2:43pm: The Warriors have officially exercised their options on both Spellman and Evans, the team confirmed (via Twitter).
8:50am: The Warriors have exercised their 2020/21 rookie scale option on Omari Spellman, reports Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). In addition to picking up Spellman’s third-year option, the team will do the same for Jacob Evans‘ third-year option, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Rookie Scale Option Decisions For 2020/21]
Spellman, 22, had a promising rookie season for Atlanta in 2018/19, averaging 5.9 PPG and 4.2 RPG with a .344 3PT% in 46 games (17.5 MPG). However, the Hawks determined he wasn’t in their long-term plans and sent him to Golden State in an offseason trade for Damian Jones and a future second-round pick.
Because Spellman was the No. 30 overall pick in the 2018 draft, his option for 2020/21 will have a cap charge of just $1,988,280, the lowest of any 2018 first-rounder. Evans, who was the No. 28 pick in the same draft, will count for $2,017,320 against the cap in ’20/21 with his option exercised.
Evans struggled in his rookie year, averaging just 1.3 PPG on 34.0% shooting in 30 games (6.8 MPG). His option was hardly a lock to be picked up, but the 22-year-old looked a little better in the early going this season, scoring 18 points in 43 total minutes and making 4-of-8 three-pointers. He’s currently sidelined with a left adductor strain and isn’t due to be re-evaluated for about three more weeks, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).
They will try to trade D’Angelo Russell after December 15th.
Hopefully he goes back to the eastern conference, there are already too many good players in the West. They need to shed some payroll in GS.
They can’t shed payroll because they’re so far over the cap. Shedding payroll would only hurt them in future years. They need dollar for dollar trades with talent in return.
They must shed payroll in future years if they don’t want to keep wasting money on luxury taxes. They already have $129M locked up in 4 players next year, but they can cut that down to $100M by trading Russell for players with expiring contracts plus draft picks.
They don’t care about the tax. They are making 700mil a year off the new stadium alone.
Every decent team that wants to compete should go over the lux tax, no biggie there, they make way more than that. Better spend the money on players than on owners pockets, right?
What would Russell/Knicks trade look like? Maybe Bobby Portis, DSJ, Wayne Ellington and a Dallas pick (the more heavily protected one)