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Contract Notes: Konchar, Roby, Landale

July 4th, 2022 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

John Konchar‘s contract with the Grizzlies called for his $2.3MM salary for 2022/23 to become guaranteed if he remained on the roster through Sunday, and there has been no reporting indicating that he and the team agreed to move that date back. As such, we’re assuming Konchar’s salary for ’22/23 is now locked in.

If that’s the case, it doesn’t come as a surprise. Konchar was a solid role player for the Grizzlies in 2021/22, averaging 4.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.5 APG with a .413 3PT in 72 games (17.9 MPG). His salary is relatively modest and he had already been owed a partial guarantee of $840K.

Konchar is one of many players on non-guaranteed contracts for 2022/23 whose salaries will become guaranteed this summer if they’re retained through certain dates. We’re tracking all of those players and decisions right here.

Here are a few more contract notes from around the NBA:

Although Isaiah Roby was earning a minimum salary ($1,930,681) when he was waived by the Thunder on Sunday, he had been on a four-year contract that was worth more than the minimum in year one, which means any team interested in claiming him off waivers can’t use the minimum salary exception to do so, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report tweets. A club that wants to put a claim in on Roby would need the cap space to absorb his salary or a trade exception worth at least $1,830,681. Waivers claims are rare for non-minimum players, but Roby showed promise in Oklahoma City last season and could draw some interest.
Jock Landale‘s non-guaranteed minimum salary became partially guaranteed for $46,120 when he was traded from San Antonio to Atlanta last week, Hoops Rumors has learned. That was the exact amount that needed to be guaranteed for salary-matching purposes, as Landale’s $46,120 was added to Dejounte Murray‘s 2021/22 cap hit ($15,428,880) to get to within $5MM of Danilo Gallinari‘s incoming $20,475,000 figure (it was also partially guaranteed, but San Antonio needed to be able to match the whole incoming amount). The Hawks have since agreed to flip Landale to the Suns, and it doesn’t appear his partial guarantee will increase any further in that trade, since no salary-matching is involved.
In case you missed it, we relayed earlier today that Otto Porter‘s new deal with the Raptors is worth $12.4MM over two years. We’ll get more info on the specific details of contracts like Porter’s and many others beginning later this week, when the July moratorium lifts and those signings start becoming official.

13 Trade Exceptions Set To Expire In July

July 4th, 2022 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

A total of 13 traded player exceptions created during the 2021 NBA offseason are set to expire this month if they go unused.

A trade exception is an NBA salary cap exception that can be generated when a team trades a player away. It allows that team to acquire a certain amount of salary without sending out any in return for one year after the exception was created. The club is permitted to trade for a player earning the amount of the exception, plus $100K.

For instance, the Trail Blazers are set to use their $20,864,198 trade exception, created in February’s CJ McCollum trade, to acquire Jerami Grant, who is earning $20,955,000 in 2022/23. Grant narrowly fits into that TPE after accounting for the $100K in wiggle room.

Most trade exceptions expire without being used, but teams can sometimes find a use for them — especially the bigger ones like Portland’s. So it’s worth keeping tabs on which ones are still available.

Here are the 13 exceptions set to expire this month:

Boston Celtics: $17,142,857 (expires 7/18)
Los Angeles Clippers: $8,250,000 (expires 7/18)
Indiana Pacers: $7,333,333 (expires 7/7)
New Orleans Pelicans: $6,382,262 (expires 7/7)
Chicago Bulls: $5,000,000 (expires 7/7)
Memphis Grizzlies: $4,054,695 (expires 7/7)
Brooklyn Nets: $3,246,530 (expires 7/6)
Toronto Raptors: $3,070,052 (expires 7/6)
Atlanta Hawks: $1,782,621 (expires 7/7)
Golden State Warriors: $1,782,621 (expires 7/7)
Milwaukee Bucks: $1,517,981 (expires 7/7)
Boston Celtics: $1,440,549 (expires 7/7)
Brooklyn Nets: $118,342 (expires 7/6)

The Celtics’ $17MM exception, created in last year’s Evan Fournier sign-and-trade, is the most noteworthy one here, but it appears unlikely to be used. Boston reached a deal last week to acquire Malcolm Brogdon without having to use the exception, and now appears to be a long shot to strike another major trade agreement.

The third exception on this list, the Pacers’ $7.3MM TPE, will disappear if Indiana decides to operate under the cap. The team would have to renounce the exception in order to actually make use of its cap room.

While it’s possible some of the other exceptions on this list will be used before they expire, they won’t accommodate any of the deals that have been agreed upon to date.

The full list of outstanding trade exceptions can be found right here.

Spurs, Pacers, Pistons Still Have Cap Room Available

July 4th, 2022 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

While many free agent agreements have been reported since last Thursday evening, few will become official until the NBA’s moratorium period ends this Wednesday. That means the terms that have been reported – and the cap space or cap exceptions teams will use to complete those signings – haven’t yet been locked in.

Still, we have a pretty good sense of what the cap room situation looks like for teams around the league. Here’s a snapshot, as of the morning of July 4, of which clubs still have the most spending power:

Teams with cap room:

By our count, the Spurs project to have about $38MM in remaining cap room, and could push that number even higher by stretching Danilo Gallinari‘s partial guarantee across three years when they officially waive him. However, it’s very unlikely they’d do so unless they have a specific need for that extra room. San Antonio could also create some extra space by waiving Keita Bates-Diop or Tre Jones, who have non-guaranteed salaries for 2022/23, though there has been no indication that will happen.

The Pacers, meanwhile, should have a little over $26MM in cap room once the Malcolm Brogdon trade is finalized, based on our projections. Like San Antonio, Indiana has a couple players without full guarantees (Duane Washington and Terry Taylor) and could create more cap space by waiving one or both.

The Pistons have already committed a chunk of their cap room to taking on Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, and Kemba Walker from New York, but haven’t used it all yet. If Walker gives back his minimum salary in a reported buyout agreement and Detroit uses its room exception to sign Kevin Knox to his two-year, $6MM deal, the team could have $14MM+ in space — or even more, if Walker’s dead money is stretched across three seasons.

It remains unclear what the Spurs, Pacers, and Pistons will do with their remaining cap room. All three teams have been linked to restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton at some point during the offseason and could theoretically still make a run at him, with Indiana and Detroit perhaps sending back players in a sign-and-trade deal to fit a max deal for the big man under the cap. Still, there’s a sense the Pistons have backed off Ayton after landing Jalen Duren on draft night, and it’s unclear whether the Spurs or Pacers have serious interest.

Accommodating salary-dump trades to acquire more assets could be an option for all three teams, either in the offseason or close to the trade deadline.

The Knicks are the other team expected to use cap room this summer, but after signing Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein, they won’t have much left over. Even if they waive Taj Gibson and sign Brunson and Hartenstein to the lowest starting salaries possible based on their reported contract terms, New York projects to have less than $5MM in remaining room.

Mid-level exception teams:

The Hornets, Grizzlies, Thunder, Magic, and Jazz all still have their full non-taxpayer mid-level exceptions available, giving them the ability to offer up to about $10.5MM to a free agent. It’s worth noting though that Utah’s cap situation remains in flux as we wait to see what other moves the team has up its sleeve after trading Royce O’Neale and then agreeing to a blockbuster deal involving Rudy Gobert.

The Hawks, Nets, Heat, Pelicans, and Suns haven’t committed any mid-level money to free agents yet, but unless they shed salary, they’ll probably be limited to the taxpayer MLE (worth about $6.5MM) due to their proximity to the tax line.

The Bulls have used a small portion of their mid-level exception and should still have $7MMish available to spend, but doing so would push them into luxury tax territory, which ownership may be against.

There are some teams that could theoretically open up part or all of their mid-level exception if they’re able to turn reported free agent agreements into sign-and-trades. For example, Ricky Rubio agreed to a three-year, $18.4MM deal with the Cavaliers that will presumably use the MLE, but if Cleveland and Indiana were able to work out a sign-and trade deal involving Rubio, it would free up the Cavs’ mid-level to use on another move.

A.J. Griffin Signs With Hawks

July 3rd, 2022 at 11:52am CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks have officially signed first-round pick AJ Griffin, the team announced in a press release.

The Duke forward, who was taken with the 16th selection in last week’s draft, will receive about $3.5MM during his first NBA season and roughly $17.1MM over the four-year deal.

Griffin, 18, averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds during his lone season with the Blue Devils while connecting at 54.7% from the field and 44.7% from three-point range. He was named to the ACC All-Freshman team and earned honorable mention All-ACC honors.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Beal, Wizards, Magic, Hornets

July 2nd, 2022 at 4:34pm CST by JD Shaw

Dejounte Murray is excited to team up with Trae Young and had been talking to his new partner in the Hawks‘ backcourt about the possibility for the past two to three weeks, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Speaking at press conference Friday, Murray said Atlanta was the only team he wanted to join and told reporters that he probably would still be with the Spurs if it hadn’t been for the opportunity with the Hawks.

Atlanta paid a premium price to acquire Murray, sending Danilo Gallinari and a sizable package of draft assets to San Antonio. General manager Landry Fields said the Hawks took time to assess the risks before committing to the trade.

“This wasn’t one of those that came about in a day,” Fields said. “Looking at what we were going to part with up front was one thing and then once we started to engage with San Antonio, it turned into another thing. We took time between talks to sit and think about how this was going to impact us in the future, how was this going to impact our current team, projection-wise what we are going to look like in several years, after factoring all of that in, we got to a place we were comfortable with.”

Here are some other notes from the Southeast Division:

Justin Holiday and Maurice Harkless, who are being acquired from the Kings in the Kevin Huerter trade, are both expected to be on the Hawks’ opening night roster. Kirschner adds. He also states that Atlanta continues to listen to offers for John Collins.
The Wizards were able to retain star free agent Bradley Beal in free agency, but questions remain about whether it was the right move for the team, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. Washington agreed to a five-year, $251MM deal with the three-time All-Star, prompting Robbins to explore whether keeping Beal at that price will keep the Wizards stuck in mediocrity due to their limited cap flexibility.
The Magic‘s free agency moves further prove the team believes in its young core, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel opines. Orlando reached agreements with Mohamed Bamba, Gary Harris and Bol Bol, and guaranteed Moritz Wagner‘s salary. The team appears ready to run it back and continue developing its own players rather than adding outside help.
The Hornets are expected to hire Tyrone Corbin and Bob Beyer to Steve Clifford‘s coaching staff, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets. Corbin worked for Clifford in Orlando, while Beyer coached under Clifford in Charlotte. Corbin and Beyer hold over 30 years of combined NBA coaching experience.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Northwest Rumors: Wolves, Gobert, Murray, Beasley, Brown, Micic

July 1st, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thursday’s agreement with Kyle Anderson will give the Timberwolves 15 players under contract, but they’re not done with offseason moves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Minnesota remains in the market for another big man and has talked to the Jazz about Rudy Gobert, sources tell Krawczynski.

Although the Wolves used a first-round pick on Auburn’s Walker Kessler, they want to add a veteran center so there’s not too much pressure on Kessler to produce right away. They were interested in free agents JaVale McGee and Isaiah Hartenstein, but they both reached deals with other teams Thursday night.

Minnesota’s talks with Utah about Gobert began before the draft, but the Jazz are asking a lot in return for their perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. If the Wolves can’t work out a trade for Gobert, Krawczynski cites the Pacers‘ Myles Turner and the Hawks‘ Clint Capela as other options, although he adds that Minnesota’s talks with Atlanta haven’t gotten very far.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Timberwolves talked to the Spurs about Dejounte Murray but weren’t willing to meet the asking price, Krawczynski confirms. There was also skepticism that Murray would re-sign with Minnesota once his contract expires in two years.
Teams have been making calls to gather background info on Timberwolves wing Malik Beasley, but no deal is imminent, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Beasley, who will make $15.45MM next season, carries a team option for his $16.52MM salary in 2023/24.
Bruce Brown possibly could have made more than the $13+ million he’ll receive from the Nuggets over the next two years, but he believes he’s entering a good situation in Denver, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). A source tells Reynolds that “fit” was more important to Brown than money.
Vasilije Micic‘s representatives are pressing the Thunder to trade him, but Oklahoma City isn’t willing to give the European star up cheaply, according to Aris Barkas of EuroHoops. The Nuggets, Bucks, Bulls and Spurs have all expressed interest in Micic, Barkas hears.

Eastern Notes: LaVine, Bryant, G. Harris, T. Young, Hawks

July 1st, 2022 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Although Zach LaVine wasn’t one of the 38 free agents who reportedly reached a contract agreement during the first day of free agency on Thursday, the Bulls remain confident that the two-time All-Star will eventually agree to a new five-year, $215MM deal to stay in Chicago, sources tell Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. According to Cowley, the Bulls met with LaVine during day one of free agency, but the 27-year-old wants to hear all the offers that may be available to him.

Here’s more from around the East:

Wizards free agent center Thomas Bryant still appears unlikely to return to Washington, as was reported on Thursday. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Bryant is receiving “significant” interest from contending teams and will likely make a decision today. The Celtics and Lakers are among the clubs in the mix, Haynes adds.
The two-year contract extensions signed by Magic wing Gary Harris and Raptors forward Thaddeus Young on Thursday aren’t fully guaranteed in 2023/24, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. According to Marks, Harris has no protection in the second year of his new contract, while Young has a partial guarantee.
The Hawks have officially confirmed a front office move that was reported in June, announcing in a press release that Landry Fields has been elevated from assistant GM to general manager. The club also announced a series of other basketball operations hires and promotions.

Hawks Sign Aaron Holiday To One-Year Deal

July 1st, 2022 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Hawks have officially signed Holiday, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 1: Aaron Holiday is joining the Hawks on a one-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. It will be a veteran’s minimum deal, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

The 25-year-old guard began last season with the Wizards before being traded to the Suns at the February deadline. Holiday averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 22 games with Phoenix, but he wasn’t in the playoff rotation and saw minimal playing time in six postseason games.

Holiday became an unrestricted free agent this week when the Suns elected not to tender a qualifying offer.

The 23rd pick in the 2018 draft, Holiday spent three seasons with the Pacers before being traded to Washington last summer in a five-team deal. The former UCLA star was mostly a backup in Indiana, but started 33 games during the 2019/20 season.

Holiday should help fill the void left by Delon Wright, who is headed to the Wizards in free agency.

Spurs Trade Dejounte Murray To Hawks

June 30th, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 30: The trade is official, the Hawks announced in a press release.

“The opportunity to acquire a player of Dejounte’s caliber, just entering his prime, doesn’t come along too often,” Hawks president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said in a statement. “He has developed into one of the elite two-way guards in the league and we’re thrilled to add him to our group.”

In addition to the pieces detailed below, Atlanta also acquired big man Jock Landale from San Antonio. As Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype tweets, in order to complete the trade before the new league year began, the Spurs needed to add a little more salary to match Gallinari’s $21.45MM incoming figure, even though it’s not fully guaranteed.

According to Kirschner (Twitter link), it’s not clear yet whether the Hawks plan to keep Landale, whose minimum-salary contract for 2022/23 isn’t fully guaranteed.

JUNE 29: The Spurs have reached an agreement to trade guard Dejounte Murray to the Hawks for a package that includes Danilo Gallinari and multiple first-round picks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). San Antonio will receive three first-rounders and a draft swap, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

According to Wojnarowski and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter links), the three picks going to the Spurs will be Charlotte’s 2023 first-rounder (top-16 protected) and the Hawks’ own 2025 and 2027 first-rounders. San Antonio will also have the right to swap first-round selections with Atlanta in 2026.

Those 2025 and 2027 picks – along with the 2026 swap – will be unprotected, tweets John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Marc Stein first reported (via Twitter) that momentum was building toward a Murray trade, noting that the Knicks and Timberwolves were also among the guard’s known suitors. Atlanta has been the team most frequently linked to Murray though, having reportedly explored deals for him dating back to February’s trade deadline.

The deal represents a major backcourt upgrade for the Hawks, who will add an All-Star – and one of the league’s best perimeter defenders – to complement All-NBA guard Trae Young without giving up any players from their projected 2022/23 roster.

It’s not clear if trade candidate John Collins will still be in Atlanta when the ’22/23 season begins, but he’s not part of this deal after having being included in earlier Murray-related rumors.

Murray enjoyed a breakout season in 2021/22, averaging 21.1 PPG, 9.2 APG, 8.3 RPG, and a league-leading 2.0 SPG with a shooting line of .462/.327/.794 in 68 games (34.8 MPG). The 25-year-old was the runner-up for the Most Improved Player award.

Murray’s ability and versatility on defense make him an ideal backcourt partner for Young, who is said to be “ecstatic” about the move, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Murray is under contract for the next two seasons and is owed just over $34MM during that time.

The Spurs’ motives for making the deal are a little less obvious than the Hawks’, since it’s not as if Murray was on an entirely different timeline than the team’s young core, but perhaps he wasn’t part of the club’s plans beyond his current contract. San Antonio’s decision to accept a package heavy on distant draft picks rather than current players signals that short-term contention probably isn’t in the cards as the front office looks toward the future.

The Hornets’ 2023 pick will be lottery-protected in 2024 and 2025 if it doesn’t convey next year, then would turn into two second-round picks if it hasn’t conveyed by that point. The Hawks’ own picks – and the 2026 swap – could be more significantly more valuable, especially if the team takes a downturn within the next few years.

Gallinari’s $21.45MM salary had only been partially guaranteed for $5MM and was set to become fully guaranteed if he remained under contract through today.

The veteran forward probably isn’t in the Spurs’ plans at that full $21.45MM figure, so the most likely outcome is that he’ll have his partial guarantee increased by another $6MM-ish in order to legally match Murray’s salary, then will be waived. Gallinari may agree to push back his salary guarantee date in order to give the teams time to complete the trade and ensure that he receives that extra money, though that’s just my speculation at this point.

P.J. Tucker Unlikely To Return To Heat

June 30th, 2022 at 11:56am CST by Arthur Hill

There will be significant interest in P.J. Tucker when free agency begins later today, and the veteran forward is considered unlikely to re-sign with the Heat, according to Alex Schiffer of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Schiffer mentions the Hawks, Timberwolves, Nets, Bulls and Sixers among the teams that plan to target Tucker, adding that they will offer either the non-taxpayers’ mid-level exception of $10.49MM, or in the case of the Nets and Hawks, the taxpayers’ MLE of $6.48MM. Atlanta could also make a trade to shed salary and get below the tax line, opening up the use of the full MLE.

A report earlier this week suggested that Miami is willing to give Tucker a guaranteed three-year deal, but at less than the full MLE. It appears several teams are ready to outbid the Heat for his services.

Philadelphia has been rumored as a prime suitor for Tucker, as president of basketball operations Daryl Morey also signed him in Houston. Atlanta and Brooklyn have been mentioned as well, but Minnesota and Chicago are new to the list.

The 37-year-old Tucker is an elite defender who was part of the Bucks’ title-winning roster in 2021 and helped the Heat become the No. 1 seed in the East this season. He averaged 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for Miami and shot 41.5% from three-point range.