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Notable Trade Exceptions Available This Offseason

June 15th, 2018 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

For NBA teams lacking the cap room to make impact additions to their roster this offseason, traded player exceptions represent one tool available to accommodate that sort of acquisition.

As we explain in our glossary entry, traded player exceptions are created when a team trades away a single player without immediately taking salary back in return. The club then has up to one year in which it can acquire one or more players whose combined salaries amount to no more than the traded player’s salary (plus $100K).

That means sizable traded player exceptions created during the 2017 offseason are on track to expire in the coming weeks or months, so teams will have to use them or lose them during the 2018 offseason. Trade exceptions generated during the 2017/18 regular season prior to the February deadline will be available through the offseason and into the 2018/19 season.

The full list of available traded player exceptions can be found right here, but here are a few notable TPEs worth keeping an eye on during the coming offseason:

Portland Trail Blazers
Value of traded player exception: $12,969,502
Expiry date: 7/25/18
Created when they traded Allen Crabbe to the Nets.

The Trail Blazers already have more than $110MM in guaranteed salaries on their books for 2018/19, and that figure doesn’t include a potential new contract for Jusuf Nurkic. So unless they’re able to significantly cut costs elsewhere, it may not be realistic for the Blazers to use their $13MM trade exception to take on another sizable contract.

Still, president of basketball operations Neil Olshey talked earlier this offseason about feeling as if Portland has been too “protective” of some of its assets, including its trade exception. So it sounds like he’ll explore possible uses for it, even if the club ends up not finding a viable deal.

Chicago Bulls
Value of traded player exception: $12,500,000
Expiry date: 2/1/19
Created when they traded Nikola Mirotic to the Pelicans.

The Bulls have been in an odd spot from a cap perspective for the last year, having carried a variety of exceptions that technically made them an over-the-cap team even though their players salaries have never exceeded $99MM. Chicago will have another opportunity to dip below the cap this offseason, and it seems likely that the club will do so, which would mean forfeiting this exception.

Toronto Raptors
Value of traded player exception: $11,800,000
Expiry date: 7/13/18
Created when they traded DeMarre Carroll to the Nets.

The Raptors, who also have a $6,125,440 exception left over from last July’s Cory Joseph deal, are in a similar spot to the Blazers. While their TPEs are good tools to improve the roster in theory, the Raptors have a potential luxury-tax bill to worry about. As such, adding salary without sending out any in return probably isn’t practical for Toronto, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see these exceptions expire.

It’s worth noting that are ways for the Raptors – and other teams on this list – to roll over at least one significant TPE for another year. For instance, let’s say Toronto dealt a player like Norman Powell for someone making about $10-11MM in 2018/19. In that scenario, the Raps could acquire the incoming player with the Carroll TPE and create a new exception worth Powell’s salary.

Los Angeles Clippers
Value of traded player exception: $7,273,631
Expiry date: 6/28/18
Created when they traded Chris Paul to the Rockets.

The Clippers have less than two weeks to use this exception, created in last June’s CP3 blockbuster. This limits their options, since many deals won’t be made until the new league year begins in July. I think this exception is a good bet to go unused.

Detroit Pistons
Value of traded player exception: $7,000,000
Expiry date: 1/29/19
Created when they traded Boban Marjanovic to the Clippers.

With nearly $112MM in guaranteed money on their 2018/19 cap, the Pistons have a little more flexibility than teams like the Blazers and Raptors, but not by much. For instance, Detroit likely wouldn’t be able to use its full mid-level exception and acquire a $7MM player using this TPE. However, if the Pistons can’t find a player they like on the free agent market worth a mid-level investment, this exception could provide an alternate path to adding a bench piece.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Value of traded player exception: $5,811,114
Expiry date: 8/22/18
Created when they traded Kyrie Irving to the Celtics.

There are a ton of moving pieces in play for the Cavaliers‘ offseason, so this modest exception will get overlooked. Still, it could be a useful tool to try to acquire help for LeBron James if he stays — or to help accommodate some roster reshuffling if he departs.

Heat Notes: Richardson, James, Wade, Ellington

June 13th, 2018 at 5:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat forward Josh Richardson is confident that Miami can put a contending team around LeBron James if he decides to come there in free agency, relays Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Richardson, who is working out in Santa Barbara, California, and trying to add bulk to his 205-pound body, believes James could be the “transformational player” that team president Pat Riley has talked about acquiring.

“I think we have great pieces to offer to play around him,” Richardson said. “We play with a lot of intensity. We’ve got a lot of dog in us. You need that in the trenches. That’s all I can really say about it.”

The dilemma for Richardson is that trading him might be James’ only path back to Miami. The Heat have 11 players under contract next season totaling about $120MM, putting them close to the projected $123MM tax line. Their only realistic hope to acquire James through a trade, and Richardson would be among their most desirable assets in any deal.

There’s more today from Miami:

Richardson, who has quickly developed a reputation as one of the league’s best defenders, was angry about being overlooked for this year’s All-Defensive team. He thought he earned the recognition after recording a career-best 121 steals during the season. “I still think I’m one of the best defenders in the NBA, but I can’t sit around and sulk about it,” Richardson said. “I’m not too bent out of shape about it anymore. But it’s definitely one of my goals to make those teams.”
Dwyane Wade, who is one of James’ closest friends and a former teammate in both Miami and Cleveland, said he can’t provide any insight into the thought process of the Cavaliers star. “Let’s let the record show … I don’t have any inside information whatsoever about his decision!” Wade tweeted this week.
Shooting specialist Wayne Ellington, who set an NBA record for most 3-pointers by a reserve in a single season, may be too expensive for the Heat to re-sign given their cap situation. Frank Urbina of HoopsHype looks at potential destinations for Ellington, naming the Hornets, Pistons and Warriors as possibilities if he leaves Miami.

Cavs Still Like Hood

June 12th, 2018 at 10:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Sources tell Vardon that the Cavaliers still like Hood and can envision a future with him on the team. The shooting guard fell out of the rotation during the latter half of the team’s postseason run before playing 52 minutes over the team’s last two NBA Finals contests. He finished the postseason with a plus/minus of -92 in a total of 260 minutes.

Cavs, Larry Nance Jr. Have Mutual Interest In Long-Term Deal

June 12th, 2018 at 8:02pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Cavaliers and Larry Nance Jr. can begin negotiating on a rookie contract extension when the new league year begins in July and multiple sources tell Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com that both sides have “a ton” of interest in striking a deal. However, the team will hold off on any non-LeBron James matters until the four-time MVP makes a decision on his future.

Cleveland’s front office has told Nance Jr. that it views him as a foundational piece to the franchise, Vardon adds. The 25-year-old was the centerpiece for the team in the deal that sent Isaiah Thomas and 2018 No. 1 pick to the Lakers at this season’s trade deadline.

The power forward has roots in Ohio, attending high school in Cleveland. His father, Larry Nance Sr., played for the Cavs for nearly seven seasons, earning a pair of All-Star nods with the club.

During 24 games with the Cavs this season, the younger Nance scored 8.9 points per contest while pulling down 7.0 boards per night. The big man is set to make slightly over $2.72MM next season.

Cavaliers Waive London Perrantes

June 12th, 2018 at 6:08pm CST by clarkcrum

The Cavaliers have waived seldom-used backup point guard London Perrantes, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

Perrantes, 23, signed a two-way contract with the Cavaliers back in October after going undrafted out of Virginia in the 2017 NBA Draft, but only saw action in 14 games with the Cavaliers, averaging a mere 4.7 minutes per contest.

Despite failing to crack Cleveland’s rotation, Perrantes showed some promise as a Cavalier in college, averaging 12.7 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 3.0 RPG in his senior year at Virginia. He was a training camp invitee of the Spurs last summer before signing a two-way deal in Cleveland.

Moreover, Perrantes did play well in the G League for the Canton Charge this season, starting 35 contests while averaging 11.9 points, 7.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Guard John Holland now remains as the only two-way player for the Cavaliers.

Latest On LeBron James’ Future

June 11th, 2018 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert cannot offer LeBron James a stake in the franchise in an effort to retain his services, Michael McCann and Jon Wortheim of Sports Illustrated point out. The Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits players from holding direct or indirect interest in the ownership of a team, thus the NBA would not approve a contract with any type of ownership provision, the story continues. The league has also been vigilant in preventing players and owners from intermingling their business interests, the SI duo notes. James can opt out of his contract or try to force a trade to a desired destination this summer.

Here’s some other interesting notes regarding the possibility of James playing elsewhere next season:

The Rockets would need to either gut their roster or make a trade with the Cavaliers to add James, but the latter option is complicated by the team’s roster composition, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. The Cavaliers would likely want quality young talent to kick-start a rebuild in any James trade and the Rockets don’t have enough of those players while trying to match up salaries to absorb James’ $35MM contract, Feigen adds. The most desirable option for the Rockets is to dump Ryan Anderson‘s contract ($20.4MM next season and $21.3 MM in 2019/20) on a team with ample cap room, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN. But Houston probably doesn’t have enough first-round picks to package with Anderson to get a third party to bite, Pelton adds.
There are major obstacles to any possible pursuit of James’ services by the Celtics, DJ Bean of NBCSports.com notes. It’s highly unlikely that Boston would include Gordon Hayward in any deal, considering the high-level free agent chose Boston last summer and hasn’t even played a full game with the franchise, Bean continues. There’s also the sticky problem of trying to reunite James with Kyrie Irving, who asked out of Cleveland last summer. Acquiring James now would likely damage the team’s long-term prospects for being the dominant team in the league, given the assets they’d likely have to trade, Bean adds. Logically, the only big contract the Celtics would be willing to move is Al Horford‘s deal, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
James’ decision will have more to do with his family than basketball, former teammate Dwyane Wade predicts, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald writes. “I don’t really think for him the basketball decision is ‘Oh, let me go team up with three All-Stars.’ I think at this point in his life it’s more so of a lifestyle thing,” Wade said. “Where is my family going to be the most comfortable at? Where am I going to be the happiest at? Because basketball-wise he’s so great, he can take along whoever.”
The Lakers and Sixers are the favorites to land James while the Cavs are just a 5-1 shot to retain him, according to Bovada sports book, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The odds rundown can be found here.

Latest On Kevin Love

June 11th, 2018 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Cavaliers’ roster appears very much in flux following the team’s second consecutive NBA Finals loss to the Warriors, Kevin Love says he would like to remain in Cleveland alongside LeBron James if possible.

As Matthew Florjancic of WKYC.com details, Love said after Friday’s loss that he likes playing for the Cavs and “always wanted to win here.” However, James’ free agency decision figures to dictate the direction of the organization, which Love recognizes.

“It’s something where I’m sure he will spend time with his family and when that time comes to make a decision, he will be in a good frame of mind,” Love said. “Obviously, I’d love to play with LeBron the rest of my career, but that will be a choice that he makes.”

Even if James decides to stay in Cleveland, there’s no guarantee that Love will be back too, since he could become a trade chip. However, the likelihood of the Cavs shopping Love would increase significantly if LeBron leaves, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Appearing on The Hoop Collective, Windhorst said there’s not “one player on that roster who is guaranteed to be back next year.”

“They start over (if James leaves),” Windhorst said, per RealGM.com. “They fully make Kevin Love available. I bet they would look for a first-round pick in that trade. He’s on the last year of a deal so they don’t want to take on money.”

Technically, Love remains under contract for two more years, but the final year of his deal in 2019/20 is a player option worth approximately $25.6MM. Love will be 30 years old next summer, and could decide to opt out and secure a longer-term contract, but his decision may hinge on how the 2018/19 season plays out. At this point, it remains unclear which team Love will be playing for by the time he becomes eligible to reach free agency.

Free Agent Stock Watch 2018: Cleveland Cavaliers

June 11th, 2018 at 12:00pm CST by Austin Kent

The 2017/18 season was an exhausting one for the Cavaliers and it ended the only way it possibly could: in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Warriors. While LeBron James put forth an historically impressive showing this year, the squad just wasn’t nearly deep enough to put another dent in Golden State’s dynasty.

The biggest story in Cleveland this summer will obviously be James’ forthcoming free agency. It’s no secret that the 33-year-old will have multiple realistic options to mull over this summer and the Cavaliers will have little choice but to wait and see what he decides before they set out with the rest of their plans.

To general manager Koby Altman‘s credit, the franchise was impressively proactive at the trade deadline, adding several players who could be a part of a rebuild for years to come. And to team owner Dan Gilbert‘s credit, he promoted Altman, a general manager he wanted, when there was pressure from James’ camp to retain David Griffin.

Expect the Cavs to welcome James back (and all the ensuing baggage) if the future Hall-of-Famer decides in earnest to end his career where it started, but my read of the situation is that Gilbert and company won’t exactly grovel if the King starts leaning toward taking his talents elsewhere.

Jose Calderon, PG, 36 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2017
It’s hard to imagine Calderon signing on for anything more than the veteran’s minimum at this stage in his career, but a solid enough 2017/18 campaign in which he started 32 games for the Cavaliers should be enough to earn him another contract. The Cavs won’t have much use for the 36-year-old if they blow things up, so expect any decision regarding Calderon to come a little later in free agency.

Jeff Green, PF, 31 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2017
It’s hard to gauge Green’s value considering he went from making $15MM in 2016/17 to the league minimum in 2017/18. Still, there’s no denying he was a bargain for the Cavaliers at just over $2MM. Despite a limited ceiling, Green is a solid role player and could be an affordable depth piece for a competitive team in Cleveland or elsewhere.

Rodney Hood, SG, 25 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $6MM deal in 2014
Less than a year ago, Hood was in line to take over scoring duties for the suddenly Gordon Hayward-less Jazz. The swingman showed on a number of occasions in the first half of 2017/18 that he was capable of being a semi-reliable primary option on offense, but injuries and the rise of Donovan Mitchell complicated the restricted free agent’s big contract year. A slow start in Cleveland, coupled with a lousy postseason and one particularly bad decision will limit his value even further. That said, if Hood draws an offer sheet in the $10MM-$14MM range this offseason, he could end up being a bargain.

LeBron James, PF, 33 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $100MM deal in 2016
Despite rampant speculation about James’ upcoming free agency, there’s no clear indication about what the superstar will do. The growing narrative is that James doesn’t have the supporting cast to compete with the likes of the superteams around him. While I’ll submit that he and his representation are partly to blame considering their insistence on leveraging James in order to land players like Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith albatross contracts, there’s no denying that the Cavs’ roster looked empirically overwhelmed by the vastly deeper Warriors in the NBA Finals.

James, who looks more formidable than ever now as a 33-year-old, will earn every single penny available to him wherever he signs, but while there will be considerably more pennies available to him if he stays in Cleveland, it’s hard to imagine that somebody with a net worth of $400MM will base his decision entirely on wealth. Narrowing down where the King might land, then, comes down to figuring out his motives. If James wants to win rings he could either sign with the Sixers or squeeze his way onto the Rockets. If he wants to set himself up for life after basketball he should probably pack up the family and head over to join the Lakers. Of course, if James wants to preserve his uniquely complicated legacy, he should think long and hard about staying in Cleveland.

Kendrick Perkins, 33, C (Down) – Signed to a two-year deal in 2018
The Cavaliers added Perkins to their big league roster in the waning days of the regular season, but seem unlikely to pick up his option for 2018/19. While the veteran was brought on to provide an additional veteran voice in the locker room, his only notable feat in the postseason was getting into sideline altercation with Stephen Curry and Drake. Perkins is relatively young to be a symbolic elder statesmen, so there’s always the possibility that he signs on with another contender in a similar enforcer-turned-unofficial coach role, but don’t forget that he’s only seen action in one NBA contest since the 2015/16 season. His career could just as easily be over.

Cavs Attended Michael Porter's Pro Day

June 10th, 2018 at 9:04pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Cavaliers prepared on Friday for what turned out to be their final game of the 2017/18 season, the team also had at least one front office representative present at Michael Porter Jr.‘s Pro Day in Chicago, a source tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Depending on how confident teams are about the health of Porter’s back, the young forward could still be on the board when Cleveland picks at No. 8 in this month’s draft.

Cavs Missed Kyrie Irving; Supporting Cast Leaves Much To Be Desired

June 10th, 2018 at 5:10pm CST by Austin Kent

The Cavaliers sorely missed ex-point guard Kyrie Irving this season, not that it was their decision to exile him. Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe writes that team will now need to make particularly good use out of the 2018 first-round pick they received in the trade that sent Irving to the Celtics for the deal to appear respectable.
Speaking of LeBron James‘ supporting cast, Jordan Clarkson – acquired by the Cavaliers in the Isaiah Thomas deal – set an all-time record for fewest win shares in an NBA postseason (h/t r/NBA). The 25-year-old averaged 4.7 points per game on .301 shooting in 15.1 minutes per contest.