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Players Who Can Veto Trades In 2017/18

August 2nd, 2017 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, but one such provision has been the subject of much discussion so far in 2017, as Carmelo Anthony made use of his NTC to block the Knicks from sending him to an undesirable destination. For much of the offseason, Anthony was focused on joining the Rockets, but he eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to Oklahoma City.

Anthony is one of just two NBA players whose contract includes an explicit no-trade clause, but there are still several players each year who have the ability to veto trades. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with an option year – is given no-trade protection, and so is a player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team. Players who accept qualifying offers after their rookie deals expire can also block deals.

Taking into account that list of criteria, here are the players who must give their consent if their teams want to trade them during the 2017/18 league year:

No-trade clauses

Players whose offer sheets were matched

  • Otto Porter (Wizards)
    • Note: Even with his consent, Porter cannot be traded to the Nets during the 2017/18 league year.

Players accepting qualifying offers

Players re-signing for one year (or two years including an option)

In addition to the players listed above who can veto trades through the 2017/18 league year, there’s another small handful of players who can’t be dealt under any circumstance until at least next July. The following players signed a Designated Veteran Extension this season, which precludes them from being traded for a full calendar year:

Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post.

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Latest On NBA’s Summer Salary Guarantee Dates

August 2nd, 2017 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat didn’t make any roster moves with Rodney McGruder or Okaro White on Tuesday, ensuring that both players remain under contract and received partial guarantees on their contracts for 2017/18, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

As Basketball Insiders details, McGruder and White are on minimum salary deals worth $1,312,611 for the coming season. By remaining with the Heat through August 1, both players are now in line for about $453K in guaranteed money. Their full salaries will become guaranteed if they stay under contract through the first game of the regular season.

Meanwhile, as we noted last night, the Hornets also kept Johnny O’Bryant on their roster beyond his August 1 salary guarantee deadline, making his $1,524,305 minimum salary fully guaranteed.

Other players, including Jordan Crawford of the Pelicans and Bryn Forbes of the Spurs, had August 1 salary guarantee deadlines in their contracts as well, per Basketball Insiders’ data. However, we haven’t received confirmation that their guarantees are locked in.

Neither Crawford nor Forbes was waived, but teams and players can sometimes agree to push back guarantee dates to create more flexibility for the club — the Trail Blazers recently did just that with Pat Connaughton, whose salary guarantee deadline is now August 31 instead of July 25.

For more details on which players have received salary guarantees this summer – as well as which players have been waived before those guarantees kicked in – be sure to check out our full breakdown.

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McGruder, White Likely To Get Guarantees

July 31st, 2017 at 8:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Heat are likely to retain shooting guard Rodney McGruder and forward Okaro White and give them guaranteed money, Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun Sentinel reports. Both players will receive $453K if they remain on the roster by the end of the business day on Tuesday.  They each have $1.3MM contracts for next season amount but the guarantees are equal to half of what each player would have received for the 2017/18 season under the previous NBA veteran-minimum scale, Winderman explains.
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Heat Notes: Richardson, Clark, Rose, Winslow

July 30th, 2017 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Starting Thursday, the Heat will be able to offer a contract extension to third-year guard Josh Richardson, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The offer can be as much as $43MM over four years, and Richardson would have until the start of the regular season to accept it. If he doesn’t, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.

Richardson has been valuable when he’s been in the lineup, but he was limited to 53 games last year because of injuries. Knee surgery forced him to miss training camp and the first four regular season games, then ankle problems sidelined him in midseason.

Jackson expects the Heat to offer at least $30MM over three years, with a player option for the final season. Given the decline in money going to mid-level free agents this summer, Richardson might find that offer appealing.

Here are some more Heat-related notes, courtesy of Jackson:

  • Miami seems likely to hold onto its $4.3MM mid-level exception for the buyout season. The Heat like former Warrior Ian Clark, who once played for Miami’s summer league team, but he’s looking for $8MM, well out of their price range. There’s also not an obvious role for Clark in an already-crowded backcourt.
  • The Heat also didn’t have playing time to give Derrick Rose, which is why they didn’t try to top Cleveland’s $2.1MM offer. Miami’s front office had interest in Rose, but the team is already committed to Goran Dragic as its starter as point guard.
  • Justise Winslow held a press conference this week and said his injured right shoulder will be fully healed by training camp. The second-year forward played just 18 games last year and had season-ending surgery in early January.
  • Free agent big man Luke Babbitt, who was acquired from the Pelicans in a trade last summer, is examining his options for next season. He made $1.227MM last year.
  • Willie Reed probably wouldn’t have opted out of his contract with the Heat if he knew he wouldn’t be getting a raise. The 27-year-old center agreed to a minimum-salary deal with the Clippers worth $1.5MM for one year, roughly the same amount he would have gotten in Miami. Reed said L.A. wants him to provide a defensive presence as a backup to DeAndre Jordan. “I felt like it was a comfortable position and it was kind of similar to the role that I played in Miami,” Reed said, “so it wouldn’t be difficult for me to adjust.”
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Southeast Notes: Heat, Winslow, Hornets, Wizards

July 28th, 2017 at 12:30pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Justise Winslow would embrace playing alongside Kyrie Irving should the Heat make a trade for the point guard, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel relays.

“I’m good friends with Kyrie, but it’s not really like free agency. Kyrie doesn’t really have a huge say-so in where he goes,” Winslow said. “He’s going to get traded. So a lot of it is not in his hands, but I would love to play with Kyrie.”

Irving listed Miami as a preferred destination, though the organization is reportedly not optimistic about its chances of acquiring the four-time All-Star, and denied making an offer for him. It’s also worth noting that if the Heat were to acquire Irving, Winslow would almost certainly have to be part of the package heading to Cleveland.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • Winslow added that he’s happy with the Heat‘s current composition, which includes Goran Dragic as the team’s current starting point guard, Winderman passes along in the same piece linked above. Dragic has three seasons left on his current deal, though he could become a free agent during the summer of 2019 if he decides to turn down his player option worth slightly under $19.22MM.
  • The Hornets brought in several free agent point guards earlier this week, but didn’t sign anyone following that group workout. Still, it sounds likely that they’ll do so soon, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
  • The Wizards won’t have a G League affiliate this year, but one will be in place for the start of the 2018/19 season. As Chase Hughes of CSNMidAtlantic.com outlines, team owner Ted Leonsis recently provided some information on that process, suggesting that details on Washington’s G League team name and branding should be announced this fall.
  • After his new deal with the Magic was officially finalized, Arron Afflalo spoke to reporters about why he made the decision to return to Orlando (video link).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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At Least Six Teams Have Made Kyrie Trade Offers

July 28th, 2017 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

10:37am: The Heat have made no offer to the Cavs for Irving, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Wojnarowski is as reliable as NBA reporters come, so this may simply be a question of semantics — perhaps the Heat conveyed to Cleveland what they’d be willing to give up for Kyrie without officially putting an offer on the table. Either way, Miami looks like a long shot.

8:37am: The Spurs, Clippers, Heat, Knicks, Suns, and Timberwolves are among the teams that have made trade offers to the Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Wojnarowski, about 20 teams have inquired with the Cavs about Irving, but far fewer have made legit proposals — some clubs are just monitoring the proceedings, while others don’t have the assets necessary to make a deal happen.

As Wojnarowski explains, there’s a discrepancy between the sort of package the Cavaliers are seeking and what Irving’s potential suitors are currently willing to offer. New GM Koby Altman is looking at the package Denver received in 2011 for Carmelo Anthony as a point of reference. The Nuggets acquired young players, win-now veterans, and draft picks in that swap. However, Cleveland’s potential trade partners prefer a “scaled-down” version of that structure, with fewer players and picks, like what the Bulls received for Jimmy Butler.

Here’s more from Woj:

  • According to Wojnarowski, the Cavaliers haven’t ruled out the possibility of bringing Irving to training camp, or even extending the process beyond December 15, when most free agent signees become trade-eligible. However, other clubs are skeptical that the Cavs will let the Irving saga continue well into the fall.
  • Teams around the league view the Suns and Celtics as the teams best equipped to make a deal for Irving. However, Phoenix hasn’t been willing to include Josh Jackson, and it’s not clear how aggressive Boston would be with its assets.
  • The Heat are open to parting with Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow in an offer for Irving, sources tell Wojnarowski. Still, Miami would likely have to make an “overwhelming” offer to get something done, given the history between the two franchises, Woj adds.
  • The Pacers had Irving as the No. 1 target on their trade board when they were shopping Paul George, and would have done a one-for-one deal, but the Cavaliers declined that option multiple times, sources tell Woj. The ESPN scribe also notes that a separate deal for George – involving Kevin Love instead of Irving – fell apart when the Cavs insisted on including lottery protection on a first-round pick they’d send to the Pacers. Indiana wanted the pick unprotected.
  • Team executives around the NBA are doing a ton of homework on Irving, and have been encouraged by what they’ve found — there’s a consensus that Irving has a history of late nights and partying, but it never affected his play and he has curbed those tendencies into his mid-20s, says Wojnarowski.
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Base Values Of Waiters, Olynyk Contracts Less Than Reported

July 26th, 2017 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

When the Heat agreed to deals with Dion Waiters, Kelly Olynyk, and James Johnson earlier this month, the reported terms of those agreements looked a little too high for the club to fit within its available cap room. At the time, it appeared the reported salary figures on those deals – $52MM for Waiters, $50MM for Olynyk, and $60MM for Johnson – could be inflated by possible incentives, while the base values ended up being a little smaller.

In the case of Waiters and Olynyk, that’s indeed the case. As Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details, the overall base value of Waiters’ four-year deal is approximately $47.3MM, while Olynyk’s is worth about $45.6MM overall. Pincus doesn’t yet have details on the unlikely incentives included in each contract, but if the terms reported initially are to be believed, it appears each player will have the opportunity to earn more than $1MM in incentives in each year of his new contract with the Heat.

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Heat Notes: Hayward, Irving, Olynyk

July 25th, 2017 at 6:43pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Gordon Hayward was extremely inspired during his free agency meeting with the Heat, passes along Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. In fact, the small forward was so pumped that he felt about ready to put on a Miami uniform:

“After the video, he [Pat Riley] kind of talked a little bit,” Hayward said. “And that was the moment where you kind of do get some chills. And everyone’s wearing their ring, too, everybody on the staff was. And so that’s the moment where you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s really cool,’ an I-want-to-put-on-the-jersey-right-now type feeling.”

Hayward went on, “Miami was the spot that the more and more we talked about it, the more and more it looked like this would be a really, really good fit for me. And we actually broke it down and had like a point system of different pros and cons and on a weighted scale of different things that each city would represent and each team would represent, and Miami was always near the top of the rankings when we did it.”

Hayward was also struck by “this family vibe that they have.”  The now Celtics forward also said about the Heat pitch, “Mark [agent Mark Bartlestein] had tried to tell me, after you talk with him, you’re going to be like, ‘Mark, I’m ready to sign right now.’ You do get that vibe from him. He’s a great motivator. And we watched some videos, too, of the Heat and their tradition. He definitely makes you feel like you’re going to be competing for championships year in and year out.”

Here’s more from the Miami Heat:

  • The Heat do not have considerable optimism about being able to land Kyrie Irving in a trade, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Tim Reynolds, who covers the NBA for the Associated Press, said that he does not believe that the Heat are even interested in acquiring Irving. Regardless, Jackson says that the Heat’s best chance to get Irving in a trade is if suitors with more appealing assets cannot strike a deal and the Cavs circle back to Miami.
  • Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that the Heat have completed more trades, six, with the Cavaliers than any other team. Winderman details this rich trading history, which suggests that an Irving deal should not be viewed as impossible.
  • In a separate piece, Winderman argues that the Heat owe it to themselves to consider trading for Irving. As Winderman puts it, the Heat should consider breaking up a good team to put together a great team. The scribe also points out that Irving’s list of preferred destinations purposefully includes teams with respected coaches and front offices.
  • Eric Pincus tweets that Kelly Olynyk‘s deal includes a 5% trade kicker that cannot be used in excess of $2MM.

 

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Gordon Hayward Talks Free Agency Decision

July 24th, 2017 at 7:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Gordon Hayward narrowed his choices down to the Jazz, Celtics, and Heat before deciding to come to Boston. He joined ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod to discuss some of the factors that went into his decision. Here are the highlights from the interview:

On Miami’s recruiting pitch: 

I think the text I sent to [agent] Mark [Bartelstein] was, ‘Wow, that’s going to be really tough to beat.’ … I asked [my wife] Robyn, and she said something like she could see herself living there and that would be a really great place for us to be. ‘I really liked such and such of the wives and I could have a good relationship with them.’ It was all positive stuff. It was something where it was like ‘OK, now let’s try to just put that aside and go into Boston with a clean slate.’

On the Ricky Rubio trade:

It kind of was a difficult situation because I don’t want to be somebody that says, ‘You go get this player and I’m 100 percent in. If you trade for so and so, you get rid of this guy, you go get him.’ … I didn’t want to make demands because I didn’t know if I was going to end up there. It wasn’t a sure thing. I had told them I wanted to check out these other teams, and that being said, they asked me, ‘How do you feel about these guys?’ and I would tell them and Ricky was a guy that was high on my list.

On his relationship with Brad Stevens:

It’s been seven years since he coached me [at Butler], and immediately, though, he called me July 1, and after that phone call I thought like this isn’t going to be any different. With him, it was one of those things where he made me feel like even if I don’t go to Boston, it’ll be fine and we’ll still have that great relationship and he’ll still be in my corner and he’ll still be rooting for me and supporting me. So I got that feeling, too. We didn’t have a driver. He’s the one that picked me up and the one that drove me to the hotel and we got lost a couple times on the way. All those thoughts were put to bed.

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Heat Sign Derrick Walton Jr. To Two-Way Deal

July 24th, 2017 at 5:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Miami has signed Derrick Walton Jr. to a two-way deal, according to the team’s website. The contract will be the first two-way deal in franchise history, as our updated 2017/18 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker indicates.

Players on two-way deals will spend most of their season in the G-League since they cannot spend more than 45 days with an NBA club, as our glossary page on two-way contracts shows.

Walton Jr. spent four seasons at the University of Michigan, where he scored 11.6 points per game. As a senior, he scored 15.5 points per game while adding 4.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds per contest.

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