Could Wizards Seek More Point Guard Depth?
- John Wall, who underwent two offseason knee procedures, isn’t a lock to be ready by opening night, prompting Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic.com to wonder if the Wizards will explore adding more point guard depth to their roster. There are still several experienced point guards on the free agent market.
Wall May Not Be Ready Opening Night
Four months after having surgery on both knees, the Wizards‘ John Wall is being cautious with predictions about his availability for opening night, relays Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. The procedure on Wall’s right knee just removed some loose particles, Bucker notes, but the operation on the left knee was much more serious. Wall hasn’t been cleared for one-on-one games, but he can run, jump and handle two-a-day workouts. “I’m doing all that right now, working out and doing all that type of things but I’m not in no rush,” Wall said. “I’m very excited to be back on the court because I will tell you sitting on the table all day and doing those boring exercises is no fun. Six hours out of the day, it’s the frustrating part in this.” Wall will join his teammates in Los Angeles for a four-day mini-camp starting Sunday. The Wizards open their regular season October 27th.
J.J. Hickson Headed To China?
AUGUST 20: Hickson is finalizing a deal with the Fujian club, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
AUGUST 19: Power forward J.J. Hickson is negotiating a deal in China, a source told international journalist David Pick (Twitter link).
The 6’9” Hickson has played in the NBA since the 2008/09 season. He played 20 games with the Nuggets last season, including nine starts, and averaged 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 15.3 minutes.
Hickson, who had a $5.6MM salary last season, was waived after reaching a buyout agreement in February. The Nuggets tried to deal him before the trade deadline but couldn’t find a taker. He played in just three games after December 8th before he was waived.
He then signed for the remainder of the season with Wizards after clearing waivers. He appeared in 15 games with Washington, averaging 4.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 8.7 minutes.
Hickson has also played for the Cavaliers, Kings and Trail Blazers. He’s averaged 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 534 career games.
A torn ACL in March 2014 sidetracked Hickson’s career. His reputation as a subpar midrange shooter and poor defender also hindered his chances of signing another NBA contract.
Brooks Excited By Potential Of Wall/Beal Backcourt
- New Wizards coach Scott Brooks is looking forward to coaching the backcourt combo of John Wall and Bradley Beal, a pairing he believes can be one of the league’s top duos, Ben Standig of CSNMid-Atlantic relays. “I haven’t had a chance to coach them yet, but on paper [and] having coached against them, it’s a perfect fit,” Brooks said. “We can have one of the best two-way backcourts in the league.“
Six Free Agents Signed Five-Year Contracts
The NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement is designed to give teams certain benefits when it comes to re-signing their own free agents. Many players who reach free agency, for instance, are permitted to get 7.5% annual raises from their own teams, while they can only get 4.5% raises from another team. More notably, Bird rights free agents can sign five-year contracts with their own teams, but can only go up to four years with other clubs.
In some cases, that extra year doesn’t make much of a difference. Al Horford left Atlanta for Boston and signed a four-year contract with the Celtics, even though there were reports suggesting the Hawks were open to going to five years (albeit not quite for the max). Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors on a two-year contract that he’ll likely opt out of after the first year in order to maximize his future earnings.
Still, for at least a handful of players, that five-year contract appears to have played a part in their decisions to return to their own teams. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, six free agents signed five-year deals this year, and all six of those contracts were worth at least $85MM. Three of them were maximum-salary pacts.
Here are those five-year contracts, which will run through the 2020/21 season:
- Mike Conley (Grizzlies): Five years, $152,605,578 (partial guarantee in year five)
- DeMar DeRozan (Raptors): Five years, $137,500,000 (player option in year five)
- Andre Drummond (Pistons): Five years, $127,171,313 (player option in year five)
- Bradley Beal (Wizards): Five years, $127,171,313
- Nicolas Batum (Hornets): Five years, $120,000,000 (player option in year five)
- Evan Fournier (Magic): Five years, $85,000,000 (player option in year five)
Although Conley drew significant interest from the Mavericks, he was always a favorite to return to the Grizzlies, and none of the other five players on this list were seriously linked to another suitor, which is interesting.
Drummond and Beal were restricted free agents who got max deals, so there was never any suspense about their destinations, but plenty of teams would have been interested in prying away DeRozan from the Raptors, Batum from the Hornets, or Fournier from the Magic. The fact that those players’ teams were willing to offer five years likely made negotiations much simpler, since no rival suitor could offer that fifth year.
A five-year contract provides additional long-term security for free agents, and also gives the team the opportunity to give the player some agency as well. In four of the six deals listed above, the contract features a fifth-year player option.
That means DeRozan, Drummond, Batum, and Fournier have a safety net for that 2020/21 season — if they’re still playing at a high level at that point, it might make sense to opt out and sign a new longer-term contract. If their production has slipped, or if they’re battling injuries, they’ll have the option of remaining in their current contract and collecting a big pay check in that fifth year.
The ability to offer an additional year to their own free agents hasn’t always prevented teams from losing top-tier players on the open market, but there are still plenty of instances where that fifth year seems to make a difference. As the CBA opt-out date nears and the NBA and NBPA explore potential changes to their current agreement, it makes sense for this aspect of the CBA to remain unchanged. That extra long-term security may not appeal to every marquee free agent, but it does give a player’s current team a leg up, which is crucial if the league is worried about potential imbalance.
Micheal Eric Signs With Spanish Team
- Center Micheal Eric, who played on the Wizards’ Las Vegas summer league team, has signed with Spanish Club Bilbao, league sources informed J. Michael of CSNmidatlantic.com. Eric had the option of joining Washington for training camp but decided to head overseas when the club wouldn’t offer a partial guarantee, Michael adds. The 28-year-old Eric averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in five summer league outings.
Shawn Dawson Declines Camp Invite From Wizards
- Israeli wing Shawn Dawson, who helped Maccabi Rishon win a title in Israel last season, received an invite from the Wizards to attend training camp, but has decided to turn it down, sources tell J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com (Twitter link). Dawson appeared in four Summer League games for Washington last month.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Southeast
Over the next several days, we’ll be breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this July.
These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.
Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.
With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Southeast division. Let’s dive in…
1. Washington Wizards
- Total money committed: $239,223,166
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $234,026,744
- Largest expenditure: Bradley Beal (five years, $127,171,313)
- Other notable signings:
- Ian Mahinmi (four years, $64,000,000)
- Andrew Nicholson (four years, $26,000,000)
- Jason Smith (three years, $15,675,000)
- Notes:
- Marcus Thornton will earn $1,315,448 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Wizards will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
2. Charlotte Hornets
- Total money committed: $197,549,753
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $187,517,567
- Largest expenditure: Nicolas Batum (five years, $120,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Marvin Williams (four years, $54,512,500)
- Ramon Sessions (two years, $12,270,000)
- Roy Hibbert (one year, $5,000,000)
- Notes:
- Brian Roberts will earn $1,050,961 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Hornets will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
- Sessions’ deal contributes significantly to the gap between the Hornets’ total money and guaranteed money committed, since his second year ($6.27MM) is a team option.
3. Orlando Magic
- Total money committed: $197,000,000
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $197,000,000
- Largest expenditure: Evan Fournier (five years, $85,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Bismack Biyombo (four years, $68,000,000)
- D.J. Augustin (four years, $29,000,000)
- Jeff Green (one year, $15,000,000)
- Notes:
- The Magic have yet to add any camp invitees or players on partially-guaranteed deals, so the four players listed above make up the team’s entire free agent haul so far.
4. Miami Heat
- Total money committed: $186,713,810
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $175,347,388
- Largest expenditure: Hassan Whiteside (four years, $98,419,537)
- Other notable signings:
- Tyler Johnson (four years, $50,000,000)
- Wayne Ellington (two years, $12,270,000)
- Dion Waiters (two years, $5,926,410)
- Derrick Williams (one year, $4,598,000)
- Udonis Haslem (one year, $4,000,000)
- James Johnson (one year, $4,000,000)
- Notes:
- Like Sessions for the Hornets, Ellington’s second-year salary of $6.27MM is not guaranteed, which contributes to the gap between the Heat’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
5. Atlanta Hawks
- Total money committed: $151,929,151
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $150,530,431
- Largest expenditure: Dwight Howard (three years, $70,500,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Kent Bazemore (four years, $70,000,000)
- Malcolm Delaney (two years, $5,000,000)
- Kris Humphries (one year, $4,000,000)
- Notes:
- Jarrett Jack will earn $1,551,659 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Hawks will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
Previously:
Southwest
Wizards Keeping Eye On FA Market
- Although the Wizards appear content with their current roster, the club continues to scour the market and may consider adding a wing player, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael identifies Alan Anderson as a veteran free agent who may end up returning to Washington, though he cautions that a deal still appears unlikely at this point.
Wizards Won't Give Out More Guarantees
- The Wizards don’t plan on paying any more players to attend training camp, according to J. Michael of CSNMidatlantic.com. Washington’s front office will only offer non-guaranteed camp deals, Michael continues, because they already have four players on partially-guaranteed contracts to go along with a dozen more on fully guaranteed deals. Jarell Eddie, Danuel House, Sheldon McClellan and Daniel Ochefu are the players with partial guarantees. Center Micheal Eric, who played on the Wizards’ summer league team, is unlikely to attend their camp because he’s looking for guaranteed money, Michael adds.