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Western Conference Salary Rankings: Shooting Guards

September 26th, 2016 at 8:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the salaries, separated by conference, for each NBA player by position. We’ve already looked at the point guards and centers of the Western Conference and will now turn our attention toward the conference’s shooting guards.

All told, the teams out west have committed a total of $299,460,075 in cap hits this season to the men who man the two spot. The average conference salary for shooting guards this season is currently $4,403,825, with James Harden topping the list with a more than respectable $26,540,100 to account for on his year-end W-2 form.

It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players won’t make it out of the preseason, while others will be sweating it out until January 10th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.

I should also add that not every player listed below will play shooting guard this season, as some will likely see some time at small forward or point guard. To maintain uniformity, I used their positions listed on the teams’ official rosters to determine which list to include them on. So if you see a player who isn’t expected to play shooting guard for his team this season listed below, that’s why.

The Western Conference’s shooting guards are listed below, in descending order of salary:

James Harden [Rockets] —$26,540,100
Allen Crabbe [Blazers] —$18,500,000
Wesley Matthews [Mavs] — $17,145,838
Klay Thompson [Warriors] — $16,663,575
Manu Ginobili [Spurs] —$14,000,000
Jamal Crawford [Clippers] —$13,253,012
Arron Afflalo [Kings] —$12,500,000
Eric Gordon [Rockets] —$12,385,665
Tyreke Evans [Pelicans] —$10,203,755
Alec Burks [Jazz] —$10,154,495
Danny Green [Spurs] —$10,000,000
E’Twaun Moore [Pelicans] —$8,081,363
Garrett Temple [Kings] —$8,000,000
J.J. Redick [Clippers] —$7,377,500
Lou Williams [Lakers] —$7,000,000
Victor Oladipo [Thunder] —$6,552,960
Andrew Wiggins [Wolves] —$6,006,600
Alex Abrines [Thunder] —$5,994,764
Tony Allen [Grizzlies] — $5,505,618
Langston Galloway [Pelicans] —$5,200,000
Ben McLemore [Kings] —$4,008,882
Leandro Barbosa [Suns] —$4,000,000
Quincy Pondexter [Pelicans] —$3,617,978
Buddy Hield [Pelicans] —$3,517,200
Mike Miller [Nuggets] — $3,500,000
Anthony Morrow [Thunder] —$3,488,000
K.J. McDaniels [Rockets] —$3,333,333
Troy Daniels [Grizzlies] — $3,332,940
C.J. McCollum [Blazers]—$3,219,579
Jamal Murray [Nuggets] — $3,210,840
Seth Curry [Mavs] — $2,898,000
Devin Booker [Suns] —$2,223,600
Andre Roberson [Thunder] —$2,183,072
Archie Goodwin [Suns] —$2,094,089
Vince Carter [Grizzlies] — $2,000,000
Gary Harris [Nuggets] — $1,655,880
Malik Beasley [Nuggets] — $1,627,320
Justin Anderson [Mavs]— $1,514,160
Jordan Adams [Grizzlies] — $1,465,080
Malachi Richardson [Kings] —$1,439,880
Rodney Hood [Jazz] —$1,406,520
Alonzo Gee [Pelicans] —$1,400,000
Kevin Martin [Waived via Stretch Provision by Wolves] $1,360,305
Alan Anderson [Clippers] —$1,315,448
Lance Stephenson [Pelicans] — $1,227,286
Elliot Williams [Warriors] — $1,227,286
John Jenkins [Suns] —$1,050,961
Ian Clark [Warriors] — $1,015,696
Toure’ Murry [Wolves]— $980,431
JaKarr Sampson [Nuggets] — $980,431
Pat Connaughton [Blazers] —$874,636
D.J. Kennedy [Nuggets] — $874,636
Luis Montero [Blazers] —$874,636
Lamar Patterson [Kings] —$874,636
Jonathon Simmons [Spurs] —$874,636
D.J. Stephens [Grizzlies] — $874,636
Axel Toupane [Nuggets] — $874,636
Bryn Forbes [Spurs] —$543,471
Quincy Ford [Jazz] —$543,471
Patricio Garino [Spurs] —$543,471
Shaquille Harrison [Suns] — $543,471
Keith Hornsby [Mavs] — $543,471
Cameron Jones [Warriors] — $543,471
Tim Quarterman [Blazers] —$543,471
Wayne Selden [Grizzlies] — $543,471
Isaiah Taylor [Rockets] — $543,471
C.J. Williams [Mavs] — $543,471
Scott Wood [Warriors] — $543,471

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Hoops Rumors Originals

Cavs Consider Adding Point Guard Depth

September 26th, 2016 at 7:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Mo Williams announcing his retirement earlier today, the only true point guard on the Cavaliers’ roster to back up Kyrie Irving is rookie Kay Felder. Despite GM David Griffin saying that the team is “comfortable” with the point guard spot, Cleveland is seeking to bolster the position via free agency, Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. To that end, the Cavs have been in contact with Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers, and Kirk Hinrich, Vardon adds.

“We feel very comfortable with where we are at the point guard position, the versatility that we have to absorb that,” Griffin told the media. “We have other people that can guard the position. Because of LeBron James, we have additional people that can also play the position offensively, and frankly we’re really excited about finding out what some of the younger players on our roster can do. This is a training camp that for the first time since I’ve been here I think will be incredibly competitive, relative to roster spots themselves, and we’re really excited about the guys that we have in camp who have a chance to earn a job.”

The Cavs have been in contact with all three of the players mentioned above, anticipating Williams hanging up his sneakers and retiring, a source told Vardon. But the team appears to be in no rush to sign anyone, preferring to let Felder get some experience in training camp and to see if coach Tyronn Lue can make his rotation work without adding a new player to the mix, Vardon relays.

Cole has also drawn interest from the Sixers and Nuggets, Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net relays (via Twitter). The 27-year-old made 45 appearances for the Pelicans last season, averaging 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 26.6 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .405/.324/.800.

Chalmers was James’ teammate when LeBron was a member of the Heat. The 30-year-old made 55 appearances for the Grizzlies last season prior to tearing his Achilles in March. He was subsequently waived by the team. Chalmers notched averages of 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 22.8 minutes per night. His slash line was .417/.326/.827

The 35-year-old Hinrich is the oldest of the trio mentioned. He split time between the Bulls and Hawks in 2015/16, making a combine 46 appearances and averaging 3.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 13.7 minutes per night. His shooting numbers were .380/.387/.938.

Atlantic Notes: Anthony, Paul, Lowry

September 26th, 2016 at 5:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks are hoping that the roster changes they made this offseason will alleviate some of the pressure off of Carmelo Anthony and don’t want the forward feeling like he needs to “do everything” in order to be successful, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays. “A lot of times he has a penchant to take the ball himself up the court and slow the play down, the development down, by pushing the ball up the court himself or taking the inbound pass,” team president Phil Jackson told the media. “Those are some of the small things that we asked to look at and maybe we could change. With the outstanding guard corps that we have — Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings, guys who can really push the ball at a certain level — I think he’s going to be much more comfortable allowing them to do what they’re best at.”

“We’re hoping that the level of talent that is on the team will lead to him not thinking, ‘I have to do everything,’” coach Jeff Hornacek added. “He’s a great passer. He’s made great passes in some of these games that we’ve seen. I think when he has that trust in his teammates, he’s going to make those passes, and we’re going to get easy buckets.”

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic Division:

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, who can opt out of his current deal after the 2016/17 campaign is complete, told members of the media that he won’t be discussing free agency until the season is over, Eric Koreen relays (via Twitter). Lowry will assuredly command more on the open market than the $12MM he is owed for 2017/18.
Despite the Sixers bringing 20 players into training camp, Brandon Paul has a legitimate shot to make the opening night roster, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders opines. The scribe notes that Paul’s contract has more guaranteed money included than the deals of Robert Covington, Hollis Thompson, Jerami Grant, T.J. McConnell, Shawn Long and James Webb. Discussing why he chose to sign with Philly, Paul told Kennedy, “I just felt like, all around, it was the best decision for me to come in and compete. They obviously have a young roster and I kind of bring in a little bit of maturity to that roster. Obviously, I’m relatively young as well. But around those guys, I’m kind of the older one and I’m a little more seasoned because I played overseas and in the D-League. I think I can bring a little bit of toughness and maturity to the roster.”
Neither the Raptors nor DeMar DeRozan wanted the player to end up anywhere other than Toronto, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who details the free agent process the two parties went through in reaching a five-year agreement this summer.

Josh Smith Admits He Needs To Change

September 26th, 2016 at 4:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Veteran forward Josh Smith wasn’t able to land a free agent deal this summer and with training camps commencing around the league this week, remains unsigned. Smith spoke with Shams Charania of The Vertical about his situation and admitted that if his NBA career is to continue, some internal changes will need to be made.

“I’m not a guy that is oblivious to my surroundings, I know that changes need to be made,” Smith told Charania. “It’s something that I have done wrong to now be figuring out my next move and figuring out what I need to do to be better. Even yoga this summer has helped me become one with my spirit, body and mind. I’ve done things to take steps toward bettering myself, having patience. I have a lot left to give to this game. I’m ready to go now. I feel like I’m in the best shape, and I’ve worked extremely hard this offseason. I’m ready.”

The 30-year-old believes the perception of him around the NBA changed when he was surprisingly waived by the Pistons just one season into his four-year, $58MM contract, Charania relays. “The perception of me seemed to start early on with Atlanta, but after Detroit, it left people completely puzzled,” Smith said. “People didn’t understand how it happened, how I was let go. It just didn’t fit. But wherever I have gone in development situations, I have been able to be on winning teams. When I came to Atlanta, we were at the bottom. Al Horford came, and we made it a consistent playoff team. When I went to Houston [in 2015] after Detroit, we made it to the Western Conference finals, something that they hadn’t done since the ’90s. I played impactful minutes for us to get to those platforms.”

Smith, who is earning $5,331,729 per year through 2019/20, courtesy of Detroit, turned down a lucrative offer to head overseas to China this season, Charania notes. The forward’s desire is to land an NBA roster spot and promises that he’s changed his habits on and off the court, the Vertical scribe adds. “My main goal is that I am an NBA player,” Smith said. “Being able to go overseas, people are professional, but the NBA is what I have built myself to do. I’m still hungry. If I jumped to leave my NBA chances behind, I feel it would’ve been an act of desperation. I’m not a guy who feels like I have to start or play 30 minutes a night anymore. I wish for an opportunity to be able to contribute, to be a positive guy around the locker room. It has been missing from me. I’m not doubting it. I felt I have always showed support for my teammates, cheering for them, but I have to do a better job. I feel I have something to give the NBA, period.”

Over 891 career NBA regular season contests, Smith has averages of 14.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 blocks in 32.5 minutes per outing. His career shooting line is .453/.285/.632.

Josh Smith

Cavs Have Made “Aggressive” Offer To J.R. Smith

September 26th, 2016 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers officially announced their training camp roster today, and J.R. Smith‘s name wasn’t on it. A key piece of last year’s championship team, Smith remains unsigned as camp begins, but GM David Griffin said today that Cleveland has made the veteran guard an “aggressive” offer and hopes Smith rejoins the team soon, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (Twitter link). Griffin also called the club’s offer “incredibly competitive,” per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

While the details of the Cavs’ offer to Smith aren’t known, the unrestricted free agent has reportedly been seeking an offer in the $15MM-per-year range, with the Cavs preferring something in the neighborhood of $10-12MM. Assuming those reports are accurate, the team’s latest offer likely gets a little closer to Smith’s rumored asking price.

The Cavs announced a full 20-man roster earlier today, but they have since removed one player from that list, as Mo Williams decided to retire. Of course, if Smith and the Cavs reach an agreement, the team wouldn’t hesitate to part ways with one of its non-guaranteed camp invitees to make room, if necessary.

While the Cavs wait to see how Smith responds to their contract offer, the team took part in media day on Monday, and one veteran free agent who re-signed with the team this summer indicated that he still has a couple more seasons left in him. James Jones, who is entering his 14th NBA season, said today that he’d like to play 15 years, according to Amico (Twitter link).

Jones is currently on a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Cavs, so if he wants to play in 2017/18, he’d have to sign a new contract a year from now, with Cleveland or another club.

Grizzlies Sign Chris Crawford

September 26th, 2016 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies’ 20-man roster for training camp is set, the team announced over the weekend in a press release. In addition to the 19 players who started the offseason with the club, or whose deals were previously reported, Memphis has officially signed free agent guard Chris Crawford to fill out its roster.

Crawford was born in Memphis and played his college ball with the Tigers, so it’s a homecoming for the 23-year-old. Since going undrafted in 2014, the young guard has appeared in 64 games for the D-League’s Canton Charge, and has also spent some time in France with Rouen Métropole Basket.

The Grizzlies head into camp with just 13 players on guaranteed contracts, so it’s possible Crawford could land a regular-season roster spot with the club, but a return overseas or to the D-League seems more likely. Vince Carter, whose salary is partially guaranteed, figures to earn one of the two open roster spots in Memphis, with Tony Wroten, D.J. Stephens, Wayne Selden, Troy Williams, and JaMychal Green vying with Crawford for the other one.

Nerlens Noel: Sixers’ Center Logjam Is “Silly”

September 26th, 2016 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

1:12pm: Responding today to Noel’s comments, Colangelo reiterated that he’s not shopping any specific players, suggesting that – as a new GM – he was simply gauging league-wide interest in his players (Twitter link via Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com). Colangelo added that the situation shouldn’t be affected by Noel’s comments, and that Embiid’s health will be a major factor in the Sixers’ plans (Twitter links via Bodner and Pompey). The team isn’t in a rush to make any moves, per Colangelo (Twitter link via Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com).

Meanwhile, Noel doubled down on his earlier comments this afternoon. While he stressed he isn’t unhappy in Philadelphia, the big man said he doesn’t see “any way of it working” when asked again about the center logjam (Twitter link via Bodner).

8:37am: With Joel Embiid poised to make his NBA debut this season, the Sixers are stacked at the center position, as Embiid joins Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor in the rotation. The logjam at the position has resulted in plenty of trade rumors involving Noel and Okafor this offseason, but the team has yet to make a move. And as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Noel is starting to publicly question when a move will happen.

“I think it’s just silly… this situation that we are in now with three starting centers,” Noel said. “With the departure of [former GM] Sam Hinkie, I would have figured that management would be able to get something done this summer. … I think something needs to happen.”

According to Noel, he’s not asking to be traded himself, or demanding that the Sixers make a move immediately. However, it sounds as if he views a deal as inevitable, since it doesn’t make sense for the club to play out the season with all three players, assuming they all stay healthy. According to Noel, it’s the equivalent of having “three starting quarterbacks.”

“I feel like it definitely needs to be figured out,” Noel said. “I think at the end of the day, again, you have three starting-caliber centers. And it’s just not going to work to anybody’s advantage having that on the same team. That’s how I’m looking at it. I’m not opposed to anything, but things need to be situated.”

Although GM Bryan Colangelo has suggested in the past that heading into the season with Okafor, Noel, and Embiid all on the roster isn’t necessarily ideal, the Sixers also like all three players and don’t want to sell one of them for below market value. Appearing on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast last week, Colangelo denied aggressively shopping Okafor and Noel, adding that the team’s desire to make a deal has been overstated and calling it a “high-class problem” to have three promising young centers.

Noel tells Pompey that he knows he “was shopped,” though that could be a question of semantics — it’s not clear whether the Sixers were instigating trade discussions or simply talking to teams that called to ask about their bigs. According to Pompey, Noel’s name has come up in trade talks with the Celtics, Suns, Hawks, and Rockets, but Philadelphia turned down multiple offers for the 22-year-old. Another source tells Pompey that the Sixers have also spoken to the Raptors and Spurs.

While it remains possible that the Sixers will make a move prior to the regular season, the club had been hoping to make it until at least December 15, per Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). That would give Okafor and Embiid time to prove they’re fully healthy, and it would allow players who signed new deals this offseason to become trade-eligible, opening the door for more possible scenarios.

Mo Williams To Retire

September 26th, 2016 at 12:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Five days ago, Mo Williams posted a tweet indicating he was returning to the NBA – and to the Cavaliers – for one more year. Apparently that’s no longer the case. According to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (via Twitter), Cavs GM David Griffin announced today that Williams’ agent informed him of his client’s decision to retire.

Williams, the 47th overall pick in the 2003 draft, spent a year in Utah before heading to the Bucks and blossoming into a starting point guard. Over the course of his 13-year NBA career, Wiliams also played for the Cavaliers, Clippers, Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, Hornets, and enjoyed second stints with the Jazz and the Cavs.

An All-Star in 2009, Williams averaged 13.2 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 2.8 RPG for his career, shooting 37.8% on three-point attempts in his 818 regular-season contests. The 33-year-old also appeared in 62 playoff games, winning his first championship with the Cavs this June.

Williams had been set to earn $2,194,500 for the 2016/17 season, so we’ll see how the Cavs handle that cap hit. The team may end up just waiving the veteran guard, eating his salary, but perhaps the two sides can work out a buyout agreement that takes Cleveland off the hook for some of that $2MM+.

Meanwhile, Williams’ departure thins out the point guard ranks for the Cavs. Behind Kyrie Irving, the team will be relying on rookie Kay Felder and perhaps camp invitee Markel Brown, though he’s more of a combo guard. For what it’s worth, Griffin says the Cavs are “comfortable” with the point guard position, adding that it will be a “an incredibly competitive” training camp (Twitter link via Amico).

Popovich: Tim Duncan Will Have Role With Spurs

September 26th, 2016 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters at the Spurs’ media day on Monday, head coach Gregg Popovich suggested that while Tim Duncan is no longer a member of the team’s roster, he’ll still be around. According to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter), Popovich said that Duncan will have an official role with the Spurs this season: “Coach of Whatever He Wants to Be.”

Buck Harvey of The San Antonio Express-News had reported earlier this month that many people within the Spurs organization believed Duncan would eventually join the team in a full-time role, perhaps focusing on personnel rather than coaching. When the team announced its new coaching and front office hires and promotions a day later, Duncan wasn’t mentioned. However, Popovich says the future Hall-of-Famer will be involved this season, though he won’t be on the bench with the other Spurs assistants (Twitter link via Jim Lefko of The Express-News).

Popovich’s vagueness suggests that Duncan’s exact role – if he has one – hasn’t been officially determined yet, so we’ll see if the Spurs eventually make an announcement and give him a formal title. Either way, it seems Duncan will remain a part of the organization with which he spent his entire 19-year NBA playing career.

Cavs Sign Jonathan Holmes, Finalize Camp Roster

September 26th, 2016 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have officially announced their camp roster, and there’s one new name on the list of 20 players. According to Cleveland’s announcement, the team has signed 6’9″ forward Jonathan Holmes to its roster for camp.

Holmes, who played his college ball at Texas, went undrafted in 2015 after his final season with the Longhorns. He joined the Lakers for training camp, and suffered a dislocated right shoulder before the season began. While the injury sidelined him for the next several months, it did ensure that he earned his full salary for the 2015/16 from Los Angeles.

In Cleveland, Holmes likely won’t make the team’s 15-man roster for the regular season, but it’s possible he’ll end up being assigned to the club’s D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge. I’d expect his deal to be a minimum-salary pact that contains little to no guaranteed money.

As for the Cavs, their announcement today confirmed several previously-reported signings — agreements with players like John Holland, Dahntay Jones, and Cory Jefferson are now official. Cleveland is also carrying the maximum allowable 20 players, and J.R. Smith‘s name isn’t among them, though of course that doesn’t prevent the two sides from eventually working out a deal.

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