 14 players under contract, so no corresponding move will be required to add Gutierrez. He will act as the team’s third point guard, Reichert notes.
The 27-year-old was in training camp with the Bucks earlier this season but failed to secure a regular season roster slot. Gutierrez dished out 11 assists against only three turnovers in approximately 47 minutes of preseason action, notching a total of 12 points along the way, but it wasn’t enough for him to stick with the team. The playmaker has appeared in a total of 35 NBA contests in his career, owning averages of 3.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists to accompany a slash line of .495/.200/.720.
Gutierrez has appeared in 22 games this season for the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ D-League affiliate, and he’s averaging 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 27.8 minutes per outing. His shooting line is .431/.205/.844.
And-Ones: Marks, Foye, Lee
Thunder GM Sam Presti referred to the trade with Denver that netted the team Randy Foye, as well as saved the team approximately $9.8MM in cap commitments, as “smart business,” Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman relays (Twitter link). “The roster spot clearly gives us some flexibility to survey other opportunities to improve,” Presti said. “Then financially, that obviously wasn’t the intent of the deal, but because of the presence of Dakari Johnson, Semaj Christon and Alex Abrines in the drafts that we’ve had previously, we feel pretty good about those guys. So the draft choices in this particular draft were more valuable to Denver. And the money that we were able to save, the way that we’ve operated here, that allows us to reinvest in the team and clearly our team is going to become more and more expensive.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Bucks didn’t make a deal prior to Thursday’s trade deadline and a big reason was that the team considers Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker to be virtually untouchable, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. One of the duo would likely have had to be included in any swap for a big-name player, which was a non-starter as far as the franchise was concerned, notes Gardner. “Those guys are vault guys,” coach Jason Kidd said. “They’re in the vault. You don’t start a conversation with Jabari or Giannis. There’s no conversation to be had, right. So word gets around that those guys are untradeable.“
- The Celtics came close to dealing David Lee, who was waived earlier today, and viewed his expiring contract as a means to work a swap for a marquee player at the trade deadline, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes. “We almost had trades a few times, or thought there was a possibility,” team executive Danny Ainge said. “His [Lee] contract was a good way for us to get into a lot of the conversations we had.“
- Dmitry Razumov, the chairman of the Nets‘ board of directors, indicated that new GM Sean Marks will guide the team’s search for a new head coach but team ownership will also have input in the process, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com relays (ESPN NOW link). The team is likely to strongly consider San Antonio assistant coach Ettore Messina for the vacant slot, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News opined when Marks’ hiring was first announced.
- The Blazers sent $75K to the Heat in exchange for point guard Brian Roberts, which is the minimum allowable amount per league rules, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Eastern Notes: Horford, Calderon, Harris
The Hawks took center Al Horford off the market at approximately 1pm today, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (Twitter links). Prospective trade partners were wary of Horford’s impending free agency, which made the offers Atlanta received less than enticing, Broussard adds. Point guard Jeff Teague was available until the final minutes of the deadline, with the Bucks and Nets expressing the most interest, the ESPN scribe notes.
Here’s the latest from the East:
- Despite their best efforts, the Raptors were unable to upgrade their power forward position prior to the NBA trade deadline today, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes. The lack of a significant deal wasn’t due to the team’s lack of effort, with Toronto checking in on virtually every player rumored to be available, but the team found the asking prices simply too steep to pull the trigger, Lewenberg adds. “There was nothing there good enough for us, we felt,” GM Masai Ujiri said. “Anything that was good enough we felt, we just didn’t want to give up the future of our team for any of the stuff that was out there.”
- Knicks point guard Jose Calderon noted that one reason his numbers have taken a hit is New York’s triangle offense, a system not conducive to gaudy stats from playmakers, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News relays. “It doesn’t matter how I play,” Calderon said. “Sometimes when you maybe get off on the wrong foot or people don’t know you as a player and expect something else. It’s tough to change those minds. So I’m pretty good with the way I am, the way I do stuff, the way I work. Like I said, if we go position by position, or player by player, I lost every battle in that situation. I’m not going to score more points than other point guards in this league. I’m a different kind of player. It’s not fun when you want to win for the Knicks and people want you out of the Knicks.”
- The Knicks may cut the playing time of rookie point guard Jerian Grant because his lack of playing experience is hurting him and the team, according to interim coach Kurt Rambis, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays.
- Courtney Lee says being dealt to the Hornets “threw him off” because he was told the previous day by the Grizzlies he wasn’t being shopped, Steve Reed of The Associated Press writes. The swingman did add that the presence of coach Steve Clifford, who was an assistant in Orlando during Lee’s rookie season, would help him adjust more quickly, Reed adds. “It helps a lot,” Lee said of Clifford. “I have a feel for him and his coaching style. He knows my capabilities and I think he’s comfortable with me in that sense. It’s just a matter of picking up the plays.”
- The Pistons did extremely well in the trade that landed them Tobias Harris, David Mayo of MLive.com opines. Detroit netted a still-improving combo forward who provides exactly what the team lacked in its frontcourt and Harris’ salary will likely look like a bargain in the coming season, Mayo adds.
Latest On Dwight Howard
1:57pm: Howard will stay with the Rockets, ending weeks of speculation of him getting traded, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
11:07am: There is a strong belief from Howard’s camp that he will not be traded before today’s deadline, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports.
7:44am: The Rockets and agent Dan Fegan are hard at work to find a new team for Dwight Howard, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Houston is prioritizing its pursuit of a Howard trade over serious talks with the Jazz on a Ty Lawson/Trey Burke swap, though no favorite to acquire Howard has emerged, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Most executives from teams aside from the Rockets were saying as of Wednesday that a deal involving Howard was unlikely, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Houston turned down an offer of Al Jefferson and Spencer Hawes from the Hornets, league sources tell Isola, and little chance exists of those teams doing a Howard deal unless Houston’s demands come down markedly, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer hears (Twitter links). The Rockets called the Cavs to offer Howard, but Cleveland didn’t bite, according to Sam Amico of Amico Hoops (on Twitter).
The Celtics, Heat, Hawks and Raptors have also reportedly spoken with the Rockets about Howard, at least on a cursory level, though Houston has apparently been underwhelmed with the proposals it’s hearing. One GM told TNT’s David Aldridge he doesn’t think the Rockets want to end up with Howard still on the roster after the 2pm Central time deadline (Twitter link), which suggests Houston will bring its asking price in line with the market.
Salary concerns complicate any Howard trade. He’s making more than $22.359MM this season, but a 15% trade kicker in Howard’s contract means teams would have to match salaries based on a $22,970,500 figure for him. The Rockets are also less than $1MM shy of a hard cap of $88.74MM, so they have sharply limited flexibility. The Rockets and others expect Howard to turn down his more than $23.282MM player option and hit free agency this summer.
And-Ones: Johnson, Celtics, Pelicans, Lee
The Cavaliers think would-be post-buyout target Joe Johnson wants to stay in Brooklyn and that he’ll seek to sign an extension with the Nets, a source told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. People around Johnson say he won’t take a buyout, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
- The Celtics are willing to trade the unprotected 2016 first-round pick they have coming their way from the Nets if it would shake Blake Griffin loose from the Clippers, sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. However, Boston wouldn’t deal the pick for either Kevin Love or Al Horford, Bulpett hears.
- The Pelicans shopped Eric Gordon and Omer Asik, but they haven’t found much interest, sources tell John Reid of The Times Picayune. New Orleans reportedly offered Gordon and Alonzo Gee to the Kings for Rudy Gay earlier this season, and the Pelicans apparently had talks with the Cavs that involved Asik after making him available in December.
- The Grizzlies shipped $542,714 cash to the Hornets as part of the Courtney Lee trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals.
- Jameer Nelson is running out of alternatives to season-ending surgery on a severely sprained left wrist, but he’ll continue to try to play for the time being after receiving an injection meant to ease the pain he’s feeling, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post details. He missed the Nuggets‘ last six games before the All-Star break.
- The Bulls were interested in Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer earlier this season, but the Rockets rebuffed their entreaties, reports Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link).
- The Pistons would love to make one more move before the trade deadline, GM Jeff Bower said today in an appearance on WDFN-AM radio, notes Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link). The team is reportedly scanning the market for veteran guards, but Bower said the Pistons are looking at the options available at every position and added that coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has confidence in Steve Blake as the team’s backup point guard, Beard also relays (on Twitter).
- The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis from the team’s D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced today. Ennis has appeared in 15 games with the Energy, averaging 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per night. He has played in 10 games for Memphis, averaging 1.3 points in 3.6 minutes.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southeast Notes: Splitter, Batum, Jefferson, Frye
The Hawks‘ Tiago Splitter may miss the start of next season after having surgery on his right hip, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The procedure will be performed Thursday, and Splitter estimates it will take “eight months, at least” to recover, which means he won’t be able to represent Brazil in the Summer Olympics. “I just got here this season and I wanted to help this team more” said Splitter, who was acquired from the Spurs in a July trade. “I wasn’t able to perform 100%, that’s for sure. I’ve been feeling this pain, you guys know, for some time. We tried several techniques and treatments. It ended up being I need the surgery. I hope it goes fast and I’m ready to play again.” Splitter will make $8.25MM next season on the final year of his contract.
There’s more from the Southeast Division on the eve of the trade deadline:
- Trade rumors have swirled around the Hawks as much as any team during the past month, and coach/executive Mike Budenholzer isn’t offering any hints about whether a deal for Al Horford or Jeff Teague is in the works, as Vivlamore notes in a separate piece. “We are very happy with our group,” Budenholzer said. “We feel strongly about them. I’ve been protective of them and would expect to continue to be that. You never know what can happen.”
- The Hornets will likely present Nicolas Batum with a full max offer on the first day of free agency, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, passing on a prediction from ESPN cap expert Tom Penn. It’s the only way Charlotte can keep him, Penn said (Twitter link).
- The Hornets hope to welcome back center Al Jefferson this weekend, Bonnell tweets. Jefferson hasn’t played since undergoing arthroscopic surgery after suffering a tear in the lateral meniscus of his right knee in late December.
- The Magic’s Channing Frye takes trade deadline talk in stride, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The Clippers are reportedly close to a deal that would bring the veteran power forward to L.A. “It’s not my first time being on the trading block,” Frye said. “… I was supposed to get traded at the beginning of the season. I was supposed to get traded last year.”
- Wizards center Marcin Gortat has officially chosen Todd Ramasar as his new agent, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.
Southeast Notes: Jennings, Payton, Plumlee
The acquisition of Brandon Jennings in Tuesday’s trade with the Pistons doesn’t mean the Magic have wavered in their belief in Elfrid Payton, GM Rob Hennigan said, though coach Scott Skiles has been looking for more lately from Orlando’s incumbent starting point guard, notes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Still, the trade was about creating flexibility to chase stars in the summer, as Schmitz sees it, suggesting Jennings and Ilyasova will merely be rentals if the right marquee player comes calling. The deal reduced the Magic’s guaranteed salary commitments by $16.8MM for next season, bringing their total down to $44MM. See more from Orlando amid news out of the Southeast Division, where three teams have made trades within the last 24 hours:
- It appears as though the Wizards had talks with the Bucks about Miles Plumlee, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, citing sources, writes that Washington could revisit discussions about the big man if Milwaukee isn’t hung up on other business.
- The Wizards see the return of Alan Anderson as a de facto trade deadline acquisition, and a decent chance exists that he’ll be playing by week’s end, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The Wizards signed him to a one-year, $4MM deal this past summer thinking he’d be ready for the start of the regular season following ankle surgery in May, but a follow-up procedure has kept the swingman on the shelf all season so far, as Castillo details.
- Heat team president Pat Riley pointed to the importance of upgrading Miami’s point guard position in the wake of Tyler Johnson‘s injury as he addressed Tuesday’s trade to acquire Brian Roberts, according to his remarks in the team’s statement. Johnson has said there’s no guarantee he returns to play this season.
- It’s likely that the Hornets will use the roster spot they opened in Wednesday’s Courtney Lee trade to sign a third point guard out of the D-League, GM Rich Cho said, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
- The Magic are down to four cities in the running to play host to their one-to-one D-League affiliate in 2017/18, CEO Alex Martins told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. All are in Florida: Jacksonville, Kissimmee, Lakeland and an Orlando location not far from where the NBA club plays, as Robbins details.