- New Hornets‘ head coach James Borrego may have more complicated rotational decisions to make moving forward, as Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer points out that sophomore wing Dwayne Bacon has stood out in the recent playing time he has received.
- Marvin Williams says the players were thrilled this summer when they learned that Tony Parker was leaving the Spurs to join the Hornets as a free agent, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Parker brought championship experience to Charlotte, having won four titles in San Antonio. “He’s so willing to teach everyone and he’s very patient with all of us,” Williams said. “He’s obviously been in certain situations that a lot of us haven’t been able to experience yet, so that knowledge and that wisdom really helps us.”
Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Hornets assigned rookie guard Devonte’ Graham to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. Graham has appeared in two games with Charlotte, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.5 APG in 9.5 MPG. The 6’2 Kansas product, an early second-round pick, has averaged 23.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 8.0 APG in two outings with Greensboro.
- The Sixers recalled forward Jonah Bolden from the Delaware Blue Coats prior to their game against the Hornets on Friday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The 6’10” Bolden, a 2017 second-rounder, has appeared in four NBA games this season but none this month.
- The Spurs recalled forward Chimezie Metu from the Austin Spurs after assigning him to the G League on Thursday, according to a team press release. The 6’10” Metu, a second-round pick in June, is averaging 1.6 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 4.0 MPG over five games with San Antonio.
- The Thunder assigned forward Abdel Nader to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. The 6’6” Nader, acquired from Boston in July, has seen just seven minutes of action with OKC.
- The Clippers assigned guards Jerome Robinson and Sindarius Thornwell to the Agua Caliente Clippers, then recalled Thornwell, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter links). The 6’5” Thornwell has yet to make his season debut with the Clippers after appearing in 73 games last season. The 6’5” Robinson, the 13th overall pick in this June’s draft, has appeared in seven games and averaged 2.9 PPG in 5.0 MPG.
The Designated Veteran Extension, as we explain our glossary entry on the subject, is a relatively new addition to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. It allows players with 7-9 years of experience, who would normally qualify for a maximum starting salary of 30% of the cap, to qualify for a “super-max” contract that starts at 35% of the cap, a level normally reserved players with 10+ years of experience.
A player who has seven or eight years of NBA service with one or two years left on his contract becomes eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension if he meets the required performance criteria and hasn’t been traded since his first four years in the league. A Designated Veteran contract can also be signed by a player who is technically a free agent if he has eight or nine years of service and meets the required criteria.
The performance criteria is as follows (only one of the following must be true):
- The player was named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
- The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.
- The player was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
With those criteria in mind, it’s worth keeping an eye on several players who could qualify for a super-max veteran contract with their play this season. Let’s dive in and examine a few of those guys…
Players who already qualify for a super-max contract:
- Anthony Davis (Pelicans)
Davis can’t yet sign a Designated Veteran Extension, but his All-NBA appearances over the last two seasons have ensured that he’ll qualify, even if he somehow doesn’t earn another All-NBA nod in 2018/19.
As of next July, the Pelicans will be able to offer Davis a contract extension that tacks an additional five years onto his $27.09MM salary for 2019/20. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection for 2020/21 ($118MM), that five-year extension would be worth a staggering $239.54MM.
Players who could qualify for a super-max contract by meeting the criteria in 2018/19:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Bradley Beal (Wizards)
- Andre Drummond (Pistons)
- Draymond Green (Warriors)
- Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
- Klay Thompson (Warriors)
- Kemba Walker (Hornets)
Technically, any player who earns an All-NBA spot in 2018/19 and meets the contract criteria can qualify for a super-max, but the players listed above are probably the only legitimately viable candidates. And even in this group, guys like Beal and Drummond are a real stretch — if they were to improbably make an All-NBA team, their clubs still probably wouldn’t put Designated Veteran Extension offers on the table, since they’re not bona fide superstars.
Thompson and Walker will both be unrestricted free agents in 2019, so if they meet the DVE criteria, they’d be eligible for five-year contracts with their respective teams worth up to a projected $221.27MM. Lillard and Green are still under contract for at least one more year beyond this season, but they’d qualify for super-max extensions if they meet the criteria — Lillard could get an extra four years, while Green could get five.
A team can only give Designated Veteran Extensions to two players, so the Warriors wouldn’t be able to offer both Thompson and Green super-max contracts, since Stephen Curry already has one. On the plus side, Kevin Durant won’t figure into this equation for Golden State, since he has 10+ years of experience. A deal starting at 35% of the cap for Durant wouldn’t count toward the Dubs’ super-max limit.
Finally, while Antetokounmpo can qualify for a super-max by earning All-NBA honors this season, he wouldn’t actually be able to sign such a deal until 2020, since he’ll only have six years of experience at the end of the 2018/19 campaign. Essentially, he’d be in the same spot that Anthony Davis is in now.
Players who can no longer qualify for a super-max contract because they were traded:
- Jimmy Butler (Timberwolves)
- Kyrie Irving (Celtics)
- Kawhi Leonard (Raptors)
Butler, Irving, and Leonard are probably more worthy of a super-max investment than most of the players in the above group, but they no longer qualify because they were traded while on their second contracts — Butler from the Bulls, Irving from the Cavaliers, and Leonard from the Spurs. They’ll need to reach 10 years of NBA experience before qualifying for a starting salary worth up to 35% of the cap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- Teams that asked about Kemba Walker during the offseason were told that the Hornets are committed to contending for the playoffs and view Walker as the face of their franchise, league sources tell Charania. Team owner Michael Jordan has a “strong desire” to re-sign Walker when he reaches free agency in 2019, Charania adds.
[SOURCE LINK]
Over the course of the 2018/19 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.
Viewed as perhaps the weakest division in the NBA coming into the season, the Southeast has been even worse than expected during the first month, with the Wizards and Heat both struggling. Not every Southeast team will be a seller at the deadline, but it looks safe to assume that at least a couple will.
Here’s our early-season look at a few possible trade candidates from the Southeast…
Kent Bazemore, F
Atlanta Hawks
$18.09MM cap hit; guaranteed $19.27MM player option for 2019/20
Frequently mentioned in trade rumors over the summer, Bazemore hasn’t been the subject of many recent reports, but his name figures to surface again in the coming months. The 3-6 Hawks are well on their way to a spot in the lottery, and Bazemore only has one year on his contract beyond this season. He makes much more sense as a complementary three-and-D wing for a contending team than he does as a long-term piece in Atlanta.
Bazemore has struggled with his three-point shot so far in 2018/19 (.326 3PT%), but he made a career-best 39.4% of his long-distance attempts last season, and he has otherwise been solid this year, posting career bests in PPG (14.3) and FG% (.485) in the early going. His cap charge will make a deal tricky for some teams, but if Atlanta is willing to take another unwanted contract back in a deal, there should be teams with interest.
The Pelicans and Rockets were two teams linked to Bazemore during the offseason, and both clubs still have a need on the wing. New Orleans could use Solomon Hill as a salary-matching piece, while Houston could use Brandon Knight‘s contract for matching purposes.
Marvin Williams, F
Charlotte Hornets
$14.09MM cap hit; $15MM player option for 2019/20
Williams checks a lot of the same boxes that Bazemore does — he’s a wing with good size who can knock down a three-pointer and switch between various positions on defense. He’s also a little less expensive. However, there are two roadblocks in the way of a potential Williams deal.
For one, the Hornets – unlike the Hawks – have serious playoff aspirations in 2018/19 and won’t want to surrender a reliable veteran who could help them get there. Secondly, Williams hasn’t exactly been boosting his trade stock so far. His 6.5 PPG and .371 FG% would both be career worsts, and if he doesn’t start playing better, he won’t help the Hornets win or net them anything in a trade.
Charlotte’s forward rotation will be worth watching this season. With rookie Miles Bridges looking great so far, it seems like just a matter of time until the Hornets part with at least one of Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, or Nicolas Batum, if they can.
Dion Waiters, G
Miami Heat
$11.55MM cap hit; contract guaranteed through 2020/21
The Heat were already loaded with shooting guard depth and exploring ways to move Waiters even before Rodney McGruder emerged as a more reliable option early this season. Now the former fourth overall pick looks even more expendable.
Unfortunately for the Heat, the ankle injury that ended Waiters’ 2017/18 season early has kept him out of action so far this fall, and there’s no indication of when he might return to action. The 26-year-old’s contract, which still has two years left after this season, will probably still create negative value even after he gets healthy, but if he’s able to get back on the court and show off some of the talent that earned him that four-year investment in the first place, it’d go a long way toward rebuilding his stock.
The Timberwolves, for instance, might view a Jimmy Butler offer of Josh Richardson, a first-round pick, and Waiters much more favorably if they thought they could count on Waiters to stay on the court and contribute.
Previously:
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- Tony Parker and Malik Monk head the list of pleasant surprises for the Hornets this season, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines. Parker has stabilized the second unit and Bonnell notes that the veteran point guard averaged 19.9 points and 9.2 assists per 100 possessions last season for the Spurs but is posting 28.2 points and 13.3 assists per 100 possessions in his first 10 games with Charlotte. Monk, a second-year shooting guard, is the team’s second-leading scorer (13.4 PPG) despite also coming off the bench.
Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Pistons have recalled forward Henry Ellenson and rookie guard Khyri Thomas from the Grand Rapids Drive, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News (via Twitter).
- The Hornets announced in a press release that they recalled rookie guard Devonte’ Graham from their Greensboro affiliate.
- Ahead of their matchup with the Grizzlies, the Suns announced that they recalled rookie point guard De’Anthony Melton from the Northern Arizona Suns.
- The Hawks have recalled wing Daniel Hamilton from the Erie BayHawks, according to a press release from the team.
As James Borrego entered his first regular season as a non-interim head coach, he made a significant change to the Hornets‘ starting lineup by slotting Jeremy Lamb alongside Kemba Walker in the backcourt. As Rick Bonnell writes for The Charlotte Observer, so far Lamb has made that decision look like a good one, as he has improved as a defender and provides more scoring and ball-handling in the starting lineup.
So far, the numbers tell the story, as the Hornets’ defense is nearly 5 points per 100 possessions better when Lamb is on the floor.
Borrego made the initial decision to start Lamb as a result of his desire for more scoring options in the starting lineup. The change led to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist coming off the bench as the team’s best wing defender, thereby putting more defensive responsibilities on Batum and Lamb. So far, the results have been promising as the Hornets look to return to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
- The Hornets have used a committee approach at the center spot and that position is likely to remain in flux, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports. Starter Cody Zeller, Willy Hernangomez, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Nicolas Batum, Frank Kaminsky and Bismack Biyombo have all taken turns in the middle but first-year coach James Borrego isn’t worried. “We’re still searching (but) I like the dilemma I have,” he told Bonnell.