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Potential 2017 RFAs Whose Qualifying Offers Will Be Impacted By Starter Criteria

April 7th, 2017 at 11:22am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will go into effect on July 1, 2017, includes a number of changes to the free agent process, including some that apply specifically to restricted free agents. However, one aspect of restricted free agency unaffected by the new CBA is what’s referred to as the “starter criteria,” which can affect how much an RFA’s qualifying offer will be worth.

Here’s how the starter criteria works: A player who is eligible for restricted free agency is considered to have met the starter criteria if he plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency. A player can also meet the criteria if he averages either of those marks in the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency. For instance, if a player started 50 games in 2015/16 and 35 in 2016/17, he’d meet the starter criteria, since his average number of starts over the last two seasons exceeds 41.

A player’s ability or inability to meet the starter criteria can affect the value of the qualifying offer he receives as a restricted free agent, as follows:

A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 15th overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the ninth overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 21st overall pick would receive if he signed for 100% of the rookie scale.
For all other RFAs, the standard criteria determine the amounts of their qualifying offers.

Extending a qualifying offer to a player ensures that a team has the right of first refusal if he signs an offer sheet, and gives the player the option of signing that one-year QO. Generally, the value of a restricted free agent’s qualifying offer isn’t hugely important, since very few RFAs accept those offers outright. Still, those QOs can have an impact on a team’s salary cap outlook during July’s free agent period, so it’s worth checking in to see which potential RFAs will be eligible for higher or lower qualifying offers this summer.

Listed below are the top-14 picks on track for restricted free agency who have not met the starter criteria. These players will be eligible for qualifying offers worth $4,187,598.

Alex Len (Suns)
Nerlens Noel (Mavericks)
Trey Burke (Wizards)
Michael Carter-Williams (Bulls)
Kelly Olynyk (Celtics)
Shabazz Muhammad (Timberwolves)

Len and Noel had the worst QO luck this season. As the fifth and sixth overall picks in 2013, they would have been in line for qualifying offers worth about $6.4MM and $5.85MM, respectively. Instead, their QOs will be worth less than $4.2MM. Both players were very close to meeting the starter criteria too — they’ve started 77 games apiece in the past two years, so they’ll fall just short of the 82 required.

The players listed below are non-lottery first-round picks who will meet the starter criteria. That will make each of them eligible for a qualifying offer worth $4,588,840.

Tony Snell (Bucks)
Mason Plumlee (Nuggets)
Tim Hardaway (Hawks)
Andre Roberson (Thunder)

All four of these players were selected in the 20-26 range in the 2013 draft, and their QOs would’ve ranged from about $3.39MM to $3.22MM if they hadn’t met the starter criteria.

Here are the rest of the RFAs whose qualifying offers won’t necessarily be determined by the standard criteria:

Undrafted power forward JaMychal Green (Grizzlies) has met the starter criteria, putting him in line for a QO worth $2,820,497 instead of the more modest amount he would’ve received as a minimum-salary player.
Two players – Joe Ingles (Jazz) and Ben McLemore (Kings) – still have a chance to meet the starter criteria depending on how the season’s last four days play out. Ingles has played 1,848 minutes this season, meaning he would have to average about 38 MPG in Utah’s last four contests to reach 2,000, which is a tall order. McLemore may fall just short as well, as he currently sits at 79 starts over the last two seasons. He’ll need to start three of the Kings’ last four games in order to average 41 starts per year, but he has only been in Sacramento’s starting lineup twice since the start of March. (End-of-season update: Neither Ingles nor McLemore met the starter criteria.)

Northwest Notes: Ingles, Plumlee, OKC, Roberson

March 16th, 2017 at 6:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have several crucial roster decisions to make this offseason, including a couple that could be very expensive decisions. George Hill‘s contract will expire, Gordon Hayward can opt out and become an unrestricted free agent, and Rodney Hood and Dante Exum will be extension-eligible for the first time.

As Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune details in a mailbag, Utah will also have another key under-the-radar decision to make on Joe Ingles. In Jones’ view, Ingles has “outplayed the Jazz’s hopes for his ceiling as an NBA player.” While that’s good news, it will also make it tricky to keep him beyond this season, since he could be a hot commodity as a restricted free agent. Jones expects the Jazz to do everything they can to keep the veteran forward, even if it means moving someone else’s salary.

Here’s more from around the NBA’s Northwest division:

Much has been made of Jusuf Nurkic‘s impact in Portland over the last few weeks, but the Nuggets have liked their end of that February trade with the Blazers too. Nick Kosmider of The Denver Post takes a closer look at Mason Plumlee‘s play for his new team, including the big man’s defensive impact (mailbag link), and his fit alongside Nikola Jokic (column link).
Taj Gibson has fit nicely into the Thunder‘s starting lineup, and the team’s bench has been more productive since the trade deadline, but questions still remain about OKC’s rotation, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman.
Michael Pina of Vice Sports makes a case for why Thunder forward Andre Roberson deserves Defensive Player of the Year consideration.
The $125MM renovation project for the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Utah will begin on Monday after the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, according to a Deseret News report. The brunt of the construction will take place during the NBA offseason and is expected to be complete in time for the Jazz‘s 2017/18 season.

Northwest Notes: Rubio, LaVine, Ingles, Blazers

January 20th, 2017 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, when his name came up in trade rumors, Ricky Rubio wanted to meet with management to discuss his role with the Timberwolves. However, this time around, Rubio is finding it easier to shrug off those rumors, like the one about Minnesota “actively shopping” him.

“My name or every name is going to be out there at some point, but you can only worry about things you can control,” the Timberwolves’ point guard said, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. “Right now, what I can control is playing my best and do what I’ve been doing.”

Here’s more on the Wolves and some of their Northwest rivals:

While Rubio’s name has surfaced in trade talks, one team that spoke to the Timberwolves recently was told that Minnesota “will not entertain” any trade discussions about Zach LaVine, per Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Jazz have no shortage of depth at wing, but Joe Ingles‘ strong effort on defense has earned him a role in Utah, and he’ll continue to see plenty of playing time with Rodney Hood sidelined, as Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. Ingles, who is shooting a career-best 46.0% on three-point attempts, will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer.
According to Brett Koremenos of RealGM.com, the Trail Blazers are one of the NBA’s teams that finds themselves in no-man’s land, not good enough to contend for a title, but not bad enough to land a strong draft pick. Koremenos takes a closer look at how Portland got here, and what the next step is for a team that finds itself somewhat hamstrung financially.

Players With Incentive Bonuses For 2016/17

November 7th, 2016 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

According to Bobby Marks of The Vertical, there are 33 players around the NBA who can potentially earn incentive bonuses this season based on their own durability or performance, or based on how their team performs. Although Marks doesn’t identify all 33 players who have incentives included in their 2016/17 contracts, he discusses over half of them, passing along a number of interesting tidbits about those potential bonuses. Here are some of the highlights:

Minutes/games played bonuses:

NBA bonuses are deemed either “likely” or “unlikely,” using the previous season’s statistics as a benchmark, so if a player didn’t appear in many games during the previous year, a team can include a games-played benchmark and call it an unlikely incentive. For instance, John Henson‘s contract with the Bucks features incentives if he plays 60 games or 75 games this season. He appeared in just 57 contests in 2015/16, so neither of those marks is viewed as likely.

Miles Plumlee (Bucks), Luis Scola (Nets), Greivis Vasquez (Nets), and Deron Williams (Mavericks) are among the other players who have incentives in their deals for games played or started.

Individual statistic bonuses:

The Trail Blazers got creative with Maurice Harkless‘ new contract this summer, including an incentive bonus in the deal that can be triggered based if he keeps his three-point percentage above a certain level. Jeremy Lin, meanwhile, not only has a three-point percentage incentive, but also has bonuses linked to assists, turnovers, and threes and free throws attempted per 36 minutes.

Individual achievement bonuses:

Players like Bismack Biyombo (Magic), Evan Fournier (Magic), and Will Barton (Nuggets) have incentives related to their individual performances as well, but they’re related to awards and honors, rather than raw statistics. Biyombo gets a bonus if he makes the NBA’s All-Defensive team, Fournier gets some extra money for an All-Star appearance, and Barton would get $250K if he wins the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Of course, some of these incentives are more realistic than others. For instance, Thaddeus Young (Pacers) probably shouldn’t be counting on the $500K incentive bonus that he’d earn if he wins the league’s MVP award.

Team performance bonuses:

Several players, including Fournier, Jon Leuer (Pistons), and Joe Ingles (Jazz) have bonuses related to their teams making the playoffs. Many of those postseason incentives are tied to another condition. For example, for Taj Gibson to earn his bonus from the Bulls, he must appear in at least 60 games, play in at least 75% of Chicago’s playoff games, and average 25 or more minutes per game during the regular season.

Some players also have incentives linked to their teams’ win total, and once again, some are more attainable than others. For example, Nikola Mirotic could earn an extra $800K, but he’d need the Bulls to win 65+ games, so there’s a good chance his shot at that bonus will disappear about halfway through the season.

Be sure to check out the full breakdown from Marks for many more details on players who could earn incentive bonuses in 2016/17.

And-Ones: Gobert, Harkless, Pierce

July 11th, 2016 at 10:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz center Rudy Gobert will play for Team France in the Rio Olympics, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News reports. He’ll join new Jazz teammate, Boris Diaw, on the squad. Utah swingman Joe Ingles will play for Team Australia and point guard Raul Neto will play for host Brazil, Genessy adds. Gobert did not participate in the Olympic qualifying tournament, when France nabbed the final spot in the field of 12.

In other news around the league:

Technology industry leaders are urging commissioner Adam Silver to move next year’s All-Star Game out of Charlotte unless a North Carolina law that limits anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people is repealed, according to Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. The executives told Silver in a letter obtained by the AP that putting fans at risk of discrimination would “send a terrible message about who the NBA is and what it values as an organization.” Silver has made it clear the league needs changes to the HB2 law in order to stage the All-Star game but has not set any deadlines for when he might act, Mahoney adds.
Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless is in “no rush” to sign a contract, but the restricted free agent should make a decision in the next couple of days, his agent told Jason Quick of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). Harkless might accept the Blazers’ qualifying offer of just over $4MM, Quick adds. Several teams were reportedly interested in Harkless early in the free agent process, including the Wizards, Pistons, Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz, but some of those clubs have already made other commitments.
Clippers small forward Paul Pierce intends to play next season, a source close to Pierce informed Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The 38-year-old Pierce appeared in 68 regular-season games with them last season, averaging 6.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. He also played in five postseason games.
Point guard Flip Murray is attempting an NBA comeback, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The 36-year-old Murray, who has been playing overseas, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2009/10 season.

Western Notes: McCollum, Sampson, Ingles

March 23rd, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Trail Blazers have benefited from their decision to allow Wesley Matthews to depart as a free agent last summer because it allowed C.J. McCollum to take on a larger role, one that he has taken full advantage of this season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “Some players aren’t ready for the drastic change,” McCollum said. “I was ready. The opportunity increased, and my game rose with the increase. I knew what I was capable of. I just needed the opportunity to play.” The team isn’t surprised by McCollum’s breakout season, MacMahon notes. “If C.J. doesn’t get hurt in his rookie year, and by the time he comes back we were 22-4, we’d probably be talking about a three-year starter now,” GM Neil Olshey said. “This wouldn’t be year one of a Lillard-McCollum backcourt. We always believed in C.J.”

Despite their faith in McCollum’s abilities, he wasn’t the reason that the Blazers elected not to re-sign Matthews, MacMahon adds. “I don’t think that was by any means the motivating factor or deciding factor in what we did,” coach Terry Stotts said. “We knew. Neil drafted him. We were very confident in what he could do.”

Here’s more from out West:

Nuggets combo forward JaKarr Sampson has fond memories of playing in Philadelphia and said he was surprised when he found out the Sixers had waived him, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Sampson was released in order to clear a roster spot for Joel Anthony, but the team lost out when the trade was voided. “Even though I was on a non-guaranteed [contract], I was expecting to be there longer than what I was,” Sampson said. “A lot of that had to do with I like Philly. I fell in love with the city. I loved how the city supported us. They still support us even though we are going through struggles, and we have been going through struggles for like three years.“
Joe Ingles‘ role with the Jazz has been reduced this season, but he’s remained positive and has contributed when called upon, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. “It’s not easy. It’s not something that obviously every player wants to play as much as possible,” Ingles said. “So it’s difficult sometimes, but at the end of the day, the bigger picture obviously is to win games and hopefully to push toward the playoffs.” The 28-year-old is only averaging 14.7 minutes per contest this season after logging 21.2 in 2014/15.
The Rockets have assigned rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell to the D-League, the team announced. This will be Harrell’s fifth jaunt to Rio Grande Valley on the season.

Northwest Notes: Durant, Barton, Ingles

November 9th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Durant feels uncomfortable with the attention his upcoming free agency is generating, but the volume of the talk about it figures to go up a few notches in the next couple of days with the Thunder‘s annual visit to Washington for a game against the Wizards coming Tuesday, as USA Today’s Sam Amick examines. The former MVP wasn’t a fan of what the Wizards did in January the last time Oklahoma City went to Washington, when they showed a photo of Durant on scoreboard with a Wizards jersey edited onto his chest, among other homages to the D.C. native, as Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports relays:

“It was crazy. It was crazy,” Durant said. “It was kind of disrespectful in my opinion, because you’ve got a great team there already, that deserves your full, 100% support. And I wouldn’t like that if I was on that team. And I didn’t like that. But it comes with nowadays. It’s a part of it.

Durant said he’s learning to embrace the hoopla, as Amick notes, and that could be key as the season goes on and the noise grows louder. Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Nuggets coach Michael Malone is a fan of Will Barton‘s versatility and motor, traits that are paying dividends for the team, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Barton re-signed with the Nuggets this summer on three-year, $10.6MM deal after originally having joined the team via the Arron Afflalo trade. “I’m starting fresh,” Barton said, according to Dempsey. “And they embraced me when I came here in the trade. So it was like I wanted to come back and get a full year under my belt and show the fans really, really what I can do. I think I teased them last year and it’s just a great feeling, a great vibe from the front office to the players. Everybody wanted me back. So it was just like ‘Let’s get it done.'”
Versatility is also helping Joe Ingles impress Jazz coach Quin Snyder, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Snyder wants him to improve defensively, but he’s otherwise pleased with the 28-year-old who re-signed on a two-year, $4.5MM deal in the offseason.
The Thunder carried an underlying anxiety during their three-game losing streak, with a new coach, new players and Durant’s free agency in their thoughts, but a win Sunday that highlighted their deep bench showed what can happen if Billy Donovan continues to experiment, observes Royce Young of ESPN.com.

Western Rumors: Warriors, Green, Ingles

October 19th, 2015 at 8:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors remain uncertain when coach Steve Kerr can return to the team on a full-time basis, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Ethan Sherwood Strauss report. Kerr, who underwent two offseason back surgeries, was with the club on its weeklong preseason trip through Southern California, but there’s no timetable on when he can coach on a daily basis, the story continues. ‎”He still doesn’t know,” interim coach Luke Walton told reporters after the team’s practice on Monday. “He’s not going to force a return.”

In other news around the Western Conference:

Clippers coach Doc Rivers feels the Warriors are too thin-skinned about recent comments he made about them, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area Sports Group. In an interview with Grantland, Rivers insinuated that the Warriors were lucky they didn’t have to play his club or the Spurs in the playoffs last season, Leung continues. He told reporters on Monday that he’s taken aback by the Warriors’ strong reaction to that notion, Leung adds. “I’m really surprised how sensitive they are about it,” Rivers said. “They are the champions, so they can just be the champions.” Walton told Leung that Rivers is playing mind games with the champions. “It doesn’t make much sense if it’s not,” Walton said. “There’s no other reason to bring that type of stuff up.”
Second-year point guard Erick Green is making a strong case for a Nuggets roster spot even though he doesn’t have a guaranteed contract, Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post writes. New coach Michael Malone has raved about Green during camp, though Green suffered a temporary setback with a minor knee injury, the story continues. Green, who could make $845,059 if he stays with the team through the season, bounced back with a 16-point, four-assist outing against the Thunder on Sunday night. But the club would have to move one of 15 players with guaranteed contracts in order to retain Green, Dempsey points out.
Jazz forward Joe Ingles had more difficulty deciding to take the summer off than he did re-signing with the club, Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Ingles stayed put by inking a two-year, $4.3MM deal, then opted not to participate in the Australian national team’s Olympic qualifiers over the summer. “I’m not going to say it was like the hardest decision of my life, but it was something that weighed on me for a little bit,” he told Falk. “I did want to play.”

Northwest Notes: Lawson, Contract Details, Exum

July 22nd, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the team had been privately trying to help Ty Lawson with his drinking issues for the past couple of years and that there had been problems for a long time. Kroenke indicated that he had repeated conversations with Lawson about his struggles, and noted that Lawson often said he would attempt to fix his issues but he could never fully shake them, Spears adds. Lawson was recently traded to the Rockets.

“He always had an affinity for burning the candle at both ends,” Kroenke said. “We want to give our players freedom to be young guys as well. We’re not going to be drill sergeants. But we want our guys to be able to handle their personal lives on their own. Ty … there were times when he was better than others. But the problems have been there for several years, going back to when we were having a lot of on-court success. I don’t want to go back too far. There were just a lot of times where you were at practice and you just know. You could smell it. You know there is probably deeper issues than he would probably let on.”

Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:

GM Tim Connelly said it was a difficult choice for the Nuggets to trade Lawson, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “It was a tough day,” said Connelly. “Ty was a huge part of our success here. He’s certainly one of the really talented lead guards. Sometimes a change of scenery is best for both parties. Where we were, it made sense to make the move.“
Raul Neto‘s three-year pact with the Jazz will see him earn $900K for the 2015/16 season, $937,800 the following season, and $1,014,746 during the 2017/18 campaign, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Joe Ingles‘ two-year deal with Utah will pay him $2.150MM for each season, Pincus adds.
Al-Farouq Aminu‘s contract with the Blazers will pay him $8,042,995 this season, $7,680,956 in 2016/17, $7,319,035 the following year, and $6,957,105 in 2018/19, Pincus relays (on Twitter). Ed Davis‘ three-year deal will pay him $6,980,802, $6,666,667, and $6,352,531 respectively, notes Pincus.
Jazz point guard Dante Exum knows that he needs to improve his outside shooting if he hopes to emerge as a star in the NBA, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes. “I think just the consistency of it, being straight, being on target, even if I’m not making them—as long as it’s still a good looking shot and it feels good,” Exum said regarding the progress that he has made over the summer. “I think that’s the most important thing. … Once it gets into the game and I start playing one-on-one and five-on-five that I get that carryover.”

Northwest Notes: Lawson, Garnett, Ingles

July 14th, 2015 at 10:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ty Lawson was arrested early this morning on suspicion of DUI, his second DUI-related arrest in six months, report Jesse Paul and Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Lawson’s name has come up frequently in trade chatter since before the February deadline, and the teams with interest were waiting for Denver to reduce its price for the point guard, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, adding that today’s news devastates Lawson’s trade value. The Kings were reportedly one of those teams eyeing him and spoke with the Nuggets before the draft, but his off-court issues were a major reason why Sacramento wasn’t willing to give up the No. 6 pick in exchange for him, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).

Here’s the latest out of the Northwest Division:

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said that the team’s roster is relatively set for the 2015/16 season, but the team could look to use its available cap space at the trade deadline to add a player who could help the team, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News relays (Twitter links).
Joe Ingles‘ base salary with the Jazz on his new contract is $4.1MM but can he increase that payout to $4.4MM via $150K per season worth of performance-based incentives that are included in his deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter links). This makes Ingles’ cap number for the 2015/16 season $2.15MM, as the NBA deems $100k worth of the incentives likely to be attained, and his 2016/17 cap number will range from $2.05-$2.20MM, Pincus adds.
Kevin Garnett‘s two-year deal with the Timberwolves will pay him $8.5MM for the 2015/16 campaign and $8MM in 2016/17, Pincus tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.