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2015/16 Salary Commitments: Thunder

April 1st, 2015 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the NBA trade deadline passed, teams are focusing on locking down playoff spots or vying for a better chance in the draft lottery. Outside of the players who are added on 10-day deals, or those lucky enough to turn those auditions into long-term contracts, teams’ rosters are relatively set for the remainder of the season.

We at Hoops Rumors are in the process of taking a look ahead at each franchise’s salary cap situation heading into the summer, and the free agent frenzy that occurs every offseason. While the exact amount of the 2015/16 salary cap won’t be announced until July, the cap is projected to come in somewhere around $67.4MM, with the luxury tax threshold projected at approximately $81MM. This year’s $63.065MM cap represented an increase of 7.7% over 2013/14, which was well above the league’s projected annual increase of 4.5%.

We’ll continue onward by taking a look at the Thunder’s cap outlook for 2015/16…

Here are the players with guaranteed contracts:

Steven Adams — $2,279,040
D.J. Augustin — $3MM
Nick Collison — $3,750,000
Kevin Durant — $20,158,622
Serge Ibaka — $12,350,000
Perry Jones — $2,038,206
Jeremy Lamb — $3,034,356
Mitch McGary — $1,463,040
Anthony Morrow — $3,344,000
Steve Novak — $3,750,001
Andre Roberson — $1,210,800
Dion Waiters — $5,138,430
Russell Westbrook — $16,744,218

Here are the players with non-guaranteed contracts:

None

Players with options:

None

The Thunder’s Cap Summary for 2015/16:

Guaranteed Salary: $78,260,713
Options/Non-Guaranteed Salary: $0
Total: $78,260,713

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Durant, Contracts

April 1st, 2015 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

LaMarcus Aldridge feels as though the Blazers didn’t always support him the way they do now, as he explains to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The soon-to-be free agent, who pledged this past summer to re-sign with the Blazers in the offseason ahead, wonders what it would have been like if he felt they were behind him for his entire career, and if the team still finds him expendable on some level.

“It’s bittersweet,” Aldridge said of his ascendance to a superstar level with the Blazers. “I think God has a plan for everybody. Maybe my plan wasn’t to be loved right away. My role was a little tougher than other franchise players, but it happens. I think it helped me build character and not take anything for granted. I know that I had to really earn it, so it makes me appreciative. It also makes me wonder how easily they can move on, too.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Kevin Durant recently said perhaps his most encouraging words to date for the Thunder regarding his free agency in 2016, but the matter of which team he’ll sign with remains far from decided, observes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
The three year, minimum salary deals that Chris Johnson and Jack Cooley inked with the Jazz contain no guaranteed salaries beyond this season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
Tim Frazier‘s two year deal with the Blazers calls for him to make $845,069 for the 2015/16 campaign, and includes no guaranteed salary beyond this season, Pincus tweets.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Durant, Kanter, Frazier, Kings

March 31st, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Charlie Adams

Rumors are already suggesting that Kevin Durant might be eyeing an exit from Oklahoma City in the summer of 2016, but the reigning MVP spoke out and expressed an interest in spending the rest of his career with the Thunder, as Royce Young of ESPN.com transcribes.

“I love it here, man. I love my teammates, I love the city, I don’t really think about anywhere else,” Durant told Revolt TV. “I love staying in the moment, and I’m one of those guys that would love to stick it out with one team my whole career; Kobe [Bryant], Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki type. That’s awesome. But you never know what the future holds sometimes and how teams may feel about you after a while, but I love it here and I would love to get my jersey retired here.”

While Durant’s comments are far from a guarantee that he’ll stick around in OKC for life, they certainly must provide a level of comfort for Thunder fans who have seen reports linking KD to several different clubs. We’ve got more on the bunch from Oklahoma City in tonight’s look out west:

The candid way in which Enes Kanter has spoken about the Jazz since Utah traded him to the Thunder at the deadline has some executives wondering if the big man will be able to land a lucrative new deal this summer as a restricted free agent, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Concerns about his attitude coupled with his less-than-stellar defense might scare some teams off, the executive suggests.
Tim Frazier will have a chance to remain with the Blazers beyond this season, hears Joe Freeman of the Oregonian, who says Portland’s latest addition will get the opportunity to appear with the team in training camp next fall. However, it’s unclear if Frazier has a non-guaranteed year tacked on to his deal or if he’s merely a just lock to garner an invite to camp before next season begins.
Chris Mullin’s recent departure from the Kings organization isn’t a total shock, given that Mullin opposed the pursuit of George Karl, hoping he could land Sacramento’s vacant coaching position himself, as Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee observes. If Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro can’t mesh with Vlade Divac, the team’s new VP of basketball operations, D’Alessandro might not be long for the organization either, Voisin writes.
Holly Mackenzie of Triangle Offense chronicles Brandon Knight’s evolution as a player and steps through the series of events that brought him to the Suns. Knight is poised for a significant raise as a restricted free agent this summer, Mackenzie believes.

Kevin Durant To Miss Rest Of Season

March 31st, 2015 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 10:31am: Durant had his surgery today, the Thunder announced via press release. The timetable for him to return to basketball activities remains four to six months.

FRIDAY, 2:00pm: Kevin Durant will undergo surgery on his ailing right foot and miss the rest of the season, the Thunder announced via press release. GM Sam Presti said in the team’s statement that the healing of the so-called Jones fracture in his foot is showing signs of regression. He’ll have a bone graft procedure that is standard for the 5% to 8% of Jones fracture patients who don’t demonstrate success after their first surgeries, according to the team. Durant first broke the foot before the season and had another procedure in February that was to have alleviated lingering soreness. He hasn’t played since that procedure.

The news is a devastating blow to the Thunder, though it’s not a thoroughly unexpected one after Presti last week raised the specter of Durant missing the balance of 2014/15. Oklahoma City is also without Serge Ibaka for perhaps the rest of the regular season. The playoffs are no guarantee for Oklahoma City, a Western Conference power in recent years, though the team has a three-game lead on the Suns for the final playoff spot with less than three weeks to go. The Thunder are without much recourse to offset the loss of Durant with a roster addition, as I examined last week, without the ability to apply for a disabled player exception or, at least for now, a hardship exception.

Durant played in just 27 games this season, the first time in his NBA career that he’s missed more than eight contests. Only Michael Jordan, who retired, and Bill Walton, who suffered devastating foot problems, played fewer games than Durant has the season after winning an MVP award, as ESPN points out (Twitter link).

The 26-year-old is expected to return to basketball activity in four to six months, Presti said in the statement, a timeframe that should have him ready for the start of training camp in the fall. That’s the start of a season that’s the last under the five-year extension he signed in 2010. Chatter about the top unrestricted free agent in the 2016 class has already begun and is sure to intensify with Durant staring at perhaps only one last season in a Thunder uniform. Still, Presti has insisted that trading Durant to avoid watching him walk in free agency is not an idea he’s considering.

Northwest Notes: Clark, Hunt, Leonard

March 30th, 2015 at 5:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ian Clark is on an expiring contract, but the Nuggets didn’t claim him off waivers on Saturday simply with the hopes of having him around for the last few weeks of the season, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The shooting guard says he’ll be in summer league with Denver, a hint that there’s mutual interest between the sides in a more formal new deal. Denver can match any offers that Clark receives from other NBA teams this summer if it extends a qualifying offer of about $1.147MM. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt is a popular and well-liked figure around the league and shares a longstanding connection with Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey, who nearly hired him for Utah this past offseason, as Dempsey details in a separate piece. Hunt wasn’t widely mentioned as a candidate for Utah’s head coaching job, so presumably Lindsey was talking about an assistant’s position, but that’s not entirely clear.
Meyers Leonard is hiring the Creative Artists Agency for his representation ahead of the offseason, when he’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Blazers big man had been with Excel Sports Management and Jeff Schwartz.
It’s a critical summer ahead for the Thunder and GM Sam Presti, who have one last full offseason of roster construction before Kevin Durant‘s contract runs out, as SB Nation’s Tom Ziller examines. The majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in Friday’s poll believe the Thunder should look to make significant changes around Durant this summer.

Western Notes: Beverley, Nuggets, Kanter

March 29th, 2015 at 10:13pm CST by Will Joseph

Rockets coach Kevin McHale told reporters, including Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, that injured point guard Patrick Beverley will “probably” miss the rest of the season. Beverley tore ligaments in his left wrist in a game against the Pacers on Monday. Beverley has been seeking opinions of specialists to determine whether he can play with the injury or would need surgery, Feigen added. Multiple sources close to the situation told Feigen on Sunday that no decision has been made.

Here’s more on the Rockets and the Western Conference:

Rockets rookie Nick Johnson has seen an uptick in minutes because of injuries like Beverley’s and his role in the point guard rotation will likely continue, Feigen writes in a separate story.
Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post believes the Nuggets could make a run at acquiring Nets big man Brook Lopez after the season if Lopez decides to opt out of his $16.7MM player option for the 2015/16 season. The Nets reportedly made attempts to trade Lopez at the deadline. The Nuggets had interest in landing Lopez before the deadline, Dempsey added.
Enes Kanter, who will become a restricted free agent this summer, is back to enjoying basketball because the Thunder have the big man playing to his strengths, Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. Kanter was traded from the Jazz, at his request, in a deadline-day move. Kanter is averaging 17.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in 17 games with the Thunder as opposed to 13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game in 49 games with the Jazz earlier this season. Elhassan writes that the improved production with the Thunder is a result of fewer spot-up opportunities in Oklahoma City, more offensive rebound opportunities and a much higher pick-and-roll efficiency.

Thunder Rumors: Kanter, Durant, Brooks

March 29th, 2015 at 12:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder center Enes Kanter offered no apologies for comments about his time in Utah, even after Saturday’s loss to the Jazz, reports Royce Young of ESPN.com. Kanter, who was traded from Utah to Oklahoma City on February 19th, was loudly jeered by the Salt Lake City crowd, starting in warmups. He had incited the crowd’s wrath with a statement that he didn’t enjoy his time in the NBA until he got to the Thunder. “The boos didn’t mean nothing to me,” Kanter said. “It was just a regular game. I never felt like I was a part of this thing, so it was just a regular game. We came and we leave and that is it. I am not taking nothing back.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

The Thunder had a plan for keeping Kanter, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, when they brought him in from Utah, writes Jon Hamm of The Oklahoman. He expects Kanter to land a deal somewhere in the range of $88MM over five years.
History hasn’t been kind to big men with foot problems like Kevin Durant‘s, according to Mike Monroe of The San Antonio Express-News. The Thunder announced this week that Durant will have bone graft surgery on his right foot and will be sidelined for four to six months. Citing Bill Walton, Sam Bowie and Yao Ming as examples, Monroe noted that foot injuries can be career killers.
Durant isn’t the team’s only injury concern, Young writes in a separate story. Andre Roberson, Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka are all currently out of action, and every player on the team’s roster in training camp has missed games with injuries. “When you lose KD, Serge, Andre, Nick, you’re not a better team overnight,” said coach Scott Brooks, “but you still have to work on ways you can put yourself in position to win and our guys have done a good job of that.”

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Nuggets, Kanter

March 28th, 2015 at 8:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

During the 1996 draft, the Wolves nearly drafted Kobe Bryant with the No. 5 overall pick, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “We teetered on the idea of getting another [player right out of high school] because we had success with [Kevin Garnett],” said Flip Saunders, who was the coach of the team that year, just as he is now. “But we kind of thought it would be too much having two of those guys who were young at that time and still in the process of developing KG as a young player.” Minnesota ended up drafting Ray Allen and subsequently trading him to Milwaukee for Stephon Marbury.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division

The request to commit another $24.5MM in public money in order to further renovate the Target Center, which is the Wolves‘ home arena, passed a City Council panel vote, reports Eric Roper of the Star Tribune. Roper notes that there are still potential roadblocks in securing the additional funding, but the latest news is reason for optimism. The city of Minneapolis previously committed $50MM toward the renovation.
Executives of the Nuggets are “very happy” with the job done by interim coach Melvin Hunt, sources tell Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Mannix notes that although the team will conduct a thorough search for a new head coach after the season, Hunt’s performance will earn him some consideration for the job.
Enes Kanter didn’t enjoy being an NBA player until he got to the Thunder, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. “The difference is I like playing basketball [in Oklahoma City], that’s the most important thing,’’ Kanter said. “I never liked playing basketball before in my NBA career. That’s the first time I felt like playing basketball for my team, for the fans, for my teammates, for coaches — everybody.’’ The center spent his entire career with the Jazz before being traded to the Thunder at this year’s deadline.

Poll: Do Thunder Need Upgrades To Win In 2016?

March 27th, 2015 at 4:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Durant is done for this season thanks to the broken foot that had already limited him to just 27 games, leaving just one season for Durant to help the Thunder to a title before his contract expires. There’s little clarity on whether he’s leaning toward re-signing with the team or not, so uncertainty clouds the summer of 2016, when the salary cap is projected to jump to near $90MM, with most teams possessing enough cap flexibility to lure Durant with a max offer.

What is clear is that the Thunder aren’t trading Durant out of fear that he’ll leave them, with GM Sam Presti having recently referred to the idea as “ludicrous.” That signals that the Thunder will keep trying to build around him, as they’ve done for the past several years to mixed results. The Thunder made it to the Finals in 2012 with a core of Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka, but the decision to trade Harden before the next season began has turned out poorly, and Oklahoma City hasn’t been back to the Finals since.

Harden has developed into an MVP candidate, but so has Westbrook, and Durant won the MVP last season. The Thunder went over the tax threshold to acquire Dion Waiters in January, and while that move hasn’t exactly been a revolutionary upgrade, Presti kept tinkering, sending out Reggie Jackson for fellow soon-to-be restricted free agent Enes Kanter and bench help at the deadline. Kanter’s performed well offensively and on the boards, having put up 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in 16 games as a member of the Thunder. Oklahoma City will have to pay to keep the young big man, who turns 23 in May, and with more than $78MM in guaranteed salary already committed for next season, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows, the cost of keeping the Thunder together is high.

So, too, would be the psychological and historical cost to the franchise if Durant leaves without having delivered a Larry O’Brien trophy. The Thunder have 13 players on guaranteed contracts for next season, an unusually large number. It would be easy to re-sign Kanter or match another team’s offer sheet for him, bring back everyone else and make a run at the 2016 title with a healthy Durant. But the Thunder probably wouldn’t be the favorites to win it all if they did that, not with LeBron James leading another supercharged Cavs team and the Warriors well-positioned to keep on winning.

So, perhaps Presti should get aggressive this summer. There are trade rumors surrounding DeMarcus Cousins, so maybe the Thunder should see what it would take to shake him loose from Sacramento. The past two No. 1 overall picks and the reigning Rookie of the Year have all been traded with the past seven months, so elite young talent could be available. The Warriors were similarly capped out in 2013 when they worked a sign-and-trade that netted Andre Iguodala, who’s one of the keys to a roster that’s the best in the Western Conference this season. So, the Thunder aren’t necessarily out of the mix for this summer’s top free agents.

Tell us what you think. Should Presti bring back Kanter, keep the rest of the team intact and prepare for one more run with a largely unchanged cast? Or should he be bold and make a play for a better complement to Durant before the star forward’s contract runs out? Let us know, and elaborate on your choice in the comments.

Should The Thunder Make Big Changes Around Kevin Durant For Next Season?

Yes 59.39% (196 votes)

No 40.61% (134 votes)

Total Votes: 330

Central Notes: Middleton, George, Jackson

March 23rd, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Khris Middleton refuses to bring up the subject of his impending restricted free agency even with his agent, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. “It’s a little awkward” to share an agent with Bucks coach Jason Kidd, Middleton also admits. The forward’s agent is Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports Management, while Kidd’s relationship with Excel founder Jeff Schwartz has been a flashpoint for controversy. Union executive director Michele Roberts indicated in November that she would take a tougher stance on a rarely enforced rule that bars agents from representing both coaches and players. Kidd also has a significant measure of player personnel control for the Bucks. There’s more on Middleton amid the latest from the Central Division:

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird tells Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com that he expects George will play for the Pacers at some point this season, adding that he believes George has received medical clearance to do so (Twitlonger link).

Earlier updates:

Middleton told Lowe for the same piece that he loves living in Milwaukee but expressed reservations about the Bucks‘ deadline-day trade that sent out Brandon Knight and Kendall Marshall and netted Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee and Tyler Ennis. “Yeah. It was tough, man,” Middleton said about learning of the trade. “We had things rolling before the All-Star break. We thought we’d just get back on track rolling after the break, too. But it’s a business. They thought it was a good trade for the team, so, I mean, we’ll see.”
The Bucks prevailed upon the Pistons to include Middleton in the 2013 Knight/Brandon Jennings trade, and the experience of getting traded left Middleton with some painful feelings at first, as Lowe also details.
Paul George insisted today that there is no timetable for his return as he continues to recover from his broken leg, and he denied a report that the Pacers were targeting this week for his comeback, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.
Reggie Jackson says Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is “making it easy” as he’s turned him loose for Detroit, observes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Jackson hinted that he would have been OK with staying on the Thunder, who have a better shot at the playoffs, but he’s glad that his duties are more well-defined on the Pistons, notes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “It’s good,” Jackson said of knowing his role. “That’s one less monkey on my back. Wherever I got my shot was where I was going to get my shot. I was just vocal about what I wanted my shot to be, and some people were mad about that. Some people understood where I was coming from. But it’s always been about getting out there and competing.”