Kenrich Williams

12 NBA Salary Guarantees To Watch In October

The majority of the NBA players who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts won’t have their salaries for 2019/20 become fully guaranteed until January 10. That’s the league-wide salary guarantee date and the default deadline that applies to players who haven’t negotiated an earlier salary guarantee date.

Still, some players did negotiate an earlier trigger date, and the majority of those deadlines will arrive in October. At least a dozen players around the NBA are believed to have partial or full guarantees that will go into effect in October.

Now, it’s worth noting that salary guarantee dates are somewhat malleable. If the player’s camp agrees, a team can quietly move that deadline back, giving the club more time to make a decision on whether or not to fully invest in its player for the 2019/20 season. The player doesn’t necessarily have to agree, but he may be on board with postponing that deadline if the alternative is being waived and receiving none of his salary.

Most of our information related to salary guarantee dates is coming from the salary database at Basketball Insiders, and BI hasn’t published all the details on the latest signings from around the NBA yet. In other words, there could be a few more recently-signed players who have October salary guarantee dates.

For now though, these are the 12 players believed to have salary guarantee dates coming up next month:

Full guarantees:

  1. Ivan Rabb (Grizzlies): Partial guarantee of $371,758 increases to full guarantee of $1,618,520 salary if not waived by October 19.
  2. Chris Boucher (Raptors): Partial guarantee of $125,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,588,231 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
  3. Malcolm Miller (Raptors): Partial guarantee of $150,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,588,231 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
  4. Duncan Robinson (Heat): Partial guarantee of $1,000,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,416,852 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
  5. Kenrich Williams (Pelicans): Partial guarantee of $200,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,416,852 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.

Partial guarantees:

  1. Christian Wood (Pistons): $1,645,357 salary becomes partially guaranteed ($822,679) if not waived before first day of regular season.
  2. Trey Burke (Sixers): Partial guarantee of $405,000 increases to $810,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $2,028,594).
  3. Jordan McRae (Wizards): Partial guarantee of $400,000 increases to $600,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,645,357).
  4. Dragan Bender (Bucks): Partial guarantee of $300,000 increases to $600,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,678,854).
  5. Ben McLemore (Rockets): Partial guarantee of $50,000 increases to $500,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $2,028,594).
  6. Kendrick Nunn (Heat): Partial guarantee of $150,000 increases to $450,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,416,852).
  7. William Howard (Jazz): Partial guarantee of $50,000 increases to $250,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $898,310).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Western Notes: Miller, Howard, Warriors, Wiggins

The Pelicans will have a tough time replacing Darius Miller‘s skill set from the current list of replacements on the roster, as William Guillory of The Athletic details. Miller suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon and is expected to miss the season.

Miller provides defensive length and the ability to guard either forward spot while spacing the floor offensively, Guillory notes. The Pelicans might give Josh Hart and E’Twaun Moore more minutes at the wing spot but their options at backup power forward are newcomer Nicolo Melli and Kenrich Williams, who is limited as a shooter and defender against quicker forwards.

The contract that Miller signed this offseason — two years and $14.25MM with the second year non-guaranteed — becomes a less attractive trade piece for the Pelicans, Guillory adds.

We have more from around the Western Conference:

  • Dwight Howard will be a role player with the Lakers for the first time in his career if everything goes as planned. New coach Frank Vogel spoke of his plans for the veteran player, who signed with Los Angeles after passing through waivers, to Spectrum SportNet (hat tip to the Sporting News). “He’s going to serve a different role,” Vogel said. “It’s going to be more of a role-player type of role, as opposed to being the lead. He understands that. He’s excited about playing that type of role on this team and what we can accomplish as a group.”
  • Ryan Atkinson has been named GM of the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, according to a team press release. Atkinson, 34, had been the G League team’s assistant GM for the last three seasons. Previous GM Kent Lacob has been named the Warriors’ director of team development.
  • The Timberwolves haven’t come close to trading Andrew Wiggins, mainly because they never received an offer that was worth serious consideration, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reports. The Timberwolves are hoping he can come closer to realizing his potential, which would also boost his trade value. Getting Wiggins to make a bigger impact at both ends of the floor is also the best way for the team to become more of a factor in the Western Conference.

Southwest Notes: Harden, Westbrook, K. Williams, Barea

Rockets star James Harden made his first public comments on a reported rift with former teammate Chris Paul, relays Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. After Houston was knocked out of the playoffs, stories emerged that Harden and Paul had a toxic relationship and could no longer exist in the same environment. Harden admits on-court arguments with Paul, who was traded to Oklahoma City last week, but insists the reports were exaggerated.

“It was just pretty funny how guys can speculate or make up false stories on the TV and then you’ve got people believing it,” he said. “That’s where guys have to make sure their facts are true before they put stuff in the media or on national television. But for me personally, and I’m sure for Chris as well, we never paid any attention to it. And Chris has been unbelievable these last two years. He’s helped me as a leader, as a mentor, just all that good stuff. I guess it’s life. It’s the business, how things don’t work out. But he’s a great dude. I have nothing negative to say about him.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Harden told Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that he has no concerns about meshing his talents with Russell Westbrook‘s, citing their previous experience playing together in Oklahoma City and with the 2012 Olympic team. “When you have talent like that, it works itself out,” Harden said. “You communicate. You go out there and compete possession by possession. You figure things out. Throughout the course of the season, you figure things out. That’s just what it is. When you have talent, you have guys with IQ, you have guys willing to sacrifice, it always works itself out.”
  • Pelicans small forward Kenrich Williams received a $200K guarantee on his contract for 2019/20 by remaining on the roster yesterday, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. Williams’ $1,416,852 salary will become fully guaranteed on opening night.
  • Mavericks guard J.J. Barea has decided not to play for Puerto Rico in the FIBA World Cup tournament, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. It has been less than eight months since Barea had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles, and although he is encouraged by his progress, he believes it’s too soon to risk playing competitively.

Salary Guarantee Updates: Robinson, Nader, Dotson

The Heat don’t intend to waive Duncan Robinson today, tweets Ben Stinar of Amico Hoops. Keeping Robinson on the roster will ensure that the partial guarantee on his minimum-salary contract increases from $250K to $1MM. Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald confirms the news, noting (via Twitter) that Robinson now appears very likely to make Miami’s regular season roster for 2019/20, barring a trade.

The Heat have more contract decisions to make starting on August 1, when the partial guarantees for Kendrick Nunn and Yante Maten are both set to increase. Those decisions will be important, given Miami’s hard-cap constraints for the ’19/20 league year.

For now though, there are a handful of other teams carrying players with July 15 guarantee deadlines in their contracts. Let’s check in on them…

  • All signs point to the Thunder keeping Abdel Nader under contract through today and guaranteeing his 2019/20 salary ($1,618,520), tweets ESPN’s Royce Young.
  • As we relayed earlier, J.R. Smith is expected to be waived by the Cavaliers today before the amount of his partial guarantee increases, while the Pacers will retain Alize Johnson and fully guarantee his ’19/20 salary.
  • The other players with guarantee dates today, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), are Damyean Dotson (Knicks) and Kenrich Williams (Pelicans). A report in early July indicated that the Knicks will hang onto Dotson and guarantee his $1,618,520 salary. There have been no updates one way or the other on Williams, who would get a $200K partial guarantee if he’s not released today.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/16/18

Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Warriors have recalled rookie guard Jacob Evans from their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced in a press release. Evans has appeared in 18 games for the Warriors this season.
  • The Pelicans announced in a press release that they have recalled Kenrich Williams from the Texas Legends. Williams has averaged 13.9 points per game across seven G League games this season.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/14/18

Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Pelicans have assigned Frank Jackson and Kenrich Williams to the G League, the team announced today in a press release. Since New Orleans doesn’t have an NBAGL affiliate of its own, Jackson and Williams will join the Texas Legends, Dallas’ affiliate, and are suiting up for the Legends tonight against Austin.
  • Rookie forward Jonah Bolden has been recalled to the NBA by the Sixers, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Bolden posted 19 points, nine rebounds, and four assists on Thursday for the Delaware Blue Coats.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/6/18

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/1/18

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

  • The Hornets sent forward Dwayne Bacon and guard Devonte’ Graham to the Greensboro Swarm, the team announced on its website. This is the first G League assignment of the season for Bacon, who has appeared in 13 games for Charlotte and is averaging 6.4 points per night. It’s the third time for Graham, who has gotten into eight NBA games.
  • The Spurs assigned Chimezie Metu to their Austin affiliate, according to the team website. He has appeared in 12 games with San Antonio.
  • The Pistons have recalled Luke Kennard from Auburn Hills, the team announced in an email. Kennard is recovering from an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder that has sidelined him for the past 15 games.
  • The Pelicans sent rookie Kenrich Williams to the G League, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. New Orleans doesn’t have a direct affiliate, so Williams has been assigned to the Westchester Knicks.
  • The Knicks called up center Luke Kornet from Westchester and placed him on the active list for tonight’s game, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link).
  • The Rockets recalled guard Brandon Knight from their Rio Grande affiliate, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/26/18

Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

  • The Wizards recalled rookie swingman Troy Brown Jr. from the Capital City Go Go, the team’s PR department tweets. Brown Jr. recorded 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in a victory over Canton on Sunday. Brown was the 15th overall pick in the draft.
  • The Clippers assigned second-year shooting guard Sindarius Thornwell to the Agua Caliente Clippers, the team’s PR department tweets. Thornwell averaged 17.5 PPG in two G League games this season and has also made six brief appearances with the NBA club. He started against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Monday.
  • The Pelicans recalled rookie forward Kenrich Williams from the Westchester Knicks, according to a team press release. Williams appeared in two games for the Knicks under the G League’s flex system, averaging 14.5 PPG, 14.5 RPG and 4.5 APG in 29.4 MPG. He’s also appeared in five games for New Orleans.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/22/18

Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Pelicans have assigned undrafted rookie forward Kenrich Williams to the G League, the team announced today (via Twitter). New Orleans is one of just three NBA clubs that doesn’t have its own G League squad, so Williams will join New York’s affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.