Newsstand

Spurs, Rockets Have Most Remaining Cap Room

July 1st, 2023 at 7:41am CST by Luke Adams

As we enter the first day of the NBA’s 2023/24 league year, two Southwest rivals – the Spurs and Rockets – are the teams with the most projected cap room still available, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links) and Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

San Antonio and Houston were active on Friday night. The Spurs reached agreements to re-sign restricted free agents Tre Jones and Julian Champagnie, while the Rockets made one of the biggest splashes of the summer so far by agreeing to a three-year, maximum-salary contract with Fred VanVleet. However, Jones and Champagnie have cap holds below their projected salaries, while Houston entered the offseason with approximately $64MM in room, so both teams still have plenty of flexibility.

Marks projects the Spurs at $29MM in remaining space, while Smith suggests they could actually still create up to $34MM+ if needed. Either way, they still have more spending power than any team in the NBA. Both Marks and Smith have the Rockets at approximately $25MM.

The Kings, Jazz, and Pacers are among the other clubs that still project to have more than $10MM in cap room remaining, though Sacramento’s and Indiana’s figures are hard to pin down because they’ll hinge on whether the teams complete their rumored trade involving Chris Duarte. The Kings also still have a path to remain an over-the-cap team if they want to, since none of their reported moves so far absolutely require cap space.

Here are a few other things to watch as the second day – and first full day – of the free agent period gets underway:

While our top seven free agents of 2023 came off the board in the first several hours of free agency, plenty of players in our top 20 are still available: Miles Bridges (No. 8), D’Angelo Russell (9), P.J. Washington (11), Austin Reaves (12), Brook Lopez (15), Max Strus (16), Dillon Brooks (18), Grant Williams (19), and Donte DiVincenzo (20).
The Cavaliers are reportedly trying to acquire Strus in a sign-and-trade deal involving the Heat and a third team, rumored to be the Spurs. Cleveland doesn’t have the mid-level available for Strus, having committed it to Georges Niang, but Miami doesn’t appear to have interest in taking back salary in a deal, so San Antonio’s cap space could come in handy.
The Lakers were busy on the first day of free agency, agreeing to re-sign Rui Hachimura and reaching deals to bring in Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince. However, Russell and Reaves don’t have deals yet. Sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic that the Lakers remain interested in re-signing both players and are still in position from a financial perspective to bring them back.
Tyrese Haliburton and Desmond Bane agreed to maximum-salary rookie scale extensions late on Friday night. Will other extension-eligible players join them on Saturday? Rising Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards looks like the best bet among the rookie scale candidates. Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, Raptors swingman Gary Trent Jr., and Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson were among the players said to be making progress in extension talks on Friday, so perhaps they’ll reach agreements soon. As for Jaylen Brown, who is eligible for a super-max contract with the Celtics, a league source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe that the All-NBA wing isn’t expected to agree to terms immediately, but both sides are confident that a deal will be made sooner or later.
Of course, James Harden remains the biggest name on the trade block, but by all accounts, the Sixers aren’t eager to rush into a deal, so we shouldn’t necessarily expect resolution on that front right away.
We’ll be tracking all the latest news and rumors all day, and updating our free agent tracker with the newest free agent agreements.

NBA 2023 Free Agency: Day 1 Recap

July 1st, 2023 at 1:42am CST by Luke Adams

It was a very busy first day of NBA free agency on Friday. By our count, a total of 39 free agents have agreed to new deals since the negotiating period officially began at 5:00 pm CT, while two more players agreed to maximum-salary extensions.

There was some action on the trade market too, with one deal officially finalized on Friday and three more agreed upon.

Listed below are all the free agent agreements, contract extensions, trades, and other notable news items from the first day of free agency.

Free agent agreements

These deals aren’t yet official, so the reported terms could change — or agreements could fall through altogether. Generally speaking though, teams and players are on track to finalize these agreements sometime after the moratorium ends on July 6.

Note: Some of these salary figures may include options, incentives, or non-guaranteed money.

Jerami Grant, Trail Blazers agree to five-year, $160MM contract.
Fred VanVleet, Rockets agree to three-year, $128.5MM contract (maximum salary)
Kyrie Irving, Mavericks agree to three-year, $126MM contract.
Cameron Johnson, Nets agree to four-year, $108MM contract.
Khris Middleton, Bucks agree to three-year, $102MM contract.
Kyle Kuzma, Wizards agree to four-year, $102MM contract.
Draymond Green, Warriors agree to four-year, $100MM contract.
Jakob Poeltl, Raptors agree to four-year, $80MM contract.
Herbert Jones, Pelicans agree to four-year, $53.8MM contract.
Rui Hachimura, Lakers agree to three-year, $51MM contract.
Bruce Brown, Pacers agree to two-year, $45MM contract.
Coby White, Bulls agree to three-year, $33MM contract.
Gabe Vincent, Lakers agree to three-year, $33MM contract.
Caris LeVert, Cavaliers agree to two-year, $32MM contract.
Georges Niang, Cavaliers agree to three-year, $26MM contract.
Dennis Schröder, Raptors agree to two-year, $25.4MM contract.
Joe Ingles, Magic agree to two-year, $22MM contract.
Tre Jones, Spurs agree to two-year, $20MM contract.
Jevon Carter, Bulls agree to three-year, $19MM contract.
Trey Lyles, Kings agree to two-year, $16MM contract.
Julian Champagnie, Spurs agree to four-year, $12MM contract.
Reggie Jackson, Nuggets agree to two-year, $10.25MM contract.
Shake Milton, Timberwolves agree to two-year, $10MM contract.
Seth Curry, Mavericks agree to two-year, $9.3MM contract.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Timberwolves agree to two-year, $9MM contract.
Troy Brown, Timberwolves agree to two-year, $8MM contract.
Kevin Love, Heat agree to two-year, $7.6MM contract.
Taurean Prince, Lakers agree to one-year, $4.5MM contract.
Keita Bates-Diop, Suns agree to two-year, minimum-salary contract.
Oshae Brissett, Celtics agree to two-year, minimum-salary contract.
Cam Reddish, Lakers agree to two-year, minimum-salary contract.
Derrick Rose, Grizzlies agree to two-year, minimum-salary contract.
Josh Richardson, Heat agree to two-year, minimum-salary contract.
Drew Eubanks, Suns agree to two-year, minimum-salary contract.
Chimezie Metu, Suns agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
Yuta Watanabe, Suns agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
Damion Lee, Suns agree to two-year contract.
DeAndre Jordan, Nuggets agree to contract.
Josh Okogie, Suns agree to contract.

Contract extensions

Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers agree to five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension with Rose Rule language.
Desmond Bane, Grizzlies agree to five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension.
Kristaps Porzingis, Celtics expected to finalize two-year, $60MM extension.

Trades

Nets agree to trade Joe Harris and two future second-round picks to Pistons in exchange for cash.
Wizards agree to trade Monte Morris to Pistons in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick.
Heat agree to trade Victor Oladipo and draft compensation to the Thunder for a return that’s TBD.
Pistons trade draft rights to Balsa Koprivica to Clippers in exchange for cash.
Pacers nearing agreement to trade Chris Duarte to Kings for draft compensation.

Other notable headlines

Clippers are James Harden‘s preferred destination as trade talks with Sixers begin.
Sixers not expected to pursue rookie scale extension with Tyrese Maxey.
Gary Trent Jr., Raptors nearing multiyear extension.
Jordan Clarkson, Jazz engaged in extension discussions.
Magic guarantee 2023/24 salaries for Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris.
Trail Blazers waive Trendon Watford.

The first seven players on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents came off the board on Friday night, but there are still plenty of recognizable names on the market, including D’Angelo Russell, Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington, Austin Reaves, Brook Lopez, Max Strus, and Dillon Brooks.

The full list of available free agents can be found right here.

Salary Cap, Tax Line Set For 2023/24 NBA Season

June 30th, 2023 at 9:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially set the salary cap for its 2023/24 season. As forecasted earlier this week, the cap increased by a full 10% on last season’s $123,655,000 figure.

Here are the details, largely courtesy of a league press release:

Salary cap: $136,021,000
Luxury tax line: $165,294,000
First tax apron: $172,346,000
Second tax apron: $182,794,000
Minimum salary floor: $122,418,000
Non-taxpayer mid-level exception: $12,405,000
Taxpayer mid-level exception: $5,000,000
Room exception: $7,723,000
Bi-annual exception: $4,516,000
Maximum salaries:
- 6 years or fewer: $34,005,250
- 7-9 years: $40,806,300
- 10+ years: $47,607,350
Early Bird exception: $12,015,150
Estimated average salary: $11,958,000
Trade cash limit: $7,005,000

The first tax apron for the 2023/24 league year will be the hard cap for any team that acquires a player via sign-and-trade, signs a player using more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception, signs a player using a bi-annual exception, or acquires more than 110% of the outgoing salary in a trade.

The second tax apron is the hard cap for a team that uses the taxpayer mid-level exception.

The salary floor is the minimum amount a team must pay its players in 2023/24. A team that doesn’t spend up to that amount by the start of the regular season will pay the shortfall to the NBA and will only be eligible for 50% of its full share of the luxury tax distribution at season’s end.

The Early Bird amount – which was confirmed to Hoops Rumors by Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype – is the maximum amount a team can offer a player it intends to re-sign using his Early Bird rights. Pelicans forward Herbert Jones has already agreed to an Early Bird deal.

Players earning below the estimated average salary this season who are eligible for a veteran extension can receive a starting salary of up to 140% of the estimated average salary on a new deal. So the maximum starting salary for a player earning below the league average who signs an extension that begins in 2024/25 will be $16,741,200.

The trade cash limit is the maximum amount of money a team can send or receive during the 2023/24 league year. The sent and received categories are separate, so if a team sends out $7,005,000 in one trade and receives $7,005,000 in another, they aren’t back at square one — they’ve reached both limits.

We have separate stories breaking the full year-by-year figures for this year’s maximum salaries, minimum salaries, and mid-level and bi-annual exceptions.

Categories:
Newsstand
Salary Cap

Raptors, Gary Trent Jr. Nearing Multiyear Extension

June 30th, 2023 at 9:42pm CST by Rory Maher

After exercising his 2023/24 player option worth $18,785,000, Gary Trent Jr. is closing in on a “lucrative multiyear extension” with the Raptors, league sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Trent will be extension-eligible on July 7, so a new deal would technically have to wait about a week before becoming official.

The 24-year-old had long been expected to opt out of his option in order to hit the open market and sign a longer-term deal worth perhaps $18-20MM annually. It seems as though that will be coming to fruition, but instead of with a new club, the young shooting guard will be staying with Toronto.

As Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca notes (via Twitter), Trent’s extension technically could be worth up to $116.4MM with a starting salary of $25.98MM in ’24/25 due to a change in how veteran extensions work in the new CBA. Murphy doesn’t think Trent will receive that robust total, but it gives more wiggle room for negotiating a larger sum.

Trent is coming off a solid two-and-a-half year stint in Toronto in which he averaged 17.7 points per game on .420/.374/.843 shooting while chipping in 1.6 SPG. He was acquired via trade from Portland in March 2021 for Norman Powell.

The Raptors have been active in free agency, re-signing Jakob Poeltl to a four-year deal but losing longtime veteran Fred VanVleet, who received a three-year, maximum-salary contract from the Rockets. Toronto quickly pivoted to replace VanVleet by signing Dennis Schröder.

Kevin Love Signs Two-Year Deal With Heat

June 30th, 2023 at 7:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The Heat have made it official, issuing a press release to announce their new deal with Love.

JUNE 30: Veteran power forward Kevin Love is returning to the Heat on a two-year contract, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The second year will include a player option (Twitter links).

The Heat are using their Non-Bird rights to re-sign Love, which will result in a $3.7MM cap hit for next season, the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang tweets. Miami could have gone as high as $3.84MM to retain Love, so they’ll get a little cap relief if the $3.7MM figure is correct.

In either case, it’ll be a bargain for a five-time All-Star and 34-year-old rotation player. After reaching a buyout with the Cavaliers, Love appeared in 21 regular-season games with the Heat, including 17 starts. He averaged 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists, though the 37% career 3-point shooter struggled from long range (29.7%).

Love played 20 postseason games with Miami, including 18 starts, and produced an average of 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17 minutes. His 3-point shooting perked up to his usual level (37.5%).

While it remains to be seen how the rest of the Heat’s roster moves shake out, Love will likely be a starter or key second-unit player once again for the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Lakers Sign Rui Hachimura To Three-Year Deal

June 30th, 2023 at 7:44pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: The Lakers have officially re-signed Hachimura, the team confirmed today in a press release.

JUNE 30: The Lakers have reached an agreement with Rui Hachimura, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Charania that the restricted free agent forward will sign a three-year, $51MM contract to remain in Los Angeles.

According to Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), Hachimura’s deal will be fully guaranteed.

The ninth pick of the 2019 draft, Hachimura spent his first three-plus NBA seasons with the Wizards, averaging 13.0 PPG and 5.1 RPG on .479/.356/.776 shooting in 177 games over that span (118 starts, 27.8 MPG). In 30 games with the Wizards in 2022/23, he averaged 13.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG on .488/.337/.759 shooting in 24.3 MPG off the bench.

Hachimura was traded to the Lakers in January in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks. His regular-season numbers actually declined with L.A., with the Japanese forward posting 9.6 PPG and 4.7 RPG on .485/.296/.721 shooting in 33 games (nine starts, 22.4 MPG).

However, he had a scorching hot playoff run, posting a .557/.487/.882 shooting line across 16 postseason appearances. He also chipped in 12.2 PPG and 3.6 in 24.3 MPG during the Lakers’ journey to the Western Conference Finals.

Hachimura was eligible for a rookie scale extension before last season started and reportedly received an offer in the range of $12-14MM per year, but passed on that opportunity in search of a bigger deal in free agency. It turned out to be a wise financial decision, as he’ll be making $17MM annually on his new contract.

In case you missed it, the Lakers have also reached free agent agreements with guard Gabe Vincent and forward Taurean Prince.

Pelicans Re-Sign Herbert Jones To Four-Year Contract

June 30th, 2023 at 7:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 6: Jones’ new deal is now official, according to a press release from the Pelicans.

JUNE 30: Pelicans free agent combo forward Herbert Jones is set to re-sign with New Orleans, his Priority Sports agents Mark Bartelstein and Kieran Piller inform Adrian Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

New Orleans Jones turned down a cheaper team option for 2023/24 in order to ink the 6’8″ forward to a fresh new four-year, $54MM contract, which is the Early Bird maximum the team is able to offer. In making him a restricted free agent, the club probably had a pretty good idea that the third-year player would accept the agreement.

Christian Clark of NOLA.com reports (via Twitter) that the deal is fully guaranteed.

A rival team could have theoretically offered him a back-loaded Arenas provision offer sheet, which the Pelicans would have been able to match. This four-year, $54MM deal represented the most New Orleans they could offer the 24-year-old directly.

Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that Jones will net $12MM in the first season of the new contract, adding that his new contract now pushes the Pelicans $4.5MM into the league’s luxury tax. Worth monitoring now is how the club will handle the non-guaranteed $5.4MM deal of veteran New Orleans shooting guard Garrett Temple for 2023/24, which would become fully guaranteed on July 7.

Jones immediately emerged as a versatile defensive option for a playoff-bound Pelicans club during his first season out of Alabama, and was named to the 2021/22 All-Rookie Second Team for his superlative efforts.

Last year, he averaged 9.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.6 SPG and 0.6 BPG across 66 games, all starts, for a 42-40 New Orleans club.

Joe Ingles Signs Two-Year Contract With Magic

June 30th, 2023 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 7: Ingles has officially signed with the Magic, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

JUNE 30: Free agent swingman Joe Ingles is joining the Magic on a two-year, $22MM contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported earlier (Twitter link) that the two sides were close to an agreement. Similar to the deals Orlando reached with Gary Harris and Mohamed Bamba last offseason, the Magic will hold an option on the second year of Ingles’ contract, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Harris had his 2023/24 salary guaranteed by the Magic earlier in the day.

He’ll add a veteran presence off the bench at the wing positions in Orlando.

Ingles spent last season with the Bucks, seeing action in 46 games off the bench. He averaged 6.9 points, 3.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 22.7 minutes. He also saw action in five postseason games.

Ingles tore the ACL in his left knee the previous season while playing for the Jazz. Ingles, 35, played regularly for eight seasons in Utah.

Gabe Vincent Signs Three-Year Contract With Lakers

June 30th, 2023 at 6:24pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Vincent is officially a Laker, having formally signed his new contract, according to the team (Twitter link).

JUNE 30: Free agent point guard Gabe Vincent will leave the Heat for the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that Vincent has agreed to a three-year, $33MM contract with Los Angeles.

Miami, wary of increasing the team’s projected tax bill, had offered Vincent a three-year deal that started at $7.7MM, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Lakers will give him an $11MM annual salary, presumably using a significant portion of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

The deal will be fully guaranteed with no player or team option on the third year, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Vincent, 27, began the 2022/23 season as rotation player off the Heat’s bench, but was elevated to the starting lineup in early February due to a Kyle Lowry injury. On the year, he averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.1 RPG with a .402/.334/.872 shooting line in 68 regular season games (25.9 MPG).

Vincent held onto his starting job during the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals and played well in the postseason. Notably, he averaged 13.8 PPG and shot .438/.426/.909 in the Heat’s final two series vs. the Celtics and Nuggets, despite spraining his ankle vs. Boston.

Even after agreeing to sign Vincent, Los Angeles still has interest in bringing back point guard D’Angelo Russell, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. However, Buha expects Vincent’s deal means that Dennis Schröder won’t be back with the team.

Vincent was the No. 23 free agent on our top-50 list.

Raptors Re-Sign Jakob Poeltl To Four-Year Contract

June 30th, 2023 at 6:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The Raptors have officially re-signed Poeltl, the team announced today in a press release.

“Jakob brought an immediate presence on the floor when he returned to us last season. He’s a smart, hard-nosed rim protector,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “We have been strong believers in Jakob as a player and as an individual since day one, and we are thrilled that he will be a Raptor for years to come.”

JUNE 30: The Raptors accomplished one of their offseason priorities, as they reached a four-year agreement with center Jakob Poeltl, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The contract is worth $80MM and includes a player option in the fourth year.

Toronto was intent on retaining Poeltl after re-acquiring him from the Spurs last season. Poeltl, who played his first two seasons with Toronto before a 4 1/2-year stint with San Antonio, averaged 13.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals in 26 games with the Raptors last season.

Poeltl stabilized a position that had been in flux for several seasons. The Rockets and Spurs were reported to have interest in Poeltl, 27, but he obviously felt comfortable staying with the Raptors in the prime of his career.

Load More Posts