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NBA Sets Salary Cap For 2018/19

June 30th, 2018 at 7:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has set the salary cap for the 2018/19 league year, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that the cap will be $101,869,000. The luxury tax threshold will be $123,733,000, Charania adds. Meanwhile, the minimum salary floor will be $91,682,000, according to the NBA.

The finalized cap figure comes in just slightly higher than what we expected. For virtually the entire 2017/18 league year, the NBA had projected that the cap for next season would be $101MM, with a luxury tax line of $123MM. The official figures are slightly higher than that, which is good news for teams looking to maximize their cap room, as well as clubs headed for tax territory.

As we detailed earlier this week, many other cap figures, including minimum and maximum salaries and several exceptions, are tied to the percentage of the salary cap increase. Here are some in-depth details on those numbers:

Here are a few more key cap-related figures:

Estimated average salary for 2018/19: $8,838,000 (Twitter link via Larry Coon)
Maximum starting salary for certain veteran extensions: $10,605,600 (Twitter link via Jeff Siegel)
Maximum cash a team can send, receive in trades in 2018/19: $5,243,000 (Twitter link via Coon)
Tax apron: $129,817,000 (Twitter link via Coon)

Meanwhile, the NBA has also issued updated cap projections for the next two seasons, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Those projections are as follows:

2019/20: $109MM cap, $132MM tax line
2020/21: $116MM cap, $141MM tax line

According to cap expert Larry Coon (Twitter link), the Cavaliers ($50.7MM), Warriors ($32.3MM), Thunder ($25.4MM), and Wizards ($7MM) finished the 2017/18 season as taxpayers, while the Bulls ($3.4MM) and Mavericks ($3.3MM) were charged for finishing below the salary floor.

Cavaliers Will Not Meet With LeBron James In Person To Begin Free Agency

June 30th, 2018 at 1:14pm CST by ChrisCrouse

LeBron James will not meet with the Cavaliers in person when free agency begins, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Cleveland will not be meeting with James’ representatives in person either. It’s unclear if an in-person meeting between James and the Cavs will be scheduled down the line.

Rich Paul, the agent that represents James as well as several other players entering free agency, will conduct all business over the phone to kick off free agency. Sources tell McMenamin that re-signing James is the Cavaliers “plan A, B and C,” and the organization believes it is still in the mix to bring back the four-time MVP.

The franchise has found it difficult to plan its full team around James with the way he has approached The Decision 3.0. While the Cavs lack flexibility, they have the taxpayers mid-level exception, worth $5.3MM, at their disposal.

Potential free agents may be hesitant to sign with Cleveland without knowing James’ plan. Other teams interested in trades won’t know which way Cleveland is leaning and it may hinder trade talks from occurring. However, the uncertainty resulting from James’ approach isn’t likely to alter the franchise’s view of re-signing him, McMenamin hears.

Cavs Plan To Keep Love If James Leaves

June 30th, 2018 at 9:20am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers do not plan to trade Kevin Love if they lose LeBron James in free agency this summer, according to Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Cleveland intends to remain a playoff contender rather than go through a total rebuild if James signs elsewhere once he becomes an unrestricted free agent on Sunday, Vardon continues. The caveat is that no one on the roster is untouchable should James decide to stay.

Love would end up being more of a focal point in Cleveland’s offensive scheme without James. Prior to being traded to the Cavaliers after James left the Heat to return to his hometown team in 2014, Love posted big numbers with the Timberwolves. He averaged 26.1 PPG, 12.5 RPG and 4.4 APG in his last season there in 2013/14.

Love has two years remaining on his contract, though the final year includes a player option. He’s due approximately $24.1MM next season and $25.6MM in 2019/20. Love averaged 17.6 PPG and 9.3 RPG last season but was forced to the sidelines for 23 games due to a broken hand.

The Cavaliers are also interested in re-signing free agent Jeff Green and could offer him their $5,291,918 taxpayer mid-level exception, Vardon adds. Green was a solid role player while making the veteran’s minimum last season, averaging 10.8 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 78 games.

Cavs May Show Interest In Jamal Crawford

June 29th, 2018 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

We heard on Thursday that multiple Warriors players are lobbying for the front office to go after Jamal Crawford in free agency, but Golden State isn’t the only team that will kick the tires on the veteran scorer. According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the Pelicans, Sixers, Cavaliers, and Nuggets are also expected to show interest in Crawford, who is focusing on finding the right fit.

Cavs Expected To Retain Rodney Hood

June 29th, 2018 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

While Rodney Hood saw his value slip over the course of the 2017/18 season, he remains a priority for the Cavaliers, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who hears from a source that Cleveland intends to keep the RFA guard. The Bulls view Hood as a potential Plan B if they lose Zach LaVine, but the Cavs plan on matching an offer sheet from Chicago or any other team, per Deveney.

According to Deveney’s source, both the Cavaliers and Hood are braced for the possibility of the four-year veteran accepting his qualifying offer if he doesn’t find a better deal. Playing out the one-year, $3.47MM contract would allow Hood to rebuild his value in advance of unrestricted free agency in 2019.

LeBron James Won’t Exercise Player Option

June 29th, 2018 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James‘ agent Rich Paul has informed the Cavaliers that James won’t exercise his $35.61MM player option for the 2018/19 season, reports Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. As a result, James will reach the open market as an unrestricted free agent this Sunday.

While the move ensures that James will be free to sign with any team that can afford him next week, his decision isn’t necessarily bad news for the Cavaliers. LeBron’s only realistic path to joining certain over-the-cap teams would have been via an opt-in and trade. Becoming an unrestricted free agent will make it extremely challenging for potential suitors like the Rockets or Heat to find a way to acquire him.

James’ decision looks like good news for teams with cap room, such as the Lakers and Sixers, who will have the opportunity to sign the four-time MVP outright. Los Angeles could have enough cap space for two maximum-salary free agents, while Philadelphia would have to make a roster move or two – likely involving Jerryd Bayless – to create the room necessary to offer LeBron a maximum-salary contract, which is currently projected to start at $35.35MM.

As for the Cavs, they remain in the mix for James since they hold his Bird rights, which allow them to go over the cap – and into the tax – to re-sign their star forward. Cleveland is the only team eligible to offer LeBron a five-year contract, which would be worth a projected $205MM+. James could sign a four-year contract with another team, though in recent years he has shown a preference for shorter-term deals that allow him to maximize his flexibility.

With James now on track to officially become a free agent on Sunday, the real fun is set to begin. The Lakers and Sixers, LeBron’s top two non-Cleveland suitors, are said to be considering strong pushes to acquire Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs. While San Antonio won’t rush into a deal involving Leonard, L.A. and Philadelphia reportedly believe that trading for Leonard would improve their chances of winning the LeBron sweepstakes, so both teams could be aggressive in the coming days.

For what it’s worth, Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday that Leonard has reached out to James to express interest in playing alongside him. According to Schultz, Kawhi pointed out that his defensive ability would alleviate the pressure on LeBron on that end of the court.

Even if the Lakers don’t land Leonard, the team’s cap flexibility makes L.A. an intriguing landing spot for LeBron, with Vardon reporting that James’ interest in joining the Lakers is “strong.” The Lakers are considered a serious suitor for free agent forward Paul George, and have a strong young core of players if they want to target another veteran star in a trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavs Pick Up Perkins’ Option For Trade Purposes

June 28th, 2018 at 1:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 28: The move is now official, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

JUNE 27: The Cavaliers have decided to pick up their $2.445MM option on center Kendrick Perkins‘ contract, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports. Cleveland had to make a decision by Friday whether to pick up his option.

The move was made to give the Cavs the option of adding his contract for a potential trade, McMenamin continues. Perkins’ salary is still non-guaranteed, but it would become guaranteed if he’s included in a trade. This also signals that Cleveland isn’t afraid to add to its already bloated payroll in order to improve the team, despite the uncertainty of LeBron James‘ future with the franchise.

A no-trade restriction on Perkins will be lifted on July 11.

Perkins, 33, was signed the last day of the regular season and appeared in that game but didn’t play in the postseason. He also played for Cleveland during the preseason.

He hadn’t appeared an NBA game since the 2015/16 season with the Pelicans.

Jamel Artis Joining Cavs' Summer League Team

June 28th, 2018 at 8:02am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic will not make a qualifying offer to Jamel Artis, Sportando tweets. The 6’7” Artis, who went undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2017, saw action in 15 games and averaged 5.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.2 APG in 18.6 MPG. Artis will be on the Cavaliers‘ Summer League squad, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets.

Paul George Declining Player Option

June 28th, 2018 at 7:23am CST by Luke Adams

Paul George has informed the Thunder that he’ll turn down his player option for 2018/19 and will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The move had long been anticipated. While it might make sense in some cases for veterans to opt into the final year of their contracts, George’s $20,703,384 option salary is far below his projected $30MM+ maximum salary, so picking up the option would have made little financial sense.

Additionally, the Lakers and Thunder are widely considered the frontrunners to land George. Los Angeles will have the cap space to sign George outright, while Oklahoma City has his Bird rights and can go over the cap to sign him. As such, exercising the option to facilitate a trade was always a long shot for the star forward.

While the Lakers and Thunder are the most serious contenders for George, the Rockets and Sixers are interested in pursuing him too, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Cavaliers were also previously said to be interested in George. However, his option decision will make it tricky for over-the-cap teams like Houston and Cleveland to land him, since those teams don’t have easy paths to cap room, and a sign-and-trade deal would only be permitted if they’re willing to remain below the tax apron ($6MM above the tax line) all season.

George is eligible to sign a five-year contract worth a projected $175MM+ with the Thunder this offseason, or a four-year deal worth approximately $130MM with a rival suitor like the Lakers. The five-time All-Star may ultimately sign a one-plus-one contract (a two-year deal with a player option) though, since doing so would allow him to reach free agency again in 2019, when the cap is projected to increase to $108MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavs Issuing Qualifying Offer To Rodney Hood

June 27th, 2018 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers will tender a qualifying offer to Rodney Hood this week, ensuring that he’ll become a restricted free agent on July 1, reports Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

Because Hood narrowly missed meeting the starter criteria this past season, his qualifying offer will be worth $3,472,887. Hood will have the option of accepting that one-year offer or seeking out a new deal with the Cavaliers or a rival suitor once he reaches free agency. As long as the Cavs don’t withdraw their qualifying offer, they’ll have the right of first refusal on Hood, allowing them to match any offer sheet he signs.

Hood, 25, averaged a career-high 14.7 PPG in 60 total games for the Jazz and Cavs in 2017/18. However, his numbers dipped across the board upon his arrival in Cleveland, and he struggled in the playoffs, refusing to enter one game in the fourth quarter and later falling out of the rotation for several contests.

While Hood’s late-season inconsistency likely hurt his earning potential, it may benefit the Cavs, who still view the shooting guard as part of their future, a source tells Vardon. If Cleveland wants to lock up Hood to a longer-term contract, it probably won’t be as expensive as it once looked.