2021 | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Moody, Lee, Atkinson, Bjelica

October 29th, 2021 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a possibility that Jonathan Kuminga – who has been dealing with a right knee injury – will be active for the first time on Saturday, head coach Steve Kerr said today (Twitter link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). Kuminga went through a 3-on-3 workout today and the club will likely make a decision tomorrow on his status.

As for the team’s other lottery pick, Moses Moody was assigned today to the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League. However, after playing in Santa Cruz’s game tonight, he’ll back with Golden State on Saturday, tweets Slater. If Damion Lee, who is questionable with a shoulder contusion, is unable to play tomorrow, Moody could see some action, Kerr said (Twitter link via Slater).

Here’s more on the Warriors:

It’s just not Warriors players who are on the mend from injuries — assistant coach Kenny Atkinson injured his leg during a recent workout and will be off the bench indefinitely until the injury heals, according to Slater (Twitter link).
Nemanja Bjelica has been known primarily as a shooter since entering the NBA, but he’s proving this season with the Warriors that he has a more well-rounded game, writes Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s a great passer, and just a really good basketball player,” Kerr said. “… I think that’s who our team has always been. That’s why guys with good feel have always been a great fit with us. He’s absolutely a great fit. The guys love playing with him. The ball moves when he’s out there, he spaces the floor, and he forces the defense to react. He’s a fun guy to play with.” Bjelica signed a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the club in August.
In case you missed it, Golden State exercised its 2022/23 team options on Jordan Poole and James Wiseman, guaranteeing their salaries for next season.

Warriors Pick Up 2022/23 Options On Poole, Wiseman

October 29th, 2021 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors announced today in a press release that they’ve picked up a pair of team options on rookie scale contracts, exercising Jordan Poole‘s fourth-year option and James Wiseman‘s third-year option.

Poole and Wiseman are, of course, already under contract for the current season, but today’s moves ensure their salaries for 2022/23 are guaranteed as well. Poole will make $3,901,399 next season, while Wiseman earns $9,603,360.

Poole has struggled so far this season, making just 40.8% of his shots from the field, including 22.6% of his threes, but he looked excellent in the preseason and is being counted on to play a key role for Golden State this season, especially until Klay Thompson is healthy. He’ll be extension-eligible in 2022 and would hit restricted free agency in 2023 if he doesn’t sign a new deal next year.

Wiseman, 2020’s second overall pick, is recovering from a knee injury and has yet to play this season. The Warriors are expected to be very patient with his recovery, since he’s not expected to play big minutes even when he’s healthy and ready to return to action.

All decisions on rookie scale options for 2022/23 are due by Monday. We’re tracking them right here.

Bulls Rule Out Patrick Williams For 4-6 Months Due To Wrist Injury

October 29th, 2021 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

2:57pm: Williams will undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist and is expected to miss approximately four-to-six months, the Bulls announced in a press release.

If Williams can get back within four or five months, that’d put him on track to play again before the regular season ends. However, a six-month recovery would run into late April.

1:10pm: Bulls forward Patrick Williams is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the 2021/22 regular season after dislocating his left wrist, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

According to Wojnarowski, Williams sustained a perilunate dislocation and will soon undergo surgery. There’s hope that he’ll be able to return for the playoffs, but that’s not a sure thing, Woj adds.

The Bulls have yet to officially confirm Wojnarowski’s report, but head coach Billy Donovan admitted this afternoon that Williams’ injury is “pretty significant,” as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. The injury occurred during Thursday’s game against the Knicks, when Williams was fouled by Mitchell Robinson on a drive to the basket and came down on his wrist (video link). Robinson was assessed with a Flagrant 1 on the play.

It’s a brutal turn of events for Williams, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft who was expected to be a key part of a revamped Bulls roster this season. Many of the team’s top scoring options – Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic – aren’t great defenders, so Williams’ ability to slow down opposing scorers was considered especially valuable.

With Williams unavailable, Chicago’s defense and depth will be tested. As Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets, Javonte Green, who has averaged just under 16 minutes off the bench in the first five games of the season, looks like the best bet to replace Williams in the starting five.

Hornets Exercise 2022/23 Options On Ball, Washington

October 29th, 2021 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have exercised the third-year option on LaMelo Ball‘s rookie scale contract and the fourth-year option on P.J. Washington‘s deal, the club announced today in a press release. Both team options are for the 2022/23 season.

The move guarantees Ball’s $8,623,920 salary for ’22/23 and locks in Washington’s $5,808,435 cap hit as well. Washington will now be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2022 offseason, while Ball will become extension-eligible in 2023, assuming Charlotte picks up his ’23/24 team option a year from now.

Ball, the reigning Rookie of the Year winner, is the centerpiece of the Hornets’ rebuild, and is off to a strong start this season, with 19.6 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 2.0 SPG on .430/.459/1.000 shooting in five games (28.2 MPG).

Washington is off to a slower start this month and has missed a couple games due to a right injury, but was the club’s starting power forward in his first two NBA seasons. He’s coming off the bench so far this season, with Miles Bridges having entered the starting five.

Sixers Pick Up 2022/23 Options On Thybulle, Maxey

October 29th, 2021 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have picked up their 2022/23 team options on forward Matisse Thybulle and guard Tyrese Maxey, the team announced today in a press release.

Thybulle, 24, hasn’t done much offensively since entering the league as the No. 20 overall pick in 2019, averaging just 4.3 PPG across 135 games. However, he’s a key contributor on the other side of the ball, having been named to the All-Defensive Second Team in 2020/21. His fourth-year option for ’22/23 will pay him $4,379,527.

Maxey, the 21st overall pick in the 2020 draft, has been forced into starting point guard duty in his second NBA season due to Ben Simmons‘ absence. He’s still finding his footing, but has put up respectable averages of 14.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 3.6 APG in five games (33.0 MPG). His third-year option for ’22/23 is worth $2,726,880.

Thybulle will be extension-eligible during the 2022 offseason, while the 76ers will still have to make one more team-option decision on Maxey for the 2023/24 season.

All of this year’s ’22/23 rookie scale option decisions, which are due on Monday, can be found right here.

Hornets’ Bridges Increasing Value After Not Signing Extension

October 29th, 2021 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

After earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors based on his performance through the Hornets‘ three games, Miles Bridges hasn’t fallen off at all during his last two contests. The fourth-year forward is averaging 26.2 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 1.8 SPG with a shooting line of .527/.395/.909 through five games (35.2 MPG).

While it’s very early and Bridges almost certainly won’t maintain that pace, he was nearly a 50/40/90 shooter last season and seems capable of handling an increase in usage without his efficiency taking a major hit. As Zach Lowe of ESPN writes, Bridges is poised to become a “better offensive player – and sooner – than even the Hornets anticipated.” If Charlotte had expected this from the 23-year-old, Lowe adds, the team would’ve made a stronger push to lock him up to a rookie scale extension earlier this month.

Discussing Bridges’ impressive play on his Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that the Hornets’ initial extension offer to Bridges was in the range of $15MM per year.

“When he was in negotiations for his extension, I’m told that the Hornets’ baseline offer was four years, $60MM,” Windhorst said. “… That was Charlotte’s baseline offer. They may have come up, but they were never really close.”

As Windhorst points out, once three-and-D forward Mikal Bridges signed a four-year, $90MM rookie scale extension with the Suns, there was no chance the Hornets were going to be able to lock up their own Bridges for anything in the neighborhood of $60MM. In fact, if the former Michigan State standout can maintain anything close to his current pace, he could match or exceed Mikal’s $90MM on his next deal.

It’s too late for the Hornets to sign Bridges to a rookie scale extension, but the club will be in the driver’s seat when he reaches restricted free agency next summer. There won’t be many teams with the cap room available to make Bridges an aggressive offer, and the Hornets – who have a relatively clean cap sheet going forward – would be able to match any offer sheet he signs. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the young forward this season to see just how high he can boost his value ahead of his looming free agency.

Highest-Paid NBA Players By Team

October 29th, 2021 at 11:22am CST by Luke Adams

On Thursday, we listed the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2021/22 season. Although that list presented a clear picture of the highest earners for the current season, not every NBA team was represented. Four of the league’s 30 franchises – the Spurs, Pistons, Grizzlies, and Thunder – didn’t have a single player in the top 50.

Our list of highest-paid players for 2021/22 also only provided a snapshot for this year. For example, Gary Harris, who cracked the top 50, will be well compensated for the coming season but is on an expiring contract and will almost certainly fall off that list next year.

Today, we’re shifting our focus to the highest-paid players by team. This will allow us to check in on the clubs that weren’t represented on our initial list, as well as identifying some of the league’s most lucrative multiyear commitments — we’ve included each club’s highest-paid player for the 2021/22 season and its highest-paid player in total.

Let’s dive in…

Atlanta Hawks

2021/22: John Collins ($23,000,000)
Total: Trae Young (six years, $180,826,471)
- Note: The amount owed to Young would increase to $215,386,471 if he makes an All-NBA team in 2022. The value of his maximum-salary extension is based on a projected $119MM salary cap for 2022/23. Young’s final year is a player option.

Boston Celtics

2021/22: Jayson Tatum ($28,103,500)
Total: Jayson Tatum (five years, $163,000,300)

Brooklyn Nets

2021/22: James Harden ($44,310,840)
Total: Kevin Durant (five years, $239,675,808)
- Note: Durant’s five-year earnings include $233,423,808 in base salaries and $6,252,000 in likely incentives.

Charlotte Hornets

2021/22: Gordon Hayward ($29,925,000)
Total: Terry Rozier (five years, $114,163,957)
- Note: A small amount ($1,718,905) of Rozier’s fifth-year salary is non-guaranteed.

Chicago Bulls

2021/22: DeMar DeRozan ($26,000,000)
Total: DeMar DeRozan (three years, $81,900,000)

Cleveland Cavaliers

2021/22: Kevin Love ($31,258,256)
Total: Jarrett Allen (five years, $100,000,000)

Dallas Mavericks

2021/22: Kristaps Porzingis ($31,650,600)
Total: Luka Doncic (six years, $217,234,391)
- Note: Doncic’s final year is a player option.

Denver Nuggets

2021/22: Nikola Jokic ($31,579,390)
- Note: Jokic’s cap hit includes a $30,510,423 base salary and $1,068,967 in likely incentives.
Total: Michael Porter Jr. (six years, $177,758,735)
- Note: The amount owed to Porter could get as high as $212,318,735 if he makes an All-NBA team in 2022. The value of his maximum-salary extension is based on a projected $119MM salary cap for 2022/23. Porter’s final year is only partially guaranteed for $12MM.

Detroit Pistons

2021/22: Jerami Grant ($20,002,500)
Total: Cade Cunningham (four years, $45,599,089)
- Note: Cunningham’s third and fourth years are team options. Grant has the most total guaranteed money (two years, $40,957,500) of any Piston.

Golden State Warriors

2021/22: Stephen Curry ($45,780,966)
Total: Stephen Curry (five years, $261,134,628)

Houston Rockets

2021/22: John Wall ($44,310,840)
Total: John Wall (two years, $91,677,600)
- Note: Wall’s final year is a player option.

Indiana Pacers

2021/22: Malcolm Brogdon ($21,700,000)
Total: Malcolm Brogdon (four years, $89,300,000)

Los Angeles Clippers

2021/22: Paul George / Kawhi Leonard ($39,344,900)
Total: Paul George / Kawhi Leonard (four years, $176,265,152)
- Note: George and Leonard each have final-year player options.

Los Angeles Lakers

2021/22: Russell Westbrook ($44,211,146)
Total: Anthony Davis (four years, $157,161,600)
- Note: Davis’ final year has an early termination option.

Memphis Grizzlies

2021/22: Steven Adams ($17,073,171)
Total: Jaren Jackson Jr. (five years, $113,900,560)
- Note: Jackson’s extension includes some protection for the team in the event he re-injures his left knee.

Miami Heat

2021/22: Jimmy Butler ($36,016,200)
Total: Jimmy Butler (five years, $215,419,500)
- Note: The value of Butler’s maximum-salary extension is based on a projected $125MM salary cap for 2023/24. Butler’s final year is a player option.

Milwaukee Bucks

2021/22: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($39,344,900)
Total: Giannis Antetokounmpo (five years, $228,200,420)
- Note: Antetokounmpo’s final year is a player option.

Minnesota Timberwolves

2021/22: Karl-Anthony Towns ($31,650,600)
Total: Karl-Anthony Towns (three years, $101,500,200)

New Orleans Pelicans

2021/22: Brandon Ingram ($29,467,800)
Total: Brandon Ingram (four years, $130,968,000)

New York Knicks

2021/22: Julius Randle ($21,780,000)
- Note: Randle’s cap hit includes a $19,800,000 base salary and $1,980,000 in likely incentives. Randle also has another $990,000 in unlikely incentives.
Total: Julius Randle (five years, $138,869,280)
- Note: Randle’s five-year earnings include $126,244,800 in base salaries, $12,624,480 in likely incentives, and $6,312,240 in likely incentives. Randle’s final year is a player option.

Oklahoma City Thunder

2021/22: Kemba Walker ($10,733,900)
- Note: Even after agreeing to a buyout and having his remaining salary stretched across five seasons, Walker is earning more from the Thunder this season than any player on the team’s active roster. Derrick Favors ($9,720,900) is next.
Total: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (six years, $177,995,532)
- Note: The amount owed to Gilgeous-Alexander would increase to $212,555,532 if he makes an All-NBA team in 2022. The value of his maximum-salary extension is based on a projected $119MM salary cap for 2022/23.

Orlando Magic

2021/22: Gary Harris ($20,482,143)
- Note: Harris has another $2,600,000 in unlikely incentives.
Total: Jonathan Isaac (four years, $69,600,000)
- Note: Isaac has another $10,400,000 in unlikely incentives.

Philadelphia 76ers

2021/22: Tobias Harris ($35,995,950)
Total: Joel Embiid (six years, $261,196,160)
- Note: The value of Embiid’s maximum-salary extension is based on a projected $125MM salary cap for 2023/24. Embiid’s final year is a player option.

Phoenix Suns

2021/22: Devin Booker ($31,650,600)
Total: Chris Paul (four years, $120,000,000)
- Note: Paul’s third year is partially guaranteed and his fourth year is non-guaranteed, so he has just $75MM in guaranteed money. Booker has the most total guaranteed money (three years, $101,500,200) of any Sun.

Portland Trail Blazers

2021/22: Damian Lillard ($39,344,900)
Total: Damian Lillard (four years, $176,265,152)
- Note: Lillard’s final year is a player option.

Sacramento Kings

2021/22: De’Aaron Fox ($28,103,500)
Total: De’Aaron Fox (five years, $163,000,300)

San Antonio Spurs

2021/22: Dejounte Murray ($15,428,880)
- Note: Murray has another $1,500,000 in unlikely incentives.
Total: Derrick White (four years, $68,000,000)
- Note: White has another $5,000,000 in unlikely incentives.

Toronto Raptors

2021/22: Pascal Siakam ($33,003,936)
Total: Pascal Siakam (three years, $106,346,016)

Utah Jazz

2021/22: Rudy Gobert ($35,344,828)
Total: Rudy Gobert (five years, $205,000,000)
- Note: Gobert’s final year is a player option.

Washington Wizards

2021/22: Bradley Beal ($33,724,200)
Total: Bradley Beal (two years, $70,146,336)
- Note: Beal’s final year is a player option.

Information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

Amir Johnson, Pooh Jeter Among G League Ignite Vets For 2021/22

October 29th, 2021 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

Big men Amir Johnson and Jessie Govan are returning to the G League Ignite for a second season, and they’ll be joined by forward Malik Pope and guards Dakarai Allen, Amauri Hardy, and Pooh Jeter, our JD Shaw relays (via Twitter).

The Ignite is the G League’s developmental program for top prospects, but those young players are complemented by a handful of NBA and NBAGL vets who fill out the roster and serve as mentors.

Among this year’s group, Johnson is the only one with extensive NBA experience, having appeared in 870 total games for the Pistons, Raptors, Celtics, and Sixers from 2005-19. He averaged 8.5 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 15 games (13.3 MPG) for the Ignite last season.

Jeter, who will turn 38 in December, played in 62 games for Sacramento back in 2010/11, but has spent most of his professional career overseas.

Allen and Pope, who went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2017 and 2018, respectively, have multiple years of G League experience between them, and Pope has also played in Greece and Germany as well.

Hardy, meanwhile, went undrafted out of Oregon earlier this year and presumably earned a spot on the team in large part because his brother Jaden Hardy, a projected top-five pick in 2022, is the Ignite’s top recruit this year.

Besides Jaden Hardy, who is ESPN’s No. 3 ranked prospect for the 2022 draft, the Ignite roster features Dyson Daniels (No. 16), Michael Foster (No. 31), MarJon Beauchamp (No. 53), Chinese forward Fanbo Zeng (not in ESPN’s top 100), and 17-year-old Scoot Henderson (not draft-eligible until 2023). ESPN’s Mike Schmitz (Insider link) shared his thoughts on this year’s roster ahead of the Ignite’s preseason debut on Friday night vs. Iowa.

The Ignite won’t be part of the standard G League regular season that runs from December to April, but the club will compete in the NBAGL’s inaugural “Showcase Cup,” a tournament which tips off on November 5 and ends just before Christmas.

Eastern Notes: Harden, Gafford, Simmons, Barnes

October 29th, 2021 at 8:35am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday about his slow start to the season, Nets guard James Harden explained that he’s still shaking off the rust since he didn’t get to play much during an offseason that was mostly spent rehabbing his hamstring injury.

“I had no opportunities to play pickup or nothing this summer,” Harden said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Everything was rehab for three months, from a Grade 2 injury that happened three times in one season. So this is my fifth game of trying to just play with competition against somebody else. And as much as I want to rush the process and be back to hooping and killing, (you have to) take your time.”

Harden, who has rarely had to deal with injuries since entering the league in 2009, admitted it was “frustrating” and “draining” to battle the hamstring issue down the stretch last season and over the summer. However, he said that he thinks he’s “getting better every single game.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Wizards center Daniel Gafford appears to have avoided a major injury after undergoing an MRI on his right quad contusion. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said on Thursday that he expects Gafford to be back in a mater of days, not weeks (Twitter link via Ava Wallace of The Washington Post).
There’s no set timeline for Ben Simmons, who told the Sixers last Friday that he’s not yet mentally ready to play, but he has been at the team’s practice facility during the last week, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s been working out,” head coach Doc Rivers said on Thursday. “Today he was at shootaround, did a lot of shooting and a lot of stuff with (skills development coach) Spencer (Rivers).”
With the Raptors set to face the Magic for the first time this season on Friday, the Scottie Barnes/Jalen Suggs debate has resurfaced, but fans in Toronto have to be happy with what they’ve seen from Barnes so far, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Barnes, whom the Raptors picked over Suggs at No. 4 in this year’s draft, has averaged 17.0 PPG and 8.2 RPG on 53.7% shooting in his first five NBA games while taking on some challenging defensive assignments.

Los Angeles Notes: Hartenstein, Clippers Bench, Anthony, James

October 28th, 2021 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Isaiah Hartenstein won a training camp battle with Harry Giles for the last spot on the Clippers roster and has emerged as a solid reserve, Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register writes.

Hartenstein has averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 15.3 MPG through three appearances and has developed chemistry with Clippers wing Luke Kennard. “I think we just really know how to play with each other,” said Hartenstein, who is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract.

We have more from the Los Angeles teams:

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that Hartenstein, Kennard and Terance Mann learned how to blend their talents during training camp, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times writes. “They understand their unit, how they play,” Lue said. “Move bodies, move the basketball.” Kennard is averaging 11.5 PPG and Mann is averaging 8.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.5 APG.
LeBron James said the league missed the boat on new Lakers teammate Carmelo Anthony, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes. Anthony struggled to find another NBA opportunity until he hooked on with Portland during the 2019/20 season. “He’s been doing it for quite a while, and it’s just beautiful to continue to see, especially when, you know, they gave up on him,” James said. Anthony, who signed a veteran’s minimum contract this summer, had a 28-point game on Sunday and is averaging 14.0 PPG so far with his new team.
James is questionable to play on Friday due to right ankle soreness, McMenamin tweets. He has missed the last two games after playing 40 minutes on Sunday. Rajon Rondo has also been listed as questionable due to a similar injury, McMenamin adds.

Year: 2024