Poll: How Long Will Derrick Rose Remain A Knick?
Although Derrick Rose spoke optimistically earlier in the season about a possible contract extension with the Knicks, and the team was said to be open to the idea, there were already questions about the long-term outlook of the relationship even before Rose went AWOL on Monday, missing the team’s game against New Orleans.
The Knicks and Rose patched things up following his unexpected absence, with the team accepting the point guard’s explanation and choosing to fine him rather than suspend him. Rose was back in the starting lineup on Wednesday night, and had a solid game, though the Knicks blew a big fourth-quarter lead to the Sixers.
Still, there were reports this week suggesting that the relationship between Rose and head coach Jeff Hornacek is frayed, along with reports that indicated the former MVP’s future in New York looks increasingly uncertain.
Rose is a free agent at season’s end, and while there are rumblings that he could seek a maximum-salary contract, he’s unlikely to land a deal in that neighborhood. His ability to slash and create on offense provides the Knicks with a skill set that their other guards don’t possess, but based on the way the first half has played out, there’s a good chance the team looks elsewhere to fill that point guard position.
If things continue to go south in New York, it’s possible Rose won’t even finish the season with the club — if the Knicks fall out of the playoff race and know they won’t re-sign Rose, there would be little reason to keep him, so a trade or buyout could be in play.
What do you think? Will Rose finish the season in New York? Will he leave in the offseason? Or are the two sides capable of turning things around and making their marriage a long-term one? Vote in our poll below, and jump into the comments section to weigh in with your thoughts!
How long will Derrick Rose remain a Knick?
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He'll leave the Knicks in the offseason 54% (794)
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He won't finish the season with the Knicks 30% (446)
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He'll remain with the Knicks into next season 16% (232)
Total votes: 1,472
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote in today’s poll.
Fantasy Hoops: Hawks, Carroll, Hardaway
The 2016/17 campaign is nearing the half-way mark and Hoops Rumors is examining the fantasy basketball landscape in order to help you dominate the competition. Check back weekly for more fantasy basketball analysis.
Atlanta’s 60-Win Quintet No Longer Makes Music
The Hawks have been pretty busy recently. They traded away Kyle Korver and fielded calls for Paul Millsap over the last week, though it was reported today that the team has informed the power forward that he will not be dealt. Millsap is the last remaining starter from Atlanta’s tremendous 2014/15 team that led the Eastern Conference with 60 wins.
Let’s examine how each starting member of that team is doing this season and rank them according to their fantasy basketball value.
- Paul Millsap (Remains with the Hawks): The 31-year-old leads this list because of his ability to reliably contribute in a number of categories. He’s in the top-10 in points, rebounds and assists per game among power forwards and he’s only slightly outside the top-10 in free throw percentage and blocks per game. Draymond Green is the only big man to average more steals per game than him. Factor in his 3-point shooting (making over a shot per game from behind the arc) and his solid field goal percentage overall, and you’ve got one of the most well-rounded fantasy options in the league.
- Jeff Teague (Traded to the Pacers during the offseason): Teague took a while to get acclimated to the Pacers, but he’s playing well lately. Entering Tuesday, he’s averaging 17.4 points and 10.1 assists per game while shooting 48.0% from the field over his last 11 contests. He’s in a great situation playing in Indiana’s fast paced offense and he’s on pace to have one of his best seasons as a pro.
- Al Horford (Signed with the Celtics during the offseason): Horford also had an adjustment period with his new team this season, a situation that was compounded when he missed nine games because of a concussion. He’s appears to have grown more comfortable in his new home, though his field goal percentage remains an issue. He’s only making 45.2% of his attempts this season, which is his lowest mark since his rookie campaign. That’s due in part to an increase in 3-point attempts, as he’s chucking a career-high 4.4 shots per game from behind the arc. He’s making 1.5 3-pointers per contest, the second highest mark in the league among centers (Brook Lopez is knocking down nearly two per night). The increased usage on the perimeter has hurt his rebounding totals over the last few seasons and this year, it’s impacting that category yet again, as he’s grabbing a career-worst 6.7 rebounds per game.
- DeMarre Carroll (Signed with the Raptors during the 2015 offseason): Carroll is a fantasy asset when he’s both healthy and receiving a full complement of minutes. He’s missed over 51% of his games due to injury since signing with Toronto and he’s been limited in many others. However, it appears the team is starting to feel comfortable giving him a full workload, as he’s averaging 37.3 minutes per game over his last four contests. He was particularly impressive over his last two games, where he’s made a total of 10 3-pointers and shot 50.0% from the field.
- Kyle Korver (Traded to the Cavs last week): The 35-year-old shooting guard will come off the bench for the defending champs and don’t expect him to contribute much in terms of fantasy. He saw 18 minutes of action in tonight’s loss to Jazz, but only made one of his five field goals. Beyond an occasional spot start, it’s best if he’s left on the waiver wire.
Here’s more fantasy analysis and notes from around the league:
- Kent Bazemore re-signed with the Hawks on a massive $70MM deal during the offseason, but he has failed to live up to expectations. Don’t expect his fantasy value to rise too much with Korver out of the picture. Bazemore’s problem isn’t opportunity, it’s a lack of efficiency. He’s shooting the ball more this season than he was last year, though he’s only making a career-low 37.0% of his attempts. Despite the potential for a slightly bigger role, he’s not worth a valuable roster spot at the moment.
- Tim Hardaway is the player most likely to benefit from the Korver trade. He’s seeing about four more minutes per game than he was prior to the deal and he’s averaging 17.2 points per game over his last five contests. He’s not a must-own player, but he’s serviceable as a streaming option. He’s available in over 88% of ESPN leagues.
- Keep tabs on Clint Capela. The center fractured his left fibula in mid-December and was expected to miss 4-6 weeks. The projected timeline puts him at about halfway through his recovery, though it could take longer for him to regain the role he had with the Rockets prior to being injured. Capela had the third best field goal percentage and had the 10th most blocks per game among centers during the first two months of the season, as I mentioned in a previous edition of Fantasy Hoops.
2017 NBA 10-Day Contract Tracker
For the first couple months of the NBA season, most teams maintained full 15-man rosters, with many of those clubs keeping at least one or two players on non-guaranteed deals. As of today, however, all of those non-guaranteed contracts became fully guaranteed. Many clubs cut ties with players before that happened, and there are now several teams with open roster spots.
On January 5, teams became eligible to fill those open roster spots by signing players to 10-day contracts, and the bulk of the signings that take place between now and April will be of the 10-day variety. Hoops Rumors has created a database that allows you to keep on top of those deals, tracking every 10-day signing all season long.
The 10-Day Contract Tracker includes information on all 10-day contracts signed from the 2006/07 season on, giving you a chance to identify trends regarding your favorite teams and players. The search filters in the database make it easy to sort by team, player and year. Just be sure to write a player’s last name first if searching in that field. You can even see whether a player and team signed a second 10-day contract, and if the short-term deals led to an agreement that covered the rest of the season.
For instance, if you want to see how many 10-day deals current Nets guard Sean Kilpatrick has signed over the course of his career, you can find that information here. Similarly, if you want to see all the 10-day contracts that the Cavs, who just opened a roster spot, have signed in recent years, you can do so here.
A link to our 10-Day Contract Tracker can be found at any time in the Tools menu at the top of the page, or in the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” We’ll be keeping it up to date for the rest of the season, so be sure to check back to keep tabs on the latest signings as they become official.
Community Shootaround: Hawks’ Paul Millsap Decision
The Hawks decided today to pump the brakes on entertaining offers on all-star forward Paul Millsap. Instead, Atlanta is said to be determined to compete in the Eastern Conference, which makes sense considering the Hawks are atop the Southeast Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 21-16 record and Millsap is a significant reason why. He leads the Hawks in scoring, and is second in rebounds, assists and blocks.
Still, not many are banking on the Hawks making a deep playoff run. There were several suitors for Millsap, including teams such as the Nuggets, Kings and Raptors linked in trade rumors and talks. Evidently, any offers that were made were not enough for the Hawks to unload Millsap.
Millsap, however, has a player option for next season and can opt out and become an unrestricted free agent, a move that he is expected to make because it would fetch him a higher salary. In that sense, moving Millsap for the right deal would make sense on some level. What’s more, the Hawks had just traded Kyle Korver to the Cavs last weekend.
What do you think? Should the Hawks have removed Millsap from the market? What do you think of their recent moves? Jump into the comments section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Hoops Links: Westbrook, Kings, Magic
Every Sunday, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Then you should send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown …
- Same Page Team focuses on Russell Westbrook‘s MVP chances.
- The Jump Ball discusses why Eric Gordon is perfect for the Rockets.
- Sactown Royalty explores trade possibilities for the Kings.
- Daily Knicks runs down some trade scenarios involving New York.
- All U Can Heat wonders what is next for Jimmy Butler.
- Nothin’ But Nets grades the Nets against the Sixers.
- Silver Screen & Roll analyzes Brandon Ingram‘s potential.
- Orlando Pinstriped Post outlines what is troubling the Magic.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Will at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Players Whose Contracts Became Guaranteed Today
Technically, all NBA contracts don’t become guaranteed until January 10th, but teams that planned to release players without fully guaranteed deals had to do so by 5 pm Eastern today to give them time to clear waivers before the deadline.
Minnesota’s John Lucas III and Orlando’s Arinze Onuaku were the last two players to be waived, but the vast majority of players who were waiting out the deadline received good news. Notable players with newly guaranteed contracts include DeAndre Liggins, who has become a starter in Cleveland, Dorian Finney-Smith, one of the few pleasant surprises of a down season in Dallas, 37-year-old Metta World Peace, who many observers thought might be done with the Lakers, and Ron Baker, who closed out Friday’s win for the Knicks in place of Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings.
Here’s the complete list by team:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
- None
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
- None
Detroit Pistons
- None
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
- None
Los Angeles Clippers
- None
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
- None
Minnesota Timberwolves
- None
New Orleans Pelicans
- None
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 1/1/17 – 1/7/17
There was plenty of original content published by Hoops Rumors staffers this week as we approach a few major milestones on the NBA calendar:
- Luke Adams explored the early 2017 NBA Draft landscape, detailing all of the picks that have already been moved. Many of the picks involved in trades are conditional and based on results from this season, so Adams used our 2016/17 Reverse Standings to piece together some of the dynamics at play.
- Chris Crouse talks at length about how Tyler Johnson‘s expanded role with the Heat will impact fantasy basketball teams. His weekly roundup also discusses the shifting of the (point) guard under way for the Bulls and Ersan Ilyasova‘s stellar play with the Sixers.
- As of Thursday, NBA teams have been eligible to sign players to 10-day contracts. Luke Adams broke down what exactly they are and how they work in the latest Hoops Rumors Glossary post.
- Today marks the last day that NBA teams can waive players on non-guaranteed deals. Luke Adams compiled a list of the partially-guaranteed players whose fate will be decided when the calendar flips over to January 8. We’ll update this list as the 5:00pm EST deadline approaches.
- In 2003, the SuperSonics shipped franchise legend Gary Payton to the Bucks in exchange for Ray Allen. Austin Kent broke down the significance of the deal at the time and its cultural implications in the years that followed.
- Will Joseph rounded up the best links from throughout the blogosphere, including this Grizzly Bear Blues piece that takes a deep dive on Andrew Harrison.
- We decided to open a few contentious topics to the masses this week, below are our Community Shootarounds.
- Even prior to Wednesday’s Kyle Korver trade, there was plenty of talk that the Hawks might look to rebuild. We asked what they should do with the veterans on their roster.
- NBA fans have been treated to some remarkable individual performances this season, so we asked readers who they think is on pace to win MVP.
Hoops Rumors Retro: Gary Payton To The Bucks
The mandate at Hoops Rumors is to consolidate news from throughout the professional basketball world, but nobody ever specified from which decade. Join us as Austin Kent, a grown man with a binder of 1996/97 NBA trading cards beside his desk, cannonballs down the rabbit hole of nostalgia to give significant trades of yesteryear the modern media treatment.
It’s mid-February 2003 and the Seattle SuperSonics are slogging through a fifth consecutive mediocre season. As the club preps for an inconsequential contest with the New York Knicks, their leader, a goateed franchise legend, wears a scowl equal parts “Classic Glove branding” and “I’m too old for this s–t.”
Though they’ve averaged over 44 wins per year in each of the previous three campaigns, the Sonics have just one postseason berth to show for it in the unrelenting Western Conference that crushes the spirits of would-be playoff contenders annually. Gary Payton knows this. What Gary Payton might not know is that this will be the last time1 he wears green and yellow.
Though the Sonics had a rich history in Seattle, it had been half a decade since their last taste of genuine title aspirations. The roster with which Payton battled his way to the 1996 Finals was long gone, his most influential teammate at that time now an overweight footnote2 on the other side of the country.
It’s presumably misting ominously in Seattle on this February 19, a much-anticipated deadline day, when the Sonics decide to formally cut ties with their 13-year veteran. Payton, of course, has plied his trade in the rainy state of Washington since the club selected him with the second overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft. Payton had been an eight-time All-Star for the Sonics during his tenure and still leads the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise in nearly ever significant guard stat category3.
Also outgoing is Desmond Mason, a 25-year-old scorer on the wing just two years removed from one of the most underrated Slam Dunk Contest victories of the decade.
That Payton is on the move isn’t particularly surprising; the superstar is in the final year of a contract that pays him $13MM a year. Since Payton’s performance hasn’t subsided with age, Rick Sund and the rest of the Seattle executive staff recognize that they’d likely be asked to shell out at least that much on the next contract for a 34-year-old guard on a team spinning its wheels in a constant bid for the West’s eight-seed.
On the other side of the blockbuster trade – an unexpected one, given the tentative way in which general managers were approaching the newly instituted luxury tax rules – is Ray Allen.Read more
Remaining Decisions On Non-Guaranteed Deals
Within the last week or so, several teams have made decisions on players who have non-guaranteed salaries, opting to cut them before their 2016/17 contracts become fully guaranteed. The Bulls waived R.J. Hunter, the Spurs cut Nicolas Laprovittola, and the Hornets parted ways with Aaron Harrison, among other moves.
Still, there are still 35 players around the NBA who are on non-guaranteed contracts, and decisions will be required on those players by Saturday. Although 2016/17 salaries technically don’t become guaranteed until January 10, players must clear waivers by that date to avoid having their full salaries count against teams’ caps. In order for that to happen, they must be waived on or before January 7.
Of the 35 players still on non-guaranteed deals, some will have to sweat out Saturday’s decision less than others. For instance, Rodney McGruder‘s $543K deal with the Heat is already guaranteed for $400K, and even if it wasn’t, his play this season has assured him of a roster spot the rest of the way. McGruder is one of several players on the list below that almost certainly won’t be going anywhere this week. But not everyone will be so fortunate.
Listed below are the players whose 2016/17 contracts aren’t yet fully guaranteed, sorted by team. Each of these players is on a minimum salary deal, though some have partially guaranteed salaries — if a player’s partial guarantee exceeds the total amount he would earn if he were cut today, we’ve noted it in parentheses.
Here’s the full list:
Atlanta Hawks
- Mike Muscala ($508K guarantee)
- Ryan Kelly
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
- Kyle Wiltjer ($275K guarantee)
- Bobby Brown
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
- Rodney McGruder ($400K guarantee)
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Hoops Rumors Glossary: 10-Day Contracts
Thursday marks the renewal of the annual tradition of the ultimate on-the-job tryout in professional sports. The 10-day contract has been the foot in the door for several players who’ve gone on to lengthy, successful NBA careers, like Anthony Mason, Bruce Bowen, Raja Bell, Kurt Rambis, Howard Eisley and several others. C.J. Watson saw his first NBA action on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Warriors in 2008, and blossomed into a sought-after backup point guard. He signed a three-year, $15MM deal with the Magic in 2015.
Ten-day deals also help veterans make comebacks. Chris Andersen languished in free agency for six months after the Nuggets used the amnesty clause to get rid of him, but a pair of 10-day contracts with the Heat in 2013 kick-started a revival for the Birdman. He wound up signing for the rest of the season that year and played a key role in Miami’s championship run. Andersen reprised that role on a guaranteed minimum-salary contract the next season, and that led the Heat to re-sign him in 2014 to a two-year, $10.375MM deal.
More recently, Tim Frazier parlayed multiple 10-day contracts last year into a two-year, $4MM+ deal with the Hornets over the summer, while Jordan McRae landed with the Cavaliers after signing 10-day deals last year with multiple teams. McRae remains under contract for the defending champions this season. Still, the 10-day is usually a fleeting glimpse at NBA life for players on pro basketball’s fringe — most of last year’s signees aren’t currently in the league.
Beginning on Thursday, January 5, a team can sign a player to as many as two 10-day contracts before committing to him for the rest of the season, or, as in many cases, turning him away.
Ten-day deals are almost always for a prorated portion of the minimum salary, though they can be for more. A minimum-salary 10-day contract for a rookie this season is worth $31,969, or 10/170ths of the full-season rookie minimum salary. A one-year veteran would make $51,449. A minimum-salary 10-day deal for any veteran of two or more seasons would represent a cost of $57,672 to the team.
Veterans with more than two years of NBA experience would earn more than $57,672 on a 10-day contract, but the league would pay the extra freight. However, teams gain no financial advantage if they eschew 10-day contracts with more experienced players to sign rookies or one-year veterans to 10-day deals in an effort to avoid the tax, as those deals count the same as the ones for two-year veterans when the league calculates a team’s salary for tax purposes.
Teams would have to pay slightly more if they sign a player to a 10-day contract and they have fewer than three games on their schedule over that 10-day period. In those cases, the length of the 10-day contract is extended so that it covers three games for the team.
It’s rare that any team would have such a light schedule, since most play at least three games a week, but the rule came into play in February 2015 with the Pistons and John Lucas III. Detroit signed him to a 10-day contract after its final game prior to the All-Star break, which the NBA lengthened last season. The Pistons played only three games in the 13 days that followed the signing, so Lucas was essentially on a 13-day deal. He received 13 days’ worth of prorated minimum salary, meaning the pact was worth more than a standard 10-day contract. The All-Star break will be extended again in 2017, so the situation could repeat itself.
A team may terminate a 10-day contract before it runs to term if it wants to use the roster spot to accommodate a waiver claim, signing, or trade acquisition. Players whose 10-day contracts end early don’t go on waivers, so they become free agents immediately. Still, those players receive their full 10-day salaries, as the contracts are fully guaranteed for the 10 days.
A team like Portland, which is perilously close to the luxury tax, may be wary of bringing anybody aboard via 10-day contract. Other teams will make liberal use of 10-day deals, in part because they’re relatively inexpensive. A year ago, no team handed out more 10-day contracts than the injury-ravaged Grizzlies, who signed eight different players to at least one 10-day deal.
Usually, teams only have one player on a 10-day contract at a time, though they’re allowed to carry as many 10-day contracts as they have players on the inactive list. If a team has 13 players on the active list, it can carry one more 10-day contract than the number of inactive players it has, meaning that if a team has a full 15-man roster, as many as three of those players may be on 10-day deals.
Players whom NBA teams have recently released, like R.J. Hunter and Nicolas Laprovittola, figure to draw consideration for 10-day contracts, as should notable veterans who have gone unsigned this season, such as Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry. D-League standouts like Briante Weber, Ray McCallum, and Jalen Jones could all find paths to the NBA via 10-day contracts, and hopefuls from the D-League will make their cases to scouts at the five-day NBADL showcase, which will take place later this month in Mississauga, Ontario.
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.
Versions of this post were initially published by Chuck Myron on January 5, 2013; January 4, 2014; January 5, 2015; and January 4, 2016.