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Free Agent Stock Watch: J.R. Smith

2013/04/free-agent-stock-watch-jr-smith-2.html

We've already mentioned New York's Early Bird rights on Smith, which would allow them to offer at least a two-year contract starting at 104.5% of this year's average salary.

Non-Bird Rights

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Non-Bird rights are earned when a player spends just a single season with his team after having signed as a free agent or being claimed off waivers. … Even if a player is waived halfway through the season and signs a rest-of-season contract with another team, he'll earn Non-Bird rights at the end of the year.

Bulls Interested In Re-Signing Nazr Mohammed

2013/04/bulls-interested-in-re-signing-nazr-mohammed.html

If they do give him a raise, they could use his Non-Bird rights to extend him a contract worth up to 120% of his salary this season, which would mean an offer of $1,622,617.

Odds & Ends: J.R. Smith, Celtics, Davis, Jack

2013/04/odds-ends-jr-smith-celtics-davis-jack.html

While Smith's comments suggest he'd favor the Knicks over other teams, New York can't do any better than a four-year deal worth about $25MM, since they only have his Early Bird rights.

Kyler On Blatche, Daye, Landry, Pacers, Spurs

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The Pacers won't hold full Bird rights on David West, but West's Early Bird rights will be more than enough to make him a competitive offer.

Bird Rights

2013/05/bird-rights.html

A player who qualifies for the Bird exception, formally referred to as a Qualifying Veteran Free Agent, is said to have "Bird rights." The most basic way for a player to earn Bird rights is to play for the same team for at least three seasons, either on a multiyear deal or separate one-year contracts. … A player retains his Bird rights in the following scenarios: He changes teams via trade, rather than being waived or signing elsewhere as a free agent.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Earl Clark

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The Lakers have full Bird rights on Clark, but HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler predicts a one-year deal without much of a raise  if he elects to return to L.A., given the team's luxury tax constraints.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Matt Barnes

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The team only has Non-Bird rights on him, meaning they can do no better than 120% of his minimum salary.

Gilbert Arenas Provision

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Their previous clubs owned their Non-Bird rights, but the Non-Bird exception certainly wouldn't have been enough to match the twin three-year, $25,123,938 offers they received from the Rockets. … This way, the team has the player's full Bird rights if it wishes to re-sign him.

Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Clippers

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I'm guessing Barnes will receive more lucrative offers this summer, and the Clips don't hold his Bird rights, so the two sides may be destined to go their separate ways, but I imagine L.A.

Chris Copeland To Push For Raise

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The Knicks, a luxury tax team, could use his Non-Bird rights to give him $988,872, the amount of his qualifying offer.

Offseason Outlook: Chicago Bulls

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The Bulls have Non-Bird rights on both, allowing them to go no more than 120% over their salaries from this past season to re-sign them, unless Chicago dips into its mid-level exception. … Chicago has Non-Bird rights on backup center Nazr Mohammed, too, but he's unlikely to return unless he agrees to another minimum-salary deal.

Offseason Outlook: Philadelphia 76ers

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With his Bird Rights in their pocket, along with first-hand knowledge of his medical records, the Sixers will be in the driver's seat when Bynum hits free agency in July.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Nate Robinson

2013/06/free-agent-stock-watch-nate-robinson.html

The Bulls have Robinson's Non-Bird rights, so unless they dip into their mid-level exception, the most they can pay him next season is $1,519,172, an amount equal to 120% of the minimum salary for a player with eight years of experience.

J.R. Smith To Decline Option, Likely To Re-Sign

2013/06/jr-smith-to-decline-option-likely-to-re-sign.html

If Smith had decided to exercise his player option, he'd have earned $2,932,742 in 2013/14 before gaining full Bird rights in the summer of 2014. … Using the Early Bird exception, the Knicks will be eligible to sign Smith to a contract for up to four years, starting at an amount worth 104.5% of the average salary.

Offseason Outlook: New York Knicks

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Copeland and Prigioni are restricted free agents this summer, and because the Knicks only hold non-Bird rights on both players, the club may have to dip into its MLE to match offers on one or both guys, if it hopes to retain them. … Although the Knicks' lack of Bird rights for Copeland and Prigioni is problematic, the team has a little more flexibility when it comes to re-signing J.R.

Offseason Outlook: Detroit Pistons

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It just means the team loses whatever non-Bird, Early Bird or full Bird rights it had to go over the salary cap to do so. … Most high-priority players and teams come to agreements during the moratorium and wait to make their deals official once the date passes, but if the former Raptors point guard hesitates to make his decision, the Pistons must give serious consideration to renouncing his rights to make room for other free agents.

Nets Rumors: Dwight, Kidd, Prokhorov, Blatche

2013/06/nets-rumors-dwight-kidd-prokhorov-blatche.html

Andray Blatche is hitting free agency after succeeding on his one-year, minimum-salary deal, and it will be hard for the Nets, who only have his Non-Bird rights, to give him much of a raise.

Offseason Outlook: Indiana Pacers

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The Pacers can use his Non-Bird rights to ink him to a four-year deal worth as much as $4.866MM, and while I don't think he'll get a contract that lengthy, a two- or three-year deal with annual salaries in the $1.2MM range sounds about right. … The cap hold for an Early Bird free agent who isn't coming off the second year of a rookie-scale contract is always the greater of those two amounts.

Offseason Outlook: Miami Heat

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The Heat could re-sign Allen to a deal with a starting salary of $3.708MM for as many as four years through Non-Bird rights. … The team would barely be able to exceed the minimum salary to re-sign the Birdman without dipping into the $3.183MM taxpayer's mid-level exception.

Several Teams Eyeing J.R. Smith, Chris Copeland

2013/06/bucks-have-strong-interest-in-jr-smith.html

The taxpaying Knicks have Early Bird rights on Smith, but that limits them to a four year deal with a starting salary at either 175% of his previous salary, which would be $5,132,298, or 104.5% of the league average salary, whichever is greater. … Copeland is a Non-Bird free agent, and the best the Knicks could do for him would be a four-year deal starting at $3.183MM via the taxpayer's mid-level exception.

Ray Allen Expected To Remain With Heat

2013/06/ray-allen-expected-to-remain-with-heat.html

Allen's Non-Bird rights would allow him to sign for up to 120% of his previous salary, meaning he could get a new starting salary worth up to about $3.71MM if the Heat were willing to accommodate that.

Keith Bogans To Get $5MM In 2013/14

2013/06/keith-bogans-to-get-5mm-in-201314.html

The early thinking on Bogans' contract is that he is allowed to receive up to the average league salary as a player with bird rights, which comes out to roughly $5.2MM (link).