We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com. Here are this week’s inquiries:
With Kevin Durant signing a one-year deal essentially, since he’s a lock to opt out, and Stephen Curry‘s very team-friendly deal up in a year, too, what are the chances the Warriors keep both? I know the cap is on the rise again, but that’s two $200MM-plus deals. And that’s not including Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. — Matt Elliott
Admittedly, that’s a lot of money for two players, but these aren’t just any two players. Durant and Curry own the league’s last three MVP trophies, and their plan is to be teammates for a long time. The Warriors can use Bird rights to keep Curry, and revenue won’t be a problem for a team that figures to sell out every game — probably at home and on the road. If there is a casualty of the Warriors’ salary situation next summer, it could be Andre Iguodala. He’s also in the last year of his contract, and if Golden State sees any need to cut costs, he could be the one to go. But the chances of the Warriors keeping Durant and Curry are right around 100%.
With Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo signed, which player or two do you see the Bulls picking up to fill out their roster? Any chance of a Kevin Martin or Jordan Hill signing for depth? — Michael Stuckmyer?
The Bulls have less than $3MM in remaining cap space after spending big to acquire Wade and Rondo. Before landing Wade, Chicago was one of the teams that talked to Sacramento about Rudy Gay, so the Bulls may not be done with major moves. Depth will eventually be an issue for the front office to address, and the problem got worse tonight with the news that Aaron Brooks is probably headed to the Pacers. Bulls management is reportedly happy with the team’s frontcourt rotation but wants to add a shooter and backup point guard. Martin is a possibility, but it really depends who they can get cheaply as the free agent market begins to play out.
Will the Jazz pick up the non-guaranteed contracts of Shelvin Mack, Chris Johnson and Jeff Withey? DN has reported that the Jazz will be picking up Mack’s contract, but have not heard about the other two. — Paul Searcy
Mack, as you said, is a done deal. His $2,433,334 contract for next season became fully guaranteed when the Jazz kept him on the roster past Thursday. For the other two, it probably depends what other options Utah might have. Both are 26. Their salaries for next season are $1,050,961 for Johnson and $1,015,69 for Withey. That’s a pair of veterans for not much more than the league minimum. Unless the Jazz need the cap room, the safest move is to keep both players.
Perhaps Rondo could come off the bench for Chicago? I had heard that they thought about Valentine at the PG spot previously. What about Valentine, Wade, Butler, McDermott, Lopez
Rondo, Mirotic, Grant, Gibson, Snell, Portis off the bench?
They need another shooter at one of the guard spots and someone that can give them minutes at the 3 (over Snell). Obviously, had they known they could get Wade, their offseason would probably have gone differently.
Depth will be the problem in the guards. Injuries to 1 could really hurt
Nice deleting that guys comment, HoopsRumors. I agree, maybe state that you were only going to answer a choice amount of questions, or update your criteria. I’ve sent in a lot of them as well and you’ve never answered those either.