93 NBA Players Become Trade-Eligible
It’s December 15, which means today’s the day that most of the players who signed new contracts this past offseason become trade-eligible for the first time. In total, 93 players will have those trade restrictions lifted today.
The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that a free agent who signs with an NBA team can’t be traded for three months or until December 15, whichever is later. So, players who signed new contracts after September 15 aren’t eligible to be dealt yet. Additionally, there are several players who met a specific set of criteria when they signed their new deals and can’t be traded until January 15.
Besides those players though, nearly everyone in the NBA is now trade-eligible, which means that teams eager to talk trades can begin doing so in less hypothetical terms — there aren’t many roadblocks left in their way. Of course, most deals still won’t be completed until closer to the February 8 deadline, but today represents the unofficial start of NBA trade season for 2017/18.
[RELATED: Five notable players who become trade-eligible in December]
The full list of players who are becoming trade-eligible today can be found below. Players who have the ability to veto trades in 2017/18 are marked with an asterisk.
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
2018 Free Agent Stock Watch: Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks are in a curious position as an NBA franchise, suspended in a unique limbo between rebuilding and (sorta) contending. Thank Dirk Nowitzki for most of it, as team owner Mark Cuban seems to have insisted that the Mavs field a semi-competent roster in the future Hall of Famer’s final years.
While the club has seemingly acknowledged the writing on the wall and started to amass long-term building blocks – most recently, ninth overall pick Dennis Smith Jr. – it’s unlikely that the Mavs will fully give into an outright rebuild so long as Nowitzki is on board for 2018/19 (which, for reasons discussed below, we’re going to assume to be the case).
Seth Curry, PG, 27 (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $6MM deal in 2016
Curry has yet to see the court this season on account of a leg injury that may now require surgery. Even at full health, however, it’s not likely that Curry would have siphoned minutes away from either lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. or several other niche players in Dallas’ backcourt rotation, a reality that casts doubt on his future with the franchise.
Devin Harris, SG, 35 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $17MM deal in 2014
While Harris has produced admirably off the bench for the Mavs, it doesn’t make sense for a team attempting to usher in a new era to retain a 35-year-old reserve in an already crowded backcourt. Harris could be a sneaky value add for a contender late in the free agency process next summer.
Yogi Ferrell, PG, 25 (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $2MM deal in 2017
Ferrell carved out a role for himself as a rotation piece on the Mavs last season but he probably won’t garner much interest as a restricted free agent next summer given that his ceiling seems somewhat capped. Still, he could provide solid long-term value in Dallas if the team does decide to part ways with Curry and/or Harris.
Wesley Matthews, SF, 31 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $70MM deal in 2015
The Mavs poached Matthews from an elite Trail Blazers squad hopeful that the swingman’s two-way game would help keep their aging core relevant in the West. Through three seasons, Matthews has posted a relatively uninspiring 12.9 points per game but will almost certainly return to Dallas considering how unlikely it would be for him to exceed his $19MM 2018/19 player option on the open market.
Josh McRoberts, PF, 31 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $23MM deal in 2014
The Mavs absorbed the final year of McRoberts’ contract over the summer, yielding a future second-round pick from the Heat in the process. Considering that the 30-year-old has been sidelined with a knee injury since joining the organization, he’ll be hard-pressed to earn a significant contract after this season. McRoberts may be able to fill a rotation spot somewhere – maybe even in Dallas – but he’ll presumably have to do so on a minimum salary.
Salah Mejri, C, 32 (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $3MM deal in 2015
While Mejri has played a modest role for the Mavs in each of the past three seasons, he won’t command much on the open market as a 32-year-old free agent with career averages south of five points per game.
Nerlens Noel, C, 24 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $4MM deal in 2017
It’s been less than a year since the Mavs plucked a disgruntled Noel away from the Sixers, but any notion that the team was eager to include the 23-year-old in their long-term plans has quickly faded. It’s hard to picture Noel commanding the big money he supposedly aspired to land last summer but even harder to picture him back in Dallas next season after how head coach Rick Carlisle has handled his minutes so far this season. Realistically the 2016 lottery pick’s value falls much higher than his $4MM qualifying offer and, once the free agency dominoes start falling next summer, he should find a team happy to throw him a more significant long-term offer.
Dirk Nowitzki, PF, 40 (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $10MM deal in 2017.
Nowitzki has said that his decision (yes, his decision, even though it’s formally and contractually the team’s) will be based on how he feels over the course of this season. For what it’s worth, Cuban hopes to see him return and thinks there’s good chance that he does so in order to break the record for most seasons with one franchise.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Community Shootaround: Trading Paul George
What do you do when your “super team” turns out to be less than super?
That’s the question in Oklahoma City, where the future of Paul George has suddenly become one of the hottest topics in the NBA. Many expected the Thunder to challenge for Western supremacy after dealing for George and Carmelo Anthony over the offseason, but OKC has a losing record at 13-14 a third of the way through the season.
The Thunder knew George wasn’t guaranteed to be a long-term investment when they acquired him from the Pacers. He’s almost certain to opt out of a $20.7MM salary for next season and become an unrestricted free agent. His desire to join his hometown Lakers is well known and was the main reason Indiana chose to part with him.
If the Thunder are somehow able to re-sign George, finances will become a major issue for the team. Russell Westbrook‘s Designated Veteran Extension kicks in next season, boosting his salary to $35.35MM. Financial realities will likely force Anthony to bypass his early termination option and return for another year at nearly $28MM. Add in more than $24MM for Steven Adams, and those four contracts will put the Thunder well over next season’s projected cap of $101MM. Even if George were to opt in, OKC would be far into luxury tax territory with a potential salary topping $137.5MM.
Mitch Lawrence of Forbes believes a deal involving George may be coming before the February 8 trade deadline. He states that George, Westbrook and Anthony are all used to being used in isolation and haven’t been able to develop chemistry as a unit. The problem is that George’s trade value might be lower now than it was during the summer. Sending him to the Lakers may seem like a solution, but an unidentified Eastern Conference GM says L.A. wouldn’t be willing to part with two young players, and the rest of the league views George as a “rental.”
Taking the opposite position are Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, who don’t expect the Thunder to trade George or fire coach Billy Donovan. They report that the “internal dynamic” among the three stars remains strong and there is still hope for a turnaround.
We want to know what you think. Should the Thunder try to move George now so they don’t lose him with no return, or should they wait and try to work out their salary issues next summer? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots
Nearly one hundred players who signed new contracts this past offseason will become trade-eligible on Friday, and while that doesn’t mean we’ll immediately see NBA teams make a flurry of trades, it does mean that clubs figure to start looking a little more seriously at making moves.
Up until this point in the 2017/18 season, roster moves have been few and far between. Outside of a pair of trades involved disgruntled players (Eric Bledsoe and Jahlil Okafor), there have only been a handful of signings and cuts, as teams have been mostly content to assess their rosters to determine what they have.
With the regular season’s two-month mark approaching, however, there will likely be a few more transactions completed in the coming weeks — and especially in the new year. In addition to having more of their players become trade-eligible, teams will also be able to start signing players to 10-day contracts early in January. Those 10-day deals are useful tools for teams that want to take a look at players without committing a roster spot and a salary to them for the entire season.
With roster activity expected to pick up in the near future, it’s worth taking a look at which teams have the flexibility to sign a player or to take on an extra player in a two-for-one trade without waiving anyone.
With the help of our roster counts page, here are the teams that currently have an opening on their respective 15-man NBA rosters:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics
- Charlotte Hornets
- Detroit Pistons
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Note: The Timberwolves are also the only team with an open two-way contract slot.
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
While all of the teams listed above have a single open roster spot, some of those clubs have the flexibility to easily create another opening without waiving a player on a guaranteed contract. For instance, one of the Raptors’ 14 players on NBA contracts is little-used rookie forward Alfonzo McKinnie, who has only played 25 minutes for the team all season. McKinnie’s salary is non-guaranteed, so if Toronto wanted to create an extra roster spot, the team could waive McKinnie without taking on much dead money.
Along those lines, the following teams currently have full 15-man rosters, but are carrying at least one player on a non-guaranteed salary:
- Brooklyn Nets (Spencer Dinwiddie)
- Chicago Bulls (Kay Felder, David Nwaba)
- Dallas Mavericks (Dorian Finney-Smith, Devin Harris, Jeff Withey)
- Los Angeles Lakers (Andrew Bogut)
- Milwaukee Bucks (DeAndre Liggins)
- New York Knicks (Jarrett Jack)
- Orlando Magic (Khem Birch)
- San Antonio Spurs (Bryn Forbes)
- Utah Jazz (Raul Neto)
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Renegotiations
Fans often wonder if NBA Team X can renegotiate its contract with Player Y, as is common practice in the National Football League. The answer is almost always no, and it’s a firm no if the follow-up question is whether the sides can renegotiate the value of the contract downward. Unlike NFL teams, an NBA club can’t create extra cap flexibility by renegotiating a contract to push present-day cap hits into future years.
However, renegotiations are allowed to make an NBA contract more lucrative, and they can happen as long as a specific set of circumstances are in place, as the Sixers showed last month. Philadelphia renegotiated its contract with Robert Covington as part of a long-term extension agreement. The move gave Covington a huge raise for 2017/18, increasing his current-year salary from just $1,577,230 to $16,698,103.
Only contracts that cover four or more seasons can be renegotiated, but that rule doesn’t apply to rookie scale deals — even though they run for four years, they can’t be renegotiated. Renegotiations can only occur after the third anniversary of a contract signing, an extension, or a previous renegotiation (assuming the previous renegotiation lifted the salary in any season by 5% or more). That’s why Covington’s new deal was agreed to on November 15, as he initially signed with the Sixers on November 15, 2014.
Perhaps most importantly, teams can’t renegotiate any contracts if they’re over the cap, and they can only increase the salary in the current season by the amount of cap room that they have. In Covington’s case, the Sixers were under the cap by $15,120,873, and put that entire amount toward the forward’s renegotiation.
Another set of rules restricts just how much can change in a renegotiation. The raises for any seasons that follow the first renegotiated season in a contract are limited to 8%. That’s also true of salary decreases, though if a renegotiation happens at the same time as an extension, as was the case with Covington, the player’s salary can drop by as much as 40% from the last season of the existing contract to the first season of the extension.
The 76ers took advantage of that rule with Covington, who will see his salary decrease by over 37% in 2018/19 – from $16,698,103 to $10,464,092 – before he begins to receive 8% annual raises in 2019/20. Structuring the deal in that manner will allow Philadelphia to preserve as much cap room as possible during the summer of 2018.
Here are a few other rules related to contract renegotiations:
- Teams can’t renegotiate contracts between March 1 and June 30, so the last day of February is always the deadline to complete renegotiations in a given league year.
- Renegotiations can’t occur as part of a trade, and if a player waives a portion of his trade kicker to facilitate a trade, he’s ineligible to renegotiate his contract for the next six months.
- In order for a signing bonus to be included in a renegotiation, the contract must be extended as well.
- Two-way contracts can’t be renegotiated.
Renegotiating a contract to include a significant raise for the current season, like the one Covington received, can be a clever way of incentivizing a long-term extension for a player who would otherwise reach free agency. However, an extensive set of rules limits the appeal of that sort of deal, and teams generally require substantial cap room to pull it off, so contract renegotiations are rare.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
An earlier version of this post was published in 2015 by Chuck Myron.
Community Shootaround: Western Playoff Race
As is the case over in the Eastern Conference, the teams at the top of the Western Conference standings as the 2017/18 season nears its two-month mark are unsurprising. While it’s notable that the Rockets (21-4), currently riding a 10-game winning streak, have held off the Warriors (22-6) for the No. 1 spot so far, we expected those two clubs to hold top seeds, along with the Spurs, who have improbably gone 19-8 without Kawhi Leonard.
After the top three though, things get a little messier. The Timberwolves (16-11) and Nuggets (14-12) were popular picks to make the leap into the top eight this season, and so far they’ve delivered on that promise, but neither club has been dominant. They’re followed by a pair of .500 teams led by a star backcourt and frontcourt duo respectively, in the Trail Blazers (13-13) and Pelicans (14-14).
For all the talk coming into this season of the Western Conference being more competitive than ever, the eighth seed is held by a sub-.500 club, with the Jazz (13-14) hanging on for now. It seems like just a matter of time until the Thunder (12-14) figure things out and make their way into the playoff picture, but we’ve been expecting that for weeks and it still hasn’t happened.
Further down the standings, teams like the Mavericks, Kings, and Suns don’t appear to be postseason threats, as expected. But it’s a little surprising to see the Grizzlies (8-19) in the bottom four along with them. The two Los Angeles teams round out the conference, with identical 10-15 records — both clubs remain within striking distance of a playoff spot, but the Clippers will need to get healthy and the Lakers will need more consistent production from their young players.
We’ve still got a lot of basketball to play before playoff seeds are determined, but based on what you’ve seen so far this season, which eight teams do you expect to make the postseason in the West? Can middling teams like the Blazers, Pelicans, and Jazz hold off current lottery teams? Will the Thunder displace one of them? Is there another dark horse contender for a postseason berth in the West?
Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts on the race for the playoffs in the Western Conference!
Community Shootaround: Eastern Playoff Race
A shaky start to the season by the Cavaliers and a season-ending injury to Gordon Hayward on opening night created some uncertainty back in October about the Eastern Conference playoff picture this season. However, as we near the two-month mark of the 2017/18 campaign, the top of the standings in the East look like what we’d expect — the 23-5 Celtics lead the way, followed by the Raptors (17-7) and Cavs (19-8).
After those top three teams, there are a couple more familiar contenders. The Bucks (15-10) took a roundabout route to fourth place in the East, starting off slow and then catching fire after acquiring Eric Bledsoe. As for the Wizards, they’ve been a little underwhelming, with their 14-12 record tying them for sixth in the conference. But once John Wall gets fully healthy, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Washington make a strong second-half run.
Outside of those five teams, the Eastern Conference playoff race is a bit less predictable. The Pacers, who were expected to be a lottery team, are currently riding a four-game winning streak to a 16-11 overall record, good for fifth in the conference. The Pistons (14-12) and the Knicks (13-13) round out the current playoff picture in the East, though neither team has played its best ball lately — Detroit, in particular, has struggled, having lost its last six games.
The Bulls and Hawks are out of the playoff race entirely, as they battle for the best odds at 2018’s first overall pick. The Hornets (9-16), Magic (11-17), and Nets (10-15) are probably long-shots for the postseason too, though they could hang around within striking distance of that No. 8 seed. The current lottery teams that represent the greatest playoff threats are the Sixers (13-13) and Heat (12-13), who have been inconsistent, but have real upside.
We’ve still got a lot of basketball to play before playoff seeds are determined, but based on what you’ve seen so far this season, which eight teams do you expect to make the postseason in the East? Are the Pacers for real? Can the Pistons and/or Knicks hang on to a top-eight seed? Will the Sixers and/or Heat crack the top eight, or will another lottery team make a run at a playoff spot? And when it comes to seeding, will the Celtics hang onto the No. 1 spot?
Jump into the comment section below to weigh in on the Eastern Conference’s race for the playoffs and let us know what you think!
Weekly Mailbag: 12/4/17 – 12/10/17
We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.
Do you think the Lakers could trade Luol Deng before the deadline? Or what do you think they can get if they trade Julius Randle? — Ralph Lakers, via Twitter
Other than making him very wealthy, the Lakers didn’t do Deng any favors when they signed him to a four-year, $72MM contract in 2016. L.A. gave up on Deng midway through last season and he has only gotten into one game this year, so he has become a forgotten man other than his drain on the team’s cap. His contract is such a liability that it he would be hard to trade even if he were still productive. After making $17.19MM this season, he is owed $18MM next year and $18.81MM in 2019/20. If the Lakers can find a team willing to absorb all that salary, they’ll have to throw in a lot of sweeteners in terms of draft picks and maybe young players to get the deal done. It’s more realistic to expect the organization to use the stretch provision after this season and spread that remaining money over five years. Cap room is the number one goal in L.A., so any Randle deal will bring back expiring contracts and maybe future draft picks, but nothing that’s going to affect the team’s ability to offer two maximum contracts next summer.
Should the Thunder target a guy like Lou Williams? Generating offense has been a problem for this team, so maybe adding a spark off the bench could help. — Duhhkari Sanchez, via Twitter
This would be contingent on the Clippers deciding to break up their team. As bad as things have gone during a 10-15 start, they are only two-and-a-half games out of a playoff spot, so decisions on Williams, DeAndre Jordan and others are still a few weeks off. If Williams is available, he would be an excellent pickup for Oklahoma City. A finalist for the Sixth Man award last season, he specializes in bringing instant offense off the bench and would take some of the scoring load off Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. Williams is in the middle of his best season at age 31, averaging a career-high 19.7 points through 24 games. The Lakers traded him to Houston at last year’s deadline for a first-round pick, and the Clippers would probably seek the same price.
What are the odds Marc Gasol gets the trade he’s looking for, and if he does, what are the odds it’s to a winning franchise? — Danny, via Twitter
Gasol will turn 33 next month, so it doesn’t make sense for anyone but contenders to pursue him. The issue is whether the Grizzlies should keep him any longer or trade him and start a youth movement. Gasol will make $24,119,025 next season and has a player option worth $25,595,700 for 2019/20. If he stays on the roster with Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons, Memphis won’t have any cap flexibility for the next two seasons. Chris Mannix of the Vertical reported last month that teams have called about Gasol, but the Grizzlies have turned them all down. Much like the Clippers, they are off to a bad start but aren’t completely out of contention at 8-18. If the losing continues, Memphis may have to take a hard look at its financial situation and resign itself to a Gasol trade by February.
Community Shootaround: All-NBA First Team
With the regular season nearly a third of the way through as of this past week’s games (Boston, Golden State, Orlando, and Phoenix have all played 27 games), we thought now would be a good time to contemplate which five players are most deserving of being a First Team All-NBA selection for the 2017/18 season.
While there is obviously still a lot of basketball left, there have surely been enough games played so far to begin making a reasonable estimation of certain players’ chances. Players like James Harden and LeBron James have certainly done nothing so far to relinquish their hold on a first team spot come May, and the Warriors‘ dynamic duo of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant will garner legitimate consideration as well, but other stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kyrie Irving will push their way into the discussion also if they continue to impress the way that they have to begin the season.
Perhaps the most interesting position to watch is at center, with at least four early candidates making a push for their inaugural All-NBA First Team selection, none of whom made an All-NBA team a season ago.
- Joel Embiid is averaging 23.5 PPG and 11.1 RPG, one of only two players with averages of 23 and 11 so far this season. Embiid is also averaging 1.95 BPG, good enough for fourth best in the league, while leading the Sixers to a 13-11 start, putting them in the playoffs as the eighth seed if the season ended today.
- DeMarcus Cousins is the other aforementioned player, averaging 26.3 PPG and 12.6 RPG to go along with an impressive 5.1 APG. Those per game numbers rank first, third, and first among all centers, respectively. The Pelicans are also squarely in the playoff race, currently sitting at the eighth position just like Philadelphia.
- Andre Drummond leads the NBA in rebounding, averaging 15.3 per game. Given his limited scoring output, however, his candidacy would likely need to be buoyed by his team’s success. The Pistons were once in second place in the Eastern Conference, but have since slipped into a tie for sixth with Washington.
- Karl-Anthony Towns is one of only three players (along with Embiid and Cousins) to average over 19 PPG and 11 RPG, currently sitting at a respectable clip of 19.8 and 11.6. Of the four centers named herein, the Timberwolves currently have the best record at 15-11, good enough for fourth in the Western Conference.
What do you think? Assuming the regular season ended today, which five players are most deserving of being named First Team All-NBA? Remember that unlike the All-Star game, All-NBA teams are comprised of two guards, two forwards, and a center. Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Hoops Rumors Originals: 12/2/17 – 12/9/17
Every week, we at Hoops Rumors strive to create interesting original content to complement our news feed. Below are our original segments and features from the last 7 days:
- We answered your questions in a Weekly Mailbag segment, including the possibility of the Pelicans‘ trading DeMarcus Cousins and whether David Fizdale was wrongly ousted in Memphis.
- In our lone Community Shootaround post, we asked which franchise is the best fit for DeAndre Jordan should a trade materialize and, if it does, what should the Clippers seek from that franchise in return?
- We reminded our readers of a new feature – our 2017/18 NBA Reverse Standings, which updates the potential 2018 NBA draft order on a daily basis.
- Our Hoops Rumors Glossary entries continued, again focusing on several different CBA-related topics.
- We took a look at five notable players who will become trade-eligible this month, including a former MVP and two lottery selections from 2013.
- We analyzed the stock of the Celtics‘ 2018 free agents.
- As part of our Fantasy Hoops content, fellow contributors Chris Crouse and Austin Kent discussed the Jahlil Okafor trade in depth and Steven Adams‘ emergence for the Thunder, among other topics.