Celtics Exercise Options On Olynyk, Smart, Young
The Celtics have exercised their third-year options on Marcus Smart and James Young, and their fourth-year option on Kelly Olynyk, the team announced (Twitter link). All three options are for the 2016/17 campaign, when Olynyk is set to earn $3,094,013, Smart is due $3,094,013, and Young is set to make $1,825,200. Boston now has a total of $33,971,629 in guaranteed salary committed for next season.
Olynyk, 24, was the No. 13 overall selection in the 2013 NBA Draft. He made 64 appearances last season for the Celtics, including 13 starts, and averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 22.3 minutes per contest. His career averages are 9.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.6 APG to accompany a slash line of .471/.349/.744.
Smart was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in 2014, and the franchise desperately hopes that he will develop into its centerpiece player. The 21-year-old made 67 appearances as a rookie last season, including 38 games as a starter. His numbers were 7.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 3.1 APG, and his shooting line was .367/.335/.646.
Out of the three players, Young has been the most disappointing thus far, with the swingman unable to find any consistency in his outside shot, connecting on just 35.3% of his shots overall, and a paltry 25.8% on his attempts from beyond the three-point line. The 20-year-old looks like he’s ticketed to spend significant time in the NBA D-League this season, which may be a blessing in disguise for the former No. 17 overall pick, as it will give him time to work in his mechanics and overall game away from the bright lights of the NBA.
Bulls Exercise Options On McDermott, Snell
The Bulls have exercised their third-year team option on small forward Doug McDermott and fourth-year team option on swingman Tony Snell, the team announced. Both options are for the 2016/17 campaign, when McDermott is set to earn $2,483,040 and Snell is due $2,368,327. These moves now give Chicago approximately $64.75MM in guaranteed salary committed for next season.
McDermott, 23, appeared in 36 contests last season during a disappointing rookie campaign when he averaged 3.0 points and 1.2 rebounds on 40.2% shooting. His defensive shortcomings no doubt played a part in limiting his minutes to 8.9 per game under former coach Tom Thibodeau, though McDermott failed to impress on the offensive end of the court when he was able to crack Chicago’s rotation. The former No. 11 overall pick has certainly looked more comfortable in Fred Hoiberg‘s system, though the sample size remains small.
The 23-year-old Snell is known primarily for his defensive abilities, as well as his high-energy style of play. Snell appeared in 72 games during the 2014/15 season, including 22 starts, and he notched averages of 6.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 19.6 minutes per contest. His career numbers are 5.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 0.9 RPG to accompany a slash line of .408/.349/.780.
Pelicans Sign Toney Douglas
FRIDAY, 11:49pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
THURSDAY, 3:44pm: The Pelicans have agreed to a deal with point guard Toney Douglas, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported that the two sides were in discussions. New Orleans just waived Nate Robinson, which cleared a roster spot to add Douglas. The Pelicans roster count is now back at the regular season maximum of 15 players.
Douglas, 29, is no stranger to the Pelicans franchise, having signed a pair of 10-day contracts and a multiyear deal with New Orleans last season. The Pelicans waived Douglas in July rather than guarantee his salary for 2015/16, which led the former 29th overall pick to sign with Indiana. Douglas cleared waivers from the Pacers this week after being released by the team.
The point guard appeared in 12 contests for the Pelicans last season, averaging 4.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 14.8 minutes per night. His career numbers through 309 career regular season games are 7.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists to accompany a slash line of .405/.352/.816.
Sixers Pick Up Options On Embiid, Noel, Stauskas
The Sixers have exercised their team options for 2016/17 on Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Nik Stauskas, the team announced. League sources told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer the moves would happen shortly before they took place. The news comes as no shock, as Pompey notes, though it represents a noteworthy vote of confidence for Embiid, to whom the Sixers are committing a salary of $4,826,160 for that season without him having played a single regular season game yet. Noel will make more than $4.384MM and Stauskas will see about $2.993MM on their 2016/17 options, as our post on Upcoming Rookie Scale Option Decisions shows, adding in excess of $12MM to Philadelphia’s payroll and doubling the team’s salary commitments for that season.
Teams are facing a Monday deadline for rookie scale team options like these. The vast majority of the these options are exercised, even in cases in which players have yet to blossom, though rarely does a highly touted prospect’s career begin as inauspiciously as Embiid’s has. Philadelphia committed the third overall pick to him last year, knowing that he’d already suffered a broken foot. He wound up missing all of 2014/15, and a follow-up surgery is expected to cost him the entire 2015/16 season, too.
Noel’s option was much more of an open-and-shut case. He, like Embiid, missed his first year under contract with the Sixers because of injury, but the 2013 No. 6 pick delivered last season, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting and averaging 9.9 points and 8.1 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game. He’ll be up for a rookie scale extension next summer.
Stauskas, another former top-10 pick, struggled in his rookie season last year as a member of the Kings, shooting just 32.2% from 3-point range after connecting on 44.1% of his 3-pointers in college. He came to Philadelphia via offseason trade, and while injuries forced him to miss the preseason and the first game of the regular season for the Sixers, he’s probable for tonight’s contest, according to Pompey.
One more matter the Sixers have until Monday to resolve is whether to grant a rookie scale extension to Tony Wroten, though little suggestion exists that they’ll sign him to one, so he’s likely set for restricted free agency in July. The Sixers also have a team option on Hollis Thompson for 2016/17, but a decision on that isn’t due until the summer because he’s not on a rookie scale contract.
Are the Sixers wise to be patient with Embiid? Leave a comment to tell us.
Pelicans Waive Nate Robinson
The Pelicans have waived Nate Robinson, the team announced. He was the team’s starting point guard in its opening game Tuesday. However, he only played 19 minutes in that game, and just four in Wednesday’s contest, one in which usual starter Jrue Holiday returned to action. The release of Robinson’s non-guaranteed deal leaves New Orleans with 14 players, one below the regular season limit.
Injuries beset the team during the preseason, and Holiday remains on a minutes restriction. Backup point guard Norris Cole is a couple of weeks into a recovery from a high ankle sprain that’s expected to keep him out for as long as six weeks, and Tyreke Evans, who’s also taken on point guard duties in the past, is about a week into a six-to-eight week recovery from knee surgery. Still, New Orleans has given the majority of its minutes at point guard to Ish Smith, whom the Pelicans claimed off waivers Monday.
The team signed Robinson two weeks ago as part of its effort to offset injuries at the point, but it appears the Pelicans would rather go with Smith and perhaps Toney Douglas, with whom the team is reportedly in talks. In any case, Robinson will receive a sliver of his $1,499,187 for sticking on the roster a few days.
Clippers Exercise Option On C.J. Wilcox
The Clippers have picked up their third-year option on shooting guard C.J. Wilcox, the team announced via a press release. This option is for the 2016/17 season, when Wilcox is scheduled to earn $1,209,600. Los Angeles now has approximately $77.7MM in guaranteed salary already committed for next season.
It wasn’t a sure thing that Los Angeles would exercise Wilcox’s option, with the team having reportedly explored a deal that would have sent Wilcox and Jamal Crawford to Denver in exchange for Wilson Chandler back in June. With the Clippers currently loaded at the wing positions, Wilcox doesn’t figure to see much burn this season unless the team is hit hard by injuries or those ahead of him on the depth chart severly underperform.
The 24-year-old appeared in 21 games for the Clippers during his rookie campaign, averaging 2.0 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in just 4.8 minutes per contest after being selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. During summer league play this year, Wilcox notched averages of 14.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 32.0 minutes of action per appearance.
Grizzlies Exercise Option On Jordan Adams
The Grizzlies exercised their third-year contract option on shooting guard Jordan Adams, the team announced via a press release. The option is for the 2016/17 season when Adams is set to earn $1,465,080.
Adams was selected by Memphis with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft after his sophomore season at UCLA. He notched averages of 3.1 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 30 NBA appearances for the Grizzlies during the 2014/15 season. His shooting line was .407/.400/.609.
The 21-year-old fared better during his 11 appearances last year with Memphis’ D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy. Adams averaged 18.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 31.9 minutes per night in Iowa during his five assignments.
Hawks Exercise Options On Hardaway, Schröder
6:04pm: The Hawks have officially announced that they have picked up the fourth-year options on both players.
5:43pm: The Hawks have announced that they’ve exercised their 2016/17 rookie scale options on Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schröder, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter link). Both players will be entering their fourth NBA season in 2016/17.
Hardaway, 23, was acquired by Atlanta in a draft day deal with the Knicks this offseason. He is set to earn $2,281,605 next season, the final one of his rookie contract. The swingman appeared in 70 contests for the Knicks during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 11.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 24.0 minutes per contest. Hardway’s shooting line was .389/.342/.801.
Schröder, 22, was the No. 17 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 126 contests since arriving in Atlanta, notching averages of 7.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists to accompany a slash line of .417/.326/.797. The German born point guard is set to earn $2,708,582.
Pelicans Claim Ish Smith Off Waivers
TUESDAY, 7:18am: The move was a waiver claim, not a signing, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) and the RealGM transactions log show, so Smith is on a one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum salary contract.
6:02pm: New Orleans announced that it has signed Smith, and doesn’t say anything about a waiver claim. Either way, Smith is with the Pelicans now, though the terms of his contract could be different if the team signed him rather than claiming him.
MONDAY, 4:10pm: The Pelicans have claimed Ish Smith off waivers from the Wizards, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That means the Sixers took a pass on claiming him, a move Philadelphia was reportedly considering. New Orleans inherits the one-year deal that’s for the minimum salary without guaranteed money that Smith signed before the start of camp with the Wizards.
Smith was waived Saturday by the Wizards, along with four other players. He spent much of the first half of last season with the Thunder, but he looked especially strong as he played 25 games down the stretch with the Sixers, averaging 12.1 points, 6.1 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 27.1 minutes per contest. In five preseason games with the Wizards, his averages were 2.2 points, 4.0 assists and 1.0 turnover in 11.5 minutes.
The signing brings the Pelicans up to the roster limit of 15. Smith gives the Pelicans some added depth at point guard with Norris Cole on the club’s inactive list, according to the opening-night rosters released by the league on Monday night. Cole suffered a high ankle sprain during training camp and could be out several more weeks.
Suns Exercise 2016/17 Options On Trio
The Suns have exercised their 2016/17 options on shooting guard Archie Goodwin, center Alex Len and small forward T.J. Warren, according to a team release. Goodwin and Len will be entering their fourth seasons in 2016/17, while Warren will be entering his third season.
Phoenix adds approximately $9MM in salary commitments after already handing out nearly $51MM in guaranteed contracts next season. Most of that guaranteed money was delved out to four starters — the backcourt of Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe, power forward Markieff Morris and center Tyson Chandler.
Goodwin’s option is worth $2,094,089, while Len has a $4,823,621 salary for his fourth season. Warren will make $2,128,920 next season.
Goodwin averaged 5.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 13.0 minutes in 41 games last season. Len averaged 6.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 22.0 minutes in 69 games. Warren, the 14th pick of the 2014 draft, averaged 6.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 15.4 minutes in 40 games.