Eastern Notes: Heat, Haliburton, Raptors, Wizards
The Heat are currently operating below the second tax apron by approximately $1.2MM with 14 players on guaranteed contracts. Adding a 15th man on a minimum-salary deal would push the team’s salary above the second apron, prohibiting the front office from aggregating salaries or sending out cash in a trade.
As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel acknowledges in a mailbag, the Heat could carry a 15th man on a non-guaranteed contract to open the regular season, essentially paying that player by the day and then waiving him to sneak back below the second apron if needed for an in-season deal. But Miami is more concerned about being able to carry a 15th man later in the season during the playoff race, according to Winderman, who anticipates the team will keep its final standard roster spot open this fall.
For what it’s worth, if the Heat do want to carry 15 players and surpass the second apron, they’d be able to do that and could still aggregate salaries in a trade as long as they sent out more salary than they took back in that trade, moving below the second apron as a result of the transaction. In that scenario, they’d be hard-capped at the second apron for the rest of the season.
Here’s more from around the East:
- Asked last week during an appearance on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link) about rumors that he was attempting to recruit his Team USA teammates to the Pacers during his Olympic experience this summer, star guard Tyrese Haliburton suggested that story was overblown. “I think there was recruiting going on from everybody, but me saying that got blown out of proportion because I play in the smallest market,” Haliburton said. “… I’m not going anywhere. So if (anyone) wants to play with me, they’d have to come (to Indiana).”
- With Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl locked in as starters, who will claim the fifth spot in the Raptors‘ starting five? Eric Koreen of The Athletic explores that question in an article examining Toronto’s depth chart and rotation, speculating that Gradey Dick will be the fifth starter and that rookie Ja’Kobe Walter will get a shot at rotation minutes this fall.
- The Capital City Go-Go – the Wizards‘ G League affiliate – announced that they’ve acquired Erik Stevenson‘s returning rights from the Texas Legends (Mavericks) in exchange for a 2024 first-round pick and Jake Stephens‘ returning rights (Twitter link). The move suggests that Stevenson, a former West Virginia standout who played for the Wizards in Summer League, will be with Washington’s G League team to open the 2024/25 season and could be a candidate for a preseason Exhibit 10 contract.
Checking In On Early 2024/25 Roster Battles
Each year, a handful of teams prefer to bring in players to battle it out for the last remaining spots on a given roster. Let’s take a look at a few training camp battles that are already brewing ahead of October.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have been busy in recent weeks, filling out their training camp roster with proven talent. The Bulls have 15 players on standard contracts, but Onuralp Bitim‘s deal is non-guaranteed. In addition, Chicago has two open two-way slots. The Bulls have four players — Talen Horton-Tucker, Kenneth Lofton Jr., E.J. Liddell and Marcus Domask — signed to training camp deals.
Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted to two-way contracts at any time. Horton-Tucker is the only player of that batch who is ineligible for a two-way contract, since he is at five years of NBA service. That gives the Bulls a handful of options for their opening night roster.
In essence, Bitim and Horton-Tucker seem to be battling it out for the Bulls’ 15th roster spot, while Lofton, Liddell and Domask all appear to be candidates for the team’s open two-way slots. Of course, if the Bulls opt to move on from Bitim on a standard deal, they could attempt to re-sign him to a two-way deal. They could also just carry 14 players on the standard roster to begin the year.
New York Knicks
As we detailed Saturday morning, Landry Shamet and Chuma Okeke appear to be battling for the Knicks’ 15th roster spot. Of course, there’s no guarantee that either player will make the roster, but each has a decent case to make the team.
Shamet is a proven three-point shooter while Okeke is a versatile forward who is a previous 16th overall pick. The Knicks will likely assess in training camp what their biggest need is and keep the player who best fits that niche heading into the year.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have a handful of players on non-guaranteed or partially contracts heading into the season. However, previous reporting seems to indicate that the team’s final roster spot will come down to either Kendall Brown or Cole Swider.
Brown is an athletic forward who was the 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He has spent the last two seasons with the Pacers but has also appeared in just 21 total games. Meanwhile, the Pacers signed Swider to a training camp contract this offseason that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language. Swider is a known three-point shooter who spent last season with the Heat and helped Miami to a summer league championship this offseason.
James Wiseman and James Johnson each have partially guaranteed salaries with the Pacers.
The others
Other teams across the league are poised to either carry just 14 players on standard deals to begin the year or already have their 15-man rosters determined. However, some of those teams have unsettled two-way roster slots.
The Heat have their standard roster filled out, but summer standout Isaiah Stevens is on an Exhibit 10 deal. It seems like Stevens will battle Dru Smith — who currently holds a two-way deal — outright for that spot.
The Hornets have Moussa Diabate and KJ Simpson on two-way deals but have another spot open. Keyontae Johnson could be an option for that spot. Charlotte also has a potential opening on the 15-man roster, with four players signed to Exhibit 10 deals and another agreed to.
The Wizards also have an open two-way slot. Washington signed Leaky Black, Kira Lewis and Jaylen Nowell to Exhibit 10 contracts, but only Black is eligible for a two-way deal. The Wizards also have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, with Jared Butler and his non-guaranteed deal possibly on the outside looking in unless they make a trade.
The Clippers have RayJ Dennis, Kai Jones and Elijah Harkless signed to Exhibit 10 deals. The team also has an agreement with Kevon Harris for another such spot. With only Jordan Miller and Trentyn Flowers on two-way contracts, all of Dennis, Jones, Harkless and Harris are eligible for the team’s third.
And-Ones: Watson, First-Rounders, Trade Targets, Punter
Former Suns head coach Earl Watson is joining Steve Lavin‘s coaching staff at the University of San Diego, sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). It’s a reunion for the two sides — Watson played under Lavin in college at UCLA.
Watson, who played 13 NBA seasons as a defensive-minded point guard, was an assistant with Phoenix before being named interim and then full-time head coach. He was fired at the start of the 2017/18 season. The 45-year-old was an assistant coach under Nick Nurse with Toronto from 2021-23.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Which NBA teams hold the most valuable future first-round picks? Bobby Marks of ESPN explores that topic (subscriber link), ranking the Spurs No. 1, followed by the Thunder, Nets, Jazz and Rockets. As Marks writes, San Antonio doesn’t have the most picks among those teams, but the selections they do control could be very valuable — in 2025, they control their own pick, the Hawks’ first-rounder (unprotected), a top-10 protected first from Chicago, and a top-14 protected first from Charlotte, the latter of which seems unlikely to convey.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report lists one “realistic” trade target for every NBA team. According to Pincus, Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin would make sense as a target for the Hawks and Nets, while Jazz center Walker Kessler could be a logical fit for Indiana.
- Former Tennessee star Kevin Punter has thrived in Europe since he went undrafted in 2016. In an interview posted by his Spanish club FC Barcelona (Twitter video link), Punter said he used to dream of playing in the NBA. Now? He’s not sure. “When I was younger, my dream was to play the NBA,” Punter said (hat tip to Eurohoops). “That’s all you know growing up, when you play in America. That is all we talk about. That is all you watch. That was my dream. Is it my dream now? To be honest with you, I don’t know. It used to be, but as you get older, a lot of things change, a lot of things become different. You realize a lot of certain things that have nothing to do with basketball.” The 31-year-old said he had serious contract talks with the Raptors in 2023.
2024/25 NBA Over/Unders: Central Division
With the 2024/25 NBA regular season set to tip off next month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.
With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including Bovada and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
In 2023/24, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’24/25?
We’ll continue our series today with the Central Division…
Milwaukee Bucks
- 2023/24 record: 49-33
- Over/under for 2024/25: 50.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Bucks win in 2024/25?
-
Over 50.5 63% (294)
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Under 50.5 37% (171)
Total votes: 465
Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2023/24 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2024/25: 48.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Jaylon Tyson
- Lost: Marcus Morris, Damian Jones
- Note: Isaac Okoro is a restricted free agent and is still considered likely to return to the Cavaliers.
How many games will the Cavaliers win in 2024/25?
-
Under 48.5 52% (220)
-
Over 48.5 48% (206)
Total votes: 426
Indiana Pacers
- 2023/24 record: 47-35
- Over/under for 2024/25: 47.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Johnny Furphy, James Wiseman
- Lost: Jalen Smith, Doug McDermott
How many games will the Pacers win in 2024/25?
-
Over 47.5 57% (239)
-
Under 47.5 43% (179)
Total votes: 418
Chicago Bulls
- 2023/24 record: 39-43
- Over/under for 2024/25: 28.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Josh Giddey, Jalen Smith, Matas Buzelis, Chris Duarte
- Lost: DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Andre Drummond, Javonte Green
How many games will the Bulls win in 2024/25?
-
Under 28.5 62% (278)
-
Over 28.5 38% (171)
Total votes: 449
Detroit Pistons
- 2023/24 record: 14-68
- Over/under for 2024/25: 24.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Pistons win in 2024/25?
-
Over 24.5 60% (296)
-
Under 24.5 40% (196)
Total votes: 492
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (58.5 wins): Over (69.7%)
- New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (58.8%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (52.5 wins): Under (51.7%)
- Toronto Raptors (30.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
- Brooklyn Nets (19.5 wins): Over (54.3%)
- Dallas Mavericks (49.5 wins): Over (78.0%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (47.5 wins): Under (65.6%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (46.5 wins): Under (60.6%)
- Houston Rockets (43.5 wins): Under (51.4%)
- San Antonio Spurs (36.5 wins): Under (52.9%)
- Orlando Magic (47.5 wins): Over (57.1%)
- Miami Heat (44.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
- Atlanta Hawks (35.5 wins): Under (66.4%)
- Charlotte Hornets (29.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
- Washington Wizards (20.5 wins): Under (56.6%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (56.5 wins): Over (68.1%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (52.5 wins): Over (65.2%)
- Denver Nuggets (51.5 wins): Over (54.3%)
- Utah Jazz (29.5 wins): Under (60.1%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (22.5 wins): Under (54.7%)
Pacers Have Three Option Decisions To Make By The End Of October
- With their roster virtually set for the upcoming season, the Pacers are facing three option decisions that should be easy, per Tony East of Sports Illustrated. Indiana has until October 31 to pick up the third-year options for Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker, along with the fourth-year option for Bennedict Mathurin. All three players appear to be part of the team’s future, so there’s no reason to part with any of them. The options would pay Sheppard $2.8MM, Walker $6.6MM and Mathurin $9.1MM for the 2025/26 season.
- The Pacers announced in a press release that they have added Dr. Jaimie Rubin as Director of Sport Psychology and Team Wellness.
McConnell's Extension Includes Team Option
- T.J. McConnell‘s four-year extension with the Pacers includes a partial guarantee in the third year of the contract and a team option in the final season, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The four-year, $44.8MM extension breaks down like this — $10.2MM in 2025/26; $11MM in 2026/27; $11.8MM ($5MM partial guarantee) in 2027/28; and a $11.8MM team option in 2028/29.
Pacers Sign T.J. McConnell To Four-Year Extension
SEPTEMBER 3: The Pacers have officially announced McConnell’s extension, confirming the deal in a press release.
“It is safe to say that every team in the NBA would like a player that possesses the same intensity, competitive spirit, and passion for the game and his teammates as T.J. McConnell,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “T.J. has become a steadying veteran presence for our team both on and off the court, and his value to our franchise cannot be overstated. He was an integral part of our success last year and we’re happy that he will continue to be a part of what we’re building here.”
AUGUST 30: The Pacers and veteran guard T.J. McConnell have reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension worth $45MM, agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The deal will begin in 2025/26 following the expiration of McConnell’s current contract, which will pay him $9.3MM this season. In total, he’ll be owed $54MM for the next five years, taking him through the ’28/29 season.
McConnell, who has been with the Pacers since 2019 after spending the first four years of his NBA career in Philadelphia, began last season out of Indiana’s crowded rotation. However, it didn’t take long for him to reestablish himself as one of the team’s top reserves.
The 32-year-old ended up appearing in 71 games, averaging 10.2 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game. He posted a .556/.409/.790 shooting line and earned Sixth Man of the Year votes, then played a key role off the bench in the postseason, putting up 11.8 PPG, 5.1 APG, and 3.1 RPG in 17 games (20.5 MPG).
With Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard cemented as building blocks in the Pacers’ backcourt, it was unclear how aggressively the team would pursue an extension with McConnell as he nears his mid-30s and the cost of the roster continues to rise. However, today’s news signals that the front office remains as confident as ever in his ability to be a positive contributor for many years to come.
When we discussed McConnell’s extension candidacy in our recent Offseason Check-In story on the Pacers, we identified Mike Conley‘s recent two-year, $20.75MM deal as a potential point of comparison for the Indiana guard. Now locked up for $54MM over five years, McConnell will earn an annual salary slightly above Conley’s for a significantly longer term.
While McConnell is four-and-a-half years younger than Conley, it’s still a little surprising to see the Pacers make such a lengthy commitment to a bench player at this stage of his career. We’ll have to wait for the full details, but it wouldn’t be surprising if some of McConnell’s salary on the back end of the deal is non-guaranteed.
McConnell is the fourth Pacer to sign a long-term contract worth at least eight figures annually this summer. Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin received lucrative four-year deals a free agents, while Nembhard inked a three-year extension that ensures he’ll be under contract for the next four seasons.
With McConnell locked up, just one of the top eight players from Indiana’s postseason rotation is entering a contract year — starting center Myles Turner will become extension-eligible in January.
McConnell's Extension Could Impact Other Negotiations
T.J. McConnell‘s agreed-upon four-year, $45MM extension, which doesn’t kick in until the 2025/26, could impact the Pacers’ upcoming decisions regarding Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.
The McConnell and Andrew Nembhard (three-year, $58.6MM) extensions will put the Pacers closer to the luxury tax threshold and the prohibitive tax aprons going forward. Turner would become an unrestricted free agent without an extension before July 2025, while Mathurin will be eligible for a rookie scale extension at that time.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Nets could dictate next summer’s free agency and trade markets, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. They could open up as much as $70MM in cap space, plus they could control as many as four first-round picks in a loaded draft. The Nets also have the league’s second-biggest trade exception at $23.3MM.
- Mavericks former majority owner Mark Cuban apologized to Jalen Brunson for a perceived jab at the Knicks guard over Brunson’s 2022 free agency, Peter Botte of the New York Post relays. The exchange between Cuban and Brunson occurred during The Roommates podcast (video link). Cuban said in April 2023 that negotiations to retain Brunson “went south, when (father Rick Brunson) took over, or the parents took over.” Brunson signed with the Knicks shortly after they hired his father as an assistant coach. “The only thing that I … didn’t like about the whole situation was when Mark said, ‘When the parents got involved, that’s when things got messy,’” Brunson said. “So that was the one thing that I was like, I kind of was like, ‘Damn that was a little jab.’” Cuban offered the following reply: “I apologize, if it put you in a certain way, that wasn’t the intention. But it was hard to deal with. It was a unique negotiation in a lot of different ways.”
- The Cavaliers will hold their first week of training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., according to a team press release. Cleveland will become the first NBA team to hold training camp at IMG Academy. It will also be the Cavaliers’ first remote training camp since preparing for the 2004/05 season at Capital University in Columbus, OH.
Community Shootaround: Who Can Take Down Boston In The East?
The Celtics seem well-positioned to repeat as NBA champions in 2024/25.
After posting a league-best 64-18 regular season record, Boston blitzed the competition in the playoffs, going 16-3 en route to the franchise’s record 18th championship.
The reigning champs have retained all of their top rotation pieces, extending Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser this summer. In fact, 12 of Boston’s top 13 players from its 2023/24 vintage are back on this year’s roster. The only exception? Free agent forward Oshae Brissett has yet to sign anywhere, but has alluded to a possible Celtics return.
With a focus on vanquishing Boston, several other Eastern Conference contenders retooled significantly during the offseason.
The Sixers are of course the headliners of the offseason, having almost completely reconfigured their roster around incumbent All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Although Paul George was the big addition on a four-year, $211.6MM deal, Philadelphia president Daryl Morey also made some savvy role player signings, including forward Caleb Martin. But both Embiid and George have had some uniquely underwhelming postseason performances in recent years, and both are on the wrong side of 30 with growing injury histories. Can they keep it together in the playoffs when it matters most?
Last year’s No. 2 seed, the Knicks, saw their playoff run hampered by escalating injuries to much of their rotation. Although New York lost starting center Isaiah Hartenstein to the Thunder in free agency, the team made its own splash with a blockbuster trade for former All-Defensive swingman Mikal Bridges, acquiring him from the Nets.
Despite frequent trade rumors, the biggest offseason change for Cavaliers happened on their bench. Cleveland president Koby Altman jettisoned now-former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff after two consecutive playoff seasons as a top-four seed, replacing him with former Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson. The team is hoping for internal development from its four stars and more cohesion out of its other pieces.
As the No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs, the Bucks may have been upset by an Eastern Conference Finals-bound Pacers squad in the first round. But Milwaukee has a key asset Indiana does not: All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, still very much in his prime. After trading to acquire All-Star point guard Damian Lillard late in the 2023 offseason, Milwaukee struggled to build out its depth around a pricey top six and underwent a mid-season coaching change. This year, however, the Bucks added several ring-chasing veterans on below-market deals. Will it be enough to get them deep into the playoffs again?
Indiana, to its credit, played the hand it was dealt, riding some injury luck to its first East Finals appearance in a decade. After an underwhelming Olympics run, wherein he did not play in Team USA’s gold medal game, could All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton be due for a leap? Could newly re-signed forward Pascal Siakam develop more chemistry with the team’s longer-tenured stars after his first full offseason in Indiana?
We want to know what you think. Can anyone among the aforementioned crop best Boston and emerge out of the East? Will a spoiler with present talent and the assets to make a trade — perhaps the Magic or Heat — make a surprise run? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.
Pacers Waive Dakota Mathias
The Pacers have requested waivers on guard Dakota Mathias, the team announced in a press release.
The move was anticipated. Mathias was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract a few days ago, and the Pacers specified that he was expected to play with the Mad Ants, their G League affiliate, during the 2024/25 season.
The Exhibit 10 language Mathias’ contract means he’ll receive a bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard NBAGL salary as long as he spends at least 60 days with the Mad Ants once the season begins.
Mathias played four years of college ball in Indiana at Purdue prior to going undrafted in 2018. He has appeared in 14 regular season games with Philadelphia and Memphis, last playing for the Grizzlies during the 2021/22 campaign. He holds career averages of 3.9 points in 9.9 minutes per contest.
In addition to his time in the NBA and NBAGL, the 29-year-old combo guard has also played professionally in Europe, spending time in Spain and Germany.
The Pacers now have 19 players under contract, two shy of the offseason limit. They have 16 players on standard deals, but only 12 of those contracts are fully guaranteed. All three of their two-way slots are filled.