- The Pistons will play on Friday night for the first time since Monday, and the three-day break likely benefited a few banged-up players, including Jon Leuer, Andre Drummond, and Avery Bradley. However, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News relays, Stan Van Gundy says Leuer is “just not progressing the way he had hoped” as he battles an ankle injury.
There are 25 players around the NBA playing on 2017/18 salaries that aren’t yet fully guaranteed. While having those salaries guaranteed will be a mere formality for some players, others may be at risk of losing their roster spot with decision day nearing. If teams keep non-guaranteed players under contract beyond January 7, their salaries will become guaranteed for the season on January 10, so clubs still have more than a month to decide whether to lock in these players’ full-season salaries.
Listed below is the team-by-team breakdown of the players who are still on non-guaranteed salaries or partially guaranteed salaries. Unless otherwise indicated, each of these players is set to earn the minimum. Partial guarantees are noted if they exceed a player’s prorated salary to date. Any teams not listed below are only carrying players with fully guaranteed salaries.
Atlanta Hawks
- Luke Babbitt: Partial guarantee of $987,080.
- Isaiah Taylor
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
- Kay Felder: Partial guarantee of $456,529.
- David Nwaba
Dallas Mavericks
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Devin Harris: Partial guarantee of $1,339,662.
- Full salary: $4,402,546
- Jeff Withey: Partial guarantee of $350,000.
Detroit Pistons
- Eric Moreland: Partial guarantee of $1,000,000.
- Full salary: $1,739,333
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Marcus Georges-Hunt: Partial guarantee of $275,000.
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
- Khem Birch: Partial guarantee of $407,808.
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
- Sheldon Mac
- Note: Mac is recovering from a torn Achilles and will continue to be paid his full-season salary until he’s cleared to return.
To keep tabs on these 25 players over the next several weeks, be sure to check back on our regularly-updated lists of salary guarantee dates and of non-guaranteed contracts.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images and USA Today Sports Images. Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
- The Pistons have recalled Henry Ellenson from the G League, according to a team release. Ellenson poured in 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds for the Grand Rapids Drive on Tuesday night.
- The Pistons have assigned second-year big man Henry Ellenson to the G League, the team announced today in a press release. Ellenson, who has appeared in just six NBA contests this season, figures to play major minutes for the Grand Rapids Drive in Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Blue.
- Avery Bradley is slowing becoming one of the best two-way guards in the NBA, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Bradley is averaging career-bests in PPG (17.8) and 3P% (45.2%) this season and Stan Van Gundy has been impressed. “He came in with the respect based on what he had done, but it grows a lot more when you’re out here every day and see the way he goes to work.” The Pistons are currently tied for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 10-5.
- It wasn’t long ago when Andre Drummond was the subject of trade rumors due to his inability to hit free throws and a perceived lack of effort. These days, Vincent Goodwill of Bleacher Report writes, the Pistons big man has drastically improved his stock with head coach Stan Van Gundy and around the league.
- The Pistons haven’t utilized Jon Leuer as they originally intended to when they signed him in the summer of 2016. Though he’s missed time with a sprained ankle this season, Leuer had been seeing time as the club’s backup center, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. With Eric Moreland now developing in that role, Leuer could become expendable.
- So long as Greg Monroe remains with the Suns, there will be speculation about what teams may be interested in his services. One team to consider, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes, is the Pistons. Monroe played for Detroit from 2010-2015 and has the respect of head coach Stan Van Gundy.
- In his latest mailbag for The Detroit Free Press, Vince Ellis explores the possibility of a Pistons reunion with Greg Monroe, suggesting the team should consider the possibility of sending a first-round pick to the Suns along with Jon Leuer and Boban Marjanovic for Monroe. Meanwhile, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com fields Pistons-related questions in a mailbag of his own, explaining why he doesn’t expect Leuer to be dealt and addressing whether Detroit needs to add a scoring small forward.
- The Pistons have been one of the NBA’s most pleasantly surprising teams in the first month of the 2017/18 season, but that hasn’t yet translated to good attendance numbers for the team’s new downtown arena. Rod Beard of The Detroit News takes a closer look.
NBA rosters will undergo some changes over the course of the 2017/18 season, particularly around the trade deadline, and those changes may have an impact on teams’ cap sheets for future seasons. Based on the NBA’s current rosters, however, we can identify which teams are most and least likely to have cap room in the summer of 2018, which will dictate the type of moves those clubs can make in the offseason.
We’re taking a closer look at each of the NBA’s 30 teams by division this week. Today, we’re tackling the Central division. With the help of salary information compiled by Basketball Insiders, here’s how the summer of 2018 is shaping up for the five Central teams:
Milwaukee Bucks
Guaranteed 2018/19 team salary: $104,034,259
Projection: Over the cap
The Bucks’ recent acquisition of Eric Bledsoe, which added another $15MM to the team’s books for next season, all but guarantees that Milwaukee won’t have any cap space available in 2018. Moving another contract or two could change that, but if the Bucks intend to re-sign Jabari Parker to a long-term deal, they’ll likely end up much closer to the luxury tax line than to the salary cap threshold.
Detroit Pistons
Guaranteed 2018/19 team salary: $101,685,313
Projection: Over the cap
The NBA’s most recent salary cap projection estimated a $101MM cap for 2018/19, which would put the Pistons right around the threshold. Don’t expect Detroit to try to sneak below that line and create space though — if they intend to re-sign Avery Bradley, the Pistons figure to remain well over the cap next summer.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Guaranteed 2018/19 team salary: $75,902,175
Projection: Up to approximately $21MM in cap room
Since LeBron James returned to Cleveland in 2014, the Cavaliers have spent more money than any other NBA team on player salaries and tax payments, so it’s somewhat surprising to see the club with only $76MM in guaranteed commitments for 2018/19.
Of course, the only reason the Cavs’ projected team salary is so modest is because James and his $35MM+ player option aren’t included. Neither is Isaiah Thomas, another free-agent-to-be. And neither is Iman Shumpert, who seems like a good bet to exercise his $11MM player option. If any of those players return to the Cavs, the team’s cap space will disappear quickly. If Cleveland actually ends up with $21MM in available cap room, the squad will look a whole lot different next season.
Chicago Bulls
Guaranteed 2018/19 team salary: $46,648,020
Projection: Up to approximately $43MM in cap room
The Bulls, who don’t have many pricey long-term commitments on their books, could actually create up to about $52MM in cap room, but we’re adding Zach LaVine‘s cap hold to their team salary, since the club has been adamant about re-signing LaVine, one of the key pieces of this year’s Jimmy Butler trade.
Still, that leaves the Bulls with a ton of flexibility, as Nikola Mirotic‘s $12.5MM team option is the only other salary that could cut into the team’s cap room significantly. Based on recent events in Chicago, it’d very surprising if that Mirotic is still a Bull at that price – or at all – a year from now.
Indiana Pacers
Guaranteed 2018/19 team salary: $39,913,044
Projection: Up to approximately $54MM in cap room
In order to get up to $54MM in cap room, the Pacers would have to move on from several key players from this year’s squad. Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison, and Al Jefferson all have partially guaranteed salaries. Thaddeus Young and Cory Joseph have player options. Lance Stephenson and Joe Young have team options. The odds that none of those players will be back are incredibly slim.
Even if the Pacers’ available cap room is ultimately much more modest than the maximum figure suggests, the team is in a pretty good spot. The Thaddeus Young and Joseph contracts aren’t toxic, and Indiana is in full control of all the other players with options or without full guarantees. That will give the Pacers the opportunity to retain the deals that are solid values and dump the rest.
Previously:
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.