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Traded First Round Picks For 2018 NBA Draft

August 14th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2018 NBA draft is over 10 months away, but several teams have already traded their respective first round picks for that night, and more clubs are likely to do so before this season’s trade deadline.

We’ll use the space below to keep tabs on each team’s first round pick for 2018, continually updating it as necessary throughout the year. Our list of traded second round picks for 2018 can be found right here.

We’ve listed all 30 teams here, so even if a team hasn’t traded its first round pick, that will be noted. We’ll also provide details on protections for each traded pick, including what happens to the pick in 2019 if it doesn’t change hands in 2018.

Here’s the full breakdown on the status of each 2018 first round pick:

Atlantic

  • Boston Celtics: Own pick.
  • Brooklyn Nets: Traded to Cavaliers (unprotected).
  • New York Knicks: Own pick.
  • Philadelphia 76ers: Own pick.
  • Toronto Raptors: Traded to Nets (lottery-protected).
    • If not conveyed in 2018, lottery-protected in 2019.

Central

  • Chicago Bulls: Own pick.
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: Traded to Lakers (top-3 protected).
  • Detroit Pistons: Traded to Clippers (top-4 protected).
    • If not conveyed in 2018, top-4 protected in 2019.
  • Indiana Pacers: Own pick.
  • Milwaukee Bucks: Traded to Suns (top-10 protected and 17-30 protected).
    • If not conveyed in 2018, top-three protected and 17-30 protected in 2019.

Southeast

  • Atlanta Hawks: Own pick.
  • Charlotte Hornets: Own pick.
  • Miami Heat: Traded to Suns (top-7 protected).
    • If not conveyed in 2018, unprotected in 2019.
  • Orlando Magic: Own pick.
  • Washington Wizards: Own pick.

Northwest

  • Denver Nuggets: Own pick.
  • Minnesota Timberwolves: Traded to Hawks (lottery-protected).
    • If not conveyed in 2018, lottery-protected in 2019.
  • Oklahoma City Thunder: Traded to Timberwolves (lottery-protected).
    • If not conveyed in 2018, lottery-protected in 2019.
  • Portland Trail Blazers: Own pick.
  • Utah Jazz: Own pick.

Pacific

  • Golden State Warriors: Own pick.
  • Los Angeles Clippers: Own pick.
  • Los Angeles Lakers: Traded to Sixers or Celtics (Boston receives it if falls between Nos. 2 and 5; otherwise, Philadelphia receives it).
  • Phoenix Suns: Own pick.
  • Sacramento Kings: Own pick.

Southwest

  • Dallas Mavericks: Own pick.
  • Houston Rockets: Traded to Hawks (top-3 protected).
    • If not conveyed in 2018, top-3 protected in 2019.
  • Memphis Grizzlies: Own pick.
  • New Orleans Pelicans: Traded to Bulls (top-5 protected).
    • If not conveyed in 2018, top-8 protected in 2019.
  • San Antonio Spurs: Own pick.

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

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What’s Next For Unsigned Restricted Free Agents?

August 14th, 2017 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

An unusually high number of notable restricted free agents remain unsigned as August nears its halfway point, and the rumor mill has been quiet on those players as of late. After the league-wide free agent spending spree in the summer of 2016, many of these RFAs likely entered free agency this year anticipating huge paydays, and were disappointed to see many potential suitors use up their cap room quickly.

Here’s the current list of restricted free agents still on the board:Nikola Mirotic vertical

The updates on those players have been few and far between over the last month or so. Early in free agency, Green’s agent seemed pessimistic about his client remaining in Memphis, suggesting that the Grizzlies seemed to be going in a “different direction.” However, with no offer sheet yet in hand, Green still looks like a decent bet to stay with his current team.

Plumlee, meanwhile, may not have as clear as role as the Nuggets initially envisioned when they acquired him, since the team nabbed Paul Millsap in free agency. Denver gave up a lot in the trade for Plumlee and presumably still wants to bring him back as Nikola Jokic‘s backup at center. But with Millsap making approximately $30MM annually and Jokic due for a mega-deal of his own as soon as next summer, the Nuggets may be reluctant to invest heavily in Plumlee as well.

As for Len, Mirotic, and Noel, there has been little indication that they’re going anywhere — all three of their respective teams still have a ton of cap flexibility, and could comfortably match virtually any offer sheet they’re dealt. Those offer sheets just don’t seem to be out there right now, since almost every team with the ability to make a big offer has its own RFA to worry about.

Besides Phoenix, Chicago, and Dallas, there are a small number of teams that could make an aggressive offer for a restricted free agent. The Sixers are really the only other club with a significant amount of leftover cap room, and based on their one-year agreements with J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson, it appears Bryan Colangelo and company want to avoid multiyear commitments that would compromise their 2018 cap space.

So what’s next for these restricted free agents? October 1 is the next key date to watch. That’s the day that each RFA’s qualifying offer will expire. Up until that point, any of those five players could accept the qualifying offer and play on a one-year deal, opting to try his luck at the open market again in 2018 as an unrestricted free agent. Green, Len, Mirotic, Noel, and Plumlee all figure to still be looking for longer-term deals, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see one or two of them signs that QO.

If an RFA situation remains unresolved beyond October 1, the player is still restricted, but no longer has the option of accepting his qualifying offer. With the regular season fast approaching at that point, players don’t have much leverage, and a situation can go south in a hurry.

A year ago, it was December before Donatas Motiejunas finally found an offer sheet, but that lucrative four-year deal with the Nets fell through after Houston matched it — the Rockets and Motiejunas couldn’t agree on incentive details, the forward skipped his physical, and the two sides eventually parted ways. Motiejunas, who later signed for the minimum and is now out of the NBA, could act as a cautionary tale this fall for RFAs who don’t yet have a deal when training camps begin.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2017’s Top 10 Free Agent Deals By Guaranteed Money

August 14th, 2017 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

On Sunday, we examined this offseason’s top 10 free agent deals in terms of average annual value. That list included players like Kevin Durant and J.J. Redick, who signed short-term deals but will earn more money during the 2017/18 season than all but a handful of this year’s free agent signees.

In terms of overall guaranteed money though, those deals for Durant and Redick don’t rank among this summer’s top 10. All of the new contracts that include the most total guaranteed money are multiyear pacts, with many of them running for four or five years.

This year’s top 10 free agent contracts in terms of total guaranteed money are listed below, with the help of our Free Agent Tracker and salary information from Basketball Insiders.

Our numbers below incorporate player options, but not team options or non-guaranteed salary. The thinking: If a team waives a player before the end of his contract, he’s guaranteed to receive his player-option salary, but not team-option or non-guaranteed money. Players whose contracts include final-year player options are marked with an asterisk.

Here’s the top 10:

  1. Stephen Curry (Warriors): $201,158,790 (five years)
  2. Blake Griffin (Clippers): $171,174,820 (five years)*
  3. Jrue Holiday (Pelicans): $131,100,000 (five years)*
  4. Gordon Hayward (Celtics): $127,829,970 (four years)*
  5. Otto Porter (Wizards): $106,524,978 (four years)*
  6. Kyle Lowry (Raptors): $93,000,000 (three years)
  7. Tim Hardaway Jr. (Knicks): $70,950,000 (four years)*
  8. Serge Ibaka (Raptors): $65,000,000 (three years)
  9. Danilo Gallinari (Clippers): $64,762,737 (three years)
  10. Paul Millsap (Nuggets): $61,000,000 (two years) — Third year is team option

As was the case in our list of top 10 free agent deals by annual value, Curry sits at No. 1, and his overall guarantee really hammers home how massive his new deal is. While Curry’s new deal tops $200MM, only four other free agents signed for more than $100MM in guaranteed money, and the gap between Curry’s contract and the 10th-biggest deal exceeds $140MM.

It’s also worth noting that leading up to free agency, there was a belief that maximum salary contracts would be prevalent, with players like Holiday, Lowry, Millsap, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all viewed as candidates to sign for the max. Ultimately, only Curry, Hayward, and Porter got true maximum salary contracts — Griffin’s deal fell a little short, while players like Lowry, Millsap, and Caldwell-Pope couldn’t even get the max on shorter-term pacts.

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2017’s Top 10 Free Agent Deals By Annual Value

August 13th, 2017 at 7:41pm CST by Austin Kent

It’s taken two offseasons but NBA fans are finally starting to get used to the “new normal” when it comes to player contracts. This year we saw some of the league’s richest deals ever handed out, with sums far exceeding even last year’s historic agreements.

Of course, this is the new era of professional basketball and after a somewhat unpredictable spending spree last offseason, the market balanced itself out in 2017 thanks in no small part to fewer teams having boatloads of available cap space.

Here’s a quick look at what this summer’s top earners will bring home on their new deals. The figures take only guaranteed money into account and are sorted by annual value.

Stephen Curry, Warriors: $40.2MM over 5 years.
Blake Griffin, Clippers: $33.1MM over 4 years.
Gordon Hayward, Celtics: $31.2MM over 3 years.
Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $31.0MM over 3 years
Paul Millsap, Nuggets: $30.5MM over 2 years.
Otto Porter, Wizards: $26.0MM over 3 years.
Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $26.0MM over 4 years
Kevin Durant, Warriors: $25.0MM over 1 year.
J.J. Redick, 76ers: $23.0MM over 1 year.
Serge Ibaka, Raptors: $21.7MM over 3 years.

Below, by contrast, are the top 10 annual values* dolled out just four summers ago in 2013.

Dwight Howard, Rockets: $21.9MM over 4 years.
Chris Paul, Clippers: $21.5MM over 5 years.
Al Jefferson, Bobcats/Hornets: $13.5MM over 3 years.
Josh Smith, Pistons: $13.5MM over 4 years.
Andrew Bynum, Cavaliers: $12.4MM over 2 years.
David West, Pacers: $12.2MM over 3 years.
Andre Iguodala, Warriors: $12.0MM over 4 years.
Nikola Pekovic, Timberwolves: $12.0MM over 5 years.
Tyreke Evans, Pelicans: $11.0MM over 4 years.
Paul Millsap, Hawks: $9.5MM over 2 years.

*Values include non-guaranteed money.

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Weekly Mailbag: 8/7/17 – 8/13/17

August 13th, 2017 at 11:48am CST by Arthur Hill

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.

Fact or fiction: Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving will be on new teams before training camp begins. — Deven Parikh

These will be the top two stories to watch in the next six weeks or so until training camps open. To recap, Anthony has agreed to waive his no-trade clause, but so far only to join the Rockets, while Irving has asked Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert for a trade so he can escape the long shadow of LeBron James. Whether the deals happen before camp starts — or at all –depends on how the front offices in New York and Cleveland view their situations. The Knicks have launched a youth movement that Anthony doesn’t fit. However, they don’t want to take on an expensive long-term contract in return, and the Rockets have to find a taker for Ryan Anderson to accommodate Anthony’s salary, so at least one more team is needed to make the deal work. The danger for the Knicks in holding onto Anthony is that he may not opt out of a nearly $28MM salary for 2018/19, limiting the team’s free agent options for another year. In Cleveland, it’s a matter of chemistry as the once-private feud between Irving and James is now very public and it’s almost impossible to imagine them co-existing for another season. The Knicks and Cavaliers will keep searching for the best deal, so this might take a while, but I expect Anthony and Irving to be both traded prior to camp and certainly before the season opens.

Who could the Thunder target in a trade that would make them contenders? I feel Thunder are one star away from being able to challenge Golden State. — Sawbone Sanchez

One more star to team with Russell Westbrook and Paul George would certainly make Oklahoma City a serious challenger. However, there aren’t any stars on the market right now except for Anthony and Irving and neither is a realistic option for OKC. The Thunder are also low on tradable assets after sending Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Pacers in exchange for George. Their best chance to add a star may come at the trade deadline in February, but to fit another hefty salary, they would have to find a taker for Steven Adams, who is owed $100MM over the next four years, or Enes Kanter, who will make nearly $17.9MM this season with an $18.6MM player option for 2018/19. Oklahoma City is also well over the cap for this season and the next one, so they will likely have to get by with the two stars they have.

Do you think the Lakers can make the playoffs this year with their current roster? – Armond Godfrey, via Twitter

L.A. has done a lot to improve over the offseason, trading for Brook Lopez, signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and drafting Lonzo Ball to add to an already-impressive collection of young talent. The Lakers will be better, but they still look overmatched in a loaded Western Conference. The team is coming off a 26-56 season, so just getting near .500 will be a significant improvement, but a .500 record won’t get them into the playoffs. Even so, the future is very bright in L.A., and if the rumors about George and LeBron joining the team next summer are true, the Lakers will be among the league’s elite teams again very quickly.

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Community Shootaround: Pacers’ Playoff Chances

August 12th, 2017 at 7:16pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pacers are entering year one without Paul George, but that doesn’t mean the team will slide out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference, according to the franchise’s longest tenured player.

“I feel like we’re definitely going to be overlooked this year,” Myles Turner said (via Matthew VanTyron of the Indianapolis Star). “A lot of people look at us as young team that’s going to rebuild, but we’re a young team that’s trying to compete. We’ve got a lot of guys who can come in and make an impact right away. I expect to make the playoffs this year.”

Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com projects Indiana to finish 11th in the conference and earn a lottery appearance, something that’s only happened once since the team drafted George back in 2010.

Pelton foresees the team struggling on offense and it’s easy to see why. Scour the roster for a No. 1 scorer. Will Victor Oladipo expand his game? How about Darren Collison? Should either Lance Stephenson or Bojan Bogdanovic lead a team in shots?

The questions on offense will likely persist all season, though that alone doesn’t mean a playoff birth is inconceivable. The Eastern Conference appears weaker than it has in several years and somewhere between 35 and 40 games could be enough to lock in a lower seed. Pelton projects the team to get 32 wins this season, a total that’s slightly behind his projections for the Magic, Sixers, and Pistons—the team that the statistician has in the conference’s eighth seed with just 35.1 wins in his simulations.

If the Pacers see just a few players outperform their expected output this season, the team could end up playing games that matter in April.

That leads us to tonight’s topic: Will the Pacers make the playoffs this season? If not, what moves can they make before the trade deadline to improve their chances? Please take to the comment section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say!

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 8/5/17 – 8/12/17

August 12th, 2017 at 3:59pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team compiles original content to complement our news feed. This week, we were particularly productive with our original content. Enjoy our favorite segments and features from the past seven days:

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Players Who Can’t Be Traded Until January 15

August 11th, 2017 at 5:45pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Thursday, players who signed new contracts as free agents during the 2017/18 league year can’t be traded for three months or until December 15, whichever comes later. That means that nearly every team has at least one player – and generally a handful – who won’t become trade-eligible until mid-December.

As we alluded to in that article, there’s also a small subset of free agent signees whose trade ineligibility lasts for another month. These players all meet a specific set of criteria: Not only did they re-sign with their previous team this offseason, but they got a raise of at least 20%, their salary is worth more than the minimum, and their team was over the cap, using Bird or Early Bird rights to sign them.

Listed below are the players who meet this criteria and can’t be traded until at least January 15, 2018. Players who have the ability to veto trades in 2017/18 are marked with an asterisk. We’ll continue to update this page over the next few months, if necessary.

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Denver Nuggets

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles Clippers

Memphis Grizzlies

Milwaukee Bucks

New Orleans Pelicans

Oklahoma City Thunder

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Utah Jazz

Washington Wizards

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

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Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android

August 11th, 2017 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

  • All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
  • Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
  • Notifications. For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
  • Commenting. You can read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
  • Customer service. If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
  • Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!
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Longest-Tenured NBA GMs/Presidents

August 11th, 2017 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

When we examined the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches earlier this week, we noted that it has been over a year since any team has made a coaching change, an improbable and impressive run of league-wide stability. However, the same can’t be said for teams’ front offices. Since the 2016/17 season ended, seven NBA clubs have named new heads of basketball operations, and that list doesn’t include the Lakers, who re-shaped their front office earlier in the year.

Although there have been more recent changes in front offices than on NBA sidelines, the same name tops the list of longest-tenured head coaches and GMs/presidents: Gregg Popovich actually became the Spurs‘ president of basketball operations two years before he took over as the club’s head coach. Still, his place in San Antonio’s hierarchy is one of a handful of situations around the league that’s somewhat difficult to pin down.

While just one person holds a team’s head coaching job, that same team could carry a variety of front office executives with titles like general manager, president of basketball operations, or executive VP of basketball operations. In some cases, it’s not always which clear which executive should be considered the club’s head of basketball operations, or which one has the ultimate final say on roster decisions. That distinction becomes even more nebulous when taking into account team ownership.

For our list of the longest-tenured GMs/presidents in the NBA, we’ve done our best to identify the top exec in each front office. In the case of the Spurs, we’ve listed Popovich as the club’s top man, since he has the final say on basketball decisions, even though GM R.C. Buford plays a huge part in that process too. If there’s any ambiguity in a front office, we’ve added a note below to explain our thinking.

Without further ado, here’s the list of the NBA’s longest-tenured heads of basketball operations, along with their respective titles and the dates they were hired or promoted:

  1. Gregg Popovich, Spurs (president): May 31, 1994
    • GM R.C. Buford has had a significant voice in personnel moves since becoming GM in 2002, but Popovich still has final say on those decisions.
  2. Pat Riley, Heat (president): September 2, 1995
  3. John Paxson, Bulls (executive VP): April 14, 2003
    • GM Gar Forman has played a major part in personnel decisions since his hiring in 2009, but Paxson is believed to still be the head of basketball operations, reporting only to ownership.
  4. Danny Ainge, Celtics (president): May 9, 2003
  5. Ernie Grunfeld, Wizards (president): June 30, 2003
  6. Donn Nelson, Mavericks (GM/president): March 19, 2005
    • Owner Mark Cuban is also heavily involved in basketball decisions and ultimately has final say.
  7. Daryl Morey, Rockets (GM): May 6, 2007
  8. Sam Presti, Thunder (GM/executive VP): June 7, 2007
  9. Dell Demps, Pelicans (GM/senior VP): July 21, 2010
    • Executive VP of basketball operations Mickey Loomis is also in the picture here, but Loomis – who is also the top man in the New Orleans Saints’ front office – seems to let Demps handle basketball decisions for the most part.
  10. Rich Cho, Hornets (GM): June 14, 2011
  11. Bob Myers, Warriors (GM/president): April 24, 2012
  12. Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers (president): June 4, 2012
  13. Dennis Lindsey, Jazz (GM): August 7, 2012
  14. Ryan McDonough, Suns (GM): May 7, 2013
  15. Masai Ujiri, Raptors (president): May 31, 2013
  16. Tim Connelly, Nuggets (GM/executive VP): June 17, 2013
  17. Stan Van Gundy, Pistons (president): May 14, 2014
  18. Chris Wallace, Grizzlies (GM): May 19, 2014
    • Initially named the Grizzlies’ GM in June 2007, Wallace was demoted in 2012 as Jason Levien assumed control of basketball operations. Wallace regained his front office power in May 2014.
  19. Vlade Divac, Kings (GM): March 3, 2015
  20. Sean Marks, Nets (GM): February 18, 2016
  21. Bryan Colangelo, Sixers (president): April 10, 2016
  22. Tom Thibodeau, Timberwolves (president): April 20, 2016
  23. Magic Johnson, Lakers (president): February 21, 2017
  24. Kevin Pritchard, Pacers (president): May 1, 2017
  25. Jeff Weltman, Magic (president): May 22, 2017
  26. Travis Schlenk, Hawks (GM): May 25, 2017
  27. Jon Horst, Bucks (GM): June 16, 2017
  28. Koby Altman, Cavaliers (GM): June 19, 2017
    • Initially the Cavaliers’ interim GM, Altman had his role made permanent on July 24, 2017.
  29. Steve Mills, Knicks (president): June 28, 2017
    • Initially the Knicks’ interim president, Mills had his role made permanent on July 14, 2017.
  30. Lawrence Frank, Clippers (executive VP): August 4, 2017
    • Frank was given control over the Clippers’ front office on August 4, 2017, but it’s not clear if he received a new title or if he’s still the executive VP of basketball ops.

Information from Basketball-Reference was used in the creation of this post.

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