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2015/16 Salary Cap: Utah Jazz

November 24th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from this past season, and the luxury tax line will be $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM.

With the October 26th cutoff date to set regular season rosters now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of running down the current salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Utah Jazz, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:

  • 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
  • 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
  • Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $59,745,410
  • Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $417,322*
  • Non-Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $2,573,683
  • Total Salary Cap Commitments= $62,736,415
  • Remaining Cap Room= $7,263,585
  • Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $21,901,368

*Note: This amount includes the $75,000 owed to J.J. O’Brien, the $947,276 owed Grant Jerrett, the $75,000 due Treveon Graham, the $50,000 owed to E.J. Singler, as well as the $11,144 paid to Phil Pressey and the $6,178 paid out to Eric Atkins, all of who were waived by the team.

Cap Exceptions Available:

  • Room Exception= $2,814,000

Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000

Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $3,400,000

Last update: 11/24/15 @ 9:00pm

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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Offseason In Review: Portland Trail Blazers

November 24th, 2015 at 7:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees and more will be covered as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Extensions

Trades

Waiver Claims

  • None

Draft Picks

Camp Invitees

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Craig Mitchelldyer/USA Today Sports Images

Craig Mitchelldyer/USA Today Sports Images

The Trail Blazers as a franchise have been snakebitten by injuries and bad luck over the years, and 2014/15 was no different. The team had begun 41-19 and was playing some of its best basketball when swingman Wesley Matthews went down with a devastating Achilles injury with just six weeks remaining in the regular season. Portland limped into the playoffs after going 10-12 the rest of the way. A first-round ouster at the hands of the Grizzlies sent the franchise into the offseason with far more questions than answers. Gone are all but one starter from a season ago, and the franchise has transformed from a possible contender to a lottery-bound team in the span of but a few months.

Unfortunately for Blazers fans, the offseason was defined more by whom they lost than by any positive strides they might have made. Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge departed as an unrestricted free agent for the Spurs, who offered him an opportunity to play in his home state as well as to contend for a title immediately. It doesn’t appear that the Blazers had a legitimate chance to retain Aldridge, whose top two choices were San Antonio and Phoenix, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported. Players of Aldridge’s caliber are especially difficult to come by, so his departure truly stings. The franchise reportedly explored potential sign-and-trade deals for both Aldridge and Matthews, but found no takers, according to GM Neil Olshey.

Forty percent of the starting lineup Portland put on the floor for the final game of its series against Memphis headed east to New York. Shooting guard Arron Afflalo, who replaced the injured Matthews, signed with the Knicks for two years and $16MM. Robin Lopez is set to terrorize local mascots for the next four years to the tune of $54MM. Portland will certainly feel the departure of Afflalo and Lopez in the short term. But neither player figured to be a part of the team’s rebuild anyway, and maintaining cap flexibility as well as clearing slots for younger players to develop is far more important for the Blazers in the long run than trying to eke out a few more victories this season.

The same thinking applies to allowing Matthews to depart to Dallas for a maximum salary deal. Matthews’ production will be missed, but his Achilles injury puts his future reliability in doubt, and at 29 years of age, he doesn’t fit with Portland’s rebuilding motif. The subtraction of Matthews opens the door for third-year shooting guard C.J. McCollum, whose fourth year option was picked up by Portland, to slide into a starting role. McCollum has been fantastic thus far in 2015/16, averaging 20.1 points per game as of this writing. It certainly appears as though the Blazers have found a second star to pair alongside franchise player Damian Lillard.

Speaking of Lillard, there were reports that Aldridge was jealous of the attention he received, and while both players have publicly denied any rift, the Blazers gave the impression that Lillard was the face of the franchise, a move that couldn’t have sat well with Aldridge. Lillard is a fantastic player who has ice water running through his veins at crunch time, and he’s talented enough to anchor the franchise for years to come. That’s an assessment the team almost certainly agrees with judging by the five-year maximum salary extension the team signed him to this offseason.

Portland was quite active on the trade front this summer, swinging three deals of significance. The first shipped swingman Nicolas Batum to the Hornets in exchange for 2014 lottery pick Noah Vonleh and shooting guard Gerald Henderson. Batum’s versatility will be missed, but I love the team nabbing Vonleh, whom Charlotte surprisingly gave up on after he missed all but 25 games of his rookie campaign due to injury. The 20-year-old is still extremely raw, but Vonleh is certainly talented and could evolve into a solid replacement for Aldridge down the line.

While Vonleh represents the future for the team, acquiring Mason Plumlee from the Nets in exchange for the rights to No. 23 overall pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was a move for the present. Plumlee seemingly never earned the trust of Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins and had regressed slightly during the 2014/15 season. Plumlee has the potential to be a breakout player for Portland, though his ceiling isn’t close to what Vonleh’s could be. While I like the addition of Plumlee, as well uber-athletic swingman Pat Connaughton, acquired in the same deal, Hollis-Jefferson would have been the perfect replacement for Matthews’ athleticism and defense. Portland picked up Vonleh’s third-year option and Plumlee’s fourth-year option, ensuring both will remain in the fold for at least one more season.

The franchise also swung a deal with Orlando that brought over 22-year-old small forward Maurice Harkless in exchange for a heavily protected 2020 second-rounder. Harkless has been a disappointment thus far in the league since being nabbed with the No. 15 overall pick back in 2012. A change of scenery could be just what the (shot) doctor ordered for Harkless, and if he doesn’t produce in Portland, the team could simply allow him to depart as a restricted free agent next summer without having given up much for taking a chance on him.

The Trail Blazers dipped their toes into the free agent pool and came away with Al-Farouq Aminu and Ed Davis for their efforts. Both players should help the team and contribute immediately, though four years for Aminu seems a bit risky given his career 6.6 PPG scoring average. Still, Aminu’s contract is front-loaded, and with the 6’9″ forward set to earn just $6.957MM in the final year, it’s hardly crippling or untradeable if things don’t work out.

Portland’s offseason was a mixture of disappointment and potential, though the franchise has clearly taken a step or two back talent-wise. The departures of Aldridge, Matthews and Batum certainly hurt, and while GM Neil Olshey made a number of savvy moves to try to plug the holes, the Blazers are no longer a Western Conference playoff contender. But there is hope for the future, and with Lillard and McCollum on the roster, the cupboard certainly isn’t bare. The organization is likely to have in excess of $40MM in cap space to play with next offseason, so a relatively quick turnaround to prominence is certainly within the realm of possibility.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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Where Camp Invitees Are Now: Western Conference

November 24th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA’s growing connection to the D-League is evident in the whereabouts of this year’s camp invitees. A month ago, teams across the NBA were waiving dozens of players as they cut their rosters from the preseason limit of 20 to the regular season maximum of 15. More have chosen to play in the D-League instead of overseas, in spite of the financial sacrifice that entails, as they hope to remain close at hand for NBA teams in case they’re called upon for regular season action.

Each player cut during the preseason from a Western Conference team is below, along with his current whereabouts:

Clippers

Grizzlies

Jazz

Kings

Lakers

Mavericks

Nuggets

Pelicans

Rockets

Spurs

Suns

Thunder

Timberwolves

Trail Blazers

Warriors

Note: Phil Pressey is listed twice, since the Blazers and Jazz both had him on their preseason rosters this year.

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What Former No. 1 Overall Picks Are Making

November 24th, 2015 at 12:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

The contractual path for a No. 1 overall pick in the NBA is fairly well-scripted. First comes a bargain rookie scale contract, then a five-year max extension that forestalls restricted free agency, and finally a chance to hit the unrestricted free agent market. It’s that last step that’s proved difficult. Seven of the last eight No. 1 overall picks are still on either their rookie deals or maximum-salary rookie extensions, but only two former No. 1 picks are playing on max deals that they negotiated as unrestricted free agents. Just as many former No. 1 picks are making the minimum salary this season.

That’s partly because not every No. 1 pick turns out to be worth the max, or even worth the full value of a rookie scale contract, as the case of Anthony Bennett proves. The five No. 1 picks taken between Tim Duncan in 1997 and LeBron James in 2003 are no longer playing in the NBA. That says as much about No. 1 picks as it does about the endurance of Duncan, one of five active former No. 1 picks to sign a contract or an extension this past offseason. He probably could have commanded more than what he received from the Spurs this past summer if he were willing to entertain the thought of leaving the only NBA team he’s ever played for.

The list below shows what each active former No. 1 pick is making this season, rounded to the nearest $1K, along with information on the contract that produced that salary. The team listed is the player’s current team, not necessarily the team that drafted him.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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Offseason In Review: Minnesota Timberwolves

November 23rd, 2015 at 9:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees and more will be covered as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Extensions

  • None

Trades

Waiver Claims

  • None

Draft Picks

Camp Invitees

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Following a decade of futility, the Timberwolves finally have real hope of becoming a perennial playoff contender in the near future. Via trade and the lottery, they have the top picks in the last two drafts and both have shown a world of talent. There are also some talented pieces around the duo of small forward Andrew Wiggins and power forward Karl-Anthony Towns. Tragically, the architect of the rebuilding project will not get to see his vision of the franchise’s rebirth come to fruition.

The Timberwolves, as well as the entire league, suffered a shocking blow when coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders died at the age of 60 on Oct. 25th due to complications from Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Originally, Saunders and his doctors were highly optimistic he would beat the disease. When it announced his diagnosis in August, the team referred to his ailment as a “very treatable and curable form of cancer” and said that he could continue his dual role. Saunders took a leave of absence the following month and when owner Glen Taylor revealed late in training camp that Saunders would not return this season, it was clear that the situation was dire.

Former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, one of Saunders’ ex-players, replaced him on the bench while GM Milt Newton added the duties of running the team’s basketball operations. Mitchell’s future as the team’s coach beyond this season is unresolved but as Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune recently pointed out, his lineup decisions in the early going suggest that he’s focused on the franchise’s long-term success.

It certainly helps to have a large building block, literally, to solidify that foundation. Their options, once they won the lottery, boiled down to two big men — Towns and Jahlil Okafor. In the weeks leading up to the draft, Saunders became enamored with Towns and there was no drama on draft night concerning their selection. Saunders fell in love with Towns’ versatility, noting that he could not only score in the low post but also hit shots from the perimeter. Saunders was also impressed with Towns’ ball handling and shot blocking.

The early-season results have fortified the notion that the Timberwolves made the right choice, even though Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis have also made strong impressions. He recorded eight double-doubles in the team’s first 13 games while averaging 2.4 blocks.

Minnesota added another first-rounder when it traded three second-rounders to the Cavaliers for the 24th overall pick. The Timberwolves made the trade for the rights to Duke point guard Tyus Jones, who had the floor vision and leadership to develop into a quality NBA point guard, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors noted in his Prospect Profile. Thus far, Jones hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity to show those skills as he’s buried behind starter Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine and Andre Miller. But he adds depth to that position and may gain a more prominent role if the team decides to trade Rubio down the road.

That was the only trade the Timberwolves made during the offseason, other than a minor swap with the Pacers of two small forwards. They acquired Euro veteran Damjan Rudez for Chase Budinger, a move that cleared some salary cap space. Rudez is making $1.15MM this season while Budinger exercised a $5MM option on his contract, but the teams were able to swing the deal because of prior trade exceptions that they exercised.

A move of greater consequence came in July when Minnesota agreed to a three-year deal with one of Europe’s top big men, Nemanja Bjelica. Minnesota had held the power forward’s draft rights for five years and the reigning Euroleague MVP decided it was time to give the NBA a try. He negotiated a buyout agreement with his Turkish team with some monetary assistance from the Timberwolves. Bjelica earned a rotation spot during training camp, though he has been slowed recently by a knee injury.

The other notable moves the club made involved the signings of longtime veterans to help nurture the young talent on the roster, as well as divorcing themselves from young power forward Anthony Bennett. The frontcourt upgrades that the Timberwolves made removed any meaningful role for Bennett, whom the team acquired in the 2014 blockbuster with the Cavs that delivered Wiggins while shipping disgruntled Kevin Love out of town. A buyout agreement allowed Bennett to join the Raptors once he cleared waivers.

There was little debate that Kevin Garnett would re-sign with the club that originally drafted him and end his storied career in Minnesota. Garnett inked a two-year contract and has not only contributed on the court but has also served as an ideal mentor for Towns. Towns recently told NBA.com’s David Aldridge that he learns something new every day from Garnett.

Another old Saunders favorite, Tayshaun Prince, signed a one-year contract. Prince was Saunders’ starting small forward during his three years as head coach of the Pistons. Prince has played regularly in the early going, though his stats have been modest. But his impact also goes beyond the court, as he serves as a role model for the team’s wing players, particularly Wiggins.

Miller has similar responsibilities as a backup point guard, though he still has enough left in the tank to play effectively when oft-injured Rubio is sidelined. He can offer sage advice to LaVine and Jones and assist in their development.

The Timberwolves were not interested in making a lot of big moves this offseason. They were mainly concerned with molding their young core into a winning unit, with the aid of trusted veterans that could impart their knowledge to the likes of Towns and Wiggins. The future certainly looks bright, even though it’s likely Minnesota is headed for its 11th consecutive losing season. Sadly, the man responsible for the rebuilding project won’t be around to see the improvement, but his impact will be felt for many years to come.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of it.

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How 2015 Second-Rounders Are Faring Outside NBA

November 23rd, 2015 at 4:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

The majority of the 30 second-round picks from the 2015 draft aren’t on NBA teams. Only 12 of them signed contracts in the offseason, and one of them, J.P. Tokoto, has already hit waivers. Tokoto and the rest of this year’s second-rounders are playing outside the NBA. Here’s how each of those players is faring so far this season:

  • Cedi Osman, Cavaliers (31st overall) — Averaging 6.3 points in 15.1 minutes per game and shooting 45.8% from 3-point range in 24 attempts for Anadolu Efes of Turkey.
  • Guillermo Hernangomez, Knicks (35th overall) — Averaging 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game for Real Madrid of Spain.
  • Juan Vaulet, Nets (39th overall) — Averaging 4.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game for Bahia Basket of Argentina.
  • Olivier Hanlan, Jazz (42nd overall) — Averaging 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game with 38.8% 3-point shooting in 49 attempts for Zalgiris of Lithuania.
  • Andrew Harrison, Grizzlies (44th overall) — Averaging 13.3 points, 5.0 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 34.2 minutes per game with 35.7% 3-point shooting for the Grizzlies D-League affiliate.
  • Marcus Thornton, Celtics (45th overall) — Averaging 15.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 32.9 minutes per game for the Sydney Kings of Australia.
  • Arturas Gudaitis, Kings (47th overall) — Averaging 8.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game for Lietuvos Rytas of Lithuania.
  • Dakari Johnson, Thunder (48th overall) — Averaging 11.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 33.1 minutes per game for the Thunder D-League affiliate.
  • Aaron White, Wizards (49th overall) — Averaging 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game for Telekom Baskets Bonn of Germany.
  • Marcus Eriksson, Hawks (50th overall) — Averaging 5.6 points in 10.4 minutes per game with 37.5% 3-point shooting in 16 attempts for FC Barcelona Regal of Spain.
  • Tyler Harvey, Magic (51st overall) — Averaging 14.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 33.3 minutes per game across just two contests so far for the Magic D-League affiliate.
  • Satnam Singh, Mavericks (52nd overall) — Averaging 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per game across just two contests so far for the Mavericks D-League affiliate.
  • Sir’Dominic Pointer, Cavaliers (53rd overall) — Averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game for the Cavaliers D-League affiliate.
  • Daniel Diez, Trail Blazers (54th overall) — Averaging 4.5 points and 2.8 rebounds with 38.5% 3-point shooting in 26 attempts for Unicaja Malaga of Spain.
  • Cady Lalanne, Spurs (55th overall) — Averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game for the Spurs D-League affiliate.
  • Nikola Radicevic, Nuggets (57th overall) — Has yet to play for Baloncesto Sevilla of Spain this season because of a hip injury.
  • J.P. Tokoto (58th overall) — Averaging 13.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 steals in 30.2 minutes per game for the Thunder D-League affiliate. The Sixers gave up his NBA rights when they waived him in the preseason, and they traded his D-League rights to the Thunder.
  • Dimitrios Agravanis, Hawks (59th overall) — Averaging 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game with 46.2% 3-point shooting in 26 attempts for Olympiacos of Greece.
  • Luka Mitrovic, Kings (60th overall) — Averaging 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game with 47.1% 3-point shooting in 17 attempts for KK Crvena Zvezda of Serbia.

Note: The NBA team listed for each player is the one that currently holds his NBA rights, not necessarily the club that drafted him.

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Failed 2014 Extension Talks Led To Change For Many

November 23rd, 2015 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Players eligible for rookie scale extensions who don’t sign one can end up taking one of several paths, but for most such players from the 2014 extension-eligible class, their paths led to different teams. Only four of the 12 players who failed to sign rookie scale extensions when they were eligible last year are still with the same team. Five of the 12 were traded before the end of the 2014/15 season, and three escaped via free agency.

Still, money followed stability. The three 2014 extension-eligibles who reached restricted free agency this past summer and signed the most lucrative contracts did so with the same teams they failed to come to terms with last fall. The wait for Tristan Thompson and the Cavs to reach a deal was especially lengthy, but he ultimately came back to Cleveland.

This year, 15 players could have signed rookie scale extensions but didn’t, a group that includes Andre Drummond and Bradley Beal, who seem like strong bets to remain on the Pistons and Wizards, respectively. It also includes Evan Fournier, who rejected a four-year, $32MM extension offer from the Magic, as Shams Charania reported this afternoon, and whose future is murkier. Indeed, evidence from the past year suggests that Fournier and others like him shouldn’t get too comfortable with their surroundings. Here’s a look at how each player who was eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2014 but failed to sign one fared in free agency this summer.

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Special Trade Eligibility Dates

November 23rd, 2015 at 12:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

A subtle NBA deadline passed on Wednesday last week, the date exactly three months before the February 18th trade deadline. Free agent signees aren’t eligible for trades until at least three months have passed from the time they put pen to paper. That means any player who signs at any point during the rest of 2015/16 regular season can’t be included in a trade until after it’s over. If a team signs a player using draft rights anytime between now and January 18th, it can trade him this season, but such a scenario is unlikely.

The passage of the three-months-to-go mark in advance of the trade deadline leaves teams with few avenues to pursue swaps until December 15th, the date that most of the players who signed this past summer become eligible to be traded. However, a sizable chunk of those signees won’t be trade-eligible for a while longer than that. January 15th is the first day for trades involving free agents who re-signed with their teams via Bird rights or Early Bird rights and received a starting salary greater than the minimum salary and at least 20% more than what they made last season, as long as their teams were over the cap when the signings took place. That’s a lengthy set of stipulations, but it still encompasses two dozen players.

Several others have trade-eligibility dates that come up on the three-month anniversaries of their signings. Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler weren’t free agents this summer, but because the renegotiations-and-extensions they signed in the offseason were larger than what would be allowed in extend-and-trade transactions, they can’t be traded until the respective six-month anniversaries of their new deals.

Note that the list below doesn’t include players who can veto trades or players who have special restrictions on where and how they may be traded, like Mario Chalmers, who may be traded again any time but whose salary can’t be aggregated in a trade until January 10th, two months after the deal that sent him to the Grizzlies. It simply serves as a reference that shows the dates (aside from December 15th) between now and the February 18th trade deadline when certain players become eligible for inclusion in trades:

December 22nd

December 24th

December 25th

December 27th

December 28th

December 30th

January 11th

January 15th

January 22nd

January 30th

February 2nd

February 4th

February 5th

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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Offseason In Review: Philadelphia 76ers

November 23rd, 2015 at 9:59am CST by ChrisCrouse

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees and more will be covered as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

  • Pierre Jackson: Four years, $3.727MM. Signed via cap room. First year is fully guaranteed, remaining three years are non-guaranteed. Includes a team option for the final year. Subsequently waived.
  • Kendall Marshall: Four years, $8MM. Signed via cap room. First year is fully guaranteed, remaining three years are non-guaranteed.
  • T.J. McConnell: Four years, $3.503MM. Signed via cap room. First year is partially guaranteed for $100K, remaining three years are non-guaranteed. Includes a team option for the final year.
  • Scottie Wilbekin: Four years, $3.503MM. Signed via cap room. First year is partially guaranteed for $200K, remaining three years are non-guaranteed. Includes a team option for the final year.
  • Christian Wood: Four years, $3.503MM. Signed via cap room. First year is partially guaranteed for $50K, remaining three years are non-guaranteed. Includes a team option for the final year.

Extensions

  • None

Trades

  • Acquired Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, Sacramento’s 2018 first-round pick and the right to swap first-rounders in 2016 and 2017 from the Kings in exchange for the rights to Arturas Gudaitis and Luka Mitrovic, the 47th and 60th picks, respectively, in this year’s NBA draft.
  • Acquired Gerald Wallace, cash, and the right to swap the lesser of the 2016 first-round picks coming their way from the Heat and the Thunder for Golden State’s 2016 first-round pick from the Warriors in exchange for Thompson. Wallace was subsequently waived.
  • Acquired cash and New York’s second round picks in 2020 and 2021 from the Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Guillermo Hernangomez, the No. 35 overall pick in this year’s draft.

Waiver Claims

  • None

Draft Picks

  • Jahlil Okafor (Round 1, 3rd overall). Signed via rookie scale exception to rookie scale contract.
  • Richaun Holmes (Round 2, 37th overall). Signed via cap room for four years, $4.203MM. Final two years are non-guaranteed. Final season is a team option.
  • Arturas Gudaitis (Round 2, 47th overall). Traded to Sacramento. Signed overseas.
  • J.P. Tokoto (Round 2, 58th overall). Signed via minimum-salary exception to a one-year, non-guaranteed, $525K deal. Waived.
  • Luka Mitrovic (Round 2, 60th overall). Traded to Sacramento. Extended overseas contract.
  • Jordan McRae (2014, Round 2, 58th overall). Signed via minimum-salary exception to a one-year, non-guaranteed, $525K deal. Waived.

Camp Invitees

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports Images

“Two years away from being two years away.” That was ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla’s infamous analysis of Brazilian prospect Bruno Caboclo during the 2014 draft. That’s also an accurate timeline of when the Sixers can reasonably expect to be contenders for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference again. The Sam Hinkie regime envisions putting a perennial championship contender on the floor, and while you can start to see some of the pieces coming together, it’s starting to look like the plan may take longer than initially expected.

The team suffered a major setback in its quest toward a championship when it found out that center Joel Embiid, who was taken No. 3 overall in that same 2014 draft, needed a second surgery on his right foot and would most likely miss the entire 2015/16 campaign. The news didn’t get any better from there. Embiid reportedly put off surgery this summer to party and play basketball in Las Vegas and rumors swirled that the team has been frustrated with his attitude and insubordination. Hinkie apparently expressed his desire for Embiid to be more focused on his rehab, and the center’s diet and conditioning have reportedly worried the team as well. Some of the club’s minority owners are reportedly losing patience with Hinkie, but despite this and the Embiid setback, majority owner Josh Harris remains firmly in Hinkie’s corner.

When you examine Philadelphia’s transactions this summer, you can see why. Hinkie fleeced the Kings for a first-round pick in 2018 and the rights to swap picks in 2016 and 2017 when he acquired Jason Thompson, Carl Landry and 2014 No. 8 overall pick Nik Stauskas. The team then dealt Thompson to the Warriors for Gerald Wallace, who was waived later on in the summer, and snagged a pick swap in the process.

After the trade, Jake Fischer of SI Now reported that the Sixers were looking to move Landry, who is set to make $13MM over the remaining two years of his deal, and that if the team couldn’t find a trade partner, they would look to reach a buyout or waive him outright. Hinkie has since indicated that the team intends to keep him, citing the importance of his veteran voice on the team. The 31-year-old is still recovering from his offseason surgery and is expected to be out until 2016, but when the veteran does return to the court, he’ll be the team’s most experienced player by far.

Stauskas, whose option for the 2016/17 campaign the team picked up last month, has seen court time and the results have varied. During his first two games in Philly, he shot 41.7% from behind the arc, but he has only made just over 26.0% of his 3-pointers since and his player efficiency rating for the year sits lowly at 8.6. Still, he has improved since his dreadful rookie campaign and the coaching staff intends to give him the minutes to allow him to develop. The backcourt mate of “Sauce Castillo” was supposed to be Kendall Marshall, whom the team signed to a four-year, $8MM deal, but the 24-year-old Marshall is still recovering from a knee injury and hasn’t been able to suit up yet. Marshall has shown glimpses of the ability to be a starting-caliber point guard and Hinkie deserves recognition for the move, as the team will be paying somebody who has proven he belongs in the league less than the No.17 overall pick in the 2015 draft is set to earn over the the next four years.

Once he returns, Marshall may not get as many minutes as expected due to the presence of T.J. McConnell. The undrafted point guard out of Arizona has been a pleasant surprise this season and his contract, which will pay him roughly $3.5MM over the next four seasons, looks like one of the best bargains in the league, as Chuck Myron noted in a recent edition of the Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag. McConnell has been ravenous on the defensive end, frustrating opposing guards and making the hustle plays that you’d like to see every professional athlete at least go for. He’s averaging 5.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. He’s also dishing out 6.4 assists per contest and making nearly every team second guess its decision not to draft him.

The Sixers had mixed results with their selections in the 2015 draft. Second-rounder Richaun Holmes, who told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors prior to the draft that he thought he had a chance to be a first-rounder, looks like an NBA player, and he has impressed in limited minutes thus far.  The team’s other second-round picks either had their rights traded away or have been waived.

The gem of the Sixers’ draft is Jahlil Okafor. Many of the team’s young players are projects, but this center came preassembled with the footwork of a seasoned veteran and an offensive game that allows him to contribute right away. He’s averaging 17.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and although he isn’t a great defender, he’s shown some nice defensive awareness, blocking 1.6 shots per contest. The 19-year-old has legitimate All-Star potential, but a peril with Okafor may be his ceiling. He doesn’t project to be the type of player who will dominate games and single-handedly elevate the team to real contender status, especially if he can’t transform himself into a tenacious rim protector.

The issue with drafting the center, as I discussed in the team’s offseason outlook, is the redundancies on the team, as the only other player who definitively belongs in a playoff contender’s rotation also plays the same position. Nerlens Noel is playing nearly two-thirds of his time this season at the four and he’s been excellent on the defensive end, masterfully denying passing lanes and smothering opposing power forwards inside the paint and on the perimeter. However, the experiment with Noel at the four will come to an end eventually, as he simply doesn’t possess the offensive skills to play the position. Concerns over the fit are prompting the team to ponder a change. Coach Brett Brown is thinking about playing Okafor at the four, but he’s obviously a center long-term, so playing him out of position carries the risk of stunting his growth.

Philadelphia doesn’t have all the answers right now and nearly all the pieces to the championship puzzle aren’t currently on the roster. The hope for the Sixers is that the bounty of draft picks they’ve acquired, along with team’s own lottery selections, will produce at least one true game-changer over the next few seasons. This offseason wasn’t about winning games; the team isn’t there yet. The Sixers still need to acquire that franchise player, and even if they get him, it’ll take a few years to start winning. Anthony Davis didn’t even make the playoffs until his third season. Same with Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Maybe the pingpong balls will land Philly’s way at the end of the season and the team lands a potential star like Ben Simmons. It’s still going to be a few years before the Sixers sniff the playoffs, let alone the finals, and by the time that happens, James’ reign over the Eastern Conference may be over, we will most likely have a new collective bargaining agreement, and the league’s landscape should look dramatically different. Hinkie, Harris and the rest of the club’s management know this and the team is simply remaining flexible with its roster until it’s time to strike.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of it.

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Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 11/21/15

November 21st, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings have been derailed with injuries, but the team has had some bright spots with the play of Rajon Rondo topping that list. Entering Saturday, no one in the league had more assists per game than the Kentucky product. The point guard also has four triple-doubles in just 13 games, which also leads the NBA.

Rondo signed a one-year, $9.5MM deal with Sacramento after it appeared interest in him was dwindling. His contract is being lauded as one of the best bargains in the NBA in the wake of his hot start, as 17 point guards have a higher salary this season than the 29-year-old Rondo. That includes Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, who both play the point at times, but often share the backcourt as well.

Rondo needs to have a strong 2015/16 season in order to rehabilitate his value after a failing to live up to expectations upon arriving in Dallas via trade last season. He’s trending in the right direction and if he continues his level of production, he will likely see a hefty raise on his current salary.

That leads us to tonight’s topic: What kind of offers will Rondo receive when he hits the open market next summer and do you think he stays with Sacramento or signs a pact with another team?

Take to the comments section below to voice your thoughts and opinions, as well as to provide us with your best predictions. We look forward to what you have to say.

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