- Rajon Rondo‘s “occasional surliness may have irritated superiors” in the past, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe writes, but the veteran point guard has meshed well in Chicago with Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg and former adversary Dwyane Wade so far, per Washburn. “We had battles, but I had battles with a lot of guys,” Wade said of Rondo. “When the opportunity presents itself, you always want to play with people that you respect, people that you feel are competitors and you know what they’re going to bring on a nightly basis. Rondo signing here was another eye-opener for me.”
According to Bobby Marks of The Vertical, there are 33 players around the NBA who can potentially earn incentive bonuses this season based on their own durability or performance, or based on how their team performs. Although Marks doesn’t identify all 33 players who have incentives included in their 2016/17 contracts, he discusses over half of them, passing along a number of interesting tidbits about those potential bonuses. Here are some of the highlights:
Minutes/games played bonuses:
NBA bonuses are deemed either “likely” or “unlikely,” using the previous season’s statistics as a benchmark, so if a player didn’t appear in many games during the previous year, a team can include a games-played benchmark and call it an unlikely incentive. For instance, John Henson‘s contract with the Bucks features incentives if he plays 60 games or 75 games this season. He appeared in just 57 contests in 2015/16, so neither of those marks is viewed as likely.
Miles Plumlee (Bucks), Luis Scola (Nets), Greivis Vasquez (Nets), and Deron Williams (Mavericks) are among the other players who have incentives in their deals for games played or started.
Individual statistic bonuses:
The Trail Blazers got creative with Maurice Harkless‘ new contract this summer, including an incentive bonus in the deal that can be triggered based if he keeps his three-point percentage above a certain level. Jeremy Lin, meanwhile, not only has a three-point percentage incentive, but also has bonuses linked to assists, turnovers, and threes and free throws attempted per 36 minutes.
Individual achievement bonuses:
Players like Bismack Biyombo (Magic), Evan Fournier (Magic), and Will Barton (Nuggets) have incentives related to their individual performances as well, but they’re related to awards and honors, rather than raw statistics. Biyombo gets a bonus if he makes the NBA’s All-Defensive team, Fournier gets some extra money for an All-Star appearance, and Barton would get $250K if he wins the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Of course, some of these incentives are more realistic than others. For instance, Thaddeus Young (Pacers) probably shouldn’t be counting on the $500K incentive bonus that he’d earn if he wins the league’s MVP award.
Team performance bonuses:
Several players, including Fournier, Jon Leuer (Pistons), and Joe Ingles (Jazz) have bonuses related to their teams making the playoffs. Many of those postseason incentives are tied to another condition. For example, for Taj Gibson to earn his bonus from the Bulls, he must appear in at least 60 games, play in at least 75% of Chicago’s playoff games, and average 25 or more minutes per game during the regular season.
Some players also have incentives linked to their teams’ win total, and once again, some are more attainable than others. For example, Nikola Mirotic could earn an extra $800K, but he’d need the Bulls to win 65+ games, so there’s a good chance his shot at that bonus will disappear about halfway through the season.
Be sure to check out the full breakdown from Marks for many more details on players who could earn incentive bonuses in 2016/17.
- The Celtics let R.J. Hunter go before the start of the season in part because of a crowded roster, but some of his former teammates in Boston believe he will develop as a sharpshooter if given the opportunity, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes. Hunter signed with the Bulls in late October after the Celtics waived him. The 23-year-old appeared in 36 games for the Celtics last year and made several trips to the D-League.
Chasson Randle, who is currently nursing a fractured orbital bone, has begun his rehab stint with the West Chester Knicks and New York is expected to add him to the roster once he is ready to play, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. The Knicks currently have 15 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates, so they will have to make a corresponding move.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Randle will be a nice addition, but the Knicks‘ bench remains an area of concern, Berman opines in the same piece. In Friday night’s win over the Bulls, the starters accounted for 100 of the team’s 117 points, causing Berman to speculate that the team could look to the trade market to bolster the second unit.
- Robin Lopez was surprised when he found out that he was traded to the Bulls this past offseason, though the big man is happy about his new home, as he tells Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. “You know that’s how the league works,” Lopez said “I’m grateful for my experience in New York, for the season I was there, and I’m excited to be in Chicago as well. Very excited.”
- Lopez said it was an “eye-opening” experience playing for the Knicks and he added that he wouldn’t have signed elsewhere had he known he would be traded just one season into his four-year deal, as he tells Scotto in the same piece. “Oh, not at all, not at all,” Lopez said. “Like I said, I think there are a lot of positives [that come] to mind from that experience.”
Derrick Rose wasn’t bothered by the boos he heard in Friday’s return to Chicago, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. The former MVP had 15 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in his first game against the Bulls since a June trade that sent him to New York. Rose received a mixed reaction when he was introduced and was booed the first several times he touched the ball. “It was all fun, man. I love competing,” he said. “I love when the crowd is into it. I knew it was going to be some yells. I knew there was going to be some boos. I’m from here. I’m used to it. I’ve been getting it ever since I was in sixth grade, going on the West Side of Chicago and playing and me being a South Side. I’m used to it.”
- The homecoming was a little friendlier for Joakim Noah, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. The former Bulls center, who signed with the Knicks in July for $72MM over four years, was cheered loudly during introductions. He responded with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the 117-104 victory. “There was a lot of love in this building,’’ said Noah, who spent nine seasons in Chicago. “I wanted to keep my emotions in check in this building.’’
When the Knicks and the Bulls square off tonight, it will mark the first time Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose will play in Chicago since departing the franchise over the summer. Both players have expressed their happiness to be in New York this season and Noah agreed with his former team’s decision to break up its longtime core, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays. “I think it was time for change,” Noah said. “There’s no question about that. It seems like this is a happy group, enjoy being around one another. That’s good. That’s what it’s all about, that’s how it should be.”
One former MVP faced his old team for the first time on Thursday night, as Kevin Durant led the Warriors to a win over the Thunder, and Friday’s schedule has another such reunion on tap, with Derrick Rose‘s Knicks set to face the Bulls for the first time this season. It will be a bittersweet return for Rose and Joakim Noah, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, who observes that the new-look Bulls are off to a much better start than the retooled Knicks.
Meanwhile, Rose spoke to Sam Smith of Bulls.com about not knowing what to expect upon his return to Chicago, adding that he’s anticipating a “couple of boos here and there.” According to the Knicks’ starting point guard, his primary regret stemming from his time with the Bulls is that he wasn’t able to lead the team to a title. “I had so many visions of winning a championship there,” Rose said.
Throughout the offseason, and in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams before the season can be designated as affiliate players and assigned to their D-League squads.
The players have some say in the decision — if they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re free to turn down their team’s request to have them play in the D-League. Most NBA and international teams have fairly set rosters by late October though, so having the opportunity to continue playing in the same system is appealing to many of those preseason cuts. Especially since they’ll maintain NBA free agency while they play in the D-League.
There are a few other rules related to D-League affiliate players. A player whose returning rights are held by a D-League team can’t be an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted free agents from the current year are commonly signed and assigned. Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days leading up to the regular season. And, of course, not every NBA team has a D-League affiliate, so clubs like the Hawks, Nuggets, or Clippers have no place to send affiliate players.
With all that in mind, here are the NBA D-League affiliate players to start the 2016/17 season:
Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)
Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Although Marks’ salary page for the Bulls had previously indicated that R.J. Hunter‘s deal with the team was a guaranteed one-year pact – as we noted on Wednesday – The Vertical’s cap expert has updated the terms of that contract. According to Marks, it’s a two-year, minimum salary deal with a partial guarantee of $425K in year one.
- Marks also has the details on R.J. Hunter‘s new pact with the Bulls, indicating that the ex-Celtic got a fully guaranteed salary from Chicago. However, it’s just a one-year, minimum salary deal for Hunter.