- Robin Lopez (Bulls) and Dewayne Dedmon (Hawks) are unlikely to net first-round picks on the trade market, but they could be decent rental options for teams seeking depth up front, Deveney writes.
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Just four games into their season, the Bulls are now missing four key contributors due to injuries, with Bobby Portis and his sprained MCL joining Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, and Denzel Valentine on the sidelines. With early-season health issues wreaking havoc on Fred Hoiberg‘s starting lineup and rotation, Chicago may get an opportunity to add a player to its roster next week by qualifying for the NBA’s “hardship provision.”
NBA teams can become eligible for a hardship exception when they have at least four players who have missed three consecutive games due to injury or illness, assuming those players are expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.
The Bulls wouldn’t be able to apply for the exception until after Monday’s game in Golden State, at which point Portis will have missed three straight games. Markkanen, Dunn, and Portis all seem very likely to miss at least a couple weeks beyond that, and it’s possible Valentine will too. If so, Chicago would qualify for the exception.
If the Bulls apply for and receive a hardship exception, they wouldn’t gain any extra cap flexibility, but they’d be temporarily granted an extra roster spot. In that scenario, the team could sign a 16th player to its “15-man” NBA roster without waiving anyone.
Again, that roster spot would be temporary, and the Bulls would have to cut that player – or someone else – once they started to get healthier, but the provision could help provide the injury-ravaged squad with a little more depth in the short term.
2:32pm: The Bulls have confirmed that Portis sustained a sprained right MCL, estimating in a press release that he’ll miss the next four to six weeks.
1:56pm: The hits keep coming for the Bulls, who have already lost several players to injuries this season and will now be without another key rotation piece. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), power forward Bobby Portis has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his right knee and is expected to miss several weeks of action.
Portis, who suffered the injury on Wednesday night during the fourth quarter of the Bulls’ win over the Hornets, underwent an MRI on Thursday morning to determine the extent of the injury. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune had previously reported that the club feared Portis would miss at least four weeks with an injury similar to Kris Dunn‘s.
Dunn, who has a sprained MCL of his own, is expected to be on the shelf for four to six weeks. The Bulls are also missing Lauri Markkanen, who will be out until at least mid-November with an elbow injury, and Denzel Valentine, who has been sidelined with an ankle issue.
Although he was expected to open the season as a sixth man for the Bulls, Portis was shifted to the starting lineup after Markkanen went down. He responded by averaging a double-double (10.5 PPG, 10.0 RPG) in Chicago’s first four games while averaging a career-high 28.3 minutes per contest. The 23-year-old failed to reach an extension agreement with Chicago this fall, so he’s playing for his next contract this season — he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency in 2019.
Portis’ injury could mean increased roles for some combination of Wendell Carter, Robin Lopez, and Cristiano Felicio up front. Jabari Parker, who has been coming off the bench at power forward, may also get an opportunity to move back into the starting five, though the Bulls have yet to make any announcement to that effect.
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.
No team in the NBA’s Central division has played more than five games so far – the Pistons have only played three – but based on contract situations and early-season rotations, some potential trade candidates are already emerging. Let’s take a look at a few of them…
Kyle Korver, G/F
Cleveland Cavaliers
$7.56MM cap hit; partially guaranteed salary in 2019/20
A fixture in the Cavaliers‘ rotation over the last year and a half alongside LeBron James, Korver has seen inconsistent playing time so far in 2018/19. His minutes count in his first four games: 14, 5, 0, and 19.
Korver has said he doesn’t mind sporadic minutes, and it’s too early in the season for the Cavs to go into tank mode and start considering a full-fledged fire sale. Still, there are a number of reasons to expect the 37-year-old to become a trade candidate sooner or later if Cleveland’s struggles continue.
Several playoff contenders figure to be in the market for an outside marksman, and few are more reliable than Korver, who has a .431 career 3PT%. His salary is affordable and his contract is favorable for a short-term investment — next season’s $7.5MM salary is only guaranteed for $3.44MM, meaning any team acquiring him would have the option to keep him for one more year or to cut bait at a minimal cost.
Robin Lopez, C
Chicago Bulls
$14.36MM cap hit; UFA in 2019
Like the Cavaliers, the Bulls don’t look like a legit postseason contender, particularly as the injuries to several key players continue to pile up. It’s too early to give up on this season’s playoff hopes yet, but when that happens, Lopez looks like one of the team’s most obvious trade chips.
The Bulls have Wendell Carter Jr. penciled in as their center of the future, and still need to see what they can get out of Cristiano Felicio, whose pricey contract runs through 2021. For now, Lopez remains a part of the rotation, but his minutes are down (17.7 MPG so far, compared to 26.4 last season) and they may decrease further if and when the club goes all-in on developing its young players.
Lopez is no bargain at $14.36MM, but he’s on an expiring contract and won’t affect a team’s cap flexibility for the summer of 2019. He’s also still just 30 years old and has value as a reliable screen setter and defensive presence.
Matthew Dellavedova, G
Milwaukee Bucks
$9.61MM cap hit; guaranteed salary in 2019/20
If the 4-0 Bucks can build on their hot start, they’ll likely be in the market for upgrades by the time February’s trade deadline rolls around. Dellavedova and John Henson ($11.33MM cap hit) represent the club’s best salary-matching pieces, and Dellavedova’s absence from the rotation makes him the more expendable player of the two.
With one more guaranteed season left on his contract, the veteran guard is a negative asset at this point. But if Milwaukee is willing to attach a draft pick or a young player to Dellavedova’s contract, he could be a part of an offer for a veteran who might better fit the club’s lineup.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
In the wake of Kris Dunn‘s MCL injury, Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago suggested that it was time for the Bulls to spin the point guard roulette wheel again. While he acknowledged that Cameron Payne, Shaquille Harrison, Ryan Arcidiacono, and Tyler Ulis were all options, Schanowski argued that Chicago’s best option at the point might be Zach LaVine, who is most effective with the ball in his hands.
In the Bulls’ first win of the season on Wednesday night, LaVine did handle the ball most in crunch time, but before the game reached that point, it was Payne who enjoyed a breakout performance. As Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago details, Payne followed up a poor first half by making seven 3-pointers in the second half, good for a career-best 21 points.
“It was a huge night for Cam, huge confidence booster,” Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “You know, Cam works as hard as anybody on this team. It’s great to see that hard work pay off and it’s a confidence booster, something he can build on.”
Payne has been plagued by injuries and inconsistency since being acquired by the Bulls at the 2017 trade deadline, but Wednesday’s showing was a step in the right direction, and he should get more opportunities in the coming weeks, with Dunn expected to be sidelined at least another month or so. Payne will be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, so he’ll have a chance to improve his stock if he keeps playing well.
Veteran center Omer Asik, acquired in last season’s Nikola Mirotic with the Pelicans as a salary-matching piece, was unlikely to play at all this season for the Bulls. Still, Chicago’s decision to release him over the weekend in order to sign Shaquille Harrison was “stunning” to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), who referred to Asik’s contract one of the best trade pieces in the league.
[RELATED: Bulls sign Shaquille Harrison, cut Omer Asik]
Of course, Asik didn’t have trade value in the way that star players have trade value, but his contract was an intriguing potential trade chip for a couple reasons: It was signed under the league’s previous Collective Bargaining Agreement, and he was owed a partial guarantee of just $3MM on his $11.98MM salary for 2019/20.
Under the league’s new CBA, a team trading a player with an $11.98MM salary with a $3MM partial guarantee would only get to count that contract for $3MM for salary-matching purposes, limiting its appeal in a potential deal. However, if that same contract was signed under the old CBA – like Asik’s – it counts for its full $11.98MM for salary-matching purposes. That would have made it appealing to teams looking to cut costs during the summer of 2019.
For instance, let’s say that the Knicks wanted to make a run at Kevin Durant in the summer of 2019 and needed to move as much salary as possible to clear a maximum-salary slot. Cap rules would have allowed Chicago and New York to swap Courtney Lee (who has a $12.76MM salary for 2019/20) straight up for Asik. The Knicks then could’ve waived Asik, stretching his $3MM partial guarantee across three years and leaving just $1MM on their cap.
The Bulls might not have wanted Lee, and more parts may have been required to make such a deal acceptable for both sides, but that’s just one example of how Asik’s modest partial guarantee – and his old contract – provided some value. That $11.98MM cap hit could be useful for salary matching in all variations of trades and wasn’t a negative asset since it wasn’t guaranteed.
By comparison, a player like Avery Bradley has a contract structure similar to Asik’s for next season ($2MM partial guarantee on a $12.96MM salary), but signed his deal under the league’s current CBA. If the Clippers wanted to trade Bradley after the season, he’d only count for $2MM for salary-matching purposes rather than $12.96MM, making a deal tricky.
It’s possible that Chicago wouldn’t have found any use for Asik on the trade market next summer, especially since the team may be far enough below the cap to take on contracts in trades without matching salaries. Harrison will also certainly help the club more in the short term, and the Bulls may eventually be able to remove Asik’s contract from their cap altogether if he’s deemed medically ineligible to continue his career. Still, it’s somewhat surprising that the team didn’t wait a little longer before deciding to cut bait on him.
With Asik no longer under contract, there are just two notable players who signed contracts under the old CBA and have partial guarantees for next season — one is Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith ($3.87MM guarantee on $15.86MM salary) and the other is Suns forward Ryan Anderson ($15.64MM guarantee on $21.26MM salary). If either of those players is dealt during the summer of 2019, he’d count for his full salary for trade purposes, rather than just his guarantee amount.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Unlike player and team options on veteran contracts, which generally have to be exercised or declined by the end of June, rookie scale contracts include third- and fourth-year options that teams must decide on a year early. The deadline for those decisions is October 31, which means that clubs have one more week to pick up or turn down those rookie scale options for the 2019/20 season.
While several teams have already announced their rookie scale option decisions for 2019/20, there are 14 clubs that will need to decide one way or the other on those options within the next week.
Below, we’ve listed the outstanding rookie scale option decisions for 2019/20, sorting them by their likelihood of being exercised. The first list features options that are certain to be exercised, such as Ben Simmons‘ or Jayson Tatum‘s. The second list features the rest of the options, which may still be picked up, but aren’t necessarily locks.
Let’s dive in…
Locks to be exercised:
- Markelle Fultz, 76ers (third year, $9,745,200)
- Ben Simmons, 76ers (fourth year, $8,113,930)
- Dario Saric, 76ers (fourth year, $3,481,986)
- Kris Dunn, Bulls (fourth year, $5,348,007)
- Lauri Markkanen, Bulls (third year, $5,300,400)
- Denzel Valentine, Bulls (fourth year, $3,377,569)
- Ante Zizic, Cavaliers (third year, $2,281,800)
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics (third year, $7,830,000)
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics (fourth year, $6,534,829)
- Malik Monk, Hornets (third year, $4,028,400)
- De’Aaron Fox, Kings (third year, $6,392,760)
- Buddy Hield, Kings (fourth year, $4,861,208)
- Justin Jackson, Kings (third year, $3,280,920)
- Harry Giles, Kings (third year, $2,578,800)
- Jamal Murray, Nuggets (fourth year, $4,444,746)
- Juan Hernangomez, Nuggets (fourth year, $3,321,030)
- Luke Kennard, Pistons (third year, $3,827,160)
- Pascal Siakam, Raptors (fourth year, $2,351,839)
- OG Anunoby, Raptors (third year, $2,281,800)
Not necessarily locks to be exercised:
- Furkan Korkmaz, 76ers (third year, $2,033,160)
- Thon Maker, Bucks (fourth year, $3,569,643)
- D.J. Wilson, Bucks (third year, $2,961,120)
- Guerschon Yabusele, Celtics (third year, $3,117,240)
- Skal Labissiere, Kings (fourth year, $2,338,847)
- Malik Beasley, Nuggets (fourth year, $2,731,714)
- Tyler Lydon, Nuggets (third year, $2,190,720)
- Henry Ellenson, Pistons (fourth year, $2,856,804)
- Malachi Richardson, Raptors (fourth year, $2,581,597)
- Marquese Chriss, Rockets (fourth year, $4,078,236)
- Dragan Bender, Suns (fourth year, $5,896,519)
- Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Thunder (fourth year, $2,529,684)
- Terrance Ferguson, Thunder (third year, $2,475,840)
- Justin Patton, Timberwolves (third year, $3,117,240)
- Damian Jones, Warriors (fourth year, $2,305,057)
Because rookie scale salaries are typically so affordable, many of the options that we don’t view as locks to be picked up will still be exercised. For instance, even if Labissiere barely has a role in the Kings’ crowded frontcourt at the moment, Sacramento doesn’t have much guaranteed money on its books for 2019/20 and may view a $2,338,847 cap hit for the big man as a worthwhile investment.
Still, many of the players in that second list don’t currently have sizable rotation roles, so teams will have to decide whether it’s worth it to continue trying to develop those players in 2019/20, or if it makes more sense to simply replace them with minimum-salary veterans. That could be an especially tricky question for teams that project to be over the luxury tax line next season — in those cases, every saved dollar matters.
For a full list of the rookie scale options for 2019/20, including the ones that have already been picked up, check out our tracker.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bulls starting point guard Kris Dunn will be sidelined for the next four to six weeks after suffering a sprained MCL, the team announced today (via Twitter). The injury occurred in the second quarter of Monday’s loss to Dallas, per head coach Fred Hoiberg (Twitter link via The Chicago Sun-Times).
Dunn, who missed the start of the season due to the birth of his child, was making his regular season debut on Monday. While he was able to stay in and finish the game after sustaining the injury, he’ll now be out of action until at least late November, according to the team.
With Dunn set to return within six weeks or so, the Bulls are unlikely to make a roster move to acquire point guard depth, particularly since they already did so over the weekend — the club added Shaquille Harrison to a group that also includes Cameron Payne and Ryan Arcidiacono, and those three guards figure to handle the position in Dunn’s absence. Tyler Ulis may also see some action, but he’s on a two-way contract, so any day he plays or practices with the team will count toward his 45-day NBA limit.
Payne, who started Chicago’s first two games of the season, is the best bet to claim Dunn’s spot in the starting five. All three of the Bulls’ reserve point guards will be looking to make an impression on team management with Dunn on the shelf, as Payne is in a contract year and Harrison and Arcidiacono don’t have fully guaranteed salaries.
The Bulls will now be without Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, and Denzel Valentine for the time being as they look to rebound from an 0-3 start.
While their 0-3 start hasn’t generated the sort of angst that the Thunder’s or Lakers’ has, the Bulls expressed some frustration after falling 115-109 to the Mavericks on Monday night. After head coach Fred Hoiberg suggested that “we lost our composure,” Zach LaVine initially disagreed with that idea, assigning the blame elsewhere.
“We gotta run the right sets out there,” LaVine said, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “That was the main thing. If we would have run the right plays, got the ball to the right people, I think we would have been all right.”
Later in his conversation with reporters, LaVine conceded that his head coach might be right about the club losing its composure, adding that he was “not putting [the loss] on Fred,” as K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune details. Still, the fifth-year guard said the Bulls “have to do better” at recognizing who has the hot hand on offense and running plays for those players.
Here’s more from out of Chicago:
- Shaquille Harrison‘s new contract with the Bulls is a two-year, minimum salary deal with $250K guaranteed this season, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. According to Andrews, Harrison will get a $175K guarantee for 2019/20 if he’s not waived by August 15 next summer.
- The Bulls are leaning toward using the stretch provision on Omer Asik, Andrews adds. Asik’s contract includes a $3MM partial guarantee for 2019/20, so stretching it across three years would reduce that cap hit to $1MM annually.
- Michael Walton of NBC Sports Chicago explores what the newly-signed Harrison might bring to the Bulls, pointing to the former Sun’s ability as a perimeter defender as something that could help the team right away.
- Cameron Payne, who is in a contract year, is healthy and looking to prove his worth, but with Harrison now on board and Kris Dunn back in the lineup, his opportunities may be limited, as K.C. Johnson writes for The Chicago Tribune.
The Kevin Love trade watch is already under way in Cleveland, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The Cavaliers were hoping to continue their streak of playoff appearances after losing LeBron James, but they haven’t looked like contenders in any way during an 0-3 start, especially in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Hawks.
Love has been among the few bright spots, averaging 20.7 PPG and 14.3 RPG, but at age 30 he seems out of place on a team that may have to get serious about rebuilding. The four-year, $120MM extension he signed this summer may make him more attractive on the trade market, Bontemps suggests, just as a similar deal did for Blake Griffin last summer. Love won’t become trade eligible until late January, and the Cavs could be well out of the postseason race by then
There’s more today from the Central Division:
- The Bulls have an abundance of point guards after signing Shaquille Harrison over the weekend, notes Sam Smith of NBA.com. Kris Dunn is expected to take over the starting role when he returns from paternity leave tonight, with Harrison and former Suns teammate Tyler Ulis in reserve, along with Cameron Payne and Ryan Arcidiacono. Harrison hopes to use his defensive prowess to help him emerge from the pack. “It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “When I found out, I was extremely excited and ready to get down here and get to work. It was an unfortunate situation in Phoenix, but I’m going to take full advantage of it here in Chicago.”
- Coach Dwane Casey’s lineup shuffling led to Luke Kennard not playing at all on Saturday after being in the starting lineup for the season opener, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The new Pistons coach is working his way through a crowded rotation and has used point guards Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith at the same time, cutting down on the available wing minutes.
- Free agent addition Kyle O’Quinn paid early dividends for the Pacers in Saturday’s win over the Nets, states Scott Agness of The Athletic. With Domantas Sabonis ruled out shortly before game time, O’Quinn stepped in with 16 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. “This is what we brought him here for,” coach Nate McMillan said. “… There are going to be nights where we’re going to need him. Domas was out, (Kyle) stepped in and he was ready to go, and played a really, really good game for us.”