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Hoops Rumors Originals

Hoops Rumors Originals: 11/4/17 – 11/11/17

November 11th, 2017 at 2:32pm CST by clarkcrum

Every week, the writing team at Hoops Rumors creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our segments and features from the last 7 days:

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NBA’s Top 40 Highest-Paid Players For 2017/18

November 10th, 2017 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

While many of the NBA’s highest-paid players are on contracts considered maximum-salary deals, only one of those players is actually earning the largest allowable salary for the 2017/18 season. That’s Stephen Curry, whose $34,682,550 salary is the ’17/18 maximum for a player with 10+ years of NBA experience — or one like Curry who has qualified for a Designated Veteran Extension.Stephen Curry vertical

Every other player on a maximum-salary deal is either earning the maximum allowable salary for a player with less NBA experience (like Gordon Hayward, whose $29,727,900 salary is the max for a player with 7-9 years of experience) or signed his max contract in a previous season.

When a player signs a maximum-salary deal, he doesn’t necessarily the NBA max for each season of that contract — he earns it for year one, then gets a series of identical annual raises. That’s why a player like Kyrie Irving, who signed his maximum-salary contract several years ago, isn’t even among the NBA’s 40 highest-paid players, despite technically still being on a max deal.

Listed below, with the help of salary data from Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, are those top 40 highest-paid NBA players for the 2017/18 season. Why 40? That’s the number of players who are earning at least $20MM this season.

The players on this list don’t necessarily have the contracts with the largest overall value. J.J. Redick‘s $23MM salary, for instance, places him among the highest-paid players for this season, but the overall value of his deal is modest, since it’s just a one-year contract. The list below only considers salaries for 2017/18.

Additionally, we’ve noted players who could potentially increase their earnings via incentives or trade bonuses. We didn’t add those notes for players like Curry and Hayward – who have trade bonuses but are already earning the max – since their salaries for this season can’t increase.

Here are the NBA’s 40 highest-paid players for the 2017/18 season:

  1. Stephen Curry, Warriors: $34,682,550
  2. LeBron James, Cavaliers: $33,285,709 (15% trade bonus)
  3. Paul Millsap, Nuggets: $31,269,231 (plus incentives)
  4. Gordon Hayward, Celtics: $29,727,900
  5. Blake Griffin, Clippers: $29,512,900 (15% trade bonus)
  6. Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $28,703,704 (plus incentives)
  7. Russell Westbrook, Thunder: $28,530,608 (15% trade bonus)
  8. Mike Conley, Grizzlies: $28,530,608
  9. James Harden, Rockets: $28,299,399
  10. DeMar DeRozan, Raptors: $27,739,975
  11. Al Horford, Celtics: $27,734,405 (15% trade bonus)
  12. Carmelo Anthony, Thunder: $26,243,760
  13. Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers: $26,153,057
  14. Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $25,686,667 (plus incentives)
  15. Kevin Durant, Warriors: $25,000,000 (15% trade bonus)
  16. Otto Porter, Wizards: $24,773,250
  17. Chris Paul, Rockets: $24,599,495
  18. C.J. McCollum, Trail Blazers: $23,962,573
  19. Andre Drummond, Pistons: $23,775,506 (8% trade bonus)
  20. Bradley Beal, Wizards: $23,775,506
  21. Anthony Davis, Pelicans: $23,775,506 *
  22. Hassan Whiteside, Heat: $23,775,506
  23. Dwight Howard, Hornets: $23,500,000
  24. Harrison Barnes, Mavericks: $23,112,004 (8% trade bonus)
  25. Chandler Parsons, Grizzlies: $23,112,004
  26. J.J. Redick, Sixers: $23,000,000 *
  27. Marc Gasol, Grizzlies: $22,642,350 (15% trade bonus)
  28. DeAndre Jordan, Clippers: $22,642,350 (15% trade bonus)
  29. Brook Lopez, Lakers: $22,642,350
  30. Kevin Love, Cavaliers: $22,642,350
  31. Steven Adams, Thunder: $22,471,911 (7.5% trade bonus)
  32. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $22,471,911
  33. Nicolas Batum, Hornets: $22,434,783
  34. Rudy Gobert, Jazz: $21,974,719 (plus incentives)
  35. LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs: $21,461,010 (15% trade bonus)
  36. Victor Oladipo, Pacers: $21,000,000 (plus incentives)
  37. Danilo Gallinari, Clippers: $20,559,599
  38. Enes Kanter, Knicks: $20,566,802
  39. Serge Ibaka, Raptors: $20,061,729
  40. George Hill, Kings: $20,000,000

* Reports have suggested Davis and Redick have 15% trade bonuses, but they’re not noted by Basketball Insiders.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Bulls In 2020 All-Star Game

November 9th, 2017 at 10:52pm CST by Austin Kent

An announcement is expected to come on Friday saying that the city of Chicago will host the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. The occasion will mark the first time since 1988 that mid-season festivities were held in the Windy City. That year, of course, it was Michael Jordan who was named MVP of the contest (and dunk champion, for that matter).

The Bulls are in a considerably different position today than they were at the onset of Jordan’s heyday. So Tim Goldrick of NBC Sports Chicago asks if any of the Bulls’ current roster could conceivably be named All-Stars when the game unfolds in Illinois. While Goldrick goes through much of the roster on a case-by-case basis, there really are only a few individuals worth serious consideration given the track records.

The safest bets to be named to the squad, per Goldrick, are rookie Lauri Markkanen and guard Zach LaVine. The former has impressed over the course of his first month in the NBA averaging 15.8 points and 8.2 boards per contest.

By the time February 2020 roles along, Markkanen would be 22 years old and presumably an even larger part of the team’s offense so it’s not unreasonable to imagine him earning a genuine spot on the roster.

LaVine is a unique case given his popularity as a dunk contest legend. In February 2020, LaVine will be just 25 years old, a staggering realization considering that it feels as though he’s already been in the NBA forever (really it’s just been three seasons).

Will LaVine get enough of an opportunity to showcase himself as more than just a dunker in Chicago? The high flyer has yet to officially suit up in Bulls gear after coming over from the Timberwolves, so nobody can really say for sure what he’s capable of as an offensive focal point.

Beyond LaVine and Markkanen, there are a few dark horse candidates that could see their impacts rise significantly in the next two to three seasons, Kris Dunn, Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic chief among them.

Do you agree with this assessment of the young assets on the Bulls roster? If you had to rank the top five Bulls players most likely to earn a spot in the game in 2020, how would you order them? Weigh in below.

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Five Trade Candidates Who May Be Difficult To Move

November 9th, 2017 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

While trade rumors generally don’t gain a ton of steam until a little closer to the deadline, several candidates to be moved have emerged in the opening weeks of the 2017/18 season. Eric Bledsoe was the first to be dealt, with the Suns finding a taker for him more than three months before this season’s trade deadline.

However, with Bledsoe off the board, teams may find it difficult to find viable deals involving several of the other players on the trade block around the NBA. Several of the most noteworthy current trade candidates either have undesirable contracts or haven’t shown enough on-court value to make them worthwhile investments — or both.

Here’s a breakdown of five players who teams may have trouble moving – or at least finding fair value for – in advance of the 2018 trade deadline:Luol Deng vertical

  1. Luol Deng, Lakers: Deng is in the second year of a four-year contract worth $72MM, one of the least team-friendly deals in the league. Deng is unhappy with his lack of a role in Los Angeles, and the Lakers – who want to clear enough cap room to make a run at multiple maximum-salary free agents in 2018, would love to accommodate a change of scenery for the veteran forward. As we heard earlier this week, the two sides are exploring trade or buyout possibilities. But trade interest is unsurprisingly “non-existent” and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders suggests the Lakers don’t want to go the buyout route at this point unless Deng takes a huge discount, which his camp seems unwilling to do. So this situation remains in a holding pattern for now.
  2. Greg Monroe, Suns: Although Monroe can still be a productive player, he wasn’t a part of this week’s Bledsoe trade because of his on-court abilities — he was included because of his expiring contract. The Suns are reportedly unlikely to keep him through the season, but flipping him won’t be easy. Monroe is earning nearly $18MM this season, and it’s tricky to move a salary of that size without taking back a multiyear contract, something Phoenix isn’t all that interested in doing. There simply aren’t many teams that have a need for a player like Monroe and would have the ability to match up with what the Suns would want out of a deal.
  3. Tyson Chandler, Suns: If the Suns can’t find a viable deal for Monroe, finding one for Chandler won’t be any simpler. Chandler is a little more affordable than Monroe, at $13MM this season, but he has one more guaranteed year on his contract for 2018/19. A team desperate for rim protection and veteran leadership could be willing to take on his contract, but the Suns may need to sweeten the deal with a draft pick or another asset. Considering Chandler isn’t unhappy in Phoenix, it may make more sense to just be patient and wait until the offseason to seriously attempt to move him.
  4. Nikola Mirotic, Bulls: Forced to take sides in the Mirotic/Bobby Portis altercation, the Bulls’ locker room and front office appear to be united — they’re with Portis. It may seem counter-intuitive that the player on the receiving end of a punch that caused multiple facial fractures is now on the outs, but Portis has seemingly said and done all the right things since delivering that blow, and his dedication and work ethic are highly valued in the Bulls’ locker room. Understandably, Mirotic no longer wants any part of the situation, but he can’t be traded until January 15. And even when he becomes trade-eligible, the 26-year-old may not have a lot of value — he’s earning $12.5MM, and has provided inconsistent production throughout his first three NBA seasons. Plus, if he’s truly as culpable in the incident with Portis as the Bulls have suggested, suitors may have personality concerns.
  5. Jahlil Okafor, Sixers: Unlike the other players on this list, Okafor isn’t expensive — he’s earning just $5MM this season. He also isn’t past his prime, like Deng and Chandler. In fact, at age 21, he almost certainly hasn’t reached his prime yet. For those reasons, Okafor may not be difficult to trade, but the Sixers will have a very hard time extracting what they perceive to be fair value for 2015’s third overall pick. Okafor can’t crack Philadelphia’s rotation, and there are serious concerns about his defensive ability, limiting his appeal. Because the Sixers declined his $6.3MM option for 2018/19, Okafor also can’t receive a contract offer worth more than $6.3MM from the team that acquires him, and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, meaning he may just end up being a rental. A club is unlikely to surrender much for that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors Seeking Android App Developer

November 8th, 2017 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

Our Trade Rumors app for Android has been downloaded over 70,000 times and receives strong reviews. However, the app has developed some bugs and we are seeking a new Android app developer to step in and take care of the issues.

We are seeking an individual who is able to work on the app as needed on an hourly or daily basis, hopefully over the long-term. While we may explore new features in 2018, the immediate work will focus on fixing bugs.

If you have experience as an Android app developer, please email mlbtrandroid@gmail.com and explain your background. Please include your expected pay rate in the email.

Post originally published on MLB Trade Rumors.

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Fantasy Hoops: Bledsoe, Henson, Giannis

November 7th, 2017 at 7:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns found a home for Eric Bledsoe just weeks after the point guard declared that he no longer wanted to be in Phoenix, sending him to the Bucks in exchange for Greg Monroe and a pair of future draft picks. The transaction allows Bledsoe to move on from a rebuilding team and join a legitimate Eastern Conference Finals contender.Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe vertical

On the fantasy front, Bledsoe stockholders may have lost some value on their draft day investment (outside of him missing a couple weeks of action). It’s unclear whether he’ll start or come off the bench in Wisconsin, but either way, it’s a likely downgrade in offensive opportunity.

The Bucks are averaging nearly seven fewer possessions per game than the Suns this season. Swapping out Monroe for the former Kentucky Wildcat may help to close that gap, though the Bucks aren’t likely to become run-and-gun league pass darlings this season.

While Bledsoe’s value declines, his fantasy owners can take away a few positives from the deal.

First, it came together rather quickly. Major early-November trades are rare, so it appeared a trade was going to wait until at least mid-December when the majority of offseason signees become trade-eligible. Having Bledsoe and his DNP’s on the fantasy bench does nothing to help owners win matchups, so having him back this early helps to mitigate some of the lost value.

Second, if the point guard is brought off the bench, he should still see substantial opportunity. Monroe ate well in Milwaukee’s second unit, ranking third on the team with a usage rate of 23.8, and the point guard would likely do the same if put in a sixth man role.

Bledsoe hasn’t finished a season with a usage rate below 23.0 since Kanye West became a father and I don’t expect this season to be the first. While the deal may not make the point guard a stronger fantasy play, the hair salon loather will likely see enough opportunity to be a borderline top-50 fantasy option the rest of the way.

Here’s more fantasy analysis on the deal:Read more

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Community Shootaround: Pistons’ Fast Start

November 6th, 2017 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran power forward Anthony Tolliver knows that the Pistons’ 7-3 start doesn’t mean much in the long run.

“It’s part of 82 games. We’ve got to keep doing it,” he said. “Just one game at a time and don’t get ahead of ourselves. Don’t get too confident, but also using this confidence knowing that whoever we play against we have a chance and we can win and we can beat anybody.”

Suffice to say, though, that no one predicted Detroit would lead the Cavaliers by three games in the standings at any point this season. The Pistons, who are off to their best 10-game beginning since 2008, have only qualified for the playoffs once in the last eight seasons. Cleveland will eventually get its act together but there are signs that the Pistons’ start is not a fluke.

They have posted some quality wins and shown the ability to erase double-digit deficits. That included a road triumph against the Warriors, even though the Pistons were playing the second end of a back-to-back.

Center Andre Drummond, their franchise player, has returned with a renewed focus and looks like an All-Star again after a subpar season. He’s even making his free throws (75%).

Point guard Reggie Jackson, slowed by a knee injury a year ago, looks healthy and is running the offense efficiently (3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio). Tobias Harris is shooting with confidence from the perimeter, averaging nearly 20 PPG, while Stanley Johnson has provided a defensive presence at small forward.

Detroit’s major offseason acquisition, Avery Bradley, has impacted the team at both ends. The shooting guard’s tenacious defense has rubbed off on his new teammates and his steady offensive output has been a major upgrade over the inconsistent player he replaced, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Coach Stan Van Gundy has so many solid bench options that he’s struggling to decide who should be in the rotation.

Of course, things could change in a hurry, as the Pistons don’t have the talent to beat many teams unless they’re at their best. They proved that with a road loss to the Lakers and a home loss to the Sixers.

They also have no viable options if Drummond suffers a significant injury. They lost Aron Baynes in free agency and are using power forward Jon Leuer and a summer-league addition, Eric Moreland, as his backups.

This brings us to our question of the day: Will the Pistons make the playoffs this season or is their quick start a mirage?

Please weigh in on this topic in the comments section. We look forward to what you have to say.

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Veterans Eligible For Extensions Until June 30

November 6th, 2017 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Rookie scale extensions have historically been the most common form of contract extension in the NBA. Veteran extensions are signed occasionally, but few players are eligible to receive them due to restrictive regulations — and for many of those extension-eligible vets, it simply makes more sense to wait until free agency to maximize their earnings.

The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement has loosened the rules on eligibility for veteran contract extensions, and has also made them a little more financially advantageous for players who don’t expect mega-deals.

For stars like DeMarcus Cousins and Paul George, who are currently eligible for veteran extensions, it still makes sense to wait until free agency, since the maximum raise they can receive on an extension is far below the maximum salary they’re eligible to get on the open market. However, the new rules have made veteran extensions more viable for a number of players. As our extension tracker shows, six of the 10 contract extensions signed during the 2017/18 league year were veteran deals, including three Designated Veteran Extensions.

Once the regular season starts, the number of veterans eligible for contract extensions shrinks, since players with more than one year left on their contracts are no longer permitted to extend their deals. But there are a number of veterans in the final year of their respective contracts who remain eligible for extensions right up until June 30, the last day of the current league year.

Listed below are the players who meet the criteria for a veteran extension. Players who were recently traded can be extended, but they have to wait for six months after the trade to sign a contract longer than three total years (including the current season). So if a player below is noted as having “limited” eligibility until a certain date, that’s probably why. Once those six months pass, he’s eligible to sign a contract of up to five years (including the current season).

Additionally, extension-eligible players with a player or team option for 2018/19 would have to eliminate that option year as part of an extension agreement in order to meet the necessary criteria.

Here’s the full list of veterans eligible for contract extensions until June 30:

Atlanta Hawks

  • None

Boston Celtics

  • None

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

  • None

Chicago Bulls

  • None

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • None

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

  • None

Golden State Warriors

  • None

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

  • None

Milwaukee Bucks

  • None

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

  • Enes Kanter (if 2018/19 player option is declined)
    • Note: Extension eligibility limited until March 25.
  • Kyle O’Quinn (if 2018/19 player option is declined)

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

  • None

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

  • None

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

  • None

Utah Jazz

Washington Wizards

  • None

Information from ESPN was used in the creation of this post.

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59 Of 60 Two-Way Contract Slots Filled

November 6th, 2017 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

Twenty-nine of the NBA’s 30 teams have filled both of their two-way contract slots early in the 2017/18 season, as our two-way tracker shows. The Hawks were the latest team to sign their second two-way player, inking Tyler Cavanaugh to a new deal over the weekend. Currently, the Timberwolves are the only club without two players on two-way contracts — former Lakers guard Anthony Brown is their only two-way signee.

It’s not clear why the Timberwolves have held off on filling their second two-way slot, but it may be about maintaining flexibility. Because two-way players are eligible to be on the active NBA roster for up to 45 days, a player who signs a two-way contract can immediately contribute to the NBA team if needed.

The Hawks’ addition of Cavanaugh on Sunday was a good example of this — shortly after signing with Atlanta, Cavanaugh made his NBA debut, helping to provide some frontcourt depth for a team that was missing Ersan Ilyasova, Miles Plumlee, and Mike Muscala. The Wolves have a healthier roster, but if they get hit hard by the injury bug at a certain position, having that open two-way slot will allow the club to add immediate help without making changes to its NBA roster.

Two-way contracts are still in the infancy stages, so it has been interesting to monitor how teams are using them so far. While some clubs opted to immediately send their two-way players to the G League for further development and seasoning, other teams have had to lean heavily on their two-way players. Mike James, for instance, doesn’t even have a standard NBA contract yet, despite the fact that he has been the Suns‘ starting point guard since Eric Bledsoe was sent home.

James is rapidly using up the 45 days he’s allowed to be with the NBA team. Assuming he’s not transferred to the G League, the Suns will be forced to make a decision on him right around the end of November. Two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA deals, but Phoenix would have to trade or cut someone to create room. While Bledsoe would, of course, be the obvious candidate, things could get more complicated if the Suns end up trading Bledsoe for a package that returns two or three players.

Rockets point guard Demetrius Jackson (eight games), Mavericks guard Gian Clavell (six games), Pacers forward Alex Poythress (five games), and Hawks guard Josh Magette (five games) are among the other players on two-way contracts who have already appeared in several NBA games and are progressing toward their 45-day limit.

It will be worth watching over the course of the season to see the approach teams take with their two-way players. Will players whose 45-day clocks start running out be converted to standard NBA contracts, or will they simply be sent back to the G League to retain them on the current deals? And now that the G League season is underway, will teams begin turning over their two-way slots more frequently if they don’t like what they see from their two-way players in starring G League roles? Stay tuned.

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Community Shootaround: Regrading Offseason Deals

November 5th, 2017 at 10:50pm CST by Austin Kent

The solid play of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis has had many a sportswriter publishing stories about how the Pacers may have actually handled the Paul George saga pretty well, after all.

So far this season, the former has averaged 25.6 points per game while the latter has added an impressive 13.2 and 10.6 boards of his own.

Add in the fact that Oladipo is still just 25 years old and that Sabonis is merely 21 and it looks as though Indian’s president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard drew a more than reasonable yield for his disgruntled star.

Of course George isn’t the only star who was traded this offseason, we also saw Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler change teams.

Are there any other situations where the first three weeks of the NBA season have fans and writers reconsidering their hot takes from the summer? Do we, for example, give John Paxson and Gar Forman more credit for landing Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine for Butler than we did when the deal first went down?

Does the current state of the Cavs (or the Nets, for that matter) impact how we grade the Irving swap?

It’s important not to get carried away with the small sample size but the early returns are intriguing to say the least. What offseason transactions have you changed your tune about since the season began? Weigh in below!

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