Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 7)
The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.
The Pelicans’ choice came right down to the wire, with Kris Dunn narrowly edging out Jamal Murray. Nearing the lottery’s halfway point, we’ll continue on with the Nuggets, whose roster is relatively set for next season. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Denver’s pick and check back Friday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Kings will select with the No. 8 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 7 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.
Previous Selections
- Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
- Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
- Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
- Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
- Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
- Pelicans — Kris Dunn (Providence)
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Los Angeles Lakers
With Kobe Bryant‘s farewell tour complete, the Lakers are set to clear his massive cap hit from their books, freeing up a significant amount of cap room and creating major flexibility for the coming offseason. Of course, it’s not just Bryant’s monster cap number that will be expunged — assuming the team doesn’t intend to bring back Roy Hibbert, his $15MM+ salary (and $23MM cap hold) can be cleared as well. With only about $23MM in guaranteed money owed to players for 2016/17, the Lakers will have the freedom to splash around in free agency this summer, either adding veterans to a young core that includes D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and this year’s No. 2 overall pick, or using some of those attractive, affordable pieces to try to acquire pricier stars.
See how Los Angeles’ cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Lou Williams ($7,000,000)
- Nick Young ($5,443,918)
- D’Angelo Russell ($5,332,800)
- Julius Randle ($3,267,120)
- Larry Nance Jr. ($1,207,680)
- Anthony Brown ($874,636)
- Total: $23,126,154
Player Options
- Brandon Bass ($3,135,000)
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Jordan Clarkson ($2,725,003/$2,725,003)
- Ryan Kelly ($2,155,313/$3,276,075)
- Tarik Black ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
- Marcelo Huertas ($1,074,636/$1,074,636)
- Totals: $7,135,383/$8,256,145
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Kobe Bryant ($30,300,000)1
- Roy Hibbert ($23,388,324)
- Robert Sacre ($980,431)
- Metta World Peace ($980,431)
- Total: $55,649,186
Other Cap Holds
- No. 2 pick ($4,401,400)
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- The cap hold for Bryant will be the maximum salary for a veteran of 10 or more seasons. The number shown here is an estimate based on the projected cap figure.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
NCAA Early Entrant Decisions For 2016 NBA Draft
The deadline for NCAA underclassmen to withdraw from the 2016 NBA draft and retain their remaining college eligibility came and went on Wednesday night, giving us a much clearer picture of which prospects are still draft-eligible and which ones are returning to school for at least one more year. International prospects have until June 13th to make a decision on whether or not to remain in this year’s draft, but this year’s NCAA draft class is mostly set.
As Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweeted this morning, Valparaiso’s Alec Peters was the last remaining NCAA underclassman of note who had yet to make his intentions clear after last night’s deadline — sources tell Goodman that Peters has withdrawn from the draft and will go back to school for his senior season after testing the waters.
Now that all those draft decisions are in, let’s go through the list of NCAA early entrants and check in on which players can still be drafted this year.
Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 6)
The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.
With the first few picks out of the way, things have begun to get interesting. We’ll continue with the Pelicans, who have plenty of needs to address. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for New Orleans’ pick and check back Thursday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Nuggets will select with the No. 7 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 6 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.
Previous Selections
- Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
- Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
- Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
- Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
- Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
Community Shootaround: Joakim Noah
Bulls big man Joakim Noah is eligible for free agency this summer, and one teammate told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Noah has been saying recently that he’s done with the organization once free agency begins, with the big man also adding that he “has no trust in the front office getting this in the right direction.” Noah, who has spent all of his nine NBA seasons in Chicago, won’t officially hit the open market until July, so if the Bulls want to re-sign him, there’s time to change the player’s mind. Chicago reportedly wants to retain Noah, with an April report indicating that the team may favor keeping Noah on a short-term deal rather than making a strong effort to re-sign Pau Gasol.
Noah underwent surgery on his separated left shoulder back in January, and while he should be ready to go for the 2016/17 campaign, he hasn’t played a game since that procedure. In 2015/16, he appeared in just 29 games, averaging 4.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 21.9 minutes per contest. The center also brings with him a number of intangibles that don’t show up in the box score on a nightly basis, which increases his overall value, but age and injury concerns may hamper Noah in landing a long-term deal this summer.
This brings me to the topic for today: Where will Joakim Noah be playing next season?
Will Noah be wearing a Bulls jersey in 2016/17 or do you see him heading elsewhere? What team is the best fit for the big man and what sort of contract will he land this offseason. Take to the comments section to share your thoughts, opinions and predictions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Philadelphia 76ers
The NBA salary cap may be increasingly exponentially, but the salaries on rookie contracts aren’t rising nearly as rapidly, and given how heavily the 76ers are leaning on young players during their lengthy rebuilding process, those rookie contracts are featured prominently on the team’s books. As a result, the Sixers will head into the 2016 offseason with a ton of cap space once again, and will have to work hard to get anywhere near the salary floor. New general manager Bryan Colangelo has talked about focusing on winning rather than prolonging the 76ers’ rebuild even further, but unless Philadelphia goes out and signs multiple max free agents, the club almost certainly won’t make use of all its cap space. Expect the Sixers to continue to use much of that excess room to accommodate trades, as the team prepares to bring in a few more inexpensive rookies.
See how Philadelphia’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Carl Landry ($6,500,000)
- Joel Embiid ($4,826,160)
- Jahlil Okafor ($4,788,840)
- Nerlens Noel ($4,384,490)
- Nik Stauskas ($2,993,040)
- Richaun Holmes ($1,025,831)
- Total: $24,518,361
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Hollis Thompson ($1,015,696) — salary non-guaranteed even if option picked up
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Kendall Marshall ($2,048,257)
- Robert Covington ($1,015,696)
- Jerami Grant ($980,431)
- T.J. McConnell ($874,636)
- Total: $4,919,020
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Isaiah Canaan ($1,215,696/$1,799,824)
- Christian Wood ($1,045,059/$1,045,059)
- Totals: $2,260,755/$2,844,883
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Elton Brand ($980,431)
- Ish Smith ($980,431)
- Total: $1,960,862
Other Cap Holds
- No. 1 pick ($4,919,300)
- Dario Saric ($1,931,900)
- No. 24 pick ($1,105,800)
- No. 26 pick ($1,026,300)
- Charles Jenkins ($980,431)
- Byron Mullens ($980,431)
- Total: $10,944,162
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Timberwolves
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the 11 NBA franchises without their own D-League affiliate:
The Wolves made 2 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending two players to the D-League for a total of 23 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Minnesota for the 2015/16 campaign:
- December 5th: Assigned Tyus Jones (1st) [Idaho Stampede] — Recalled December 22nd
- January 25th: Assigned Adreian Payne (1st) [Erie BayHawks] — Recalled February 1st
Here’s how Minnesota’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Tyus Jones: In six appearances the point guard averaged 24.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 35.2 minutes per outing. Jones’ shooting line was .487/.426/.923.
- Adreian Payne: In three appearance Payne averaged 26.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 35.1 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .444/.286/.808.
Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 5)
The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.
With the first few picks out of the way, things have begun to get interesting. We’ll continue with the Timberwolves, who are looking to add pieces to their young core. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Minnesota’s pick and check back Wednesday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Pelicans will select with the No. 6 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 5 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.
Previous Selections
- Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
- Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
- Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
- Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs haven’t had a winning percentage below .600 in a season for two decades, and the franchise added another cornerstone piece to its core when it signed LaMarcus Aldridge last summer. However, even after a 67-win showing, San Antonio will be faced with a challenging offseason. If Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and David West retire or land elsewhere, the Spurs will have some cap room to work with, but not enough for a max contract, and replacing those veterans won’t be easy. With Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard around, it’s not as if San Antonio will enter a rebuilding phase anytime soon, but keeping the team in strong contention for a title may require a little creativity from GM R.C. Buford.
See how San Antonio’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- LaMarcus Aldridge ($20,575,005)
- Kawhi Leonard ($17,638,063)
- Tony Parker ($14,445,313)
- Danny Green ($10,000,000)
- Patty Mills ($3,578,948)
- Boris Diaw ($3,000,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below1
- Kyle Anderson ($1,192,080)
- Total: $70,429,409
Player Options
- Tim Duncan ($6,393,750)
- Manu Ginobili ($2,940,630)
- David West ($1,551,659)
- Total: $10,886,039
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Boris Diaw ($4,000,000) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above1
- Jonathon Simmons ($874,636)
- Total: $4,874,636
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Boban Marjanovic ($1,500,000/$1,500,000)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Matt Bonner ($980,431)
- Kevin Martin ($980,431)
- Andre Miller ($980,431)
- Total: $2,941,293
Other Cap Holds
- Nikola Milutinov ($1,026,300)
- Livio Jean-Charles ($990,700)
- No. 29 pick ($983,400)
- Total: $3,000,400
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- Diaw’s full $7,000,000 salary would become guaranteed on June 30th.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Community Shootaround: Sixers’ Offseason
After several years of tanking, the Sixers finally landed the No.1 overall pick during last Tuesday’s draft lottery. Now, they are faced with a critical decision that will shape the franchise for years to come. Coach Brett Brown said the team isn’t leaning toward any particular player, but the decision will likely come down to Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram, whom Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors profiled earlier today. Many believe Simmons will be the pick and although he has the ball handling skills to play in the backcourt, he’s likely best suited at the power forward position.
Drafting Simmons would add to an already full frontcourt. The team expects to have Joel Embiid healthy and ready to play by the beginning of the 2016/17 season and it will likely have Dario Saric coming stateside to play his rookie season in Philadelphia. Despite all the turmoil Jahlil Okafor endured this season, he’s looks to be the team’s best player. Okafor clearly needs to play the center position, as does Nerlens Noel, who will be eligible for a rookie extension this offseason. Finding minutes for everyone may prove to be a chore next season. So that leads us to tonight’s topic: How would you handle the team’s situation? Should the Sixers draft Simmons or Ingram with the No. 1 overall pick? Would you trade away one of the team’s big men and if so, which one and for what?
Let us know what you would do if you were sitting in GM Bryan Colangelo’s chair (likely the ergonomic office chair that Sam Hinkie left behind). Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.