Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Boston Celtics
The Celtics have just one player (Evan Turner) currently in line for unrestricted free agency this summer, but with Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko on non-guaranteed deals for 2016/17, and Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller facing restricted free agency, there could be a decent amount of roster turnover in Boston. Of course, that doesn’t mean we should expect the Celtics to select players with all eight(!) draft picks they’ve stockpiled for 2016, but those selections, along with the affordable guaranteed salaries and the max cap room on Boston’s books, give the team some interesting options for the offseason. General manager Danny Ainge will be tasked with making sure all the puzzle pieces fit together, and while he has a ton of assets to work with, it remains to be seen whether Ainge can maximize them to turn a solid playoff team into a championship contender.
See how Boston’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Avery Bradley ($8,269,663)
- Isaiah Thomas ($6,587,132)
- Jae Crowder ($6,286,408)
- Marcus Smart ($3,578,880)
- Kelly Olynyk ($3,094,013)
- Terry Rozier ($1,906,440)
- James Young ($1,825,200)
- Jordan Mickey ($1,223,653)
- R.J. Hunter ($1,200,240)
- Total: $33,971,629
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Amir Johnson ($12,000,000)
- Jonas Jerebko ($5,000,000)
- John Holland ($874,636)
- Total: $17,874,636
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Jared Sullinger ($4,433,683/$5,673,150)
- Tyler Zeller ($3,695,169/$6,542,438)
- Totals: $8,128,852/$12,215,588
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Evan Turner ($4,453,163)
Other Cap Holds
- No. 3 pick ($3,952,500)
- Luigi Datome ($2,275,000)
- No. 16 pick ($1,573,500)
- No. 23 pick ($1,151,900)
- Total: $8,952,900
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Los Angeles Lakers
With Kobe Bryant‘s farewell tour complete, the Lakers are set to clear his massive cap hit from their books, freeing up a significant amount of cap room and creating major flexibility for the coming offseason. Of course, it’s not just Bryant’s monster cap number that will be expunged — assuming the team doesn’t intend to bring back Roy Hibbert, his $15MM+ salary (and $23MM cap hold) can be cleared as well. With only about $23MM in guaranteed money owed to players for 2016/17, the Lakers will have the freedom to splash around in free agency this summer, either adding veterans to a young core that includes D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and this year’s No. 2 overall pick, or using some of those attractive, affordable pieces to try to acquire pricier stars.
See how Los Angeles’ cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Lou Williams ($7,000,000)
- Nick Young ($5,443,918)
- D’Angelo Russell ($5,332,800)
- Julius Randle ($3,267,120)
- Larry Nance Jr. ($1,207,680)
- Anthony Brown ($874,636)
- Total: $23,126,154
Player Options
- Brandon Bass ($3,135,000)
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Jordan Clarkson ($2,725,003/$2,725,003)
- Ryan Kelly ($2,155,313/$3,276,075)
- Tarik Black ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
- Marcelo Huertas ($1,074,636/$1,074,636)
- Totals: $7,135,383/$8,256,145
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Kobe Bryant ($30,300,000)1
- Roy Hibbert ($23,388,324)
- Robert Sacre ($980,431)
- Metta World Peace ($980,431)
- Total: $55,649,186
Other Cap Holds
- No. 2 pick ($4,401,400)
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- The cap hold for Bryant will be the maximum salary for a veteran of 10 or more seasons. The number shown here is an estimate based on the projected cap figure.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Philadelphia 76ers
The NBA salary cap may be increasingly exponentially, but the salaries on rookie contracts aren’t rising nearly as rapidly, and given how heavily the 76ers are leaning on young players during their lengthy rebuilding process, those rookie contracts are featured prominently on the team’s books. As a result, the Sixers will head into the 2016 offseason with a ton of cap space once again, and will have to work hard to get anywhere near the salary floor. New general manager Bryan Colangelo has talked about focusing on winning rather than prolonging the 76ers’ rebuild even further, but unless Philadelphia goes out and signs multiple max free agents, the club almost certainly won’t make use of all its cap space. Expect the Sixers to continue to use much of that excess room to accommodate trades, as the team prepares to bring in a few more inexpensive rookies.
See how Philadelphia’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Carl Landry ($6,500,000)
- Joel Embiid ($4,826,160)
- Jahlil Okafor ($4,788,840)
- Nerlens Noel ($4,384,490)
- Nik Stauskas ($2,993,040)
- Richaun Holmes ($1,025,831)
- Total: $24,518,361
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Hollis Thompson ($1,015,696) — salary non-guaranteed even if option picked up
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Kendall Marshall ($2,048,257)
- Robert Covington ($1,015,696)
- Jerami Grant ($980,431)
- T.J. McConnell ($874,636)
- Total: $4,919,020
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Isaiah Canaan ($1,215,696/$1,799,824)
- Christian Wood ($1,045,059/$1,045,059)
- Totals: $2,260,755/$2,844,883
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Elton Brand ($980,431)
- Ish Smith ($980,431)
- Total: $1,960,862
Other Cap Holds
- No. 1 pick ($4,919,300)
- Dario Saric ($1,931,900)
- No. 24 pick ($1,105,800)
- No. 26 pick ($1,026,300)
- Charles Jenkins ($980,431)
- Byron Mullens ($980,431)
- Total: $10,944,162
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs haven’t had a winning percentage below .600 in a season for two decades, and the franchise added another cornerstone piece to its core when it signed LaMarcus Aldridge last summer. However, even after a 67-win showing, San Antonio will be faced with a challenging offseason. If Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and David West retire or land elsewhere, the Spurs will have some cap room to work with, but not enough for a max contract, and replacing those veterans won’t be easy. With Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard around, it’s not as if San Antonio will enter a rebuilding phase anytime soon, but keeping the team in strong contention for a title may require a little creativity from GM R.C. Buford.
See how San Antonio’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- LaMarcus Aldridge ($20,575,005)
- Kawhi Leonard ($17,638,063)
- Tony Parker ($14,445,313)
- Danny Green ($10,000,000)
- Patty Mills ($3,578,948)
- Boris Diaw ($3,000,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below1
- Kyle Anderson ($1,192,080)
- Total: $70,429,409
Player Options
- Tim Duncan ($6,393,750)
- Manu Ginobili ($2,940,630)
- David West ($1,551,659)
- Total: $10,886,039
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Boris Diaw ($4,000,000) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above1
- Jonathon Simmons ($874,636)
- Total: $4,874,636
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Boban Marjanovic ($1,500,000/$1,500,000)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Matt Bonner ($980,431)
- Kevin Martin ($980,431)
- Andre Miller ($980,431)
- Total: $2,941,293
Other Cap Holds
- Nikola Milutinov ($1,026,300)
- Livio Jean-Charles ($990,700)
- No. 29 pick ($983,400)
- Total: $3,000,400
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- Diaw’s full $7,000,000 salary would become guaranteed on June 30th.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Miami Heat
With guaranteed salary committed to only five players for 2016/17, the Heat will head into the offseason armed with plenty of flexibility. However, Miami’s projected cap space could get chewed up quickly if the team intends to bring back both Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside, not to mention veteran free agents like Joe Johnson and Luol Deng. Wade is coming off a $20MM salary, and Whiteside looks like a good bet to earn something in that neighborhood too, after making the minimum this past season. There is expected to be “considerable debate” within the organization over whether Whiteside will get a max offer from Miami.
Complicating matters for the Heat are Chris Bosh‘s health issues — while the club would love to have Bosh get medical clearance to return to the court, there’s a chance that won’t happen, and Miami wouldn’t be able to remove his $23.7MM+ cap hit from its books until February 2017 at the earliest. South Beach is always a popular free agent destination, but if the Heat can’t land a marquee player like Kevin Durant, the team will have to be careful about how it spreads around its available money.
See how Miami’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Chris Bosh ($23,741,060)
- Goran Dragic ($15,891,725)
- Josh McRoberts ($5,782,450)
- Justise Winslow ($2,593,440)
- Briante Weber ($218,659) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below
- Total: $48,227,334
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Josh Richardson ($874,636)
- Briante Weber ($655,977) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above
- Total: $1,530,613
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Tyler Johnson ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Dwyane Wade ($30,000,000)
- Luol Deng ($13,197,096)
- Udonis Haslem ($5,424,386)
- Gerald Green ($980,431)
- Joe Johnson ($980,431)
- Amar’e Stoudemire ($980,431)
- Hassan Whiteside ($980,431)
- Dorell Wright ($980,431)
- Total: $53,523,637
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Portland Trail Blazers
The shortening of this year’s July moratorium from 11 days to six puts the squeeze on the Trail Blazers. Portland has enough cap flexibility to pursue max free agents or trade targets from other teams, but the Blazers have three restricted free agents who could force tough, fast decisions if they sign lucrative offer sheets on July 7th. Meyers Leonard, Maurice Harkless and Allen Crabbe were all in the rotation this season and have relatively small cap holds. Each probably warrants a salary for next season that exceeds the value of his cap hold, especially given the player-friendly market expected this summer. Their cap holds escalate the moment they either sign for raises with the Blazers or ink bloated offer sheets from other teams, so the Blazers may well be forced to cut ties with all three of them if they want to keep their options open for more prominent names, unless they can secure the verbal commitments they seek during the brief moratorium. See how Portland’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Damian Lillard ($21,597,000)
- Al-Farouq Aminu ($7,680,965)
- Ed Davis ($6,666,667)
- C.J. McCollum ($3,219,579)
- Noah Vonleh ($2,751,360)
- Mason Plumlee ($2,328,530)
- (Anderson Varejao $1,984,005) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- Pat Connaughton ($874,636)
- Total: $47,102,742
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Cliff Alexander ($874,636)
- Luis Montero ($874,636)
- Total: $1,749,272
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Meyers Leonard ($4,045,894/$7,689,700)
- Maurice Harkless ($4,045,894/$7,235,148)
- Allen Crabbe ($2,725,003/$2,725,003)
- Totals: ($10,816,791/$17,649,851)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Gerald Henderson ($9,000,000)
- Chris Kaman ($6,520,800)
- Brian Roberts ($3,711,422)
- Total: $19,232,222
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks face major uncertainty for the second offseason in a row, but the financial squeeze doesn’t appear quite as dire as it was last summer. Atlanta proved unable to afford to re-sign both Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll in large measure because the Hawks only had Early Bird rights on Carroll, but the Hawks should have the wherewithal to re-sign Al Horford and Kent Bazemore this summer despite Early Bird rights on Bazemore. That’s a product of Al Horford’s bargain $12MM salary this season, which creates only an $18MM cap hold, much lower than the roughly $26MM he’ll likely end up with on a max contract. The Hawks would have some $20MM available for Bazemore if they secure a quick commitment from Horford. Atlanta won’t need cap space to re-sign Horford, since he has full Bird rights, so the Hawks can refrain from officially signing him until they’ve used cap space on Bazemore. In other words, timing is key. See how Atlanta’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues itsoffseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Paul Millsap ($20,072,033)
- Tiago Splitter ($8,550,000)
- Jeff Teague ($8,000,000)
- Kyle Korver ($5,239,437)
- Thabo Sefolosha ($3,850,000)
- Dennis Schröder ($2,708,582)
- Tim Hardaway Jr. ($2,281,605)
- Edy Tavares ($1,000,000)
- Total: $51,701,657
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Mike Muscala ($1,015,696) — salary non-guaranteed even if option picked up
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Mike Scott ($3,333,334)
- Lamar Patterson ($874,636)
- Total: $4,207,970
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Al Horford ($18,000,000)
- Kent Bazemore ($2,600,000)
- Kris Humphries ($1,200,000)
- Total: $21,800,000
Other Cap Holds
- No. 21 pick ($1,249,800)
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Indiana Pacers
Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird already decided to change coaches, and he has the flexibility necessary to make further significant alterations to his team. The Pacers can open roughly $30MM in room against a projected $92MM cap, close to enough for even the highest band of maximum salaries. Indiana has never been a destination spot for elite free agents, but the Pacers nonetheless have the ability to spread their wealth on players who can adopt Bird’s preferred up-tempo offense. Perhaps the only impingement will be the team’s sharp restriction on the offer it can make to Solomon Hill thanks to the decision to decline his option this past fall. See how Indiana’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed salary
- Paul George ($18,314,532)
- Monta Ellis ($10,763,500)
- George Hill ($8,000,000)
- Rodney Stuckey ($7,000,000)
- C.J. Miles ($4,583,450)
- Lavoy Allen ($4,000,000)
- Myles Turner ($2,463,840)
- Joseph Young ($1,052,342)
- Rakeem Christmas ($1,052,342)
- Total: $57,230,006
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Glenn Robinson III ($1,050,500)
- Shayne Whittington ($980,431)
- Total: $2,030,931
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Ian Mahinmi ($7,600,000)
- Jordan Hill ($4,800,000)
- Solomon Hill ($2,306,019)1
- Ty Lawson ($980,431)
- Total: $15,686,450
Other Cap Holds
- No. 20 pick ($1,301,900)
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- The Pacers can’t re-sign Hill to a contract with a starting salary worth more than the amount listed here because they declined their team option on his rookie scale contract.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets have only about half as much guaranteed salary for next season as the projected $92MM salary cap, but don’t count on them formally opening any cap room this summer. GM Rich Cho wants to keep the team intact, having said he wants to re-sign as many of the team’s free agents as possible. That means Charlotte will probably keep their cap holds on the books until those free agents either re-sign or sign elsewhere, and with the cap holds for Nicolas Batum and Al Jefferson taking up nearly $40MM alone, the Hornets are unlikely to have cap space to use on outside free agents if Batum and Jefferson return. Instead, the team appears poised to stay above the cap and take advantage of the larger mid-level exception afforded capped-out teams, worth $5.628MM, to supplement the roster or simply to re-sign Jeremy Lin, with whom they have only Non-Bird rights. See how Charlotte’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($13,000,000)
- Kemba Walker ($12,000,000)
- Jeremy Lamb ($6,511,628)
- Spencer Hawes ($6,348,759)
- Cody Zeller ($5,318,313)
- Frank Kaminsky ($2,730,000)
- Total: $45,908,700
Player Options
- Jeremy Lin ($2,235,255)
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Aaron Harrison ($874,636)
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Troy Daniels ($1,215,696/$1,215,696)
- Jorge Gutierrez ($1,215,696/$1,215,696)
- Totals: ($2,431,392/$2,431,392)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Al Jefferson ($20,250,000)
- Nicolas Batum ($19,687,961)
- Courtney Lee ($10,782,500)
- Marvin Williams ($9,100,000)
- Jeremy Lin ($2,566,800) — pending player option
- Tyler Hansbrough ($980,431)
- Total: $63,367,692
Other Cap Holds
- No. 22 pick ($1,199,900)
- Jason Maxiell ($980,431)
- Jeff Taylor ($980,431)
- Total: $3,160,762
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Los Angeles Clippers
Teams across the NBA will have scads of cap room this summer, but the Clippers almost certainly won’t be among them. They’re poised to enter the offseason with three max contracts and more than $77.7MM on the books against a projected $92MM cap, not counting cap holds for free agents they’d like to re-sign. The only realistic path to cap space involves the free agent departures of Jeff Green and either Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers or both, and even then, the Clippers wouldn’t have nearly enough to compete for max-salary targets. Trades theoretically offer another way for the team to clear cap space, but coach/executive Doc Rivers doesn’t appear willing to trade his star trio of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. See how L.A.’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Chris Paul ($22,868,827)
- DeAndre Jordan ($21,165,675)
- Blake Griffin ($20,140,839)
- J.J. Redick ($7,377,500)
- Paul Pierce ($3,527,920)
- C.J. Wilcox ($1,209,600)
- (Carlos Delfino $650,000) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- (Jordan Farmar $510,921) — Salary remaining from buyout via stretch provision
- (Miroslav Raduljica $252,043) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- Total: $77,703,325
Player Options
- Austin Rivers ($3,344,106)
- Wesley Johnson ($1,227,286)
- Cole Aldrich ($1,227,286)
- Total: $5,798,678
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Branden Dawson ($874,636)
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Jeff Green ($13,950,000)
- Jamal Crawford ($10,782,500)
- Austin Rivers ($4,044,035) — pending player option
- Cole Aldrich ($980,431) — pending player option
- Jeff Ayres ($980,431)
- Wesley Johnson ($980,431) — pending player option
- Luc Mbah a Moute ($980,431)
- Pablo Prigioni ($980,431)
- Total: $33,678,690
Other Cap Holds
- No. 25 pick ($1,061,600)
- Glen Davis ($980,431)
- Hedo Turkoglu ($980,431)
- Ekpe Udoh ($980,431)
- Total: $4,002,893
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.