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Warriors Remain Atop 2024 NBA Franchise Valuations

December 18th, 2024 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors remain the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2024 on Wednesday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $9.14 billion, making them one of three teams to surpass the $8 billion mark this year. The Knicks have a projected worth of $8.3 billion, while the Lakers come in at $8.07 billion, per Sportico. Only the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys – at $10.3 billion – have a higher valuation than Golden State among North American sports teams, says Badenhausen.

While Sportico’s figures suggest the Warriors, Knicks, and Lakers are worth significantly more than the fourth-place team (the Nets at $5.7 billion), the average value of an NBA franchise is up to $4.6 billion, with no team worth less than $3 billion.

That average has increased by 15% since Sportico released its 2023 valuations last December and has nearly doubled since the site published its first NBA franchise valuations four years ago, when the average was $2.37 billion.

The NBA’s new $77 billion media rights deal and a 15% increase in team sponsorship are among the factors contributing to the rising valuations of the league’s franchises, according to Badenhausen, who notes that a post-COVID boom in concerts and other major events has been good news for team owners who also control their arenas.

NBA team owners operated 10 of the world’s 20 highest-grossing concert venues in 2024, with the Nets’ Barclays Center coming in at No. 1, says Badenhausen. The Nets’ valuation is up 43% this year, per Sportico, easily the largest year-over-year increase among the 30 NBA franchises.

When Forbes put out its NBA franchise valuations in October, it pegged the average value of a team at $4.4 billion. In the past, we’ve used Forbes as our primary source for NBA franchise valuations, but with Badenhausen making the move from Forbes to Sportico in recent years and the outlet establishing itself as a go-to resource for sports business news, we begun highlighting Sportico’s projections as of 2023.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico, Forbes, or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But these projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2024:

Golden State Warriors: $9.14 billion
New York Knicks: $8.3 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $8.07 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $5.7 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $5.68 billion
Boston Celtics: $5.66 billion
Chicago Bulls: $5.56 billion
Miami Heat: $5 billion
Houston Rockets: $4.77 billion
Toronto Raptors: $4.66 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $4.57 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $4.46 billion
Phoenix Suns: $4.32 billion
Sacramento Kings: $4.11 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $4.07 billion
Denver Nuggets: $4.06 billion
Washington Wizards: $3.98 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $3.95 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $3.91 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $3.79 billion
Indiana Pacers: $3.74 billion
Utah Jazz: $3.67 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $3.6 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.55 billion
Orlando Magic: $3.46 billion
Detroit Pistons: $3.45 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $3.39 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $3.29 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $3.09 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $3.06 billion

As Badenhausen notes, Sportico’s projections are based on a control sale price, rather than limited stake purchases. No NBA franchise saw its majority control change hands in 2024, but that could change in 2025, with control of the Celtics up for sale.

According to Badenhausen, team executives and investors have predicted a sale price ranging from $4.5 billion to $6.5 billion for the Celtics. The final valuation will be determined by a number of factors, including how many bidders are on the mix, what percentage of the team they can buy, and whether current governor Wyc Grousbeck insists on remaining in that role until 2028, which he has indicated is his goal.

Eastern Notes: Middleton, Sheppard, Nesmith, Thompson, Harris

December 17th, 2024 at 5:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Khris Middleton is now listed as doubtful to play in the NBA Cup final between the Bucks and Thunder tonight due to an illness, ESPN’s Jamal Collier tweets. Middleton had been listed as probable on Monday. Middleton has only appeared in four games this season after undergoing surgery on both ankles during the offseason.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Pacers guard Ben Sheppard, who has missed the last 14 games with a strained left oblique, participated in a live practice on Tuesday, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star reports. Coach Rick Carlisle remains uncertain when Sheppard will return to action, though it could happen soon. “He’s making progress,” Carlisle said. “(He’ll be back) sometime in the not-too-distant future, we hope. He went through some things. He’s been doing some contact work. He’s getting closer and he’s been able to do things without any setbacks to this point. We won’t know about today until tomorrow.” Forward Aaron Nesmith, who has been out since Nov. 1 with a left ankle sprain, is also making progress but has not returned to live action, Dopirak adds.
Pistons second-year forward Ausar Thompson on Monday delivered his finest performance of the season, supplying 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and a block in 27 minutes during the club’s overtime win against Miami. Thompson, who started in place of injured Tobias Harris, seems to be rounding into form after being medically cleared from a blood clotting issue and making his season debut on Nov. 25. “I thought he was really good on both ends of the floor and I think there’s more to come,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press.
Magic guard Gary Harris participated in practice Tuesday, according to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. The veteran guard has missed the last nine games with a left hamstring strain. “We’ll see how he responds, but as of right now just watching him walk off the court he looks OK,” coach Jamahl Mosley said.

Central Notes: Cunningham, Lillard, Middleton, Phillips

December 16th, 2024 at 6:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The field of contenders is deep, but Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has put himself in the discussion for All-Star consideration, Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois writes.

Cunningham entered Monday’s game against Miami averaging 23.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists per contest. He has admirers around the league not only for his stats but also because he’s establishing himself as a leader and clutch performer, Langlois notes.

However, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young are likely to be popular in the fan voting for Eastern Conference guards while LaMelo Ball, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro, Tyrese Haliburton, Darius Garland, Zach LaVine and the Boston duo of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday also merit consideration from fans and the coaches who will choose the reserves.

We have more Central Division news:

With the Bucks preparing for the NBA Cup finals against Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Lillard sat out practice due to a calf issue. However, it was a precautionary move, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, and Lillard says he’ll suit up for the game. According to the team’s PR department, the Bucks’ point guard has a right calf contusion (Twitter links here).
Bucks forward Khris Middleton has appeared in four games off the bench since returning from offseason surgeries on both ankles. Middleton was irritated by the notion that he took his sweet time to get back into action, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “People say I was scared to play mentally, or whatever case may be. It was just I wasn’t ready to play physically, mentally,” he said. “When you go through injuries, when you go through surgeries, you have to make sure physically you feel fine and mentally you’re there. All the way around, you have to be ready to play.” Middleton’s status for the Cup final is uncertain; he missed practice on Monday due to an illness, according to an Associated Press report. He’s listed as probable, Nehm tweets.
Bulls forward Julian Phillips has seen his role diminish since making a couple of starts earlier this month. Phillips, a 2023 second-rounder, needs to expand his game and create offense for teammates in order to get more playing time. “Julian has done a really good job of spacing the floor, shooting his threes, but I think he can do a little bit more off the dribble,” coach Billy Donovan told Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. “Whether or not we can get there this year, I don’t know.”

Pistons Re-Sign Paul Reed, Waive McCoy

December 16th, 2024 at 4:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have re-signed center Paul Reed and waived wing Javante McCoy, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter links).

Detroit signed McCoy to a standard, non-guaranteed contract on Sunday. That turned out to be just a stopgap in order for the Pistons to reach the minimum salary floor while Reed was on waivers.

Detroit needed to fill a roster spot after cutting Reed on Saturday because that move dropped the Pistons to $1,417,937 below the minimum salary floor, which they were required to reach by the end of Sunday. Detroit is now back at the minimum salary floor as a result of bringing back Reed and is still the only NBA team with cap room, holding about $14MM in space, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Reed had a $7.7MM salary this season that would have become fully guaranteed next month. Instead, he will return as Detroit’s third-string center on a more team-friendly deal. He’ll get the veteran’s minimum, Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press tweets.

Reed, 25, was the 58th overall pick of the 2020 draft out of DePaul. He spent his first four seasons with the 76ers, who waived him in July to create enough cap room to sign all of their external free agents. The Pistons claimed him a couple days later.

Reed was a rotation regular with Philadelphia last season, averaging 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.0 blocks in 82 games (19.4 MPG). He has appeared in 12 contests this season, averaging 4.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 0.8 SPG in 10.4 MPG.

Despite being on the roster for just 24 hours, McCoy will be paid for four days — the two he spent on the roster and the two he’ll spend on waivers. That will result in a prorated salary of $32,596, as cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets.

It’s likely that McCoy will just rejoin Detroit’s G League team. The 6’5” McCoy has appeared in 12 games this season for the Motor City Cruise, averaging 14.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.1 minutes per game. McCoy is also shooting 51.4% from 3-point range.

Players Traded After Monday Can’t Be Re-Aggregated By Feb. 6 Deadline

December 16th, 2024 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

As we explain in our glossary entry on salary aggregation, when a team trades for a player by matching salaries or using a cap exception, that team is typically ineligible to aggregate the player’s salary in a second trade for the next two months.

However, the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement includes one exception to that rule. A player traded on or before December 16 can always be “re-aggregated” on the day before – or the day of – that season’s trade deadline.

The deal sending Thomas Bryant from Miami to Indiana on Sunday likely wasn’t made with that rule in mind — that was simply a case of the Pacers badly needing a backup center and going ahead with their acquisition of Bryant as soon as he became trade-eligible on December 15.

But the aggregation rule looks like one important reason why the Warriors and Nets moved quickly on their trade involving Dennis Schröder and De’Anthony Melton once Melton became trade-eligible on Sunday. Having completed that deal by December 16, Golden State will be eligible to aggregate Schröder’s $13MM expiring contract with other salaries on February 5 or 6, while Brooklyn will have the ability to do the same with Melton’s $12.8MM expiring contract.

Any player who is acquired in a trade via salary-matching or an exception after Monday will be ineligible to be aggregated at this season’s Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Now, there are two important points worth clarifying here. The first is what exactly it means to “aggregate” a contract.

Our glossary entry covers this rule in more depth, but aggregating a player’s salary with another salary means combining the two cap figures for matching purposes. For instance, a team operating over the cap and below the tax aprons can’t trade a $15MM player for a $35MM player, but that team could aggregate its $15MM player with a $20MM player in order to legally acquire the $35MM player.

Crucially, sending out multiple players in the same trade doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be aggregated. For example, if a team sends out a $15MM player and a $5MM player for a single player earning $15MM, there’s no need to aggregate the two outgoing salaries, since the $15MM player is enough to legally match the incoming $15MM salary on his own. So a player traded on Dec. 20 could still be flipped at the deadline in a multi-player trade — his salary simply couldn’t be combined with another player’s for matching purposes within that deal.

Only teams operating below the second tax apron are permitted to aggregate salaries, meaning this rule – and the Dec. 16 exception to it – won’t matter much for the four clubs currently above the second apron: Boston, Phoenix, Minnesota, and Milwaukee. Even if one of those teams were to trade for a player today, that player couldn’t be aggregated at the deadline unless his new team was able to shed enough salary to move below the second apron.

The second point worth clarifying is that this restriction doesn’t apply to players who are acquired using cap room. The Pistons are the only club currently operating under the cap, but they have about $14MM in space after waiving Paul Reed and signing Javante McCoy, meaning they’re in a great position to trade for one or more players without sending out any matching salary.

Let’s say the Pistons use their remaining cap room to acquire a player earning $14MM. Even if they make that trade on February 5, they could turn around and aggregate their new player’s salary with, say, Isaiah Stewart‘s $15MM cap hit the very next day in order to acquire a player earning $30MM. Because the $14MM player was acquired using cap room and not using an exception or by salary-matching, Detroit wouldn’t face the two-month aggregation restriction.

There has been no indication that any more trades will be made on Monday, but if they are, it’s worth keeping this rule in mind, since it will likely be a key reason for the timing of the move.

Central Notes: Bryant, LaVine, Ball, Vucevic, Harris

December 15th, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers didn’t waste any time getting Thomas Bryant on the court. After officially being acquired on Sunday, Bryant had seven points and two rebounds in 11 minutes against the Pelicans.

“It was a little hectic but everybody accepted me and they helped me through the whole time. It felt great being out there with the guys,” Bryant said via a video posted by the Indianapolis Star’s Dustin Dopirak.

Bryant provides depth at the center spot, a position where Indiana has suffered two season-ending injuries. He appeared in only 10 games with Miami this season.

“I know there’s a big need to have another ‘five’ here. Just trying to fill that role here with the guys and talking with them as well, just trying to see what I can bring, what I can do with them. … They just want me to play my game,” Bryant said.

We have more from the Central Division:

Bulls wing Zach LaVine is questionable to play against Toronto on Monday due to lower back spasms, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweets. LaVine is averaging 21.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season.
The Bulls continue to aggressively shop Lonzo Ball, Nikola Vucevic and LaVine, among other players, as they look to stay in the loaded 2025 draft lottery, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Chicago owes San Antonio a first-rounder but it’s top-10 protected for 2025. Moving LaVine’s contract this season is more of a pipe dream than a reality, the source told Cowley, unless there’s a major injury or another unexpected development.
The Pistons won’t have starting forward Tobias Harris against Miami on Monday. He’s dealing with a right thumb sprain, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets.

Pistons Sign Guard Javante McCoy

December 15th, 2024 at 8:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have signed guard Javante McCoy, according to a team press release.

The 6’5” McCoy has appeared in 12 games this season for the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ G League affiliate, averaging 14.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.1 minutes per game. McCoy is also shooting 51.4% from 3-point range.

He has appeared in 96 career NBA G League games for the South Bay Lakers, Austin Spurs and Motor City Cruise while averaging 11.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 2.8 APG in 22.8 minutes per contest.

Detroit needed to fill a roster spot after waiving veteran big man Paul Reed on Saturday. That move dropped the Pistons to $1,417,937 below the minimum salary floor, which they were required to reach by the end of Sunday.

McCoy signed a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. His salary is likely just enough above the rookie minimum to allow Detroit to reach the floor — his cap hit will likely be exactly $1,417,937. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the Pistons now have about $14MM in cap room.

McCoy was on the Pistons’ training camp roster on an Exhibit 10 contract but was waived in October. McCoy, 26, had his G League rights acquired by the Cruise in August.

McCoy played at Boston University for five seasons (2017-22) but went undrafted after his final college season.

Eastern Notes: Pistons Defense, Embiid, George, Ball

December 15th, 2024 at 5:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have lost four of their last five games and eight of their last 11. That’s due to defensive issues that they are trying to clean up after playing just one game this past week.

“We’ve had some slippage because we haven’t had a ton of practice time,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “This week has been really, really good for us to be able to get that practice time. And then obviously you play good offensive teams like we’ve played through this stretch, that’s gonna have an impact on it also.”

Guarding the perimeter has been their biggest problem. They’ve dropped to the bottom five in the league in defensive three-point field goal percentage (37.7 percent). They’ll look to bounce back against Miami on Monday.

“You notice and try to recognize things that are trending,” Bickerstaff said. “I think our three-point defense has slipped as of late as far as the quality of shots we’re giving up, the percentages that teams are making from those spots, and the breakdowns that are leading to those. I think we have shown some pretty consistent stretches of it, but we haven’t put together the four quarters that we’re looking for.”

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Sixers star center Joel Embiid has officially been listed as out for their game against Charlotte on Monday due to a sinus fracture, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Embiid’s injury occurred during Philadelphia’s game against Indiana on Friday when he was struck in the face by Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin.
The Sixers need to get Paul George more involved in the offense, Pompey writes. He is averaging 15.9 points per game while shooting just 31.7% from deep. George has averaged at least 21.5 PPG every year since the 2015/16 season. “I think just moving a little more, just finding my way of moving,” George said. “Running the floor a little bit better. “I think we got to allow each other to create space. So I have to cut to the nail sometimes to allow Tyrese (Maxey) to play in the open court, then I got to do it. But I think for sure, just more clarity for myself.”
Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball appears to be on the verge of returning to action, having been listed as questionable to play on Monday vs. Philadelphia due to a left calf injury, according to Charlotte’s PR department (Twitter link). Ball hasn’t played since November 27.

Pistons Waive Paul Reed

December 14th, 2024 at 5:54pm CST by Rory Maher

5:54pm: Reed has officially been waived, the Pistons announced in a press release.

2:05pm: The Pistons intend to waive forward/center Paul Reed, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, Detroit is releasing Reed with an eye on maximizing its roster and financial flexibility ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Reed has an unusual contract structure, as his $7.7MM salary for 2024/25 is non-guaranteed, as is his $8.1MM cap hit for ’25/26. Every other player in the NBA whose contract is non-guaranteed this season is either on a minimum-salary deal or very close to it.

The timing of the move almost feels like a precursor to something else. The Pistons didn’t have to make a decision on Reed until Jan. 7, but chose to waive him three-plus weeks early.

Assuming Reed clears waivers, Detroit will carry a $2.48MM dead-money cap hit for having him on the roster the first two months of the season, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The Pistons will soon have approximately $15.5MM in cap space and be about $1.42MM below the minimum salary floor, which they’re required to reach by the end of Sunday, Marks adds (via Twitter).

According to Marks (Twitter link), as of Sunday, the prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum is $1.44MM, so Detroit can safely reach the floor by signing a different player tomorrow. Of course, a trade remains a possibility as well.

The Pistons have been carrying an open roster spot to begin the 2024/25 season in order to maintain roster and financial flexibility. Cutting Reed means they’ll have two standard openings, but at least one will be filled in short order.

Reed, 25, was the 58th overall pick of the 2020 draft out of DePaul. He spent his first four seasons with the 76ers, who waived him in July to create enough cap room to sign all of their external free agents. The Pistons claimed him a couple days later.

While Reed was a rotation regular with Philadelphia last season, averaging 7.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 0.8 SPG and 1.0 BPG in 82 games (19.4 MPG), he has only appeared in 12 of Detroit’s 26 contests to open ’24/25, averaging 4.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 0.8 SPG in 10.4 MPG. He’s been the third-string center behind Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, who shifted back to the middle after spending much of last season at power forward.

The Sixers have an open roster spot and are reportedly looking for frontcourt help, so a reunion with Reed could be possible. However, he’d have to clear waivers first and be willing to sign a minimum-salary deal, which is all Philadelphia can offer.

And-Ones: Top Front Offices, Daniels, NBA Cup, Rookies

December 13th, 2024 at 9:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Sam Presti and the Thunder were voted as the NBA’s best front office by a panel of 40 executives (team presidents, general managers, VPs, and assistant GMs) across the league who were polled by Sam Amick, John Hollinger, and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

As The Athletic’s trio explains, each respondent picked their top five NBA front offices and points were awarded in the same way they are in the MVP vote – 10 points for first place, seven points for second, five points for third, three points for fourth, and one point for fifth – in order to determine the rankings. The only rule was that execs couldn’t vote for their own team.

The Thunder were a runaway winner with 354 points, showing up on 39 of 40 total ballots and earning 29 first-place votes. The Celtics (250 points; nine first-place votes), Heat (114 points), Grizzlies (64 points; one first-place vote), and Timberwolves (54 points; one first-place vote) rounded out the top five.

A total of 21 front offices received at least one vote. The nine who didn’t were the Lakers, Suns, Kings, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Bulls, Pistons, Hornets, and Hawks.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Dash Daniels, the younger brother of Dyson Daniels, has committed to joining the Melbourne United as part of the Australian National Basketball League’s Next Stars program, report Shams Charania and Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The younger Daniels, who is considered one of the top international prospects of the 2026 draft class, is considered a standout defender like his brother, having averaged a tournament-high 3.6 steals per game at this year’s FIBA U17 World Cup.
NBA executive VP of basketball strategy Evan Wasch referred to Las Vegas as a “fantastic home” for the NBA Cup semifinals and final, but indicated this week in a Zoom call that the league isn’t necessarily committed to Vegas as the in-season tournament’s long-term host. “We’re very open to all sorts of different formats for the future,” Wasch said, per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “That could mean taking the tournament on the road. It could mean taking it to different markets in the U.S. It could mean exploring international markets. It could mean, for example, having the semifinals in home markets like we have for the quarterfinals to build into the local fandom and exciting arena atmospheres. I would say everything is on the table for the future.”
While most of the top picks in the 2024 draft haven’t come flying out of the gate this fall, there are plenty of second-rounders and undrafted free agents from the ’24 class who are making positive early impressions. John Hollinger of The Athletic highlights several of them, including Jazz forward/center Kyle Filipowski, Suns big man Oso Ighodaro, and Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells.
The Athletic’s NBA writers identified the biggest need for all 30 teams, with good health coming up for a handful of clubs, including the Sixers, Bucks, and Magic.