Salary Cap Snapshot: Houston Rockets
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Rockets’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Rockets currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- James Harden —$26,540,100 [Deal contains 15% Trade Kicker]
- Ryan Anderson —$18,735,364
- Eric Gordon —$12,385,665
- Trevor Ariza —$7,806,971
- Lou Williams —$7,000,000
- Patrick Beverley —$6,000,000
- Nene —$2,898,000
- Sam Dekker —$1,720,560
- Marcelo Huertas —$1,500,000 [Waived by team]
- Clint Capela —$1,296,240
- Pablo Prigioni —$1,050,961 [Waived by team]
- Montrezl Harrell —$1,045,000
- Bobby Brown —$680,534
- Chinanu Onuaku —$543,471
- Gary Payton II —$543,471 [Waived by team]
- Kyle Wiltjer —$543,471
- Bobby Brown —$253,759 [Waived by team]
- Isaiah Taylor — $250,000
- Troy Williams — $150,000
- Isaiah Taylor — $50,000 [Waived by team]
- Troy Williams — $31,969 [10-day contract (Mar 10)]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $91,030,536
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $75K received from Nets in K.J. McDaniels trade [Amount Remaining $3.425MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Room Exception: $0 [Used to sign Nene]
Total Projected Payroll: $91,030,536
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: $3,112,464
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $22,256,464
Last Updated: 3/24/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Community Shootaround: Rookie Of The Year
The Sixers, with the first overall pick in June, landed one of the most highly-touted college players of the last several years, adding former LSU forward Ben Simmons to their roster. Simmons’ performance in Summer League action already has Sixers fans salivating at his potential, but the No. overall pick isn’t the only Philadelphia player with a chance at the 2016/17 Rookie of the Year award.
As Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweeted last month, the 76ers actually believe three candidates for the Rookie of the Year award, though Simmons is the only one of the trio actually drafted this year. Croatian forward Dario Saric, a 2013 lottery pick, is arriving in Philadelphia after spending several seasons developing overseas, while Joel Embiid, 2014’s third overall pick, is hoping to finally be healthy after two lost seasons.
While the Sixers are probably the team most likely to have the 2016/17 Rookie of the Year on their roster, there are a few other intriguing contenders. Second overall pick Brandon Ingram figures to see plenty of action right away on a fairly young Lakers team, and the same might be true for players like Timberwolves point guard Kris Dunn (No. 5 pick) and Nuggets shooting guard Jamal Murray (No. 7).
Of course, the most polished player to be taken in the top 10 of this year’s draft was former Oklahoma sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who will join a Pelicans team that lost Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson and badly needed some outside shooting. Hield, who will turn 23 later this year, is perhaps more NBA-ready than many of his fellow 2016 first-rounders.
It’s still too early to get a clear idea about which rookies will see the most playing time, and which ones will be given the opportunity to make the biggest impact. But what’s your early read on the situation? Which first-year player do you think is headed for a Rookie of the Year award?
Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on this year’s crop of rookies. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Players With Non-Guaranteed 2016/17 Salaries
While most players currently on NBA rosters are locked into their salaries for 2016/17, guaranteed to make that money whether they’re retained or released, that’s not the case for every player.
The majority of NBA teams are carrying at least one or two players whose salaries aren’t fully guaranteed. That’s especially true in the offseason, when clubs can carry up to 20 players. Only 15 players can make a team’s regular-season roster, so most teams won’t fully guarantee more than 14 or 15 contracts — the remaining players will get small partial guarantees or non-guaranteed deals and will have to compete for a roster spot.
If a player with a non-guaranteed salary earns a spot on his team’s regular-season roster, his contract doesn’t necessarily become guaranteed instantly. As we detailed in our schedule of salary guarantee dates, some players have special language written into their contracts that sees them earn chunks of guaranteed money if they remain under contract beyond certain deadlines. But the league-wide deadline won’t arrive until January 10, 2017. If a player remains under contract past that date, his salary for 2016/17 becomes fully guaranteed.
Listed below are the players whose salaries are currently not fully guaranteed, along with their respective teams. If a player has a partial guarantee, that’s noted in parentheses. Players on this list who are waived will be moved to our 2016 free agent list, assuming they clear waivers and reach the open market. Players who have their salaries guaranteed will likely end up on our 2017 free agent list, since they’ll either have a non-guaranteed salary or no contract at all for the 2017/18 season.
Here’s the full list of players who are currently on non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed contracts:
Point Guards
- Bobby Brown, Rockets
- Semaj Christon ($200K), Thunder
- Spencer Dinwiddie ($100K), Nets
- Ty Lawson, Kings
- T.J. McConnell, Sixers
- Tim Quarterman ($75K), Trail Blazers
- Fred VanVleet ($50K), Raptors
Shooting Guards
- Ron Baker ($75K), Knicks
- Bryn Forbes ($125K), Spurs
- Treveon Graham ($75K), Hornets
- DeAndre Liggins ($25K), Cavaliers
- Sheldon McClellan ($50K), Wizards
- Rodney McGruder ($400K), Heat
- Jordan McRae, Cavaliers
Small Forwards
- Robert Covington ($50K), Sixers
- Dorian Finney-Smith ($200K), Mavericks
- Jerami Grant, Thunder
- Danuel House ($100K), Wizards
- Derrick Jones ($43K), Suns
- Damjan Rudez, Magic
- Troy Williams ($150K), Grizzlies
- Metta World Peace, Lakers
Power Forwards
- Cristiano Felicio, Bulls
- Thomas Robinson, Lakers
- Kyle Wiltjer ($275K), Rockets
Centers
- JaVale McGee ($500K), Warriors
- Mike Muscala ($508K), Hawks
- Daniel Ochefu ($50K), Wizards
- Jeff Withey, Jazz
Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Longest-Tenured Players By NBA Team
So far this offseason, several teams have seen their longtime superstar depart, either in free agency or retirement. Dwyane Wade is no longer a member of the Heat. Kevin Durant has left Oklahoma City. And Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan retired from the NBA after spending their entire careers with the Lakers and Spurs, respectively.
While Kobe had easily been the longest-tenured Laker, those three other players had competition for the title of longest-tenured player on their respective teams. Nick Collison‘s stay with the Seattle SuperSonics, before they relocated to OKC, predated Durant’s time with the team. In Miami, Udonis Haslem joined the Heat in the offseason Wade did. As for the Spurs, Duncan was the team’s longest-tenured player, but Tony Parker wasn’t far behind — he has been in San Antonio for 15 years.
The NBA’s current list of longest-tenured players by team features some obvious names, like Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas or Brook Lopez in Brooklyn. But there are also some surprising players on the list below. With Al Horford no longer in Atlanta, for instance, the longest-tenured Hawk is Mike Scott.
Be sure to check out the rosters and depth charts at RosterResource.com for full details on how and when each team acquired every player on its roster. Here are the NBA’s current longest-tenured players by team:
- Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki (draft trade), June 1998
- San Antonio Spurs: Tony Parker (draft), June 2001
- Manu Ginobili was selected by the Spurs in the 1999 draft, but didn’t sign with the team until 2002.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Nick Collison (draft), June 2003
- Collison joined the franchise when it was the Seattle SuperSonics.
- Miami Heat: Udonis Haslem (free agent), August 2003
- Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley (draft), June 2007
- Brooklyn Nets: Brook Lopez (draft), June 2008
- Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan (draft), June 2008
- Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry (draft), June 2009
- Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan (draft), June 2009
- Chicago Bulls: Taj Gibson (draft), June 2009
- Washington Wizards: John Wall (draft), June 2010
- Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins (draft), June 2010
- Utah Jazz: Gordon Hayward (draft), June 2010
- Indiana Pacers: Paul George (draft), June 2010
- Boston Celtics: Avery Bradley (draft), June 2010
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic (draft-and-stash), July 2010
- Pekovic was drafted in 2008, but didn’t sign with the Timberwolves for two years.
- Denver Nuggets: Wilson Chandler (trade), Danilo Gallinari (trade), February 2011
- Chandler and Gallinari were acquired in the same trade with the Knicks.
- New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony (trade), February 2011
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving (draft), Tristan Thompson (draft), June 2011
- Irving is technically the slightly longer-tenured Cavalier, having been selected first overall, while Thompson was picked fourth overall.
- Charlotte Hornets: Kemba Walker (draft), June 2011
- New Orleans Pelicans: Anthony Davis (draft), June 2012
- Davis joined the franchise when it was the New Orleans Hornets.
- Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard (draft), Meyers Leonard (draft), June 2012
- Lillard is technically the slightly longer-tenured Blazer, having been selected sixth overall, while Leonard was picked 11th overall.
- Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond (draft), June 2012
- Milwaukee Bucks: John Henson (draft), June 2012
- Atlanta Hawks: Mike Scott (draft), June 2012
- Phoenix Suns: P.J. Tucker (free agent), August 2012
- Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic (trade), August 2012
- Houston Rockets: James Harden (trade), October 2012
- Philadelphia 76ers: Nerlens Noel (trade), July 2013
- The trade that sent Noel from New Orleans to Philadelphia was agreed upon in June and finalized in July.
- Los Angeles Lakers: Nick Young (free agent), July 2013
Salary Cap Snapshot: Golden State Warriors
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Warriors’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Warriors currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Kevin Durant — $26,540,100 [Contract has 15% Trade Kicker]
- Klay Thompson — $16,663,575
- Draymond Green — $15,330,435
- Stephen Curry — $12,112,359
- Andre Iguodala — $11,131,368 [Contract has 15% Trade Kicker]
- Shaun Livingston — $5,782,450
- Zaza Pachulia — $2,898,000
- Kevon Looney — $1,182,840
- Damian Jones — $1,171,560
- Ian Clark — $980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,015,696]
- James McAdoo — $980,431
- JaVale McGee — $980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,403,611]
- Anderson Varejao — $980,431 [Waived by team; actual salary — $1,551,659]
- David West — $980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,551,659]
- Jason Thompson — $945,126 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Patrick McCaw — $543,471
- Elliot Williams — $250,000 [Waived by team]
- Matt Barnes — $242,224 [Actual salary — $383,351]
- Briante Weber — $61,739 [10-day contract (Feb 14); contract lasted 12 days to allow for three games]
- Briante Weber — $51,449 [10-day contract (Feb 4)]
- Cameron Jones — $50,000 [Waived by team]
- Elgin Cook — $50,000 [Waived by team]
- Scott Wood — $50,000 [Waived by team]
- Phil Pressey — $35,000 [Waived by team]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $99,993,851
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Room Exception: $0 [Used on Zaza Pachulia]
Total Projected Payroll: $99,993,851
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: –$5,850,851
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $13,293,149
Last Updated: 3/11/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Poll: 2005 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 7)
Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. While life, and the NBA, doesn’t often allow for second chances, we at Hoops Rumors believe it’s fun to give our readers a second take at picking players, complete with the benefit of hindsight.
We’ve previously tackled the 2003 and 2013 NBA Drafts and the next one we’re tackling is 2005’s, the year that the Bucks nabbed big man Andrew Bogut with the No. 1 overall pick. That year’s draft class is generally viewed as one of the weaker ones in recent memory, though, there were quite a few second-rounders that year (Ersan Ilyasova, Monta Ellis, Lou Williams, Amir Johnson and Marcin Gortat) who have gone on to have very solid NBA careers.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll be posting a series of reader polls that ask you to vote on the player whom you believe should have been selected with each pick. We’ll continue onward with the Raptors, who held the No. 7 pick that season. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Toronto’s pick and check back Wednesday night for the results, as well as for your chance to vote for whom the Knicks should have taken at No. 8. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. Also, if I fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and I’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
Selections
- Bucks — Chris Paul [Actual Pick — Andrew Bogut]
- Hawks — Deron Williams [Actual Pick — Marvin Williams]
- Jazz — Monta Ellis [Actual Pick — Deron Williams]
- Hornets/Pelicans — Andrew Bogut [Actual Pick — Chris Paul]
- Bobcats/Hornets — Danny Granger [Actual Pick — Raymond Felton]
- Trail Blazers — David Lee [Actual Pick — Martell Webster]
- Raptors — ? [Actual Pick — Charlie Villanueva]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.
Community Shootaround: Toronto Raptors
After consecutive first-round playoff exits, the Raptors broke through this spring, winning a pair of postseason series before becoming the only Eastern team to win any games against the eventual-champion Cavaliers. Toronto ultimately fell 4-2 to the Cavs, and the series didn’t really feel that close, but it was still an impressive step forward for a franchise that had never before been on the winning end of a seven-game series.
This offseason, the Raptors were relatively quiet, with the exception of the one massive deal they handed out to DeMar DeRozan. With no cap room to spare after completing that move, Toronto lost veteran free agents Bismack Biyombo, Luis Scola, and James Johnson, ostensibly replacing them with Jared Sullinger and a pair of first-round picks — Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam.
While the Raptors may not be any better on the court in the short term, the team’s roster is one of the youngest in the NBA, with Poeltl and Siakam joining an under-25 group that also includes Jonas Valanciunas, Cory Joseph, Norman Powell, Delon Wright, Lucas Nogueira, and Bruno Caboclo. There may not be a budding mega-star in that group, but Valanciunas and Joseph are already key contributors in Toronto, and Powell and others could join them in that group.
Still, for now, the Raptors don’t appear to have the firepower to match up with the Cavaliers, and the division-rival Celtics gained significant ground this offseason as well. That brings us to today’s discussion question: What do the Raptors have to do to take the next step?
Does the club need to package some of its assets in an effort to trade for another impact player to complement its All-Star backcourt of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry? Is it just a matter of being patient and waiting for young players to improve? Did the team make a mistake this summer by letting Biyombo go and/or giving DeRozan a huge contract? Should Valanciunas and Terrence Ross – both on very affordable deals compared to most of the contracts signed by free agents this summer – have been dangled as trade chips? And will Lowry, who can opt out in 2017, be around for the long term?
Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the Raptors. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Six Free Agents Signed Five-Year Contracts
The NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement is designed to give teams certain benefits when it comes to re-signing their own free agents. Many players who reach free agency, for instance, are permitted to get 7.5% annual raises from their own teams, while they can only get 4.5% raises from another team. More notably, Bird rights free agents can sign five-year contracts with their own teams, but can only go up to four years with other clubs.
In some cases, that extra year doesn’t make much of a difference. Al Horford left Atlanta for Boston and signed a four-year contract with the Celtics, even though there were reports suggesting the Hawks were open to going to five years (albeit not quite for the max). Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors on a two-year contract that he’ll likely opt out of after the first year in order to maximize his future earnings.
Still, for at least a handful of players, that five-year contract appears to have played a part in their decisions to return to their own teams. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, six free agents signed five-year deals this year, and all six of those contracts were worth at least $85MM. Three of them were maximum-salary pacts.
Here are those five-year contracts, which will run through the 2020/21 season:
- Mike Conley (Grizzlies): Five years, $152,605,578 (partial guarantee in year five)
- DeMar DeRozan (Raptors): Five years, $137,500,000 (player option in year five)
- Andre Drummond (Pistons): Five years, $127,171,313 (player option in year five)
- Bradley Beal (Wizards): Five years, $127,171,313
- Nicolas Batum (Hornets): Five years, $120,000,000 (player option in year five)
- Evan Fournier (Magic): Five years, $85,000,000 (player option in year five)
Although Conley drew significant interest from the Mavericks, he was always a favorite to return to the Grizzlies, and none of the other five players on this list were seriously linked to another suitor, which is interesting.
Drummond and Beal were restricted free agents who got max deals, so there was never any suspense about their destinations, but plenty of teams would have been interested in prying away DeRozan from the Raptors, Batum from the Hornets, or Fournier from the Magic. The fact that those players’ teams were willing to offer five years likely made negotiations much simpler, since no rival suitor could offer that fifth year.
A five-year contract provides additional long-term security for free agents, and also gives the team the opportunity to give the player some agency as well. In four of the six deals listed above, the contract features a fifth-year player option.
That means DeRozan, Drummond, Batum, and Fournier have a safety net for that 2020/21 season — if they’re still playing at a high level at that point, it might make sense to opt out and sign a new longer-term contract. If their production has slipped, or if they’re battling injuries, they’ll have the option of remaining in their current contract and collecting a big pay check in that fifth year.
The ability to offer an additional year to their own free agents hasn’t always prevented teams from losing top-tier players on the open market, but there are still plenty of instances where that fifth year seems to make a difference. As the CBA opt-out date nears and the NBA and NBPA explore potential changes to their current agreement, it makes sense for this aspect of the CBA to remain unchanged. That extra long-term security may not appeal to every marquee free agent, but it does give a player’s current team a leg up, which is crucial if the league is worried about potential imbalance.
Extension Candidate: Derrick Favors
Veteran contract extensions rarely occur in the NBA. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement places heavy restrictions on contract restructuring and extensions. In most cases, it doesn’t make sense for one party or the other.
This summer, a couple of notable exceptions have popped up. James Harden agreed to a max extension, allowing the Rockets to lock up their franchise player for at least another year beyond the two seasons remaining on his contract. Russell Westbrook, who could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer, agreed to a max extension with the Thunder that will keep him under contract for at least another season.
Both players could remain with their respective teams — Harden in 2019/20 and Westbrook in 2018/19 — for an additional season if they decide not to opt out of the final year of those extensions.
Jazz power forward Derrick Favors doesn’t have the star power or resume of that duo but he, too, is eligible for a veteran extension this offseason. The player’s current contract must be at least four years to qualify for an extension and Favors signed a four-year, rookie-scale extension in October 2013.
Favors could officially sign a veteran’s extension during training camp on the third-year anniversary of his current contract. There’s ample financial reasons for Favors to work out such an agreement.
Favors is scheduled to make $11.05MM this season and $12MM in 2017/18. If he received a bottom tier max from the Jazz, he could essentially double his salary for the next two seasons.
Utah currently has more than $10MM in salary-cap space and could open up a little more by waiving a player with a non-guaranteed contract. They have two such players on the books — Chris Johnson and Jeff Withey.
From that point, Favors could receive two more years on his deal, though the numbers could range wildly. He could either get the max 7.5% raises in those two years. Conversely, the numbers could nosedive by as much as a 40% maximum decrease in the first year of the extension and another 7.5% decrease in the final season.
As Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details, that means Favors could wind up with a four-year restructuring/extension worth anywhere from $70MM to $99MM. If Favors waited until he became an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018, the max he could earn over the next four years would be approximately $86.3MM.
LIke Harden and Westbrook, he could aim for an opt-out in the final year of the extension, though the Jazz might not be interested in doing so. If they agreed to an opt-out, they’d be giving him a whopping raise while only being assured of having him an additional season. That would be a very generous offer to a player who hasn’t made an All-Star team.
The Jazz also have major decisions to make regarding two of their other top players. Leading scorer Gordon Hayward will almost assuredly opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Utah will have to decide whether to sit back and hope Hayward re-signs next summer or whether to explore trade possibilities, though Hayward has a 15% trade kicker in his contract.
Center Rudy Gobert is eligible for a rookie-scale extension before the start of the season, though the Jazz could also lock him up next summer when he becomes a restricted free agent.
Favors is undoubtedly a productive, if somewhat brittle, player who is entering his prime years. He’s just 25 years old and coming off back-to-back years in which he averaged at least 16 points, eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks. Favors has missed some time with assorted injuries since he started playing regularly — nine games in 2013/14, eight in 2014/15 and 20 last season.
Advanced stats are generally kind to Favors. He posted a rock-solid 21.71 PER last season, well above the 15.0 average. His offensive and defensive box ratings via BasketballReference.com are also above average, though he’s never had an OBR above 1.0. His overall Box Plus/Minus of 2.7 last season was a career best.
There’s another factor the Jazz must consider in their decision whether to extend Favors — what kind of player do they project Trey Lyles to be over the next few seasons?
The 2015 lottery pick posted modest stats in his first season, averaging 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds. On the flip side, Lyles played well enough to remain in the rotation all season and he’s just 20 years old. If Utah believes Lyles could develop into a starter at power forward and possibly replace Favors two years down the road, what’s the incentive to extend Favors?
Either Favors or the club could decide to put off extension talks until next summer. He’d still be eligible for an extension entering the final year of his contract, as Westbrook was this summer. The tricky part is there’s no guarantee the current rules will still be in place.
Negotiations between the league and the Players’ Association appear to be going well but if they break down, either side could opt out of the CBA next summer. Even if the sides reach an agreement on a new CBA, the rules could change in terms of veteran extensions.
Given his team-friendly contract, Favors and agent Wallace Prather have plenty of motivation to get something done this summer. The Jazz will probably be willing to accommodate them, as long as Favors doesn’t shoot for the max and an opt-out clause.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Swinger / USA Today Sports
Community Shootaround: San Antonio Spurs
Gregg Popovich will be coaching Team USA at the next Olympics. The team he regularly coaches had quite an eventful summer.
Topping that list was the retirement of the Spurs’ longtime franchise player Tim Duncan. The franchise began its succession plan to replace Duncan last season when coveted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge chose to chase championships with a perennial contender. Aldridge will have another veteran big man who knows all about winning titles alongside him next season, as 36-year-old Pau Gasol also selected the Spurs via the free agent route.
San Antonio, which lost David West to the rival Warriors, didn’t stop there in its frontcourt makeover. It signed Dewayne Dedmon and another graybeard by NBA standards, 33-year-old David Lee.
The Spurs imported a couple of their draft-and-stash prospects, combo forwards Livio Jean-Charles and Davis Bertans, on low-cost deals with two-year guarantees. They also did well in the draft, nabbing guard Dejounte Murray, a player who was projected to go much higher than the 29th pick.
The newcomers join current franchise player Kawhi Leonard, along with the backcourt trio of Tony Parker, Danny Green and Manu Ginobili, as well as promising rotation pieces Jonathon Simmons and Kyle Anderson.
Clearly, the Spurs have a roster built to go deep in the playoffs, especially if some of those younger players blossom. They probably won’t have to worry about getting knocked out by the Thunder again in next year’s postseason. But the team that was easily second-best in the league during the regular season last year must once again contend with a star-laden Warriors roster fortified by the addition of superstar Kevin Durant.
This leads to our question of the day: Do the Spurs have enough firepower on their current roster to overcome the heavily-favored Warriors next season?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.