Teams With Flexibility For Waiver Claims
Waiver claims aren’t particularly common in the NBA. During the 2015/16 league year, for instance, only seven players were claimed off waivers. However, October is one time when things are a little more active on waivers, as teams cut camp invitees from their rosters and other clubs have a chance to snatch up a potentially appealing contract without having to negotiate with the player. Three of 2015/16’s seven waiver claims occurred in October, and this year we’ve already seen one played claimed, as the Pistons nabbed Beno Udrih after he was cut by the Heat.
Not every team can claim any waived player. In fact, there are only a few instances when teams can claim a player who is earning more than the minimum salary. A club must either have enough cap room to accommodate the player’s salary, or a trade exception (or disabled player exception) large enough to fit the player’s salary.
For a team like the Pistons then, the only reason they were able to claim Udrih was because he was on a minimum salary contract. Teams can use the minimum salary exception to claim a player who is on a one- or two-year minimum salary contract. But if Udrih had been making $2MM, Detroit wouldn’t have been able to submit a claim.
With that in mind, here’s the list of teams able to afford to claim a player making more than the minimum:
Teams with cap room:
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Denver Nuggets
- Brooklyn Nets
- Utah Jazz
- Phoenix Suns
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Indiana Pacers
- Notes: The Lakers are also under the cap, but only by about $530K, which is less than the minimum salary. The Celtics, meanwhile, will have about $1.1MM in cap room as of the start of the regular season, since the cap holds for their unsigned first-round picks come off the books.
Teams with traded player exceptions:
- Cleveland Cavaliers ($9,638,554 and three other TPEs)
- Milwaukee Bucks ($1,733,880 and one other TPE)
- Charlotte Hornets ($1,666,470)
- Los Angeles Clippers: ($1,209,600)
For a player like R.J. Hunter, who is currently on waivers with a salary worth about $1.2MM, the 11 teams listed above are the only ones that can currently place a claim. The rest of the NBA’s teams could submit a claim for a minimum-salary player, but don’t have the cap room or cap exception necessary to accommodate, for instance, Archie Goodwin‘s $2MM+ salary. Neither do the Bucks, Hornets, and Clippers, whose trade exceptions are too small.
[RELATED: Players with fully guaranteed salaries who were cut]
When taking into account which teams might place a claim on a waiver player, it’s also worth noting that waiver priority is determined by record — the worst teams get first dibs on each waived player. Since the 2016/17 regular season hasn’t started yet, waiver order is currently determined by last year’s record. That will change on December 1, at which point this year’s standings will determine the order.
For now, that means the waiver priority order for the 11 teams listed above looks like this:
- Philadelphia 76ers (10-72)
- Brooklyn Nets (21-61)
- Phoenix Suns (23-59)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (29-53)
- Milwaukee Bucks / Denver Nuggets (33-49)
- (Coin flip determines priority)
- Utah Jazz (40-42)
- Indiana Pacers (45-37)
- Charlotte Hornets (48-34)
- Los Angeles Clippers (53-29)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25)
So if the Sixers and Nets both had interest in Goodwin and submitted claims, Brooklyn would be out of luck, since Philadelphia is the only team with a higher waiver priority. For minimum salary claims, the rest of the league’s 30 teams would slot into that waiver order based on last year’s record. In the full waiver order, the Pistons would have the 19th priority, meaning the 18 teams ahead of them didn’t make a claim for Udrih.
As noted above, waiver claims aren’t particularly common, but it’s possible we’ll see a couple more waiver moves this week, so the rules above are worth keeping in mind.
Players With Fully Guaranteed Salaries Who Were Cut
Most of the players who received their walking papers from NBA teams over the last couple weeks were on non-guaranteed summer contracts, or deals that featured modest partial guarantees. Even a team like the Sixers, having waived four players on partially guaranteed contracts, will only carry $330K worth of salary on the 2016/17 cap for those players.
Several teams, however, parted ways with players on fully guaranteed contracts. In some cases, this was a result of a team carrying more than 15 players on guaranteed deals, and having to bite the bullet on one of them. In other instances, a team simply wanted to keep a player without a fully guaranteed contract, and needed to create roster space by cutting someone else and eating some salary.
Listed below are the players with fully guaranteed contracts who were waived during the preseason roster cutdown, along with the teams that dropped them and the total salary they had remaining on their deals. All salary figures are for the 2016/17 season only, unless otherwise noted. Players with guaranteed salary for 2017/18 will likely have that amount stretched across multiple seasons.
- Ronnie Price, Thunder: $5,000,000 ($2,557,545 in 2016/17; $2,442,445 in 2017/18)
- Livio Jean-Charles, Spurs: $2,431,080 ($1,188,840 in 2016/17; $1,242,240 in 2017/18)
- Archie Goodwin, Suns: $2,094,089
- Mitch McGary, Thunder: $1,526,040
- Jordan Adams, Grizzlies: $1,465,080
- Alonzo Gee, Pelicans: $1,400,000
- Jeremy Evans, Pacers: $1,227,286
- R.J. Hunter, Celtics: $1,200,240
- Pablo Prigioni, Rockets: $1,050,961
- Lou Amundson, Knicks: $980,431*
- Jarrett Jack, Hawks: $980,431*
- Beno Udrih, Heat: $980,431* (claimed off waivers by Pistons)
- Anthony Brown, Lakers: $874,636
- Jonathan Gibson, Mavericks: $543,471
- Gary Payton II, Rockets: $543,471
* Note: Amundson, Jack, and Udrih are earning salaries worth more than $980,431, but their respective teams are only on the hook for $980,431 due to the minimum salary benefit rule. The NBA pays the remainder.
While most of the players listed above are free agents now or will be soon, it’s worth keeping an eye out for waiver claims. Udrih was claimed by the Pistons, and several of Monday’s cuts have yet to clear waivers and should draw some interest, including Goodwin and Hunter.
Offseason In Review: Miami Heat
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Miami Heat.
Free agent signings:
- Hassan Whiteside: Four years, $98.42MM. Maximum salary contract. Fourth year player option.
- Tyler Johnson: Four years, $50MM. Fourth year player option. Matched Nets’ offer sheet.
- Wayne Ellington: Two years, $12.27MM. Second year non-guaranteed.
- Dion Waiters: Two years, $5.926MM. Second year player option.
- Derrick Williams: One year, $4.598MM.
- Udonis Haslem: One year, $4MM.
- James Johnson: One year, $4MM.
- Willie Reed: Two years, minimum salary. Second year player option.
- Beno Udrih: One year, minimum salary. Waived.
Camp invitees:
- Keith Benson: Two years, minimum salary ($75K guaranteed). Waived.
- Vashil Fernandez: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- Stefan Jankovic: Two years, minimum salary ($100K guaranteed). Waived.
- Rodney McGruder: Three years, minimum salary ($150K guaranteed).
- Luis Montero: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- Okaro White: Two years, minimum salary ($100K guaranteed). Waived.
Trades:
- Acquired Luke Babbitt from the Pelicans in exchange for the Pelicans’ own 2018 second-round pick (previously traded to Miami) and cash.
Draft picks:
- None
Departing players:
- Luol Deng
- Gerald Green
- Joe Johnson
- Amar’e Stoudemire
- Dwyane Wade
- Briante Weber (waived)
- Dorell Wright
Other offseason news:
- Chris Bosh remains on Heat roster, but isn’t expected to play another game for team.
- Reportedly kicked the tires on a possible Rudy Gay trade.
- Josh Richardson suffered partially torn MCL and is expected to miss start of season.
- Exercised 2017/18 option on Justise Winslow‘s rookie contract.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Miami Heat right here.
When LeBron James returned home to Cleveland two summers ago, the Heat moved on to Plan B, which was to rebuild a title contender around Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Now it’s time for Plan C.
Wade, the cornerstone of the franchise for the past 13 years, signed with the Bulls in July after a contract dispute. Bosh faces an uncertain future after failing his training camp physical because of a lingering problem with blood clots. The Heat underwent a massive roster overhaul during the summer and now seem like fringe playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference.
Free agency got off to a great start for Miami, as center Hassan Whiteside opted in the early-morning hours of July 1st to remain with the Heat. Miami didn’t have Bird rights on Whiteside, who met with Dallas and had a session scheduled with Portland before making his decision. After being out of the NBA for two seasons, Whiteside signed with Miami in November of 2014 and quickly developed into a defensive force. He led the league in blocked shots by a wide margin last season with 3.68 per game, along with 14.2 points and 11.8 rebounds.
Whiteside’s new maximum-salary deal paved the way for Wade’s decision to leave Miami. Wade was angry that the Heat weren’t willing to give him a max offer as well, considering that he accepted less than his market value for years to give the franchise enough cap room to bring in James and Bosh. As negotiations with Miami deteriorated in early July, Wade accepted a two-year, $47MM offer from Chicago. His departure not only created a hole in the lineup at shooting guard, it left the psychological scar of losing the most accomplished player in franchise history.
That feeling was compounded last month when Bosh, the only remaining member of the Big Three, was unable to pass a physical administered before the start of training camp. Bosh, who has seen his past two seasons cut short by blood clots, had worked throughout the offseason to prepare for camp and had proposed taking a new medication that would be out of his system by game time. However, the Heat’s reluctance to accept that plan combined with his lack of medical clearance probably means that Bosh has played his last game for the franchise.
The other defining event of Miami’s offseason was a four-year, $50MM offer sheet the Nets extended to backup guard Tyler Johnson. The contract was backloaded to make it difficult for the Heat to match, with annual salaries of $5.628MM, $5,881,260, $18,858,765 and $19,631,975. Miami decided to match anyway and made a slew of moves beforehand. In one day, the Heat added free agents Wayne Ellington, James Johnson and Willie Reed, swung a trade with the Pelicans for Luke Babbitt, re-signed veteran big man Udonis Haslem and then matched Johnson. It’s up to the third-year guard to prove he can earn that big-money deal after playing just 36 games at the NBA level last season and averaging 8.7 points and 2.2 assists per night.
But the Heat weren’t done adding free agents. They also signed Knicks forward Derrick Williams for one season at $4.598MM and Thunder shooting guard Dion Waiters for two years at $5.926MM with a player option on the second season. In addition, Miami re-signed veteran point guard Beno Udrih, who accepted a controversial buyout last season that helped the Heat escape luxury tax penalties. Udrih was waived Saturday, but still received a guaranteed veteran’s minimum deal of $1.5MM, which was a nice reward for giving up $90K in the buyout. He has since been claimed off waivers by Detroit, which absolves the team of any cap hit.
After a summer of turnover, the Heat may not be done with roster moves. They were rumored to be discussing a deal with the Kings that would send Goran Dragic to Sacramento in exchange for Rudy Gay and Darren Collison. Gay has made it known that he plans to opt out of his contract next summer and end his relationship with the Kings, but he might be interested in a long-term future in South Florida.
Draft night was quiet in Miami as the Heat didn’t have a pick in either round. Their first-rounder was shipped to Philadelphia, which used it to take Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot at No. 24, and their second-rounder went to Boston, which selected Ben Bentil at No. 51.
After a seven-game loss to Toronto in the conference semifinals, the Heat entered the offseason hoping they could re-sign Whiteside to combine with Wade, Bosh and Dragic as the core of one of the East’s best teams. But keeping their star center was about the only predictable thing that happened since last season ended. The roster overhaul saw veteran free agents Luol Deng, Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire and Gerald Green all leave town, forcing the Heat to start rebuilding around their young talent.
Now that the Big Three era is over in Miami, fans can expect change to continue. None of the five outside free agents the Heat brought in has a commitment beyond this season. That gives the team lots of flexibility for deals during the year and a chance to chase elite free agents next summer if Bosh’s salary is cleared off the books. Regardless of this year’s win-loss record, fans shouldn’t get too comfortable with the current Heat roster. Chances are strong that it will look much different by next October.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Offseason In Review: Washington Wizards
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Washington Wizards.
Free agent signings:
- Bradley Beal: Five years, $127.171MM. Maximum salary contract.
- Ian Mahinmi: Four years, $64MM.
- Andrew Nicholson: Four years, $26MM. Fourth year player option.
- Jason Smith: Three years, $15.675MM. Third year player option.
- Marcus Thornton: One year, minimum salary.
Draft-and-stash signings:
- Tomas Satoransky: Three years, $9MM.
Camp invitees:
- Danuel House: Two years, minimum salary ($100K guaranteed)
- Sheldon McClellan: Two years, minimum salary ($50K guaranteed)
- Johnny O’Bryant: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- Daniel Ochefu: Three years, minimum salary ($50K guaranteed).
- Casper Ware: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
Trades:
- Acquired Trey Burke from the Jazz in exchange for the Wizards’ own 2021 second-round pick.
Draft picks:
- None
Departing players:
- Alan Anderson
- Jared Dudley
- Jarell Eddie (waived)
- Drew Gooden (waived)
- J.J. Hickson
- Nene
- Ramon Sessions
- Garrett Temple
Other offseason news:
- Hired Scott Brooks as head coach to replace Randy Wittman.
- Seriously pursued Al Horford in free agency.
- Exercised 2017/18 option on Kelly Oubre.
- Otto Porter and Trey Burke eligible for rookie-scale contract extension until October 31. John Wall eligible for veteran contract extension.
- Reports questioned the on- and off-court chemistry between Wall and Bradley Beal.
- Wall recovering from multiple knee surgeries.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Washington Wizards right here.
The Wizards spent the last few years preparing for the summer of 2016. Every transaction was scrupulously completed with future flexibility in mind, as the team had an eye toward offering Maryland native Kevin Durant a maximum salary deal. Durant didn’t even take a meeting with Washington, opting to join forces with the Warriors instead. In addition to striking out on Durant, Washington also missed out on other major targets, such as Al Horford and Ryan Anderson. The franchise quickly pivoted to other options and ultimately ended up exhausting its cap space on ancillary parts.
Ian Mahinmi, who signed a four year, $64MM deal with the team, was brought in to be a force in the paint. Mahinmi has always been known for his defense — he was the third-best center on that end of the floor, according to ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus — but he’s been quietly improving his offensive game as well. He allowed Indiana to play a pace-and-space type offense because of his understanding of the game and his ability to quickly make the right reads and deliver crisp, clean passes. New coach Scott Brooks, who signed a five year, $35MM contract with the team this offseason, should be able to employ a similar game plan with pick-and-rolls mixed in.
Mahinmi’s arrival brought speculation that Marcin Gortat could be on his way out, though a torn meniscus suffered by Mahinmi has temporarily quieted that talk. The two centers shouldn’t see too much court time together because of their overlapping skill-set, including a relative lack of shooting range. Playing the duo together would severely clog the lane, and with only 48 minutes available for the five spot, it’s logical to conclude that a trade may be forthcoming. Gortat has proven to be the better player thus far, but he’s on a team-friendly contract that will pay him $36MM over the next three years. He would fetch more for Washington in a trade should the team decide to make a move.
The Wizards’ other offseason moves also suggest they may be gearing up for a Gortat trade. In addition to Mahinmi, the team signed Jason Smith and Andrew Nicholson. In today’s NBA, Smith and Nicholson are best suited to play the five as well, though both players can handle minutes at the power forward position.
Nicholson is an especially intriguing addition — he’s a bruiser down in the paint with an arsenal of post moves, whose game fits nicely with both Mahinmi and Gortat. I envision him getting some playing time alongside Markieff Morris as well. Washington’s frontcourt is crowded, especially with Otto Porter splitting time at the four with Morris. The Wizards’ depth affords them the ability to deal Gortat for a guard or wing, but the league is jam-packed with non-shooting big men, so finding a suitor will be tricky.
Depth in the backcourt is another story. The team signed Tomas Satoransky and traded for Trey Burke, yet neither option is proven. Burke didn’t live up to expectations in Utah, so the Wizards will be banking on an improvement from the 23-year-old. His development, along with Satoransky’s transition to the league, could be key to the team’s success this season.
Washington also brought in Marcus Thornton to round out the guard rotation and he should see significant minutes off the bench. The lack of quality perimeter options on the second unit is alarming for a team that has injury concerns with both of its starting guards.
Bradley Beal is fresh off landing a five-year, maximum salary contract, and the Wizards will need him to stay on the court if they’re going to climb the standings in the Eastern Conference. Beal has missed 81 regular season games over the first four years of his career and prior to him signing his lucrative new deal, there was talk that he could be under minute restrictions for the rest of his career due to health concerns. Meanwhile, John Wall underwent multiple knee surgeries over the summer, though he looked sharp in limited minutes during the preseason. If either player misses significant time this season, Washington will struggle to stay in the playoff race.
The Wizards underperformed last season, failing to make the playoffs and notching only 41 wins. This year, they’ll have an opportunity to steal the division crown, since every team in the Southeast is undergoing some degree of transformation: Miami will begin the season without any member of The Heatles for the first time since the 2002/03 campaign; the Hawks will attempt to shoehorn Dwight Howard into their pace-and-space system; the Magic bolstered their frontcourt, but it remains to be seen how the new arrivals will mesh; and the Hornets enjoyed career years from several key players last season, which resulted in them losing a few of their valuable reserves in free agency.
The Southeast division will be up for grabs and while the Wizards didn’t land a top free agent during the offseason, a top seed in the Eastern Conference standings is within their reach.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
2016/17 NBA Over/Unders: Pacific Division
The 2016/17 NBA regular season gets underway just a couple days from now, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from offshore betting site Bovada.lv, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, and having you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic. Having looked at the Atlantic, Northwest, Central, Southwest, and Southeast divisions so far, we’re moving on to the Pacific today…
Golden State Warriors
- 2015/16 record: 73-9
- Over/under for 2016/17: 66.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Kevin Durant, Zaza Pachulia, David West, Damian Jones, Patrick McCaw, JaVale McGee. Lost Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights, Leandro Barbosa, Brandon Rush.
(App users, click here for Warriors poll)
Los Angeles Clippers
- 2015/16 record: 53-29
- Over/under for 2016/17: 53.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Marreese Speights, Alan Anderson, Raymond Felton, Brandon Bass, Brice Johnson. Lost Jeff Green, Cole Aldrich, C.J. Wilcox, Pablo Prigioni.
(App users, click here for Clippers poll)
Sacramento Kings
- 2015/16 record: 33-49
- Over/under for 2016/17: 34 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Arron Afflalo, Anthony Tolliver, Garrett Temple, Matt Barnes, Ty Lawson, Georgios Papagiannis, Malachi Richardson, Skal Labissiere. Lost Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli, Seth Curry, James Anderson, Quincy Acy.
(App users, click here for Kings poll)
Phoenix Suns
- 2015/16 record: 23-59
- Over/under for 2016/17: 30 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Jared Dudley, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss, Leandro Barbosa. Lost Mirza Teletovic, Jon Leuer, Ronnie Price, Chase Budinger.
(App users, click here for Suns poll)
Los Angeles Lakers
- 2015/16 record: 17-65
- Over/under for 2016/17: 24.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Luol Deng, Timofey Mozgov, Brandon Ingram, Jose Calderon. Lost Kobe Bryant, Roy Hibbert, Brandon Bass, Ryan Kelly.
(App users, click here for Lakers poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (52.5 wins): Under (54.59%)
- Toronto Raptors (50.5 wins): Over (54.63%)
- New York Knicks (38.5 wins): Over (71.41%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (23.5 wins): Under (54.62%)
- Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Under (60.74%)
- Utah Jazz (49 wins): Under (68.72%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (45.5 wins): Over (69.92%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (43.5 wins): Over (65.71%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (40.5 wins): Over (50.11%)
- Denver Nuggets (37 wins): Under (68.81%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (56.5 wins): Over (66.5%)
- Detroit Pistons (44.5 wins): Over (55.03%)
- Indiana Pacers (44.5 wins): Over (73.06%)
- Chicago Bulls (38.5 wins): Over (61.9%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (34.5 wins): Over (67.48%)
- San Antonio Spurs (58.5 wins): Under (57.4%)
- Houston Rockets (44 wins): Over (52.76%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (42.5 wins): Over (59.69%)
- Dallas Mavericks (38.5 wins): Over (69.71%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (37 wins): Under (70.9%)
- Atlanta Hawks (43.5 wins): Over (59.84%)
- Charlotte Hornets (42.5 wins): Under (62.22%)
- Washington Wizards (42.5 wins): Over (51.6%)
- Orlando Magic (37.5 wins): Over (54.42%)
- Miami Heat (34.5 wins): Under (61.45%)
Offseason In Review: San Antonio Spurs
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the San Antonio Spurs.
Free agent signings:
- Pau Gasol: Two years, $31.698MM. Second year player option.
- Manu Ginobili: One year, $14MM.
- Dewayne Dedmon: Two years, $5.926MM. Second year player option.
- David Lee: Two years, minimum salary. Second year player option.
Draft-and-stash signings:
- Davis Bertans: Two years, minimum salary.
- Livio Jean-Charles: Four years, rookie contract. Waived.
Camp invitees:
- Ryan Arcidiacono: Two years, minimum salary ($75K guaranteed). Waived.
- Bryn Forbes: Two years, minimum salary ($125K guaranteed)
- Patricio Garino: Two years, minimum salary ($100K guaranteed). Waived.
- Joel Anthony: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- Nicolas Laprovittola: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Olivier Hanlan from the Jazz in exchange for Boris Diaw, Spurs’ 2022 second-round pick, and cash.
Draft picks:
- 1-29: Dejounte Murray. Signed to rookie contract.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Reports suggested Spurs are open to moving LaMarcus Aldridge, who may not be happy in San Antonio. Aldridge says he’s happy.
- Gregg Popovich says Tim Duncan will have some sort of role with Spurs.
- Exercised 2017/18 team option on Kyle Anderson‘s rookie contract.
- Hired former NBA head coach Monty Williams as vice president of basketball operations. Hired former Cavaliers GM Chris Grant as scout. Also hired former NBA players Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Landry Fields as scouts.
- Lost rights to 2010 second-round pick Ryan Richards.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the San Antonio Spurs right here.
Over the course of the last 19 NBA seasons, the Spurs won fewer than 50 games just once, and that happened during the strike-shortened 1998/99 campaign, when the team went 37-13 and won the NBA Finals. San Antonio compiled an incredible .710 regular-season winning percentage during that run of nearly two decades, as well as a staggering .617 postseason winning percentage, racking up five championships along the way.
The two constants during that 19-year run? Gregg Popovich on the bench and Tim Duncan in the middle. Popovich remains at the helm of the Spurs, but for the first time since the 1996/97 season, he’ll enter opening night without his future Hall-of-Fame power forward in the lineup, as Duncan announced his retirement in July.
For many years, the belief was that Duncan and Popovich would end their respective careers at the same time, but for the Spurs’ long-time head coach, there are plenty of reasons to stick around. Many of his other long-tenured players, like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, remain in San Antonio, and the team has ushered in a new era of stars, with Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge now front and center. Things will certainly be different with Duncan no longer on the court, but in his final season, he was simply a productive role player, rather than the dominant force he had been during the prime of his career.
The Spurs will attempt to fill the void left by Duncan by turning to veteran free agent signees like Pau Gasol and David Lee, who each inked two-year deals with player options on that second year. Neither Gasol nor Lee is the defender that Duncan is, but both players are proficient scorers. Gasol is coming off consecutive All-Star seasons in Chicago, where he averaged 17.6 PPG and 11.4 RPG during his two seasons as a Bull. Lee, meanwhile, has seen his playing time and production decline significantly since 2014, and his days as an 18+ PPG player are almost certainly over, but if there’s any team capable of coaxing a bounce-back performance out of the 33-year-old, it’s the Spurs.
Gasol will earn more than $15MM annually on his two-year deal, making him a bigger risk than Lee, who is on a minimum-salary pact. But even at age 36, Pau has shown few signs of slowing down, and playing in San Antonio should be a nice fit for him, given his strong passing ability and basketball IQ. Marc Gasol agrees, having suggested back in April that his brother should sign with the Spurs.
While Gasol and Lee should provide the Spurs with some additional scoring punch on the inside, Dewayne Dedmon was signed – using the room exception – to help improve the team’s rim protection and defense. Dedmon only averaged about 13.2 minutes per game in Orlando over the last two seasons, but the Magic’s defensive rating was better when he was on the floor, particularly in 2014/15.
The Spurs’ new big men will team up with Aldridge to present a much different look than the Spurs showed last season. Along with Duncan, Boban Marjanovic and David West are also gone, having signed free agent deals with the Pistons and Warriors, respectively. Meanwhile, Boris Diaw was traded to the Jazz in a move designed to clear the cap room necessary to add Gasol, and longtime Spurs sharpshooter Matt Bonner remains unsigned.
For a franchise that generally thrived on continuity, the frontcourt overhaul is an interesting one. Aldridge will likely be relied upon as the stabilizing presence up front, but there have been some questions about his place in San Antonio this fall. Recent reports have suggested that the Spurs may be open to the idea of trading Aldridge at some point in 2016/17, with multiple journalists indicating that the former Blazer may not be thrilled about the fact that he has become Leonard’s wingman after previously believing he’d be the Spurs’ primary option going forward.
For his part, Aldridge has insisted that he’s happy in San Antonio, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be true. After all, even after winning 50+ games every season for nearly two decades, the Spurs had never won as many games as they did in 2015/16 — they racked up 67 victories in Aldridge’s first season with the franchise.
By all accounts, the Spurs intend to move forward with Aldridge as a core piece, and would only even consider shaking things up if they significantly under-performed or if the relationship between the two sides takes a turn for the worse. That seems like the right call, since Aldridge’s on-court contributions would be hard to replace, even for a team as savvy at spotting value as the Spurs.
San Antonio’s knack for finding value surfaced again during this year’s draft, when the team landed Washington guard Dejounte Murray with the 29th overall pick. Viewed by some experts before the draft as a potential lottery pick, Murray was dubbed the steal of the night by ESPN’s Chad Ford, who gave the Spurs an A+ grade based on their lone 2016 selection.
The Washington product is still just 20 years old, and will probably need to improve his shooting to become a regular rotation player for the Spurs. Still, San Antonio has the luxury of bringing Murray along slowly rather than throwing him right into the fire, allowing him to develop and learn from players like Parker and Ginobili, who have eight All-Star appearances between them. The club has taken that approach with players like Jonathon Simmons and Kyle Anderson, who appear poised to take on larger roles in 2016/17.
It’s certainly possible – even likely – that the Spurs will see their win total slip a little this season, but with the exception of the Warriors, no other Western Conference contenders took a major step forward this offseason. In fact, the Thunder, who defeated the Spurs in the second round of the playoffs last spring, took a huge step backward, having lost former MVP Kevin Durant. There may be some growing pains as this summer’s new acquisitions – both young and old – adjust to their roles, and longtime Spurs like Parker and Ginobili adjust to life without Duncan. But with Leonard and Aldridge leading the way, the Spurs should be a top-four team in the West, and they appear well-positioned to remain a contender for the next several years.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
We at Hoops Rumors love interacting with our readers. This is why we provide an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted each Sunday.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 10/16/16-10/22/16
Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- As part of our Offseason In Review Series, we looked at the following teams:
- Will Joseph highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- Arthur Hill answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag. Here’s how you can submit your own questions for our mailbag feature.
- We ran down the salary rankings of the small forwards the of the Eastern Conference.
- In a reader poll we asked which team will win the Northwest Division this season.
- We asked readers to vote on the win total over/unders for the teams of the Northwest Division, Central Division, Southwest Division and Southeast Division.
- In our Community Shootarounds this week we discussed:
- What one change would you like to see the NBA and NBPA make to the CBA?
- You can stay up to date on any contract extensions agreed to this season with our tracker.
- If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Trade Rumors app for your iOS or Android device.
Offseason In Review: New Orleans Pelicans
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Free agent signings:
- Solomon Hill: Four years, $48MM.
- E’Twaun Moore: Four years, $34MM.
- Langston Galloway: Two years, $10.634MM. Second year player option.
- Tim Frazier: Two years, $4.09MM.
- Alonzo Gee: One year, $1.4MM.
- Terrence Jones: One year, minimum salary.
Camp invitees:
- Quinn Cook: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Chris Copeland: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- Shawn Dawson: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Quincy Ford: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Robert Sacre: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Lance Stephenson: One year, minimum salary ($100K guaranteed)
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Cheick Diallo (No. 33 pick) from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to David Michineau (No. 39 pick) and the draft rights to Diamond Stone (No. 40 pick)
- Acquired their own 2018 second-round pick (previously traded to Miami) and cash from the Heat in exchange for Luke Babbitt.
Draft picks:
- 1-6: Buddy Hield. Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-33: Cheick Diallo. Signed for three years, minimum salary. Third year partially guaranteed.
Departing players:
- Ryan Anderson
- Luke Babbitt
- Norris Cole
- Bryce Dejean-Jones (deceased)
- Toney Douglas (waived)
- James Ennis
- Eric Gordon
- Jordan Hamilton
- Kendrick Perkins
Other offseason news:
- Tyreke Evans to miss start of season due to knee surgeries. Jrue Holiday to miss start of season due to family reasons. Anthony Davis dealing with ankle sprain.
- Davis received max extension worth 25% of the cap instead of 30%.
- Evans and Holiday eligible for contract extensions. Quincy Pondexter eligible for contract extension as of October 31.
- Hired Danny Ferry as special advisor.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the New Orleans Pelicans right here.
The Pelicans’ 2015/16 campaign was a brutal one, with the team’s players missing a total of 351 games due to illness or injury. That was the most in the past six NBA seasons and second-most in the past decade, resulting in the franchise using 42 different starting lineups. There aren’t many teams that could weather that sort of personnel strife, so it’s no surprise that New Orleans only won 30 games, finishing 12th in the Western Conference. The franchise entered the offseason with a number of decisions to make regarding the future, needing to do its best to maximize the talents of its young star Anthony Davis. and to surround him with the players necessary to achieve that goal.
New Orleans allowed Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon to leave in free agency, with both players ending up in Houston, and added the likes of Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway and Terrence Jones. On paper, the Pelicans look worse on offense, with the loss of their two best three-point shooters in Gordon and Anderson. However, the team should improve on the defensive end thanks to the presence of Hill and Moore. It shouldn’t take much for the Pelicans to make strides in that area, given that they ended last season ranked 28th overall in the league in defensive efficiency, surrendering a whopping 107.3 points per 100 possessions. The only two squads that were more porous were the Nets and Lakers.
Despite the loss of production from Anderson and Gordon, allowing them to depart was a wise move on the organization’s part. Anderson will be missed the most, as his skillset is perfect for the direction the NBA is headed regarding how big men are used. But the 28-year-old has only averaged 60 games per season over the course of his career, and he isn’t likely to grow more durable as he enters his 30s. Committing $20MM+ per season over four years would not have been a prudent move. Gordon has been even more brittle since entering the league, averaging just 52 contests each season.
The team’s biggest external offseason move was inking Hill to a four-year, $48MM pact. I have to question the logic of New Orleans handing Hill a long-term deal with an average annual value of $12MM per season given his track record. The 26-year-old’s best season came in 2014/15, when he averaged 8.9 points and 3.8 rebounds over 82 appearances for the Pacers. Last season, his minutes were sliced in half and he notched 4.2 PPG and 2.8 RPG in just 14.7 minutes per outing while connecting on 44.7% of his shots overall and 32.4% from beyond the arc. While he did provide a spark in small stretches for Indiana in 2015/16, his addition isn’t something to get too excited over. Even in this new era of the expanded salary cap, this is a contract that has an extremely high probability of backfiring for the franchise. The Jazz, Grizzlies, Mavs and Bulls were all reportedly interested in Hill this summer, but I’m still surprised he was able to parlay a strong playoff showing into this contract.
I’m a bit more enthusiastic about the addition of Moore, who will never be a star in the league, but is a valuable rotation piece who can do a number of things well. He can play either guard spot, is a solid perimeter defender and can be effective shooting the ball from the outside. Moore’s versatility will serve the Pelicans well, especially with the constant injury concerns the team seems to have, and he’ll make a fine mentor for 2016 lottery pick Buddy Hield. While I don’t necessarily like New Orleans giving him a four year pact, especially considering he has averaged just 57.5 games the past two seasons for the Bulls, I’d bet on Moore providing more value over the course of his deal than Hill will.
The two signings the Pelicans made that I like without any reservations are the additions of Langston Galloway (two years, $10.634MM) and Terrence Jones (one year, $980,431). Both deals carry very little risk and could pay off for the franchise. Galloway is a versatile player who can play multiple positions and provide solid depth for the team. He’s averaged 9.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 2.8 APG in his two seasons in the league, and at 24 years of age, still has quite a bit of upside. He needs to improve his shooting, connecting on just 39.6% of his field goal attempts for his career, but he’s a hard-worker and solid locker room presence who will strengthen the team’s culture.
As for Jones, he desperately needed a change of scenery after never living up to his potential during his four seasons in Houston. He should garner more consistent playing time in New Orleans and could blossom into a solid rotational piece for the franchise. He’s still a tweener without a defined position, with his outside shooting not necessarily making him a good fit as a stretch-four in a smaller lineup. But the 24-year-old should be plenty motivated to prove he belongs in the league this season, and there is absolutely no risk for the Pelicans in giving him a shot on a minimum salary deal. I expect a bounce back campaign from the former first-rounder as he is playing for his next contract, and perhaps, his NBA career.
Given its multiple roster holes, New Orleans needed a strong showing on draft night to have some hope for a turnaround. The team did extremely well, nabbing Hield with the No. 6 overall pick and acquiring the draft rights to Cheick Diallo (No. 33). Hield was one of the top players in college last season and he fits the Pelicans’ roster perfectly. His outside shooting is sorely needed with the losses of Anderson and Gordon, and he’s a player who can pair with Davis to form a solid young core for the franchise. Hield doesn’t arrive without question marks, as there is concern among some scouts regarding his defense and ability to create his own shot at the NBA level. I’m a big fan of Hield and believe he will become a star in New Orleans. Snagging Diallo, who was a projected first-rounder in a number of mock drafts was a solid move. He is incredibly raw, but given his athleticism, high-motor and upside, the Pelicans landed an intriguing piece for the future.
Of course, the fate of the Pelicans rests on the shoulders (or knees, feet and ankles) of Davis, who is still under contract for four more seasons beyond this one. The big man’s future earnings took a bit of a hit this past season, thanks to him not being named to the All-NBA third team. As a result, the Derrick Rose Rule won’t apply to his max extension, costing him an extra $20MM+ over the life of his contract. The franchise needs to surround him with solid talent before Davis begins to get frustrated by all the losses and perhaps starts to contemplate heading elsewhere. It would also help the team’s fortunes immensely if the 23-year-old can remain healthy, with Davis missing an average of 17 games per season since being selected No. 1 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft.
The Pelicans aren’t off to a great start in 2016/17, with Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter expected to be out of action until mid-December, Jrue Holiday out indefinitely due to family reasons and Davis already nursing a sprained ankle. Despite all that, it is difficult to imagine the team being hit as hard by injuries as it was in 2015/16. By virtue of that alone the team should be more competitive this season. Plus, the new additions should provide coach Alvin Gentry with greater flexibility to weather those losses and implement a system that will take advantage of his roster’s strengths. I don’t expect the Pelicans to make the playoffs this season, especially with the loss of scoring this offseason. But the franchise appears headed in a better direction than a season ago, though the contracts of Hill and Moore may prove to be problematic in the coming years.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
2016/17 NBA Over/Unders: Southeast Division
The 2016/17 NBA regular season will get underway next week, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from offshore betting site Bovada.lv, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, and having you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic. Having looked at the Atlantic, Northwest, Central, and Southwest divisions so far, we’re moving on to the Southeast today…
Atlanta Hawks
- 2015/16 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2016/17: 43.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Dwight Howard, Malcolm Delaney, Taurean Prince, DeAndre’ Bembry. Lost Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Lamar Patterson.
(App users, click here for Hawks poll)
Charlotte Hornets
- 2015/16 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2016/17: 42.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Marco Belinelli, Ramon Sessions, Roy Hibbert, Brian Roberts, Christian Wood. Lost Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin, Courtney Lee, Troy Daniels.
(App users, click here for Hornets poll)
Washington Wizards
- 2015/16 record: 41-41
- Over/under for 2016/17: 42.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson, Jason Smith, Tomas Satoransky, Trey Burke. Lost Nene, Jared Dudley, J.J. Hickson, Ramon Sessions, Garrett Temple.
(App users, click here for Wizards poll)
Orlando Magic
- 2015/16 record: 35-47
- Over/under for 2016/17: 37.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Bismack Biyombo, Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green, D.J. Augustin, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox, Stephen Zimmerman. Lost Victor Oladipo, Brandon Jennings, Jason Smith, Ersan Ilyasova, Andrew Nicholson, Dewayne Dedmon, Shabazz Napier.
(App users, click here for Magic poll)
Miami Heat
- 2015/16 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2016/17: 34.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Wayne Ellington, Derrick Williams, James Johnson, Dion Waiters, Luke Babbitt, Willie Reed. Lost Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Gerald Green
- Note: Bosh remains on roster, but won’t play again for Heat.
(App users, click here for Heat poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (52.5 wins): Under (54.59%)
- Toronto Raptors (50.5 wins): Over (54.63%)
- New York Knicks (38.5 wins): Over (71.41%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (23.5 wins): Under (54.62%)
- Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Under (60.74%)
- Utah Jazz (49 wins): Under (68.72%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (45.5 wins): Over (69.92%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (43.5 wins): Over (65.71%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (40.5 wins): Over (50.11%)
- Denver Nuggets (37 wins): Under (68.81%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (56.5 wins): Over (66.5%)
- Detroit Pistons (44.5 wins): Over (55.03%)
- Indiana Pacers (44.5 wins): Over (73.06%)
- Chicago Bulls (38.5 wins): Over (61.9%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (34.5 wins): Over (67.48%)
- San Antonio Spurs (58.5 wins): Under (57.4%)
- Houston Rockets (44 wins): Over (52.76%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (42.5 wins): Over (59.69%)
- Dallas Mavericks (38.5 wins): Over (69.71%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (37 wins): Under (70.9%)