Cap Notes: Bulls, Nuggets, Harden, Minott, MLEs
When the Bulls traded Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro earlier this month, they had to use a portion of their existing Zach LaVine traded player exception worth $17MM+ to absorb Okoro’s $11MM salary, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Chicago couldn’t simply use Ball’s $10MM outgoing salary for matching purposes due to an injury protection clause in his contract, Smith notes.
The $10MM owed to Ball for the 2025/26 season would be fully guaranteed if he were waived today, but his contract includes an Exhibit 3 (“prior injury exclusion”) clause which would let the team off the hook for the full amount if he suffers a specific injury — presumably, a major one related to his surgically repaired knee.
It sounds as if the NBA required the Bulls to treat Ball’s salary as non-guaranteed due to that Exhibit 3 clause, which means it wouldn’t count for $10MM for outgoing purposes, as we explain in our glossary entry on the trade rules for non-guaranteed salary. That meant another exception had to be used to take on Okoro’s incoming $11MM.
The move will still hard-cap the Bulls at the first tax apron for the 2025/26 league year — instead of using the expanded traded player exception (taking back more than 100% of Ball’s salary), they used a trade exception generated during the previous season. Either move creates a hard cap at the first apron.
Here are a few more cap-related housekeeping notes worth passing along:
- The Nuggets used a portion of the traded player exception generated in their Michael Porter Jr./Cameron Johnson swap to acquire Jonas Valanciunas‘ $10.4MM salary from Sacramento, creating a new TPE worth Dario Saric‘s outgoing $5.4MM salary in the process, ESPN’s Bobby Marks reports for Sports Business Classroom. Denver could’ve used Saric’s outgoing salary to legally match Valanciunas’ incoming amount without touching the Porter TPE, but doing so would’ve created a first-apron hard cap. Because the Porter TPE was created after the regular season ended, using it doesn’t result in a hard cap for Denver.
- The 2025/26 salaries for Clippers guard James Harden and Celtics guard Josh Minott are now fully guaranteed. Neither Harden nor Minott received a fully guaranteed first-year salary at the time they signed earlier this month, but that was just a technicality so that the Clippers and Celtics could avoid guaranteeing their second-year options for 2026/27. Harden’s $39.2MM salary for ’25/26 became guaranteed after July 11, while Minott’s $2.4MM salary was guaranteed after July 15.
- Once Damian Lillard officially signs with Portland, there will be just four NBA teams who still have their entire $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception available and remain far enough below the first tax apron that they could use the entire thing. Those teams are the Wizards, Hornets, Bulls, and Warriors. However, Chicago and Golden State still have to resolve restricted free agency for Josh Giddey and Jonathan Kuminga, respectively, so there’s no guarantee they’ll remain on that list. That will make Washington and Charlotte two teams to watch closely for the rest of the offseason and perhaps into the season, since that MLE flexibility makes them candidates to take on unwanted salary in trades.
International Notes: Bacon, Anderson, Hall, Gobert
Ahead of the team’s first season in the EuroLeague, Dubai Basketball is loading up on former NBA players. The team announced this week in a pair of press releases that it has signed free agent shooting guard Dwayne Bacon and wing Justin Anderson.
Bacon, who will turn 30 next month, hasn’t been on an NBA roster since being waived by the Lakers in October 2022, but the former No. 40 overall pick out of Florida State appeared in 207 regular season games for Charlotte and Orlando from 2017-21. He averaged 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game – with a shooting line of .402/.314/.780 – during that time and has since played in Monaco, Greece, China, Puerto Rico, and Russia.
Anderson, meanwhile, is a 2015 first-round pick who made 242 NBA regular season appearances for six teams from 2015-22. The 31-year-old, who averaged 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game on .410/.292/.775 shooting in the NBA, has played for three separate clubs in Spain since 2023.
In addition to Bacon and Anderson, Dubai recently added former Brooklyn swingman Dzanan Musa and former Dallas guard McKinley Wright. The roster also features longtime NBA big man Davis Bertans, who played for Dubai last season.
Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:
- Big man Donta Hall, who suited up for three NBA teams from 2020-21, has agreed to a three-year deal with the Greek team Olympiacos, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. Hall also drew interest from Panathinaikos, tweets Marc Stein, while his former team in Spain (Baskonia) will receive a buyout payment, as Aris Barkas of Eurohoops details.
- Speaking to the French outlet L’Aisne Nouvelle, Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert explained why he won’t be suiting up for France at this year’s EuroBasket tournament. “I’ve had busy summers in recent years, and it’s taken a toll,” Gobert said (hat tip to Eurohoops). “People don’t always realize how intense the EuroBasket is. It finishes just before the NBA resumes, and it’s a big responsibility. I had said I’d wait until the end of the season to decide, and now I have. This summer, I’m focusing on myself, my family and my son.”
- We’ve passed along several international basketball updates over the course of this week, including updates on Nassir Little‘s new team overseas, a Cavaliers second-round pick signing in Italy, and former NBA guard Vasilije Micic ending up in Israel. Our full archive of international basketball stories can be found right here.
Free Agent Notes: Thomas, Wong, Walker, Theis
Expanding on his earlier reporting on restricted free agent guard Cam Thomas, Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link) says he has heard from three sources that there may not be resolution on the situation anytime soon. The Nets are the only NBA team with cap room remaining and continue to explore options for how to use that space. Until that happens, they’ll likely be in no rush to lock up Thomas to a new deal, and his camp isn’t pressing the issue either.
On top of that, there may be a substantial gap between how the two sides value Thomas. As Lewis writes, a source familiar with the guard’s thinking believes he could be seeking $30MM per year, since he doesn’t consider himself to be a lesser player than Immanuel Quickley (who is earning $32.5MM per year going forward), Tyler Herro ($32MM per year), or RJ Barrett ($28.7MM per year).
However, the Nets likely won’t consider a deal anywhere near that lucrative, especially with no rival suitors in position to offer Thomas a significant offer sheet. Two league sources who spoke to Lewis wondered if the 23-year-old might ultimately accept his $6MM qualifying offer in order to reach unrestricted free agency in 2026, though that would likely be a last resort.
Here are a few more notes on free agents from around the basketball world:
- CSE, an agency representing basketball players, held a pro day in Las Vegas on Tuesday of this week, according to Spencer Davies of RG.org, who says a number of teams were in attendance to watch players with past NBA experience, like Isaiah Wong, Izaiah Brockington, and Chasson Randle. G League and international veterans like center Garrison Brooks and wing Pedro Bradshaw also took part and have drawn some interest as potential NBA training camp signees, Davies adds.
- Wong has had “productive” discussions with the Jazz, Davies reports. The 24-year-old guard was in camp with Utah last fall and opened the season with the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League before catching on with Charlotte.
- After missing out on Vasilije Micic, who reached an agreement with Hapoel Tel Aviv, the EuroLeague club Real Madrid has its eye on a couple other NBA veterans. Relaying a report from the Spanish outlet Marca, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops notes that veteran guard Lonnie Walker and big man Daniel Theis are on Real Madrid’s radar. Walker finished last season with the 76ers, while Theis played for AS Monaco after being waived by Oklahoma City in February.
2025/26 NBA Contract Extension Tracker
Four NBA free agents – Naz Reid, Kyrie Irving, Myles Turner, and Julius Randle – have signed contracts worth at least $100MM since the start of July. However, the most lucrative deals completed since the new league year began weren’t free agent deals at all — they were contract extensions.
Extensions, of course, don’t involve adding a new player to the roster. By extending a contract, a team ensures that a current player will remain locked up for multiple years to come. Although a contract extension may not change the club’s short-term outlook on the court, it can have a major impact on that team’s salary cap situation for the next several seasons.
Rookie scale extensions are one form of contract extension. Former first-round picks who are entering the fourth and final year of their rookie deals are eligible to sign those up until the day before the 2025/26 regular season begins. Rookie scale extensions have become more common than ever in recent years — there were 11 signed in both 2021 and 2022, followed by a record 14 in 2023 and 11 more in 2024.
[RELATED: Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2025 Offseason]
While they used to be rarer than rookie scale extensions, veteran extensions are happening more frequently these days too. The league’s 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement expanded the rules for eligibility and created some additional incentives for star players to sign new deals before they reach free agency, and the 2023 CBA has further incentivized veteran extensions. During the 2024/25 league year, a whopping 27 veteran extensions were signed, up from 17 in ’23/24.
The deadline for a veteran extension for a player who isn’t in the final year of his current contract is the day before the regular season tips off. However, a player eligible for a veteran extension who is on an expiring deal can sign a new contract throughout the league year, all the way up to June 30, the day before he becomes a free agent.
Listed below are the players who have finalized contract extensions so far in 2025/26. This list, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site (or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu), will be kept up to date throughout the ’25/26 league year, with more extension details added as we learn them.
Note: Projected values for maximum-salary extensions are based on a $166MM cap in 2026/27 and 10% annual increases in subsequent years. Since those contracts are based on a percentage of the cap, their official values will depend on exactly where the cap ends up in future league years.
Rookie scale contract extensions:
- Paolo Banchero (Magic): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $240,700,000. Projected value can increase to $288,840,000 if Banchero makes an All-NBA team or is named MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. Includes fifth-year player option. Starts in 2026/27.
- Jalen Williams (Thunder): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $240,700,000. Projected value can increase to $250,328,000 if Williams makes the All-NBA third team; $259,956,000 if Williams makes the All-NBA second team; or $288,840,000 if Williams makes the All-NBA first team or is named MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. Starts in 2026/27.
- Chet Holmgren (Thunder): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $240,700,000. Starts in 2026/27.
- Keegan Murray (Kings): Five years, $140,000,000 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- Christian Braun (Nuggets): Five years, $125,000,000 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- Jabari Smith Jr. (Rockets): Five years, $122,000,000 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- Dyson Daniels (Hawks): Four years, $100,000,000 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- Shaedon Sharpe (Trail Blazers): Four years, $90,000,000 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- Nikola Jovic (Heat): Four years, $62,400,000 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
Veteran contract extensions:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder): Four years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $286,316,800 (super-max). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2027/28.
- De’Aaron Fox (Spurs): Four years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $223,104,000. Starts in 2026/27.
- Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies): Four years, $205,000,000 (story). Includes renegotiation (2025/26 salary increased from $23,413,395 to $35,000,000). $216,586,605 in total new money. Extension starts in 2026/27.
- Luka Doncic (Lakers): Three years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $161,352,000. Includes third-year player option. Starts in 2026/27.
- Mikal Bridges (Knicks): Four years, $150,000,000 (story). Includes fourth-year player option and trade kicker (5.69%). Starts in 2026/27.
- Devin Booker (Suns): Two years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $146,226,080. Includes second-year player option. Starts in 2028/29.
- Kevin Durant (Rockets): Two years, $90,000,000 (story). Includes second-year player option. Starts in 2026/27.
- P.J. Washington (Mavericks): Four years, $88,762,440 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- Jakob Poeltl (Raptors): Three years, $84,084,000 (story). Exercised 2026/27 player option ($19.5MM base salary; $500K in incentives) as part of agreement. Third year is partially guaranteed for $5MM (partial guarantee can increased based on performance criteria). Includes trade kicker (5%). Starts in 2027/28.
- Toumani Camara (Trail Blazers): Four years, $81,000,000 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- Herbert Jones (Pelicans): Three years, $67,580,892 (story). Includes third-year player option. Starts in 2027/28.
- Daniel Gafford (Mavericks): Three years, $54,380,289 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- A.J. Green (Bucks): Four years, $45,000,000 (story). Starts in 2026/27.
- Aaron Nesmith (Pacers): Two years, $40,389,440 (story). Includes trade kicker (7.5%). Starts in 2027/28.
Latest On Bradley Beal
After he was hired as the Suns‘ head coach in June, Jordan Ott met with Bradley Beal and shared his plan for how the team could use the veteran shooting guard next season, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. However, according to Windhorst, Beal had already decided after meeting with agent Mark Bartelstein that he wanted to move on from Phoenix.
“We couldn’t take the chance [of another lost year],” Bartelstein told Windhorst. “This decision was about basketball. Bradley wants to play in big games and in big moments.”
When Phoenix traded Kevin Durant to Houston for a package headlined by another shooting guard – Jalen Green – it cemented Beal’s decision.
According to Windhorst, the Suns and Timberwolves had discussed the possibility of a Durant package that would’ve included Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, Terrence Shannon Jr., and the No. 17 pick in this year’s draft, which could’ve left an opening for Beal in the Suns’ lineup. But with Durant uninterested in playing in Minnesota, the Wolves were unwilling to move forward on those talks and Phoenix pivoted to the Rockets’ offer.
After the Durant trade was completed, the Suns gave Beal and Bartelstein permission to speak to other teams, and more than 20 showed interest, sources tell ESPN. Beal ultimately met via Zoom with about a half-dozen of them, and after trading Norman Powell to Miami earlier this month, the Clippers emerged as the clear frontrunner.
[RELATED: Bradley Beal Agrees To Buyout With Suns, Plans To Sign With Clippers]
According to Windhorst, while Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and head coach Tyronn Lue spoke to Beal about what the club could offer him, the most noteworthy pitch came from star guard James Harden, who lobbied the front office to pursue Beal and then reached out directly to the guard (and to Bartelstein) to recruit him.
In addition to selling Beal on the Clippers’ depth and how he would fit in with the current group, Harden pointed out that his own career has been rejuvenated in Los Angeles after disappointing stints in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Windhorst notes. After a couple discouraging years in Phoenix, Beal is in a similar spot — he’ll be looking to bounce back next season and views L.A. as a good spot to do it.
“No one wants to be released. There’s heartache with that,” Bartelstein said. “But Bradley wants to be in a position where no one remembers he got released, that they’ll remember how he plays next season.”
Here’s more on Beal:
- The Suns needed Beal to give up at least $13.9MM of the $110.8MM still owed to him in order to legally waive-and-stretch his contract. Phoenix’s front office actually pushed for the 32-year-old to give up more than that, resulting in buyout talks getting “heated,” per Windhorst, who says Beal ultimately forfeited not a penny more than he needed to for the Suns to use the stretch provision. “There were some intense conversations,” Bartelstein said.
- Bartelstein also spoke to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda about why things didn’t work out for Beal in Phoenix and why he chose the Clippers over other suitors. Citing Beal’s existing relationship with Lue, along with the Clippers’ vision for his client, Bartelstein explained that L.A. checked all their boxes. “He was heavily pursued by pretty much everybody in the NBA and certainly almost every top-tier team,” Bartelstein said. “I had made it known in conversations around the league that we were looking to go somewhere where he could play in really big games and big moments. We knew there were places he can go to and score 30 points a game again. But he really wanted to go to a place where he can compete for a championship. With that in mind, we quickly narrowed down to six or seven teams that we thought were in that world and with the roster shaped up, it would be a great fit for Brad. … It was a really tough choice. … We felt at the end of the day that the Clippers was the very best fit.”
- The Suns’ trade for Beal will go down as one of the biggest missteps in franchise history, contends Doug Haller of The Athletic. Haller doesn’t blame Beal, noting that he was willing to change his game and continued to score efficiently. However, his production didn’t match his salary, Haller writes, which was a microcosm of the Suns as a whole — the league’s most expensive roster failed to win a playoff game during the two years after acquiring Beal.
Pacers Notes: Nembhard, Mathurin, Turner, Jackson, More
With Tyrese Haliburton sidelined for the entire 2025/26 season as he recovers from a torn Achilles, the Pacers‘ offense is expected to look significantly different in the fall and likely won’t be nearly as “high-octane,” according to Jamal Collier of ESPN.
Indiana ranked second in both offensive rating and pace during the 2023/24 regular season and was a top-10 team in both categories again in ’24/25, despite getting off to a slow start last fall. The Pacers also played at the fastest pace of any Eastern Conference team during the 2025 playoffs en route to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000.
As Collier observes, Andrew Nembhard – who figures to take over as the team’s starting point guard in 2025/26 – doesn’t have the same burst as Haliburton, so the Pacers figure to lean more into his strengths, including his decision-making in half-court sets.
According to Collier, several executives around the league believe that fourth-year wing Bennedict Mathurin is in line for an increased offensive role with Haliburton on the shelf and Myles Turner no longer on the roster. Mathurin, a 2022 lottery pick, has averaged 15.9 points in 28.3 minutes per game during his first three years in the NBA. He’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Confirming remarks made by president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said during an appearance on The Green Light with Chris Long podcast (YouTube link) that the club didn’t have the opportunity to match the contract offer Turner got from Milwaukee before he agreed to sign with the Bucks. “We were talking to them – ‘them’ meaning his agent – about him returning,” Carlisle said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “And really, kind of out of nowhere, Milwaukee decided to waive Damian Lillard and stretch his contract…and then they created space to sign Myles. I think what probably happened—and this is part of negotiation in any sport—a team will say: ‘Hey, look, we have this offer. It’s this much over this many years, but if we make this offer, we need to know that you’re going to take it and not shop it.’ And so, I believe that’s probably what happened with Milwaukee. It was a number. It was a certain number of years. And they just jumped at it, and there was never a chance to counter. So—those things happen. And when they do, you just have to keep going.”
- While Isaiah Jackson‘s new three-year, $21MM contract with the Pacers is guaranteed for now, it includes injury protections in years two and three in the event that the big man suffers another major Achilles injury that prevents him from reaching games-played benchmarks, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Jackson missed nearly the entire 2024/25 season while recovering from an Achilles tear he sustained in early November.
- Pascal Siakam tops the list of the Pacers’ most important players for the 2025/26 season with Haliburton out and Turner gone, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required). Nembhard, Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, and Jay Huff round out Dopirak’s top five, in that order.
- In a separate story for The Indianapolis Star, Dopirak shares his takeaways from the Pacers’ fourth Las Vegas Summer League game on Thursday, including forward Enrique Freeman continuing to make a strong case for a two-way slot in Indiana. Freeman racked up 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and four assists, in Thursday’s win over New York.
Eastern Notes: Sexton, Holland, Anthony, Embiid, Bassey
In a wide-ranging interview with Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer (subscription required), Hornets head coach Charles Lee spoke about the offseason additions to the roster, why he’s comfortable with the team’s frontcourt options, and how he expects LaMelo Ball to take another step forward as a leader next season, among other topics.
Discussing newly acquired veteran guard Collin Sexton, Lee suggested that the 26-year-old’s “fearlessness” and “competitiveness” are traits that stand out and joked that he’ll be expecting different treatment from Sexton during games now that they’re on the same side.
“From afar, he was very competitive. At times he would stare me down during games as the opposing coach or scout coach, and he’s always looking for some fuel to get him going,” Lee said. “So, when he first got here, I made sure to remind them of that, ‘Like, don’t be looking at me crazy like that anymore or your minutes are going to suffer now.’ But it’s great. I’m so glad to have him on our side.
“… I already appreciate so much of what he’s kind of giving to our group,” Lee continued. “Seeing him do group workouts with Melo, them having conversations, I just think is really important for our group to continue to grow. And he’s going to be a big part of that with his work ethic and then also with his competitiveness.”
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- While Ron Holland has been impressive all around for the Pistons during Summer League play, with averages of 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.0 steals per game in three outings, his three-point shooting has perhaps been the most encouraging part of his performance, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required). It’s a small sample, but Holland has knocked down 7-of-15 threes (46.7%) after making just 23.8% as a rookie. “I feel like me and Freddie V have been in the gym, for sure,” Holland said on Sunday, referring to Pistons assistant coach and shooting guru Fred Vinson. “There’s no secret behind that.” Shawn Windsor of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required) also weighs in on Holland’s strong Summer League play, suggesting that the Pistons should be very encouraged by what he has shown.
- Cole Anthony‘s new one-year contract with the Bucks is worth the veteran’s minimum, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Anthony will earn $2,667,947 on the deal, while Milwaukee carries a cap hit of $2,296,274.
- In a fascinating, in-depth feature, Dotun Akintoye of ESPN gets some candid comments out of Sixers star Joel Embiid, who discussed the media narratives that have followed him around, his altercation with local columnist Marcus Hayes, and his (successful) quest to find out who leaked details about a team meeting last fall, among many other topics.
- Big man Charles Bassey has left the Celtics‘ Summer League team, as Souichi Terada of MassLive.com relays. Bassey’s deal with Boston only covered three games in Las Vegas, as he had other summer commitments. The former San Antonio center – who doesn’t yet have a contract in place for 2025/26 – performed well in Vegas, averaging a double-double (15.3 PPG, 11.0 RPG) and shooting 70.4% from the field.
How Teams Are Using 2025/26 Bi-Annual Exceptions
The bi-annual exception is one of the tools available to NBA teams who are over the cap, giving those clubs the flexibility to offer free agents more than the minimum salary. In 2025/26, the bi-annual exception is worth $5,134,000 and can be used to offer a deal worth up to $10,524,700 over two years. It can also be used to acquire a player via trade if his contract fits into the bi-annual exception.
However, the bi-annual exception isn’t available to every team. Clubs that go below the cap in order to use cap room lose access to the exception. Additionally, using the BAE imposes a hard cap of $195,945,000 (the first tax apron) on a team. So if a club has surpassed the first apron – or wants to retain the flexibility to do so – it can’t use the bi-annual exception.
Finally, as its name suggests, the bi-annual exception can’t be used by a team in consecutive years. In 2024/25, two teams used the BAE — the Rockets (Aaron Holiday) and Clippers (Nicolas Batum). As such, the exception isn’t available to those clubs during the 2025/26 league year. They’ll be able to use it again next summer.
With all those factors in mind, here’s a breakdown of how teams are using – or not using – their respective bi-annual exceptions in 2025/26:
Available Bi-Annual Exceptions:
Unused:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics
- Chicago Bulls
- Dallas Mavericks
- Denver Nuggets
- Indiana Pacers
- Miami Heat
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs
- Toronto Raptors
Although all of these teams technically have the ability to use their bi-annual exceptions at some point in 2025/26, it’s more plausible for some than others.
For instance, the Timberwolves currently have just over $1.5MM in breathing room below the first apron, so using even a small portion of their bi-annual exception wouldn’t be an option until later in the league year unless they make a cost-cutting move.
Used:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Used: $4,962,033 (Malaki Branham)
- Detroit Pistons
- Used: $3,809,524 (Daniss Jenkins)
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Used: $5,134,000 (Marcus Smart)
- Utah Jazz
- Used: $4,150,000 (Kevin Love)
- Washington Wizards
- Used: $4,726,328 (Blake Wesley)
Typically, about two to four teams in a given league year use the bi-annual exception, so this season is busier than usual in terms of BAE activity.
The Jazz, Wizards, and Hornets used the BAE to acquire a player in a trade, while the Lakers used theirs to sign a free agent and the Pistons used theirs to promote a player from a two-way contract. None of those clubs will have the exception available during the 2026/27 season.
Unavailable Bi-Annual Exceptions:
Went under cap:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Milwaukee Bucks
These three teams forfeited their right to the bi-annual exception when they went under the cap and used space this offseason.
Over first apron:
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Golden State Warriors
- New York Knicks
In theory, cost-cutting moves by these teams could put them in position to use their bi-annual exceptions. In actuality though, that’s a long shot for some of them, especially for a team like the Cavaliers, whose team salary is well beyond the second tax apron.
Used last year:
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Clippers
As noted in the intro, these are the two teams that used their bi-annual exceptions in 2024/25 and, as a result, won’t have them again until 2026/27.
Information from Sports Business Classroom was used in the creation of this article.
Bucks To Receive Cap Benefit From Lillard’s New Contract
The Bucks will receive a salary cap benefit as a result of Damian Lillard‘s new three-year contract with the Trail Blazers, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN and Sports Business Classroom (Twitter link).
Milwaukee waived Lillard earlier this month and used the stretch provision to spread the $112.6MM he was owed on his previous contract over the next five years, resulting in annual cap hits of about $22.5MM.
As Marks explains, since Lillard’s salary with Portland exceeds the one-year veteran’s minimum salary ($2,048,494) for each of the next two seasons, the Bucks will receive a set-off amount of approximately $11.65MM. The formula for determining the exact amount involves taking Lillard’s new salary with the Blazers, subtracting the one-year vet minimum, and dividing that amount in half.
The set-off, which will be applied after the 2025/26 regular season, will reduce Milwaukee’s annual dead-money cap hits from $22.5MM to $20.2MM through ’29/30.
While $2.3MM annual savings might not seem like much, every little bit of financial flexibility could be helpful for the Bucks as they try to retool around Giannis Antetokounmpo. The reduction of Lillard’s dead money may also help the team waive-and-stretch another contract down the road without exceeding the maximum allowable 15% of the cap.
Before word broke this evening of Lillard’s agreement with the Blazers, Marks predicted on ESPN’s NBA Today that the seven-time All-NBA guard would reunite with Portland (Twitter video link).
While the Bucks are benefiting a little financially as a result of Lillard signing a new contract, it’s worth noting that the same won’t be true of the Suns with Bradley Beal, since the right to set-off is typically forfeited as part of a buyout agreement — Milwaukee simply waived Lillard rather than buying him out.
Luke Adams contributed to this story.
Nuggets Notes: Valanciunas, Adelman, Rotation, Holmes, Wallace
While the Nuggets have made it clear they expect Jonas Valanciunas to honor his contract, which will pay him $10.4MM next season, they also recognize they will need to make a concerted effort to help the Lithuanian center feel “comfortable and content” with the idea of spending (at least) the next year with the team, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
Valanciunas was reportedly interested in signing a three-year deal with Greek club Panathinaikos this summer but he still has one guaranteed year left on his NBA contract. Denver went through with its trade for Valanciunas and intends to have him on the roster this fall, though it remains to be seen how the 33-year-old feels about that idea, since his public comments haven’t revealed much to this point, Durando notes.
Head coach David Adelman said during a Summer League broadcast that he viewed Valanciunas as a “point center” of sorts. In an interview with Durando, he clarified what he meant.
“He’s a bona fide, big-time center over the last decade who you can put in a bunch of different spots all over the floor,” Adelman told The Post. “And when I say ‘point center,’ I mean someone you can play through in the half-court. I don’t envision him getting a rebound and pushing the ball up. I do think some of the things we already do (work with him): playing five-out with back-side dribble hand-offs, playing off the elbows, posting him up against smaller lineups, his ability to make others better.
“It’s not the assist numbers that matter to me. It’s his ability to start ball movement through the impact of who he is. So he’s an enormous get. I’m super excited about getting him here, getting him acclimated.”
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- From his comments, it seems clear that Adelman envisions Valanciunas having a significant role off the bench. But Adelman told Durando that free agent additions Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. will have to earn whatever minutes they receive next season. “Those guys have to compete for spots. That’s new guys included. They all know that,” the coach said. “We’re very excited about some of the things those guys have done through their careers. We expect them to come to compete like they’ve done, and there’s a reason they’ve all played in rotations across the league. But this is going to be an open competition. I hope our young guys understand that. … And all those guys will complement Jonas. It’s gonna be the guys who earn these spots that get to play with him.”
- Second-year big man DaRon Holmes is back in action at Summer League a year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon, which sidelined him for his entire rookie season. Holmes recognizes it’s going to take him some time to adjust to playing five-on-five again, Durando writes in another story for The Denver Post. “I always see people that are like, ‘Hey, this guy didn’t play well! This guy didn’t!’ It’s Summer League,” Holmes said. “Not even just for me; for all the other athletes out here playing. A lot of the rooks. They’re getting used to it. So it just takes some time. It’s like when you’re first playing when you’re a freshman going into college. That’s how it feels.”
- Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette details how Nuggets executive vice president of player personnel Jon Wallace made a habit of proving people wrong during his time at Georgetown. Wallace’s former college coach thinks he’s well suited for his new job. “Jon Wallace is a hoop head, who, oh, by the way, is also extremely intelligent, who, oh, by the way, is a connector and understands the dynamics of putting a unit together,” John Thompson III told Benedetto. “He’ll be able to take the owner’s vision and be able to execute that. I think he will do many aspects of the job at a very high level.”