Draft Notes: Culver, Fall, Edwards, Clarke
Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver made his case to be drafted third overall during a workout today with the Knicks, relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Calling himself “an elite two-way player,” Culver told reporters his defensive abilities separate him from other top prospects.
“Nowadays, it’s hard to find people who take pride in defense. But I’m one of them,” he said. “I take pride in defense. Being at Texas Tech taught me a lot, so I feel like on the defensive side I’m elite.”
Most mock drafts have Duke’s R.J. Barrett headed to New York, following Duke’s Zion Williamson and Murray State’s Ja Morant off the board. Culver said he’s confident in what he has to offer and doesn’t compare himself to Barrett.
“I feel like we’re great players, both of us,” Culver said. “He has a lot of talent, I have a lot of talent. And at the end of the day it’s not our choice where we go, it’s for everybody else to choose. So we just put in the work. I know he’s working hard, I’m working hard. So it is what it is.”
Culver already had a workout with the Lakers, who hold the No. 4 selection, and he has sessions scheduled with the next three teams in the draft, the Cavaliers, Suns and Bulls.
There’s more draft news tonight:
- Central Florida’s Tacko Fall wasn’t able to participate in shooting drills with the Pacers today after rolling his ankle earlier in the workout, writes Wheat Hotchkiss of NBA.com. The injury doesn’t sound serious and the 7’7″ center made an impression by towering over his workout partners. “Whenever people see me, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s tall, but can he play?,'” Fall said. “It’s something that I had to work on. I have worked really hard. I have great people around me that have helped me become the player I am today. I just have to keep working.” Others at the session included Indiana’s Juwan Morgan, Florida State’s Mfiondu Kabengele and Clemson’s Elijah Thomas.
- Purdue’s Carsen Edwards, who worked out for the Sixers today, has also been through sessions with the Pacers, Jazz and Nets, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He has upcoming workouts set with the Bucks, Celtics and Thunder.
- Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke has worked out for several teams already and has sessions scheduled with the Celtics, Nets, Bulls, Pistons and Timberwolves, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
More Names Revealed For Team USA World Cup Tryouts
Team USA’s training camp roster for the FIBA World Cup will be announced next week, but four players have already been confirmed, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Anthony Davis, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Kemba Walker will definitely be part of the team, while the other 14 slots are still being worked out. The roster will be trimmed to 12 when the players gather in Las Vegas in early August to prepare for the tournament, which takes place from August 31 to September 15 in China.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski drops a few more names in a full story on the World Cup tryouts, which sources tell him are also expected to include Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Bradley Beal and Kevin Love. Others planning to be part of the camp include Eric Gordon, Jayson Tatum, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Drummond and Kyle Kuzma.
P.J. Tucker will attend training camp as well, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, and league sources tell Woj that Paul Millsap also plans to be there. Other names leaked for the camp are Tobias Harris (Twitter link from Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer) and Myles Turner (Twitter link from Scott Agness of the Athletic).
Zion Williamson, expected to be the first pick in the draft later this month, has been invited to camp as part of the 10-man select team that will scrimmage against the 18-man roster, Stein tweets. Williamson will be given a chance to play his way onto the final roster if he has a standout performance in that role, according to USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo (Twitter link).
The select team will also include John Collins and Marvin Bagley, tweets Tim Bomtemps of ESPN.
The camp will be held from August 5-8, with exhibition games to follow before the start of World Cup play. Gregg Popovich will serve as head coach.
Grizzlies Interview Taylor Jenkins For Second Time
According to Charania, Bucks assistant Taylor Jenkins, whose interview with Memphis was previously reported, met with the Grizzlies for a second time last week. Jenkins is one of at least six candidates to interview for the position, but the fact that he got a second meeting may signal that he’s receiving serious consideration.
Pelicans Have Begun Listening To Inquiries On Anthony Davis
Despite a desire to hang onto the All-NBA big man, new Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin has begun to listen to inquiries on Anthony Davis, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. As Charania details, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Davis will be moved this offseason, but it shows that the Pelicans are at least open to hearing out potential suitors.
Davis and Griffin recently met for the first time in Los Angeles, and while that meeting was described as respectful and productive, the 26-year-old’s preference to be traded reportedly remains unchanged. The Pelicans could keep trying to win AD over and hang onto him until the 2020 trade deadline – or beyond – but it seems unlikely that he’d relent on his trade request down the road if the team winning the draft lottery didn’t affect his stance at all, Charania writes.
Davis’ preferred list of destinations, reported when he initially made his trade request in the winter, included the Lakers, Knicks, Clippers, and Bucks. Executives around the NBA believe that the Lakers and Knicks – along with the Celtics and Nets – are capable of putting together the strongest packages, per Charania.
[RELATED: Top 25 Assets Among Presumed Anthony Davis Contenders]
While the Pelicans appear more open to the idea of moving Davis, there are no indications that the club is considering making Jrue Holiday available. Charania refers to the veteran guard as a “cornerstone” for New Orleans, adding that Holiday and Griffin have spent time with one another in Los Angeles this spring.
Five Non-Bird Free Agents Who May Be Difficult To Re-Sign
Every player who finishes a season as a member of an NBA roster gets some form of Bird rights as a free agent, allowing his team to go over the cap to re-sign him. However, a player who spent just one year with his club typically only has Non-Bird rights, which are the weakest form of Bird rights, as their oxymoronic name suggests.
With the Non-Bird exception, a team can re-sign a player for up to four years and give him a raise, but that raise has to be a modest one. Non-Bird rights allow for a starting salary worth up to 120% of the player’s previous salary. In other words, a Non-Bird free agent who earned $5MM can only get a starting salary worth up to $6MM on his new deal unless his team uses cap room or another exception to bring him back.
This cap restriction will apply specifically to a handful of players around the NBA who appear to be in line for raises this summer. Because these players will be Non-Bird free agents, their teams’ ability to re-sign them will be limited.
Let’s take a closer look at five players who fit this bill for the 2019 offseason:
DeMarcus Cousins, Warriors (maximum Non-Bird salary: $6,404,400): Cousins’ future has been a popular topic of discussion since the day he signed his one-year contract with the Warriors, since it didn’t appear there was any way for the club to retain him unless he was willing to accept another discount deal. After suffering a torn quad in April, Cousins looked like a possible candidate for another one-year, prove-it contract, but if he continues to shine in the NBA Finals like he did in Game 2, he’ll be able to do better than that on the open market, reducing the likelihood of a return to Golden State.- Brook Lopez, Bucks (maximum Non-Bird salary: $4,058,400): As I outlined over the weekend, the Bucks can actually create up to about $10MM in cap room without renouncing free agents Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon or waiving non-guaranteed players like Sterling Brown and Pat Connaughton. If Milwaukee wants to retain Lopez, the team may need to go that route, since he’ll be seeking a much bigger salary than the $3.38MM he earned in 2018/19. Having proven he’s capable of stretching the floor on offense and protecting the rim on defense, he deserves it.
- Austin Rivers, Rockets (maximum Non-Bird salary: 120% of the minimum): After being bought out by Phoenix, Rivers signed with the Rockets for the minimum. Now they won’t be able to offer him more than about $2.77MM without using cap room or the taxpayer mid-level exception. Given how well he played for Houston in the second half, Rivers should do better than that on the open market. Teammate Kenneth Faried may be in a similar boat, having joined the Rockets on a post-buyout minimum-salary deal of his own.
- Seth Curry, Trail Blazers (maximum Non-Bird salary: $3,354,000): The Trail Blazers have three key Non-Bird free agents who will be tough to bring back. Besides Curry, Rodney Hood and Enes Kanter also fall into that group. Portland would probably like to retain all three players, and it’s hard to say which one would be missed most if he signs elsewhere. But my pick is Curry, whose .450 3PT% in the regular season (and .404 playoff 3PT%) was crucial for a team that didn’t have a ton of outside shooting.
- Michael Carter-Williams, Magic (maximum Non-Bird salary: 120% of the minimum): Like Rivers, Carter-Williams was an in-season minimum-salary addition. The former Rookie of the Year rejuvenated his career with the Magic down the stretch, providing some stability behind D.J. Augustin at the point and helping fortify one of the NBA’s best second-half defenses. Carter-Williams won’t get as big a raise as most of the other players on this list, but Orlando will face competition for his services this summer and may lose him.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Harris, Brogdon, Horford, Handy
The Sixers don’t know if free agent Tobias Harris will be on their roster next season, but two of his younger brothers might be, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Tyler Harris, 24, was part of the organization’s free agent workouts on Friday and Saturday and Terry Harris, 22, has a pre-draft session set for tomorrow.
The 24-year-old Tyler is a 6’10” forward who might be in the running for a two-way contract with the Sixers next season, according to Pompey. Terry, 22, is a 6’6″ forward who just completed his senior season at North Carolina A&T. He is projected as a possible late second-round selection and could be on the board when Philadelphia selects at No. 54. Terry had recent workouts with the Suns and Clippers and has sessions upcoming with the Kings, Nets and Mavericks.
Rashad Vaughn, Jamel Artis and Jamil Wilson were other players of interest at the Sixers’ free-agent workouts, Pompey adds.
- Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon could be an attractive alternative if the Sixers can’t re-sign Harris or Jimmy Butler, Pompey suggests in a separate story. Brogdon will be a restricted free agent, but he could become expendable with Milwaukee facing a free agent crunch of its own. He was a steady contributor this year, posting a 15.6/4.5/3.2 line before his season was cut short by a plantar fascia tear in his right foot. Pompey states that Brogdon could work as a complement to Ben Simmons in the backcourt or he could become the primary ballhandler if the Sixers decide to make Simmons a forward.
- The Rockets’ willingness to reshape their roster could provide an opportunity for the Celtics, states Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. The best chance for a deal, according to Forsberg, is if Kyrie Irving leaves Boston and the Celtics decide to commit to a youth movement. If Al Horford decides to opt into a $30.1MM salary, the organization may look to send him elsewhere, or there’s a chance both sides work out a sign-and-trade deal. In either scenario, Houston is an intriguing location because Horford met with the Rockets when he was a free agent in 2016. “It was a privilege,” Horford said at the time. “(Hakeem Olajuwon) and Clyde (Drexler) were there, and my dad went to high school here in Houston, and he was pushing Houston hard. Hakeem, to him, was a big deal.”
- Sam Amick of The Athletic talks to Raptors assistant coach Phil Handy, who is facing the Warriors in the NBA Finals for the fifth straight year.
Milwaukee Considers $400K Settlement With Sterling Brown
The Cavaliers continue to view Kevin Love as an important part of their rotation and are unlikely to make him available in trade talks this summer, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. In addition to his on-court production, Cavs management likes having the five-time All-Star around as a veteran leader as the team continues to rebuild after losing LeBron James.
2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks were a popular sleeper contender pick entering the 2018/19 season, but few fans or experts anticipated they’d make the sort of jump they did. After having failed to get past the first round of the playoffs since 2001, Milwaukee led the NBA with 60 wins and built a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to Toronto. While falling short of the NBA Finals was a disappointment, the franchise took a huge step in the right direction this past year and is poised to build on that progress going forward.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Bucks financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:
Guaranteed Salary
- Giannis Antetokounmpo ($25,842,697)
- Eric Bledsoe ($15,625,000)
- Tony Snell ($11,492,857)
- Ersan Ilyasova ($7,000,000)
- D.J. Wilson ($2,961,120)
- Donte DiVincenzo ($2,905,800)
- Spencer Hawes ($2,007,058) — Waived via stretch provision
- Larry Sanders ($1,865,546) — Waived via stretch provision
- George Hill ($1,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below. 1
- Bonzie Colson (two-way)
- Total: $70,700,078
Player Options
- Khris Middleton ($13,000,000)
- Total: $13,000,000
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- George Hill ($17,000,000) 1
- Pat Connaughton ($1,723,050)
- Sterling Brown ($1,618,520)
- Total: $20,341,570
Restricted Free Agents
- Malcolm Brogdon ($3,021,354 qualifying offer / $3,021,354 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total: $3,021,354
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Nikola Mirotic ($18,750,000): Bird rights
- Brook Lopez ($4,058,400): Non-Bird rights
- No. 30 overall pick ($1,934,040)
- Tim Frazier ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
- Pau Gasol ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $27,979,412
Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000
Offseason Cap Outlook
- Cap room projection No. 1: $10.3MM
- The Bucks’ cap situation is a fascinating one, given the various free agent cap holds and non-guaranteed contracts in play. This scenario is one I view as pretty plausible. It assumes the Bucks waive-and-stretch Hill, keep the rest of their players on guaranteed contracts, retain Connaughton, Brown, and their first-round pick, and keep the cap holds for Brogdon and Middleton ($19.5MM) on their books, renouncing the rest. That would leave $10.3MM in cap room for Lopez and/or other FA targets, plus the room exception. After using that room, the club could then go over the cap – and potentially even into the tax – to re-sign Middleton and Brogdon using Bird rights.
- Cap room projection No. 2: $0
- This scenario assumes the Bucks keep all their cap holds – including Lopez’s and Mirotic’s – on their books and remain an over-the-cap team. It’s another one of the most realistic outcomes, since Milwaukee would still be able to use some form of the mid-level exception. But it only really makes sense if the Bucks can re-sign Mirotic with his Bird rights or Lopez with his Non-Bird rights.
- Cap room projection No. 3: $28.9MM
- This projection assumes the same series of events as scenario No. 1, but assumes Middleton signs elsewhere and his cap hold comes off the team’s books. I don’t think that’s too likely, but the Bucks could get pretty close to a maximum-salary slot even without renouncing Brogdon.
- It’s worth noting that the Bucks’ cap projection could look different than any of these scenarios if the team makes a trade or two, potentially dumping Snell’s contract to create more flexibility.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,246,000 2
Footnotes
- Hill’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 1.
- This is a projected value. In the event the Bucks use cap room, they’d lose this exception and would instead would gain access to the $4,760,000 room exception. If the Bucks are at risk of going into tax territory, they may have to use the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,711,000) rather than the full mid-level exception.
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders, ESPN.com, and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bucks Notes: Kaminsky, Lopez, Hill, Giannis
In the market for a big man who could stretch the floor at the trade deadline, the Bucks made an effort to acquire Frank Kaminsky from the Hornets, but were turned down, sources tell Sean Deveney of Sporting News. Having missed out on Kaminsky, Milwaukee instead sent a handful of second-round picks to New Orleans to acquire Nikola Mirotic.
With Mirotic and Brook Lopez both headed for unrestricted free agency this summer, however, Deveney expects the Bucks to circle back to Kaminsky, who will be eligible for restricted free agency. Milwaukee’s ability to land him will depend on a number of factors, including how serious the Hornets are about re-signing him and what happens with the Bucks’ own free agent bigs. Still, it’s a potential pairing to watch, particularly if Kaminsky becomes unrestricted and is available at a discount.
Here’s more on the Bucks:
- In a separate article for Sporting News, Deveney previewed the Bucks’ offseason, suggesting that the team will make Khris Middleton its top priority in free agency this summer over Lopez, Malcolm Brogdon, and others.
- After the Bucks’ season ended last weekend, Lopez said he’d “love to be back,” while George Hill – who is expected to be waived to avoid his full $19MM guarantee – said that money has never been the most important factor for him in free agency, as Malika Andrews of ESPN.com relays.
- In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Eric Nehm spoke to Giannis Antetokounmpo about what the Bucks star learned during his first extended playoff run, and how he’ll apply those lessons going forward. “There are so many things I thought were tough in the regular season,” Antetokounmpo said after playing three rounds of postseason basketball. “They’re not.”
- The Bucks recently worked out UNC forward Cameron Johnson, per Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box (via Twitter). The 21st player on ESPN’s big board, Johnson may no longer be available by the time Milwaukee picks at No. 30.
Bucks GM Jon Horst In Line For Extension, Raise?
Having been named the Bucks‘ new general manager in June 2017, Jon Horst now just has one year left on the three-year deal he received at that time, per Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box. According to Woelfel, “word is circulating” around the league that Horst will seek a raise on a contract extension this offseason.
After building a roster that won 60 games and made the Eastern Conference Finals this season, Horst is certainly deserving of an extension, and sources tell Woelfel that Bucks ownership is amenable to working out a new agreement. However, it remains to be seen what Horst’s salary would look like on such an extension.
According to Woelfel, Horst has been the NBA’s lowest-paid GM over the last couple years, with several league officials suggesting that his annual salary is in the $500K range (that figure was also reported by ESPN shortly after Horst’s promotion). The NBA’s highest-paid executives earn salaries in the neighborhood of $8-10MM per year, Woelfel notes.
While Horst’s next deal should certainly be more lucrative than his current one, the Bucks’ ownership group is probably unlikely to make an offer that puts the young GM among the highest-paid execs in the league.
“If you asked me what would be a fair deal for him, I’d say around $3MM (per year),” one NBA executive told Woelfel. “That’s about the average salary for a GM and I think he’s regarded as an average GM. But knowing (the Bucks’ owners), I don’t think he’s going to get even that.”
While the Bucks’ owners may not have a reputation as huge spenders, co-owner Marc Lasry has stated the team intends to do everything it can to win and will attempt to keep all its core players this offseason. I expect the club will pay what it takes to get Horst locked up for the next few years.