Hoops Rumors Originals

Hoops Rumors’ 2021/22 NBA 10-Day Contract Tracker

December 21st, 2021 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

During a typical NBA league year, teams become eligible to sign players to 10-day contracts on January 5, and many of the signings that take place between that date and the end of the regular season are of the 10-day variety.

However, for a second consecutive year, the league has allowed 10-day signings to be completed earlier in the season as long as a team is using a hardship exception to make the move. And with so many players in the league’s health and safety protocols, hardship exceptions have been available to a ton of teams around the NBA.

That means Hoops Rumors’ 10-day contract tracker, which we use to keep tabs on every 10-day signing completed in a given season, has been brought out of hibernation a little early in 2021/22.

Besides featuring all of this year’s 10-day deals, our 10-day contract tracker includes information on all 10-day contracts signed since the 2006/07 season. The search filters in the database make it easy to sort by team, player and year. For instance, if you want to see all the 10-day contracts that the Lakers have signed in the last 15 years, you can do so here.

You can also see whether a player and team signed a second 10-day contract, or if those short-term deals led to an agreement that covered the rest of the season. Additionally, our tracker, which is updated when a 10-day signing becomes official, notes which 10-day deals remain active, saving you from having to figure out whether a particular contract ends on Wednesday or Thursday.

A link to our 10-day contract tracker can be found at any time in the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site. On our mobile site, you can find it on our “Features” page. We’ll be keeping it up to date for the rest of the season, so be sure to check back to keep tabs on the latest signings as they become official.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

2021/22 NBA Health And Safety Protocols Tracker

December 17th, 2021 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

[UPDATE: This tracker is no longer being updated as of February 14, 2022.]

After finishing the 2019/20 season in a Walt Disney World bubble in Florida and spending much of the 2020/21 season playing in front of empty or half-full arenas, NBA teams had hoped to recapture a sense of normalcy in ’21/22.

However, while the season got off to a promising start, an increasing number of players have been affected by COVID-19, resulting in clubs playing shorthanded as outbreaks impact rosters around the league.

Players who test positive for the coronavirus have been required to remain in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for at least six days or until they return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. Players who are unvaccinated have also been required to enter the protocols when they’re deemed to be a close contact of someone who tested positive — they can exit the protocols after a certain number of consecutive negative tests across multiple days.

We’re hopeful that in a matter of weeks, the number of players in the health and safety protocols will decrease significantly, rendering a tracker unnecessary. But for the time being, there are so many players in the protocols that it makes sense to compile the full list in one place in order to monitor which teams are most affected.

A few notes about this tracker:

Our goal will be to update the list multiple times per day (if necessary) on weekdays, and at least once per day on weekends.
The list will only include players, not coaches or other staffers.
We’ll remove names from the list once they’ve “cleared” the health and safety protocols and reported back to their teams, even if they haven’t yet met the conditioning requirements and passed the cardiac tests necessary to return to game action.

The players currently in the NBA’s health and safety protocols are listed below. If you have any questions or corrections, please leave a comment below or use our contact form.

Updated 2-14-22 (9:42am CT)

Atlanta Hawks

None

Boston Celtics

None

Brooklyn Nets

None

Charlotte Hornets

None

Chicago Bulls

None

Cleveland Cavaliers

None

Dallas Mavericks

None

Denver Nuggets

None

Detroit Pistons

None

Golden State Warriors

None

Houston Rockets

None

Indiana Pacers

None

Los Angeles Clippers

None

Los Angeles Lakers

None

Memphis Grizzlies

None

Miami Heat

None

Milwaukee Bucks

None

Minnesota Timberwolves

None

New Orleans Pelicans

None

New York Knicks

None

Oklahoma City Thunder

None

Orlando Magic

None

Philadelphia 76ers

None

Phoenix Suns

None

Portland Trail Blazers

None

Sacramento Kings

None

San Antonio Spurs

None

Toronto Raptors

None

Utah Jazz

None

Washington Wizards

None

More Than 100 NBA Players Become Trade-Eligible

December 15th, 2021 at 8:15am CST by Luke Adams

Today is December 15, which means that – by our count – 106 NBA players who signed as free agents this offseason have officially become eligible to be traded.

That list, which can be found right here, features a number of players who absolutely aren’t going anywhere this season, including Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, and Suns guard Chris Paul, among others.

However, it also features several players whose names have already popped up in trade rumors in the months since they were signed, such as Celtics guard Dennis Schröder, Rockets center Daniel Theis, Spurs sharpshooter Bryn Forbes, and Knicks guard Kemba Walker.

Nineteen of the players on the list can’t be traded without their consent, since they have the ability to veto trades this season. Multiple players from the Nets, Nuggets, Pistons, Heat, Bucks, and Suns fall into that group.

Finally, it’s worth noting that there are still many recently-signed players around the NBA who remain ineligible to be dealt. Some will become trade-eligible on January 15, while others have specific dates to watch.

Of course, while December 15 is considered the unofficial start of the NBA’s trade season, we shouldn’t expect a flurry of deals in the coming days. Typically, teams wait until closer to the trade deadline (February 10) to make their moves.

To illustrate this point, let’s take a look back at the last five seasons in which a huge swath of players became trade-eligible on December 15 (we’re throwing out the 2020/21 campaign, since the delayed start to the condensed season meant that the usual Dec. 15 deadline didn’t actually arrive until February).

From the 2015/16 season through the 2019/20 campaign, a total of just three trades were completed between December 15 and the end of the calendar year on December 31. One of those three deals – the Jordan Clarkson trade between the Cavaliers and Jazz on Dec. 23, 2019 – didn’t involve any players whose trade restrictions had recently lifted.

The only two instances in recent years in which teams moved relatively quickly after December 15 to deal newly trade-eligible players occurred in 2015, when the Pelicans sent Ish Smith to the Sixers on Dec. 24, and in 2018, when the Suns sent Trevor Ariza to the Wizards on Dec. 17.

The original three-team version of that Ariza deal memorably fell apart due to a mixup over whether Dillon Brooks or MarShon Brooks was included, which perhaps served as a cautionary tale for front offices, encouraging them not to rush into anything right after Dec. 15.

The league’s recent trade history doesn’t mean we won’t see any trades this month, but if we get more than one or two, it would be an exception to the rule. We should expect more activity in January and February, even as talks start to heat up in December.

Poll: Will The Cavs Make The Play-In Tournament?

December 6th, 2021 at 4:16pm CST by Rory Maher

From 2018/19 through 2020/21, the Cavaliers held a 60-159 record, a 27.4% win percentage, the worst in the league over those three seasons.

However, in year four of the post-LeBron James rebuild, things are looking bright in Cleveland. Despite having one of the most difficult schedules and losing Collin Sexton for the season after meniscus surgery, the Cavs are 13-11, good for seventh in the Eastern Conference.

After ranking between 25th and 30th in both offensive and defensive rating every season from 2018-21, the Cavs are now 19th in the league in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating. East Rookie of the Month Evan Mobley, who missed four games with an elbow sprain, looks like a future star, according to Jazz coach Quin Snyder, as relayed by Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.

“He’s gonna be a star in this league really soon,” Snyder said. “He’s having star-quality games already. I think his versatility makes him. It’s a rare combination of size, length, quickness and skill.”

Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen have formed a dynamic pick-and-roll combination; both were nominees for Player of the Month honors in the East. Wing Cedi Osman has played well when healthy, shooting 42.9% from three. Ricky Rubio has thrived as a veteran leader for the young team, serving as a mentor to Garland and providing heady play on both ends. Sign-and-trade acquisition Lauri Markkanen, never known for defense, has bought into coach J.B. Bickerstaff‘s system and is competing hard defensively.

That’s the most impressive thing when watching Cleveland — the way in which all its players have bought into the system. The Cavs play hard every game, which you don’t see very often in a league with a long, 82-game season. Even during the team’s five-game losing streak in November, when it was very shorthanded, the healthy players were giving full effort.

Prior to the season, we ran our annual Over/Unders polls, and 50.5% of our readers predicted the Cavaliers to be under 26.5 wins. They’re already halfway to 26 wins through 24 games, so the over seems like a very safe bet at this point. However, the East is surprisingly deep this season; only three games separate the fourth seed (Miami, 14-10) from the 12th (Toronto, 11-13).

We want to know what you think. Will the Cavs make the Play-In Tournament? Make the playoffs outright as a top-six seed? Or be out of the playoff picture completely?

Vote in our pool, then head to the comment section to share your two cents!

11 Players Affected By Poison Pill Provision In 2021/22

December 2nd, 2021 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

The term “poison pill” doesn’t actually show up in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, but it’s used colloquially to refer to a provision in the CBA that affects players who recently signed rookie scale contract extensions.

As we explain in our glossary entry, the poison pill provision applies when a player who signed a rookie scale extension is traded before the extension takes effect. In that scenario, the player’s incoming value for the receiving team for matching purposes is determined by averaging his current-year salary and the salaries in each year of his new extension. His current team, on the other hand, simply treats his current-year salary as the outgoing figure for matching purposes.

For instance, Suns forward Mikal Bridges is earning a $5,557,725 salary in 2021/22, but has signed a four-year, $90MM extension that will begin in ’22/23. Given his importance to a team with championship aspirations, the Suns won’t be trading Bridges before that extension takes effect. If they did though, his outgoing value for salary-matching purposes would be $5,557,725 (this year’s salary), while his incoming value for the team acquiring him would be $19,111,545 (this year’s salary, plus the $90MM extension, divided by five years).

Like Bridges, most of the other players who signed rookie scale extensions aren’t candidates to be traded anytime soon. But even in the event that a team wants to look into trading one of these recently-extended players, the gap between the player’s incoming trade value and outgoing trade value will make it a real challenge to find a deal that works for both sides.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) noted in his look at the trade market today, the “poison pill” provision applies to 11 players who signed rookie scale extensions in 2021. Here are those players, along with their outgoing salaries and incoming salaries for trade purposes:

Player	Team	Outgoing trade value	Incoming trade value
Luka Doncic	DAL	$10,174,391	$36,205,732
Trae Young	ATL	$8,326,471	$30,137,745
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	OKC	$5,495,532	$29,665,922
Michael Porter Jr.	DEN	$5,258,735	$29,626,456
Jaren Jackson Jr.	MEM	$9,180,560	$22,780,112
Mikal Bridges	PHX	$5,557,725	$19,111,545
Kevin Huerter	ATL	$4,253,357	$13,850,671
Wendell Carter Jr.	ORL	$6,920,027	$11,384,005
Robert Williams	BOS	$3,661,976	$10,332,395
Landry Shamet	PHX	$3,768,342	$9,253,668
Grayson Allen	MIL	$4,054,695	$7,018,232

Once the 2022/23 league year begins, the poison pill provision will no longer apply to these players. At that time, the player’s ’22/23 salary would represent both his outgoing and incoming value.

Until then though, the gap between those outgoing and incoming figures will make it tricky for these players to be moved, with one or two possible exceptions. In other words, if you’re considering what a big in-season consolidation trade for the Hawks might look like, it’s probably safest to leave Huerter out of your hypothetical package.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

NBA Waiver Order Now Based On 2021/22 Records

December 1st, 2021 at 8:05am CST by Luke Adams

As of December 1, the NBA’s waiver priority order is determined by teams’ current-year records, rather than the previous season’s results.

That means, starting today, the waiver order for this season is based on teams’ 2021/22 records, with the worst teams getting the highest priority. In other words, if two teams place a claim on the same player, the team lower in this season’s NBA standings will be awarded that player.

Up until today, the waiver claim order was based on which teams had the worst records in 2020/21.

Waiver claims are somewhat rare in the NBA, but it’s still worth noting which teams will have the first crack at intriguing players who may be cut over the next few weeks or months.

[RELATED: 2021/22 NBA Waiver Claims]

Here’s what the teams currently at the top of the NBA’s waiver order look like, as of today:

Orlando Magic (4-18)
Detroit Pistons (4-17)
Houston Rockets (4-16)
New Orleans Pelicans (6-17)
Oklahoma City Thunder (6-14)
San Antonio Spurs (6-13)
Sacramento Kings (8-14)

In instances where multiple teams have identical records, head-to-head record for the current season is used to break ties, if possible. Otherwise, a coin flip determines priority for those tied teams.

If a waived player can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception, a team must use a trade exception, a disabled player exception, or cap room to absorb his salary. So a club with a top priority won’t be in position to nab just anyone who reaches waivers.

The Pistons, for example, have no cap space or exceptions available to place a waiver claim on any player earning more than the minimum, so despite their spot near the top of the waiver order, their ability to claim players is somewhat limited.

Poll: Western Conference Favorites

November 30th, 2021 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

Through one-quarter of the 2021/22 NBA season, no teams have been more impressive than the Warriors and Suns.

Golden State, currently riding a seven-game winning streak, has a league-best 18-2 record. Neither of the team’s losses have been by more than four points, and one came in overtime. It’s perhaps no surprise that the Warriors have the NBA’s second-best offense, but their 99.4 defensive rating – which leads the league by more than four points – wasn’t something we saw coming.

Phoenix, meanwhile, got off to a 1-3 start, but hasn’t lost since, reeling off 16 wins in a row to improve to 17-3, just a single game behind Golden State. Like the Warriors, the Suns have been buoyed to the top of the NBA standings by an unexpectedly dominant defense, which currently ranks third in the league. Mikal Bridges is already generating Defensive Player of the Year buzz, though Draymond Green may be the current favorite.

While we didn’t necessarily expect Golden State or Phoenix to look this good entering the season, there’s no compelling reason to expect major regression from either team.

The Warriors aren’t even at full strength yet, and could become even more dangerous when Klay Thompson and James Wiseman return to action. The Suns didn’t lose any key players from the roster that made it to the NBA Finals in the spring, and youngsters like Deandre Ayton and especially Bridges are still improving.

The two Pacific teams are set to face one another twice this week — in Phoenix on Tuesday and in Golden State on Friday. The matchups, featuring the NBA’s two hottest teams, should be great ones, but we’re not focused in today’s poll on the winners of those games. We’re taking a longer-term view and considering how the season’s results have affected our perception of the favorites to come out of the Western Conference in 2021/22.

As John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the Suns and Warriors are head and shoulders above the rest of the NBA at the moment, but there’s still plenty of time for other teams to fight their way into that top tier. The Jazz are one candidate — their +9.8 net rating actually ranks second in the NBA, behind only Golden State. The Lakers have gotten off to a slow start, but they were considered the preseason favorites to win the West, and any team with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook on its roster can’t be written off.

We want to know what you think. Would you take the Warriors or Suns over the field at this point? If so, do you view Golden State or Phoenix as the best bet to come out of the West? If you’re taking the field, which team do you like best from that group?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your two cents!

Poll: Will The Lakers Reach Their Projected Win Total?

November 27th, 2021 at 9:53am CST by Rory Maher

A little more than a quarter of the way into the season, the Lakers are below .500 again with a 10-11 record.

They lost at home Friday night in triple-overtime against a Sacramento team that had lost eight of its past 10 games. The Kings were without two of their best players, starters Harrison Barnes (foot) and Richaun Holmes (non-COVID illness), per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.

The Lakers were up by 13 points in the fourth quarter and led by seven in the first overtime before letting both leads slip away, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook played a combined 150 minutes in the loss, which was the team’s second straight overtime game, and fifth of the season.

The on-court fit of the “big three” has been rough thus far, but Davis thinks a winning streak could be around the corner.

“You know, 10-11, I mean, we could go on a 10-game winning streak, 12-game winning streak, now the narrative is different,” Davis said. “You know, 10-game winning streak, we’re 20-11. Now we’ll shut everybody up. But it’s on us. We’re going to have to do it. It’s not just going to be easy.”

Coach Frank Vogel might be on the hot seat despite the team winning a championship a little over a year ago.

Projected rotation pieces Kendrick Nunn (knee) and Trevor Ariza (ankle) have yet to play for Los Angeles this season. Third-year wing Talen Horton-Tucker missed 13 games due to thumb surgery, while LeBron has missed 11 (10 to injury, one to a suspension). The team is 6-4 with James in the lineup and 4-7 without.

However, the Lakers have had a relatively easy schedule, having played 13 home games versus eight away. They’ve already played the Rockets, Spurs, and Thunder twice each, and barely beat the Pistons (they went 5-2 in those games, blowing big leads in both losses to the Thunder).

The season numbers look pretty troubling; the Lakers are 23rd in the league in offensive rating, 20th in defensive rating, and 24th in net rating (-3.0), per Basketball-Reference.

During preseason, we ran our annual Over/Unders for the 2021/22 season. 58.2% of our readers predicted that the Lakers would eclipse their projected win total of 52.5 games. In order to win 53 games, the Lakers would need to finish their remaining 61 games with a 43-18 record — a .705 win percentage.

What do you think? Do you still think the Lakers will win 53-plus games? Vote in our poll, then head to the comments below to share your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: Early Check-In On MVP Race

November 25th, 2021 at 7:30pm CST by Luke Adams

With the lone exception of the Spurs, all of the NBA’s teams have played between 18 and 20 games so far this season (San Antonio is at 17), meaning we’re just about at the one-quarter mark of the season. With that in mind, we’re taking stock today of the top performances of 2021/22 to date.

The NBA’s top scorer so far is the same player who finished atop the leaderboard last season: Stephen Curry. Curry’s 28.2 PPG is nearly four full points below his 2020/21 average, but it looks like he’ll have a much stronger case for Most Valuable Player consideration this time around based on his team’s performance.

The Warriors, who finished just a few games above .500 and didn’t make the playoffs last season, have a league-best 16-2 record this season — and they’re still waiting to add Klay Thompson and James Wiseman to their rotation. Curry has led the charge, knocking down 41.8% of an eye-popping 12.9 three-point attempts per game, while chipping in 6.8 APG and 5.8 RPG. Golden State plays like an average team when Curry sits (-0.3 net rating) and an all-time juggernaut when he’s on the court (+20.4).

As the top scorer on the NBA’s best team, Curry would almost certainly win the MVP award if the season ended today, but if he or the Warriors slow down, there are plenty of other contenders to consider, starting with last year’s winner.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has matched last season’s scoring average (26.4 PPG) while establishing new career-highs in RPG (13.6), FG% (.593), and 3PT% (.410) in the early going. He also leads Denver in APG (6.4), and the gap between the team’s net rating when he’s on the court (+12.6) and off it (-14.6) is even bigger than Curry’s.

Unfortunately, that net rating with Jokic off the court may be the thing that ultimately sinks his chances. The injury-plagued Nuggets have been brutal whenever the reigning MVP sits and it’s led to a middle-of-the-pack 10-10 record so far. Like Curry a year ago, Jokic isn’t going to win another MVP award if his team finishes in play-in range.

How about another star on a No. 1 seed then? The 14-5 Nets, who have a two-game cushion in the Eastern Conference, have been led by a version of Kevin Durant playing at the height of his powers. He’s right behind Curry for the scoring lead (28.1 PPG) and has posted a career-best .556 FG% to go along with 7.6 RPG and 5.3 APG. Brooklyn has a +6.0 net rating when he plays, compared to +0.3 when he sits.

Durant’s case will be hurt a little by the fact that he has another former MVP – James Harden – helping him out, but if the Nets finish atop the East without Kyrie Irving playing at all, that’ll be a point in Durant’s favor.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Clippers forward Paul George, Heat swingman Jimmy Butler, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Suns guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker, and Bulls wings Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan are some of the other stars who would be in the conversation if the season ended today. Sixers center Joel Embiid and Lakers forwards LeBron James and Anthony Davis are among the others who could force their way into the conversation if they stay healthy and their teams move up the standings.

We want to know what you think. Is Curry the MVP so far? Who is the biggest threat to take the award from him if everyone stays healthy? Are there any dark-horse candidates you like? What would your five-man ballot look like at this point?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: Coaches On The Hot Seat

November 24th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Luke Walton became the first head coach to be let go during the 2021/22 NBA season earlier this week, but he may not be the last.

Although coaching changes happen most frequently in the spring once a team’s season has ended, some clubs decide not to wait that long, preferring to get a head-start on the transition midway through the year. Given the success Nate McMillan had in turning the Hawks’ season around when he took over for Lloyd Pierce in March, it’s possible we’ll see a couple more teams besides the Kings try to replicate that reversal of fortune with an in-season change.

With that in mind, we want to know which head coaches you believe will be most at risk during the 2021/22 season.

A report earlier today from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggested that Stephen Silas of the Rockets may be the next coach to find himself on the hot seat. Houston has been the NBA’s worst team so far this season, with a 1-16 record, a 15-game losing streak, and a last-place ranking in several important offensive categories.

Still, the Rockets didn’t enter the season with postseason aspirations, and Silas has another year left on his contract after this season. Would a team on track to finish at the bottom of the NBA standings really be in a rush to make a midseason change and commit to paying two coaches for the next year-and-a-half, with a playoff berth seemingly multiple years away?

Sports betting site BetOnline.ag has Silas listed third in its odds for the next NBA head coach to be fired. Pistons head coach Dwane Casey, whose team is off to a 4-13 start, is atop that list. Like Silas, Casey wasn’t expected to lead his club to the playoffs this season, but there was an expectation that the Pistons would perhaps be a little more competitive than they have been.

On the other hand, with the exception of a blowout home loss to the Kings, the Pistons have been beaten by good teams so far, and all indications are that the organization thinks highly of Casey. In fact, he signed a contract extension just six months ago, locking him up through 2023/24. If things really go south in Detroit this season, maybe he finds himself on the hot seat, but I’m skeptical we’re at that point yet.

BetOnline.ag lists Frank Vogel of the Lakers between Casey and Silas as the second-most likely candidate to be the next coach fired.

The Lakers entered the season with championship aspirations but have underachieved so far, posting a 9-10 record. LeBron James‘ absences due to injuries and a one-game suspension have contributed to Los Angeles’ struggles (the team is 4-7 without him), but even with James in the lineup, the club has looked disjointed and inconsistent.

Like Casey, Vogel received a contract extension earlier this year. However, that extension didn’t really represent a massive vote of confidence. Entering the final season of the three-year contract he signed in 2019, Vogel had just one year tacked onto his deal, despite winning a title in 2020. Since his one-year extension only covers 2022/23, it wouldn’t necessarily preclude the Lakers from making a change if their struggles continue.

What do you think? Are Silas, Casey, or Vogel in any real trouble yet? Is there another head coach whose job security looks more tenuous to you? Do you think we’ll get any more in-season coaching changes in 2021/22?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

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