2016 September | Hoops Rumors

Trevor Cooney To Play In Spain

September 20th, 2016 at 10:15am CST by Luke Adams

Trevor Cooney had been expected to join the Nets and play for the team’s D-League affiliate this season, but the undrafted free agent guard will instead head overseas for the 2016/17 campaign. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), Cooney has signed a Euroleague deal with Spanish team Baskonia.

It was Pick who reported last month that Cooney appeared ticketed for the Nets. Teams can sign a player to their 20-man offseason roster, then waive him prior to the regular season and designate him as an affiliate player for their D-League squad — Brooklyn intended to send Cooney to the Long Island Nets. However, the former Syracuse guard never made anything official with the Nets, and almost certainly received a more lucrative offer from Baskonia.

Cooney, 24, went undrafted this June after completing his collegiate career at Syracuse. In 37 games this past season as a fifth-year senior, Cooney averaged 12.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 36.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .348/.354/.806.

Matt Bonner Will “Fight To Play One More Year”

September 20th, 2016 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

Nearly a month and a half ago, Matt Bonner expressed a desire to continue his NBA playing career, despite the fact that it didn’t look like the Spurs had interest in bringing him back. With training camps right around the corner, Bonner still hasn’t given up on the idea of playing another NBA season, as he tells Ray Duckler of The Concord Monitor.

“I’m going to fight to get into the league,” Bonner said. “I’m going to fight to play one more year. … There’s been interest, but nothing concrete. A lot of teams are like, ‘We like Matt, we just don’t have a roster space right now, but if anything changes, he’s in the mix.’ There’s a long way to go until opening night, so I’m remaining optimistic.”

Bonner, 36, has been a Spur for the last decade, appearing in 726 total regular-season and playoff games with the team during those 10 years. While his PPG average has been mostly on the decline since 2008/09, he’s still extremely accurate from long range — he made 44.1% of his three-point attempts last season, to improve his career mark to 41.4%.

Still, the Spurs don’t appear to have interest in bringing back Bonner, and the veteran big man tells Duckler that the local Celtics aren’t interested either. Bonner is determined to play for as long as he possibly can before calling it a career, but he isn’t sure whether he’d consider playing in a league besides the NBA for the 2016/17 season.

“Wow, you’re asking tough questions,” Bonner said, when Duckler asked if he’d consider playing in Europe. “That’s one of those where I would cross that bridge when I came to it.”

Salary Cap Snapshot: Utah Jazz

September 19th, 2016 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Jazz’s team page accessible here.

Here’s a breakdown of where the Jazz currently stand financially:

Guaranteed Salary

Gordon Hayward —$16,073,140 [Contract contains 15% Trade Kicker]
Derrick Favors —$11,050,000
Joe Johnson —$11,000,000
Alec Burks —$10,154,495
George Hill —$8,000,000
Boris Diaw —$7,000,000
Dante Exum —$3,940,320
Shelvin Mack —$2,433,334
Trey Lyles —$2,340,600
Joe Ingles —$2,150,000
Rudy Gobert —$2,121,287
Rodney Hood —$1,406,520
Jeff Withey —$1,015,696
Raul Neto —$937,800
Joel Bolomboy —$600,000
Marcus Paige —$125,000 [Waived by team]
Quincy Ford—$75,000 [Waived by team]
Henry Sims — $75,000 [Waived by team]

Total Guaranteed Salary= $80,498,192

Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $1,600,000 sent to Sixers in Tibor Pleiss trade [Amount Remaining $1.9MM]

Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]

Payroll Exceptions Available

Room Exception — $2,898,000

Total Projected Payroll: $80,498,192

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: $13,644,808

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $32,788,808

Salary Cap Floor: $84,729,000

Amount Below Salary Cap Floor: $4,230,808

Last Updated: 1/30/17

The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.

Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 29)

September 19th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We’ve been revisiting the 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.

We’ve arrived at the No. 29 overall pick, which was acquired by the Sonics/Thunder from Detroit in a draft day trade. The details of the swap were: The Pistons received the No. 32 (Walter Sharpe) and No. 46 (Trent Plaisted) from Seattle in exchange for the N0. 29 overall pick. In the “real world” draft the Sonics/Thunder nabbed D.J. White with that pick. So cast your vote for who Seattle/OKC selects and check back on Tuesday to see the results, as well as to vote on the final pick in our first round re-draft.

Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
Kings — George Hill [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick — Marreese Speights]
Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick — J.J. Hickson]
Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
Nets (from Mavs) — Omer Asik [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]
Magic — D.J. Augustin [Actual Pick — Courtney Lee]
Jazz — Marreese Speights [Actual Pick — Kosta Koufos]
Sonics/Thunder (from Suns) — Jerryd Bayless [Actual Pick — Serge Ibaka]
Rockets — Kosta Koufos [Actual Pick — Nicolas Batum]
Spurs — JaVale McGee [Actual Pick — George Hill]
Hornets — J.J. Hickson [Actual Pick — Darrell Arthur]
Grizzlies — Luc Mbah a Moute [Actual Pick — Donte Greene]
Sonics/Thunder — ?? [Actual pick — D.J. White]

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.

Latest On Jodie Meeks

September 19th, 2016 at 8:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Magic guard Jodie Meeks is progressing well in his recovery from a mid-July surgery to stabilize the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel relays. Meeks will likely be available to play at some point in November, a team official told Robbins, though his exact return date will depend on how well he continues to progress.

Meeks had fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in the Pistons’ second regular-season game last year. That injury essentially cost him the entire 2015/16 season, with the player undergoing surgery in late October and not suiting up again until Detroit’s final regular season contest. Meeks wasn’t part of the team’s playoff rotation and the Pistons traded him to Orlando in late June. The 29-year-old then underwent a second surgery on July 19th, despite passing his required physical as part of the swap, as Robbins notes.

Orlando will be counting on Meeks to provide a boost with his outside shooting this season, an area the team is sorely lacking in, Robbins adds. The former second-round pick, No. 41 overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, owns a career 37.3% mark from beyond the three-point line. Through 418 career regular season games, Meeks has notched averages of 9.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He is in the final year of his current deal and will earn $6,540,000 in 2016/17.

Community Shootaround: First $200MM NBA Player?

September 19th, 2016 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies signed Mike Conley to the largest contract in NBA history this summer, locking up the point guard for the next five seasons to the tune of $153MM. Conley hit the open market at the perfect time, with Memphis owning his Bird rights and the league’s salary cap jumping from approximately $70MM in 2015/16 up to $94,143,000 as a result of the new TV deal kicking in this season. With the cap expected to continue its upward trend over the next few seasons, Conley’s deal should soon be eclipsed. Salary cap expert Larry Coon writing for ESPN.com in an Insider only piece, took a stab at predicting who the first player to eclipse the $200MM total value mark will be.

It will require a specific set of criteria for a player to hit that staggering benchmark, according to Coon. A player would need to have 10 years of NBA service time, be 31 years of age or younger and re-sign for five-years with a team that holds his full Bird rights, Coon notes. If you are wondering which players might fit that criteria, Coon has you covered, noting that the likeliest to be in line for that jackpot are:

The next tier of players who could be in line to surpass the $200MM mark, according to Coon, are:

It should be noted that Coon isn’t suggesting that all of these players are worthy of that amount, but merely that they will meet his stated criteria and could be in line to sign five-year, maximum salary deals which could surpass the magical $200MM line.

Also, for those wondering why LeBron James isn’t on this list, he’s currently 31 years old and unless the next Collective Bargaining Agreement does away with the over-36 rule, he’s not eligible. The rule, as explained by Coon, states that: “In an Over-36 contract, the presumption is that the seasons at the end of the contract are likely to come after the player retires. Therefore, the salaries in those seasons are classified as deferred compensation. This is significant because deferred compensation is charged to team salary in the year it is earned, not the year it is paid.”

So here’s the question/topic of discussion for this evening: Which of the listed players do you believe will surpass the $200MM mark on their next contract? Who, if any, do you feel are worthy of pulling down that kind of salary?

Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

Latest On Greg Monroe, Bucks

September 19th, 2016 at 5:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Many have made Greg Monroe the scapegoat for the Bucks’ regression during the 2015/16 season, with the team going from 41 wins the previous year to just 33. Milwaukee has reportedly been actively seeking to deal the big man this offseason, with the general consensus around the league being that Monroe wouldn’t still be a member of the Bucks when training camp begins next week, Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times notes. According to league sources, Milwaukee was willing to accept below market value in order to find a taker for Monroe and his $17,145,838 salary for this season, Woelfel adds.

Despite all the rumors, Monroe’s agent, David Falk, says neither he nor his client are surprised the player is still a member of the Bucks, the scribe relays. “There’s been a lot of speculation, but that’s part and parcel for the NBA,’’ Falk said. “You always have rumors and one percent of them come true. I’ve become a cynic to rumors.’’ Falk added that he’s been in constant contact with Bucks officials about Monroe’s situation and that the team’s owners “have been amazingly supportive of Greg.’’

The Bucks have reportedly spoken to the Pelicans about Monroe this summer, according to a July report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe. “I think [the Bucks] got closer than maybe has been reported with New Orleans during either the draft or free agency,” Lowe had said during an episode of The Lowe Post podcast (54:25 mark for the relevant portion). “Monroe’s a New Orleans native,” ESPN’s Marc Stein added. “I think that’s where he wants to end up.” Neither Lowe nor Stein suggested that a deal between the Pelicans and Bucks was necessarily in the works, but Stein expected the big man to eventually be moved. It should be noted that those two clubs also discussed Monroe prior to last season’s trade deadline.

The agent also dismissed the speculation that he or Monroe have lobbied to get the big man out of Milwaukee, Woelfel notes. “Greg is a very mature guy, a very professional guy,’’ Falk said. “He has never asked to be traded on any team.’’ Falk also told the scribe that he doesn’t see Monroe being traded in the near future. “Greg expects to be in training camp with the Bucks,’’ Falk told Woelfel. “He’s looking to have a great season for the Bucks. If anything changes, we’ll deal with it at that time.’’

Falk acknowledged that things didn’t go smoothly for Monroe or the Bucks last season, but noted that all parties are on the same page, Woelfel writes. “He [Monroe] wants to accomplish what they didn’t accomplish this year: making the playoffs,’’ Falk said. “We are trying to make this work. Whether it will happen, I don’t know. But we’re going to try.’’ In 79 appearances for the Bucks last season, Monroe averaged 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 29.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .522/.000/.740.

Knicks Re-Sign Lou Amundson

September 19th, 2016 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are bringing a familiar face with them to training camp next week, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve re-signed free agent big man Lou Amundson to a new contract. Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears from a source that the deal is fully guaranteed, while Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets that it’s for one year. It will be worth the minimum, since New York has already used all of its cap space and its room exception.

Amundson, 33, spent most of the last two seasons with the Knicks, though after averaging 20.9 MPG in 41 games (35 starts) with the club in 2014/15, he saw his playing time significantly reduced last season. In 2015/16, Amundson averaged just 1.8 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 7.0 minutes per contest (29 games).

Given his lack of role on the team last season, Amundson did well to earn a guaranteed salary from the Knicks. New York already had 14 players on guaranteed contracts, with J.P. Tokoto, Chasson Randle, and Ron Baker on non-guaranteed deals. Amundson’s deal suggests that he’s a good bet to be on the regular-season roster, with those younger players likely on the outside looking in.

Over the course of the last decade, Amundson has played for 10 different teams, never averaging more minutes per game for any of those clubs than he has for New York during the last two seasons (15.2). In 428 regular-season contests, the UNLV product has posted 3.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and a shooting line of .474/.000/.444.

Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo Agree To Extension

September 19th, 2016 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

1:20pm: The Bucks have officially confirmed that they have an extension agreement in place with Antetokounmpo, announcing the deal in a press release. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (via Twitter), there will be no player or team options on the contract. Windhorst adds (via Twitter) that Antetokounmpo was willing to take less than the max to help the Bucks retain talent going forward.

12:57pm: The Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo have agreed to a four-year extension worth $100MM, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The deal will go into effect next year, keeping the 21-year-old under contract through the 2020/21 season.

Antetokounmpo had been on track to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2017, at which point he likely would have commanded enough interest around the NBA to ensure that he landed a maximum-salary deal. By locking him up now, the Bucks appear to have avoided paying the max. Maximum salaries and cap figures for 2017/18 won’t be set until next July, but the NBA’s latest projection would mean a starting max salary of about $24MM for ’17/18, with subsequent raises of $1.8MM annually — Antetokounmpo will make a little less than that.

The 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft, Antetokounmpo was viewed as a raw talent with huge upside when the Bucks selected him, and has since adjusted to the NBA more rapidly than expected. He has increased his averages in nearly every meaningful category from year to year, enjoying the best season of his young career in 2015/16, when he averaged 16.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.2 SPG while shooting an impressive 50.6% from the field.

While Antetokounmpo’s traditional position is at forward, he’s also capable of handling the ball, and his versatility and his youth suggest that his best basketball should still be ahead of him. In the first installment of our free agent power rankings for 2017, he placed the Greek Freak third, behind only Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, and ahead of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Of course, when we update those power rankings, Antetokounmpo’s name will no longer show up on the list.

Instead, Antetokounmpo will remain in Milwaukee as another key piece of the Bucks’ core, joining a handful of players who have already been locked up for the next several seasons. Khris Middleton and Mirza Teletovic are under team control through 2019, while Miles Plumlee, John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova, and Thon Maker are under control through 2020.

Antetokounmpo is the second player entering the final year of his rookie contract to reach an agreement on an extension this offseason, joining C.J. McCollum of the Trail Blazers. His Bucks teammate, Michael Carter-Williams, is also extension-eligible until October 31, though Carter-Williams isn’t considered as strong a candidate for an extension as Antetokounmpo had been. When our Arthur Hill examined Antetokounmpo’s case for an extension last month, he called it an easy decision for the Bucks to offer a lucrative, long-term deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rudy Gay To Opt Out, Likely Leave Kings In 2017

September 19th, 2016 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Rudy Gay and his camp have informed the Kings that the veteran forward plans to decline his player option for 2017/18 next summer, and is unlikely to re-sign in Sacramento, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. As Wojnarowski observes, Gay’s declaration that he expects to leave the Kings in 2017 may make the franchise more motivated to trade him.

Of course, the fact that Gay is strongly leaning toward departing Sacramento next year doesn’t come as a real surprise. The comments he made during a July interview with Sactown Royalty didn’t sound like they came from a player who was committed to his team for the long term. “At this point in my career, I think I want some kind of consistency and we don’t have that here, at all,” Gay said at the time.

Nonetheless, the Kings have thus far not shown any inclination to trade Gay without a “substantial package” in return, league sources tell Wojnarowski. According to the Yahoo! Sports scribe, Sacramento has talked to several teams about Gay, but those discussions haven’t found any traction. While some clubs are unclear about exactly what the Kings are looking for in a deal, others have balked at Sacramento’s asking price, per Wojnarowski.

With the Kings intending to compete for a playoff spot this year, trading Gay for future picks or assets is not ideal, since they’d offer no short-term value. According to Wojnarowski, owner Vivek Ranadive is also reluctant to part with Gay, viewing him as a key piece of this year’s roster — Ranadive has reportedly told associates that he thinks he can persuade the 30-year-old to remain with the Kings beyond 2017. However, that seems like a long shot, given Gay’s lack of faith in team ownership’s ability to create a winning environment.

The Rockets have been among the teams linked to Gay over the last few months, so if Sacramento gets serious about moving the UConn product, Houston could be a team to watch. Considering Gay is likely to explore the free agent market in 2017 though, teams poised to have significant cap room next summer may prefer to try to land him at that point, rather than giving up pieces in a trade.

Month: October 2024

Guaranteed Salary

Payroll Exceptions Available