Free Agents Ineligible To Sign With Specific Teams
Among the myriad rules in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement is a stipulation that says teams that trade players can't claim those players off waivers or re-sign them until the earlier of the following two dates:
- One year after the trade was completed.
- July 1st after the player's contract ends.
In some cases, this rule is simple to apply to practical cases. For instance, the Nets traded Mehmet Okur's expiring contract to Portland last March at the trade deadline, and the Blazers waived Okur shortly thereafter. Because Okur's deal was set to expire at season's end, he was ineligible to re-sign with the Nets during last season, but regained that ability as of July 1st, when his contract expired.
Other cases are trickier, however. For example, Derek Fisher was traded to the Rockets by the Lakers last March 15th, and was bought out by the Rockets shortly thereafter. Fisher had a player option on his contract for 2012/13, which raises the question: When exactly is his contract considered to be "over"? In his CBA FAQ, salary cap expert Larry Coon provides an answer:
- For contracts with options or ETOs, the end date of the contract is interpreted as the June 30th before an option year, and the June 30th after an ETO year.
Fisher's option wasn't an ETO, so the June 30th before his option year should be considered the "end" of his contract, making him eligible to sign with the Lakers beginning in July, right? Well, not quite.
As confirmed by Coon, Fisher's player option for 2012/13 actually was exercised when he worked out his buyout with the Rockets, allowing the team to split his buyout amount in half between the 2011/12 and '12/13 seasons. That means Fisher is still on the Rockets' books for this season, and his contract isn't considered to be over until next June 30th. As such, the earliest date he can re-sign with the Lakers is March 15th, 2013, a year after the trade.
Since players acquired in trades generally aren't waived immediately, this situation doesn't arise all that often. And many of the players who found themselves in such a position have since signed with other teams — for instance, Josh Harrellson was ineligible to rejoin the Knicks after being waived by the Rockets, but ended up signing with the Heat.
By my count, the eight players listed below, plus Fisher, comprise the group of NBA free agents who are currently ineligible to sign with a specific team, but feel free to contact us if there are any I've missed.
- Jerome Dyson: Traded to the Suns and waived. Ineligible to re-sign with the Hornets until July 1st, 2013. Currently signed to play in Israel.
- Jordan Farmar: Traded to the Hawks and waived. Ineligible to re-sign with the Nets until July 1st, 2013. Currently signed to play in Turkey.
- D.J. Kennedy: Traded to the Grizzlies and waived. Ineligible to re-sign with the Cavaliers until July 1st, 2013.
- Brad Miller: Traded to the Suns and waived. Ineligible to re-sign with the Hornets until July 1st, 2013.
- Darryl Watkins: Traded to the Sixers and waived. Ineligible to re-sign with the Hornets until July 1st, 2013.
- Jordan Williams: Traded to the Hawks and waived. Ineligible to re-sign with the Nets until July 11th, 2013.
- Sean Williams: Traded to the Rockets and waived. Ineligible to re-sign with the Celtics until July 1st, 2013.
- Shawne Williams. Traded to the Trail Blazers and waived. Ineligible to re-sign with the Nets until March 15th, 2013.
Note: Players who were waived via the amnesty clause are also ineligible to re-sign with their old teams until the amnestied contract expires.
Northwest Links: Thunder, Nuggets, T’Wolves, Jazz
- Brad Miller was invited by Rick Adelman to Timberwolves camp in Mankato for a few days as a special assistant coach, although Adelman is unsure if the former center will maintain a recurring role with the team once they return to Minnesota (Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune reports).
- Randy Hollis of the Deseret News says that Mo Williams will bring much needed leadership to a Jazz locker room that features several players in their early 20s with limited NBA experience.
- Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post takes note of Ty Lawson's development as seen by veteran guard Anthony Carter, who was a member of the Nuggets during Lawson's rookie season and finds himself back in Denver training camp after stints with New York and Toronto. In another article, Hochman says that according to George Karl, center Kosta Koufos has been the team's "best big guy in camp so far."
- Even without Ricky Rubio in practices, the Timberwolves haven't deviated from the "corner offense" that coach Rick Adelman installed last season. Adelman also lauded the shooting prowess of rookie Alexey Shved and the surprising passing ability of center Nikola Pekovic during Thursday's scrimmages (Ray Richardson of TwinCities.com reports). On a side note, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune tweets that Malcolm Lee missed practice due to groin tightness.
- Heading into his third year in the NBA, Jazz forward Jeremy Evans says that he understands his role and "knows what to expect now" (Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune writes).
- Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reflects on how youth basketball coach Sandy Pyonin helped turn around Randy Foye's life around, as well as provides some background on how the Jazz guard refined his shooting abilities.
Suns Waive Brad Miller, Jerome Dyson
The Suns announced today that they have waived Brad Miller and Jerome Dyson, according to a team release. Miller and Dyson were both acquired from the Hornets in a three-team July deal that landed the Suns Wesley Johnson and a 2013 first-round pick.
Dyson was on a non-guaranteed contract, so the Suns won't take a cap hit by releasing the 25-year-old. Miller, however, had a buyout worth a reported $848K, which the Suns will have to pay. With the veteran big man planning to retire this summer, his contract was used as a trade chip twice this summer, with the Timberwolves sending him to the Hornets, who flipped him to the Suns.
Having waived Miller and Dyson and officially signed Jermaine O'Neal, the Suns now have 13 players on their roster.
Suns, Hornets, Wolves Complete Three-Team Trade
7:40pm: The amount of cash going to the Hornets from the Suns is about $1.15MM, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
12:16pm: The Suns, Hornets, and Timberwolves have officially completed a three-team trade that will send Robin Lopez to the Hornets and Wesley Johnson to the Suns, the teams announced today. Per a Hornets press release, the deal breaks down as follows:
- Hornets acquire: Robin Lopez (from Suns), Hakim Warrick (from Suns), cash (from Suns)
- Suns acquire: Wesley Johnson (from Timberwolves), Brad Miller (from Hornets), Jerome Dyson (from Hornets), 2013 first-round pick (from Timberwolves)
- Timberwolves acquire: 2013 second-round pick (from Hornets), 2014 second-round pick (from Suns), 2016 second-round pick (from Hornets)
Lopez is the only player changing hands who was not previously under contract, so New Orleans receives him as part of a sign-and-trade. His contract is for three years and about $15.3MM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Dyson's contract is non-guaranteed, and Miller, who has a partially-guaranteed deal, is expected to retire, so Phoenix will likely waive both of those players in the near future. The first-round pick the Suns acquire from the T-Wolves will be either the Wolves' or Grizzlies' pick depending on those teams' performances. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details (via Twitter).
Two of the three picks the Timberwolves receive in the deal are ones they sent to the Hornets earlier this month. The 2013 second-rounder is Brooklyn's, the 2016 second-rounder is New Orleans', and the 2014 second-rounder is the Lakers, acquired by Phoenix in the Steve Nash trade.
Now that the trade is complete, Minnesota should have the cap space to finalize its signing of Andrei Kirilenko.
Nicolas Batum Signs Timberwolves’ Offer Sheet
SATURDAY 7:46pm: The Trail Blazers' unwillingness to work out a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves may stem from the two teams' ongoing discussions to resolve a dispute involving a prior trade for Webster, reports Ric Bucher of ESPN.com.
FRIDAY 6:15pm: After waiving Martell Webster and trading Brad Miller earlier today, the Timberwolves will not be able to submit their offer sheet to Nicolas Batum until Sunday, writes Jaynes.
THURSDAY 9:51pm: Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com writes that Minnesota added a 15% trade kicker to Batum's offer sheet in which a hefty 15% tax is imposed on the team that trades him during his new contract. This essentially makes it more difficult for Portland to match the deal, however, since the Timberwolves have not submitted the offer sheet to the league yet, there still remains the possibility of a sign-and-trade with the Trail Blazers.
T-Wolves Waive Webster, Trade Miller To Hornets
5:48pm: The Timberwolves have also traded Brad Miller and two second round picks to the Hornets for a future second round pick, the team announced today.
4:15pm: The Timberwolves have released Martell Webster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Webster's contract for 2012/13 was only partially guaranteed, so most of his $5.7MM salary will come off Minnesota's books. Assuming he clears waivers, Webster will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.
Free Agent Rumors: Humphries, Stiemsma, Lin
As NBA teams continue to agree to contracts and officially sign this year's free agents, you can keep tabs on all the activity by checking out Hoops Rumors' 2012 Free Agent Tracker. We're continuously updating our database to reflect the latest contract agreements, adding details on years and salaries as they become available. But there are still plenty of unsigned players left on the market, so we'll track today's rumors on those guys right here:
- TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter) cites league sources that believe Kris Humphries would be more inclined to remain with the Nets than leave for the Bobcats. Marc Stein tweeted that the Nets could be involved no matter what Humphries decides to do, and could end up offering to negotiate a sign-and-trade if he chose Charlotte.
- The Timberwolves are waiting for Portland to make a decision on Nicolas Batum before they extend an offer sheet to Greg Stiemsma, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Earlier updates:
Latest On Nicolas Batum
10:51pm: If the Blazers and Wolves fail to work out a trade and the Wolves sign Batum to an offer sheet, the Wolves will have to make a series of moves to do so, given what's expected to be a $10MM first-year salary in Minnesota's offer to Batum, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
The moves would include buying out Brad Miller and Martell Webster and using the amnesty clause to waive Darko Milicic, Zgoda says, adding the Wolves may also have to trade a player. Luke Ridnour, J.J. Barea and Wesley Johnson are possible trade candidates in that scenario. Ridnour or a draft pick could be headed to the Bulls in a deal that would send Kyle Korver to the Blazers.
6:33pm: Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com has Olshey's comments on the possibility of a sign-and-trade for Batum.
You don't close the door to anything in this league,” the Blazers GM said. "But, from what I can see, as far as what they can viably offer as of today, I would think Nicolas would have more value than what they can put in a sign-and-trade.”
Odds & Ends: Miller, Mavs, Martin, Cavs, Olympics
Brad Miller decided earlier this year to retire at season's end, and went on an emotional note in April, receiving a standing ovation in his final game with the Timberwolves. But according to agent Mark Bartelstein, it's "not a certainty" that his client will retire, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
I have to wonder what Miller's contract situation is, for the T-Wolves' sake — his $5.1MM 2012/13 was only partially guaranteed, so if he'd been waived by June 30th, he would've received $848K of it. If he'd officially filed for retirement, he would have forfeited the salary. But if neither of those things happened, will Miller still be on Minnesota's books for $5MM+? We'll have to wait for some clarification on that front, but in the meantime, here are some odds and ends from around the league, as free agency begins:
Odds & Ends: Van Gundy, Villanueva, Fisher, Magic
- John Hollinger of ESPN explores the different coaching options Stan Van Gundy has if he leaves the Magic (Insider link). It is worth noting that Hollinger lists a TV gig with ESPN or TNT, the Clippers, and Wizards among several other possibilities.
- Charlie Villanueva is "dying to play," writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. The six-year veteran has played in just two games since returning from an ankle injury.
- While Derek Fisher hasn't shown a statistical improvement compared to his numbers with the Lakers this season, the Thunder remain hopeful that his intangibles and big-game experience will pay dividends toward the development of the team, says J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today.
- In what he considers to be a "sneakered soap opera," Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel shares his thoughts on what to expect from the Magic as they finish the rest of the season and head into the summer.
- Antoine Walker announced his retirement from the D-League, tweeted Marc J. Spears of Yahoo.
- Expected to file for retirement in June, Brad Miller briefly reflects on a storied career with Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- Shabazz Muhammad of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School is the only NBA-ready player among the participants at the Nike Hoops Summit, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo.