Hoops Rumors Originals

Most NBA teams carry the maximum-allowed 15 players during the regular season, but many leave roster spots open, even for opening night. The minimum is 13 players, so it’s not a given that teams with fewer than 15 fully guaranteed contracts truly have opening night jobs up for grabs as training camp approaches.

The first night of this past season saw several more players under contract than in the recent past. Only three teams had fewer than 15 men, and not one of them dared to dip down to 13 as the 2014/15 season got underway. That was in sharp contrast to the previous season, when nine teams had fewer than 15 players to start the season, including two that only had 13. Coming out of the lockout in 2011, jobs were even more scarce, as 14 teams, nearly half the league, were under the 15-man maximum on opening night in 2011, and seven of them were at 13 players.

The number of teams with fewer than 15 players has decreased each opening night since then. Still, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel earlier today raised the specter of the Heat leaving a spot open when they first tip off next month. It would be uncharacteristic for the Heat to do so, since the last time they didn’t start the season with 15 players was 2003/04, when rookies Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem were two of only 14 guys who made it out of training camp. Still, it’s not off-base to suggest that the Heat will have only 14 on opening night this year, given that the team is over the tax line and faces repeat-offender tax penalties if that doesn’t change by the final day of the regular season.

By contrast, it will be somewhat surprising if the Bulls don’t have fewer than 15 players to start the season. They opened with 14 last year, the first time since 2008/09 that they had more than 13. Chicago has 13 fully guaranteed contracts. Cameron Bairstow is around on a partially guaranteed deal, and it isn’t clear what sort of guarantees free agent signee Cristiano Felicio has. Both would appear to be in danger of a training camp cut.

Here’s a look at the teams that have carried fewer than 15 players on opening night for the past four seasons. The size of the opening night rosters for the teams listed is assumed to be 14 unless otherwise noted.

2014/15

• Chicago Bulls
• Memphis Grizzlies
• Sacramento Kings

2013/14

• Boston Celtics
• Chicago Bulls (13)
• Golden State Warriors
• Indiana Pacers
• L.A. Clippers
• Memphis Grizzlies (13)
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Phoenix Suns
• San Antonio Spurs

2012/13

• Atlanta Hawks
• Charlotte Hornets (then known as the Bobcats)
• Chicago Bulls (13)
• L.A. Clippers
• Memphis Grizzlies (13)
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Philadelphia 76ers
• Sacramento Kings
• San Antonio Spurs

2011/12

• Boston Celtics
• Charlotte Hornets (then known as the Bobcats)
• Chicago Bulls (13)
• Dallas Mavericks
• Detroit Pistons (13)
• Golden State Warriors
• Indiana Pacers (13)
• L.A. Clippers (13)
• New York Knicks
• Philadelphia 76ers
• Phoenix Suns (13)
• Sacramento Kings
• San Antonio Spurs (13)
• Utah Jazz (13)

RealGM was used in the creation of this post.

Only 13 players born in Brazil have ever played in an NBA regular season game. This season, barring training camp cuts, nine natives of Brazil are in line to see action.

The host nation for the 2016 Olympics has increasingly made its presence felt in professional basketball. Brazil’s initial forays into the NBA didn’t cause much of a ripple, as Rolando Ferreira, the first Brazilian to play in the league, made his way into only 12 career games, all of them for the Trail Blazers in 1988/89, even though he was the 26th overall pick in the 1988 draft. Joao Vianna, the next to follow Ferreira’s path from Brazil to the NBA in 1991/92, made just one appearance for the Mavericks. Oscar Schmidt made the Hall of Fame for his legendary overseas career, but he never played in the NBA.

The real breakthrough has come in the past decade. Leandro Barbosa, aka The Brazilian Blur, and Anderson Varejao have played key roles on contending teams off and on for the past decade. Nene overcame serious injuries to score a five-year, $65MM deal that he’s still playing on. Tiago Splitter started at center for the title-winning Spurs in 2013/14 before moving on to the Hawks in a trade this summer.

Still, the Brazilian NBB league lags far behind Europe in terms of notoriety. That’s one reason why it was such a shock when the Raptors drafted Brazilian native Bruno Caboclo, a forward for Pinheiros, with the 20th overall pick in 2014. Caboclo started only five games for Pinheiros the previous season, so his talent went under the radar to all but a few plugged-in NBA scouts and executives. Whether he was worth the gamble is still to be determined, since he made it into only eight games as an NBA rookie this past season, two more than fellow Raptors first-year player Lucas Nogueira, who also hails from Brazil.

Brazilian Raul Neto is in line for more frequent action in his first season with the Jazz this year, particularly if the team doesn’t bring in another point guard to replace the injured Dante Exum. The draft-and-stash signee is one of three new Brazilians poised to enter the NBA, along with Marcelo Huertas of the Lakers and Cristiano Felicio of the Bulls. Felicio is the only one of the three who played professionally in Brazil last season. Neto and Huertas come from Spain, the country that funneled more players through its professional ranks to the NBA than any other this offseason.

Another Brazilian has a chance to make his NBA debut this year. Center Rafael Hettsheimeir reportedly worked out for the Spurs late last month. Others stand poised to enter the league in the near future. George Lucas, aka George de Paula, declared for the draft and had predraft workouts with a handful of NBA teams before withdrawing his name, and he’s No. 40 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress 2016 mock. Three other Brazilians also entered the draft before withdrawing.

A decent chance exists that Brazil will boast a double-digit number of players on NBA rosters when the Olympic games begin in Rio in 2016. Many will no doubt will be playing for the Brazilian national team, an automatic qualifier for the Olympic basketball tournament. Time will tell if the influx of Brazilians to the NBA is a temporary phenomenon or the beginnings of a lasting pipeline of talent. For now, the NBA dances with increasing frequency to a samba beat.

List of Brazilian natives currently on NBA contracts: 

• Leandro Barbosa, Warriors
• Bruno Caboclo, Raptors
• Cristiano Felicio, Bulls (rookie)
• Marcelo Huertas, Lakers (rookie)
• Nene, Wizards
• Raul Neto, Jazz (rookie)
• Lucas Nogueira, Raptors
• Tiago Splitter, Hawks
• Anderson Varejao, Cavaliers

Who do you think is the greatest Brazilian player of all time? Leave a comment to let us know.

We’ll be taking in-depth looks at several players eligible for extensions to their rookie scale contracts this fall, but whether to extend isn’t the only decision that teams face with recent first-round picks. The final two seasons of four-year rookie scale deals are team option years, but unlike other options, the deadline for either exercising or declining them is almost a full year before the option season begins. Traditionally, the deadline is the October 31st before the option season, but because that date falls on a Saturday this year, it’s November 2nd this time around.

The options that clubs are debating this fall are for the 2016/17 season. Complicating matters is that if a team declines a player’s rookie scale option, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent next summer, instead of a restricted free agent, as would be the case if the team allowed the contract to run to term. Any team that declines a rookie scale team option can’t re-sign that player for more than the option amount, a rule in place to prevent teams from circumventing the salary cap to funnel higher paydays to star young players after two or three seasons. That restriction even applies to any team that would acquire such a player via trade this season. That team still wouldn’t be able to exceed the value of the option in a new deal, just as the Clippers weren’t able to do so with Austin Rivers after the Pelicans declined his rookie scale team option last fall.

In many cases, rookie scale deals are bargains and there’s no thinking required when it comes to picking up the options. The Bucks, for instance, aren’t going to give up a year of Giannis Antetokounmpo at less than $3MM.

Of course, few find instant success like Antetokounmpo has. Often, a former first-round pick may be struggling to find playing time or live up to his promise, but the team still has confidence that he can develop, and the front office is willing to assume his relatively small cap hit for another season. Then, there are those who aren’t panning out at all, making even a cheap rookie deal seem like an outsized expense.

I’ve listed each player eligible to have his rookie scale option picked up before the November 2nd deadline and grouped them into categories based on the likelihood that their respective teams will exercise the options. I’ve noted whether each is third- or fourth-year option along with the monetary value in parentheses.

Slam dunks — These players are already stars, and it’s inconceivable that their options wouldn’t be exercised.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (fourth year, $2,995,421) — exercised
• Rudy Gobert, Jazz (fourth year, $2,121,287) — exercised
• Jabari Parker, Bucks (third year, $5,374,320) — exercised
• Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves (third year, $6,006,600) — exercised

Highly likely — These players are non-stars, but it’s just about as unfathomable that their respective teams would opt out.

• Steven Adams, Thunder (fourth year, $3,140,517) — exercised
• Trey Burke, Jazz (fourth year, $3,386,598) — exercised
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Pistons (fourth year, $3,678,319) — exercised
• Michael Carter-Williams, Bucks (fourth year, $3,183,526) — exercised
• Gorgui Dieng, Timberwolves (fourth year, $2,348,783) — exercised
• Dante Exum, Jazz (third year, $3,940,320) — exercised
• Aaron Gordon, Magic (third year, $4,351,320) — exercised
• Tim Hardaway, Hawks (fourth year, $2,281,605) — exercised
• Nerlens Noel, Sixers (fourth year, $4,384,490) — exercised
• Jusuf Nurkic, Nuggets (third year, $1,921,320) — exercised
• Elfrid Payton, Magic (third year, $2,613,600) — exercised
• Mason Plumlee, Trail Blazers (fourth year, $2,328,530) — exercised
• Victor Oladipo, Magic (fourth year, $6,552,960) — exercised
• Julius Randle, Lakers (third year, $3,267,120) — exercised
• Dennis Schröder, Hawks (fourth year, $2,708,582) — exercised
• Marcus Smart, Celtics (third year, $3,578,880) — exercised

Generally likely — It wouldn’t count as a shock if a few names in this largest class have their options declined, but it’s still more likely than not that their teams will pick up the options.

• Jordan Adams, Grizzlies (third year, $1,465,080) — exercised
• Kyle Anderson, Spurs (third year, $1,192,080) — exercised
• Reggie Bullock, Pistons (fourth year, $2,255,644) — exercised
• Bruno Caboclo, Raptors (third year, $1,589,640) — exercised
• Clint Capela, Rockets (third year, $1,296,240) — exercised
• Tyler Ennis, Bucks (third year, $1,733,880) — exercised
• Joel Embiid, Sixers (third year, $4,826,160) — exercised
• Archie Goodwin, Suns (fourth year, $2,094,089) — exercised
• P.J. Hairston, Hornets (third year, $1,253,160) — declined
• Gary Harris, Nuggets (third year, $1,655,880) — exercised
• Solomon Hill, Pacers (fourth year, $2,306,019) — declined
• Rodney Hood, Jazz (third year, $1,406,520) — exercised
• Sergey Karasev, Nets (fourth year, $2,463,754) — declined
• Zach LaVine, Timberwolves (third year, $2,240,880) — exercised
• Alex Len, Suns (fourth year, $4,823,621) — exercised
• C.J. McCollum, Trail Blazers (fourth year, $3,219,579) — exercised
• Doug McDermott, Bulls (third year, $2,483,040) — exercised
• Mitch McGary, Thunder (third year, $1,526,040) — exercised
• Ben McLemore, Kings (fourth year, $4,008,882) — exercised
• Shabazz Muhammad, Timberwolves (fourth year, $3,046,299) — exercised
• Shabazz Napier, Magic (third year, $1,350,120) — exercised
• Lucas Nogueira, Raptors (third year, $1,921,320) — exercised
• Adreian Payne, Timberwolves (third year, $2,022,240) — exercised
• Otto Porter, Wizards (fourth year, $5,893,981) — exercised
• Andre Roberson, Thunder (fourth year, $2,183,072) — exercised
• Tony Snell, Bulls (fourth year, $2,368,327) — exercised
• Nik Stauskas, Sixers (third year, $2,993,040) — exercised
• Kelly Olynyk, Celtics (fourth year, $3,094,013) — exercised
• Noah Vonleh, Trail Blazers (third year, $2,751,360) — exercised
• T.J. Warren, Suns (third year, $2,128,920) — exercised
• C.J. Wilcox, Clippers (third year, $1,209,600) — exercised
• James Young, Celtics (third year, $1,825,200) — exercised
• Cody Zeller, Hornets (fourth year, $5,318,313) — exercised

In doubt — Bennett is in a class by himself, in large measure because having been the No. 1 overall pick in 2013 means he has one of the most lucrative rookie scale contracts in the league. He certainly hasn’t lived up to his draft position, and it’s questionable whether it’s worth the investment of more than $7.3MM for another year.

• Anthony Bennett, Timberwolves (fourth year, $7,318,289) — waived (declined by default)

Aside from Bennett, which player on this list do you think is least likely to have his rookie scale team option picked up? Leave a comment to tell us.

The Basketball Insiders Salary Pages were used in the creation of this post.

Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week…

• In his weekly column, Sam Amico, the founder and editor of AmicoHoops.net and a broadcast journalist for Fox Sports Ohio, looked at the state of the Atlanta Hawks.
• If you missed the week’s live chat, you can view the transcript here.
• Chuck Myron listed each 2015 offseason NBA addition who played his last professional game with an overseas team, categorized by country.
• I handed out 2015 NBA Draft grades to the Central Division‘s teams.
• As a part of our ongoing series “The Beat,” Chuck interviewed Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. You can follow Chris on Twitter at @ChrisBHaynes, and click here to check out his stories on Cleveland.com.
• I broke down the 2015/16 salary cap commitments for the Magic, Thunder, Knicks, and Sixers.
• Zach Links highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
• Chuck looked at how teams fared in re-signing their own free agents this offseason.
• We asked readers to vote on who they would select if they had the chance to redo the the 2003 NBA Draft. Here are the results for the No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, No. 10, No. 11, No. 12 picks.
• Chuck examined the Warriors’ Festus Ezeli and the Wizards’ Bradley Beal, while Dana Gauruder broke down Dion Waiters, as extension candidates.
• If you missed any of our daily reader-driven discussions, be sure to check out the Community Shootaround archives.
• I answered reader questions in Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag.
• We ran down the players who agreed to deals without any guaranteed salary this offseason.
• Chuck looked at the top non-scale rookie deals inked this offseason.
• Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on social media and RSS feeds.
• We reviewed our commenting policy. Play nice everyone.
• Chuck ran down the top 10 transactions that occurred back in September of 2014.