Every player who finishes a season as a member of an NBA roster gets some form of Bird rights as a free agent, allowing his team to go over the cap to re-sign him. However, a player who spent just one year with his club typically only has Non-Bird rights, which are the weakest form of Bird rights, as their oxymoronic name suggests.
With the Non-Bird exception, a team can re-sign a player for up to four years and give him a raise, but that raise has to be a modest one. Non-Bird rights allow for a starting salary worth up to 120% of the player’s previous salary. In other words, a Non-Bird free agent who earned $5MM can only get a starting salary worth up to $6MM on his new deal unless his team uses cap room or another exception to bring him back.
This cap restriction will apply specifically to a handful of players around the NBA who appear to be in line for raises this summer. Because these players will be Non-Bird free agents, their teams’ ability to re-sign them will be limited.
Let’s take a closer look at five players who fit this bill for the 2019 offseason:
DeMarcus Cousins, Warriors (maximum Non-Bird salary: $6,404,400): Cousins’ future has been a popular topic of discussion since the day he signed his one-year contract with the Warriors, since it didn’t appear there was any way for the club to retain him unless he was willing to accept another discount deal. After suffering a torn quad in April, Cousins looked like a possible candidate for another one-year, prove-it contract, but if he continues to shine in the NBA Finals like he did in Game 2, he’ll be able to do better than that on the open market, reducing the likelihood of a return to Golden State.- Brook Lopez, Bucks (maximum Non-Bird salary: $4,058,400): As I outlined over the weekend, the Bucks can actually create up to about $10MM in cap room without renouncing free agents Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon or waiving non-guaranteed players like Sterling Brown and Pat Connaughton. If Milwaukee wants to retain Lopez, the team may need to go that route, since he’ll be seeking a much bigger salary than the $3.38MM he earned in 2018/19. Having proven he’s capable of stretching the floor on offense and protecting the rim on defense, he deserves it.
- Austin Rivers, Rockets (maximum Non-Bird salary: 120% of the minimum): After being bought out by Phoenix, Rivers signed with the Rockets for the minimum. Now they won’t be able to offer him more than about $2.77MM without using cap room or the taxpayer mid-level exception. Given how well he played for Houston in the second half, Rivers should do better than that on the open market. Teammate Kenneth Faried may be in a similar boat, having joined the Rockets on a post-buyout minimum-salary deal of his own.
- Seth Curry, Trail Blazers (maximum Non-Bird salary: $3,354,000): The Trail Blazers have three key Non-Bird free agents who will be tough to bring back. Besides Curry, Rodney Hood and Enes Kanter also fall into that group. Portland would probably like to retain all three players, and it’s hard to say which one would be missed most if he signs elsewhere. But my pick is Curry, whose .450 3PT% in the regular season (and .404 playoff 3PT%) was crucial for a team that didn’t have a ton of outside shooting.
- Michael Carter-Williams, Magic (maximum Non-Bird salary: 120% of the minimum): Like Rivers, Carter-Williams was an in-season minimum-salary addition. The former Rookie of the Year rejuvenated his career with the Magic down the stretch, providing some stability behind D.J. Augustin at the point and helping fortify one of the NBA’s best second-half defenses. Carter-Williams won’t get as big a raise as most of the other players on this list, but Orlando will face competition for his services this summer and may lose him.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
For Cousins, moving on is likely and probably won’t hurt him because he is good enough to fit in just about anywhere.
However, for Michael Carter-Williams he is much better off re-signing in Orlando. He has already flopped in several places, but he fits in perfectly with the Magic. The question is, does he worry more about money or playing well at the top level?
Vonleh also. Needlessly. Tailed off some at the EOY, but hard to believe he won’t get more than 120% of minimum.
Cousins really is very happy with his situation at GS……they have taken care of him through his injuries plus they are a first class outfit…..yes, he probably would do much better financially somewhere else, but being very comfortable in a winning environment is also a VERY BIG plus
Why would Boogie leave? There’s a slight chance KD will opt in and then Boogie can sign for under the max again in exchange for another title. This is the reality like all of NBA media never addresses. What if money doesn’t mean as much as a title to these guys? What if Lacob’s ultimate goal is more titles than the Celtics and this is just phase 1 of a longer-term goal???
I think the answer to why would Cousins leave is that he’s seen what can happen to a career in an instant. One play is all it takes and your chance at a fortune is gone. If he’s offered 2 or 3 years at $15M-20M a year, I can’t believe he would be foolish enough to turn it down.
Wouldn’t GSW be able to offer him whatever they want? Yes, they’d face extreme lux tax penalties but if they let Durant walk then they’ll have both the need and the means.
The point of this article is that these teams CAN’T offer these players whatever they want (unless they create enough cap space to do it). If the Warriors re-sign either Klay or Durant, they’d be over the cap, so they’d be limited in what they could offer Cousins.
Portland has to be calling Cleveland. The Blazers could clear $20-25MM in a multiplayer trade involving JR Smith. There’s his contract, but there’s also Gilbert’s willingness to take back salary under the 125% rule. And the Cavs have some interesting pieces, albeit overpaid like some of the Blazer pieces. Every exchange of overpaid players would profit the Blazers on the 25% margin. Dellavedova would utilize Kanter (or any frontline player) better than Lillard/Curry/McCollum. Henson would be the best shotblocker. But they’re not the point… The point is keeping key FA Blazer players.
There was talk of Milwaukee trading for Smith last season. If* they offered Illiasova and/or Snell, would it benefit the Bucks now like it would have then?
I know so little about all the trade and cap rules and when I read an explanation it just confuses me more.
MIL does not have as much to gain as POR, due to fewer overpays, and Ilyasova isn’t bad anyway.
But Snell+ Ilyasova+ #30 for JRSmith works, and would save $17.1MM after the JRS waive/stretch. I doubt CLE takes that though, since a better option on MIL is available, offering a prospect and less deficit:
Snell+ #30 +a young player– Brown, Conoton, Wilson or Divencenzio. MIL only saves about $11.8-13.5MM there, but that might be enough for all their FAs.
Portland could still make a better offer though, since Snell has two years left.
I mentioned Snell and Illiasova because they are the 2 I’ve seen talked about potentially being on the block.
I don’t believe Mil can trade #30 though, because of the other 1st round picks they’ve dealt in the coming years.
It’s going to be even more interesting what the Bucks f.o. does with all their fa’s now that it seems there is mutual interest to bring George Hill back, albeit at a much lower price.
Hill, another rejuvenated ex-Cav! A good complement to Bledsoe, and a better fit in Coach Bud’s offense. They should reconsider that offense though– that 15-foot-out anti-Giannis wall stopped it! Next year maybe, Giannis shoots & Bledsoe drives.
Ah, my sports reporter! Out of town with the admiral and away from electronica, but it’s good to read the reporter again! Kudos to yet another reasoned point of view.
I thought Hood has bird rights. He only switched teams through trades.
He’s one of the few players who lost his Bird rights when he was traded. This happens to players who re-sign with their previous teams on one-year deals (like Hood did with Cleveland), then get dealt. Hood had the right to veto the trade to avoid losing his Bird rights, but he chose to accept it.
Bulls should sign broke not robin.better player cheaper salary.