Hoops Rumors Originals

Hoops Rumors’ 2021/22 NBA Reverse Standings

November 10th, 2021 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the 2021/22 NBA season, Hoops Rumors will be maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on the tentative 2022 draft order. Our 2021/22 Reverse Standings tool, which lists the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, will be updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the previous night’s games.

Our Reverse Standings are essentially a reflection of what 2022’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. We’ve noted each club’s odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, based on the league’s current lottery format.

In instances where two non-playoff teams or two playoff teams have identical records, the order in our standings isn’t necessarily definitive — for draft purposes, the NBA breaks ties via random drawings, so those drawings would happen at the end of the year.

Of course, the 14 non-playoff teams all draft before the 16 playoff teams, even if some non-playoff teams have better records than those that made the postseason. Our reverse standings account for playoff seeding, though for now they assume that the Nos. 7 and 8 teams in each conference will earn those final two postseason spots. Since the NBA’s play-in format opens the door for the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds to sneak into the postseason, we may have to account for a little movement in the draft order at season’s end.

Traded first-round picks are included via footnotes. For example, the note next to Charlotte’s pick says the Hornets will send their pick to the Knicks if it’s not in the top 18. As of today, the Hornets’ pick projects to be 11th, meaning that pick wouldn’t change hands.

Some conditions on traded picks are more complex, leaving little room to fully explain them in our footnotes. We broke down all the details on those traded first-rounders right here.

Our Reverse Standings tracker can be found at anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2022. So be sure to check back often as the season progresses!

Note: Mobile users are advised to turn their phones sideways when viewing the Reverse Standings in order to see team records and lottery odds.

Community Shootaround: East Vs. West

November 9th, 2021 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

During the 21st century, Eastern Conference teams have had a winning record in games against Western Conference teams just once in 22 seasons. That happened in the 2008/09 campaign, when the East put up a 231-219 record (.513) vs. the West.

In every other season since 1999/2000, Western teams have had a winning record against Eastern opponents, often by a wide margin. The East’s second-best result came in 2015/16, when it posted a 218-232 (.484) mark vs. the West.

These numbers are a simple way of illustrating what most NBA fans view as common knowledge: For at least the last two decades, the West has been the stronger and deeper of the two conferences.

In the early going of the 2021/22 season, however, there’s reason to believe that the tide might be shifting. Even after Western teams won all three games against Eastern opponents on Monday night, the East has a 22-19 record in inter-conference games so far this season.

It’s obviously way too early in the year to draw any conclusions, but it’s not too early to start making some predictions based on what we’ve seen so far.

Among the East’s current top eight teams, the Sixers, Heat, Knicks, and Nets were expected to be here, but the Bulls, Wizards, Cavaliers, and Raptors have exceeded expectations so far. Some of those clubs might slow down, but some of their gains could be for real, and they all at least look capable of remaining in the play-in mix.

Further down the standings, the Hornets (5-6) are about where we expected, while the Bucks (4-6), Celtics (4-6), Hawks (4-7), and Pacers (4-7) are actually underachieving so far — we can probably expect more from most or all of them.

The Magic and Pistons, at the bottom of the conference standings, will likely remain there and lose a lot of games. But even so, that leaves 13 teams in the East with realistic playoff or play-in aspirations.

The West looks pretty deep too, but it may not have as many obvious breakout teams — its top nine clubs so far are identical to last year’s, albeit in a different order. There also aren’t as many underachievers in the West that we can count on seeing improvements from. The Lakers have been a little disappointing, but they’re still above .500 at 6-5.

With all that in mind, we want to know what you think. Has the Eastern Conference finally caught up to the Western Conference this season, or is the West still the more dominant conference overall? Do you expect the East to post at least a .500 record against the West this season for just the second time this century?

Head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts.

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Toronto Raptors

November 8th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2021 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s offseason moves and look ahead to what the 2021/22 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Toronto Raptors.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

Gary Trent Jr.: Three years, $51.84MM. Third-year player option. Includes $750K in unlikely incentives. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Bird rights.
Khem Birch: Three years, $20MM. Re-signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Ishmail Wainright: Two years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed ($250K). Second year partially guaranteed ($125K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Note: Wainright was later waived.
Isaac Bonga: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($200K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Sam Dekker: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($350K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Justin Champagnie: Two-way contract.

Trades:

Acquired Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa from the Heat in exchange for Kyle Lowry (sign-and-trade).

Draft picks:

1-4: Scottie Barnes
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $33,064,660).
2-46: Dalano Banton
- Signed to two-year, minimum-salary contract. Second year partially guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
2-47: David Johnson
- Signed to two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

None

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Signed president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri to contract extension and promoted him to vice chairman.
Hired Nate Bjorkgren, Earl Watson, and Trevor Gleeson as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches Sergio Scariolo and Jama Mahlalela.
Being investigated by NBA for possible gun-jumping violation in Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade.
Received clearance to resume playing home games in Toronto after spending 2020/21 season in Tampa.

Salary cap situation:

Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
Carrying approximately $136.3MM in salary.
Hard-capped at $143MM.
$3,186,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($6.35MM used on Khem Birch).
Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
Three traded player exceptions available, including one worth $4.8MM.

The Raptors’ offseason:

Kawhi Leonard left Toronto during the 2019 offseason and both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka departed a year later, but it wasn’t until 2021 that it felt like the Raptors began a new era in earnest. Having gone 53-19 in 2019/20, a year after winning its title, the team fell off a cliff in a ’20/21 season spent far from home.

The Raptors’ slide down the standings can be blamed on a handful of factors that go beyond having to play their home games in Tampa — injury issues and a midseason COVID-19 outbreak didn’t help matters, and the club’s inability to adequately replace Gasol’s and Ibaka’s production at center played a part. Regardless of the reason for it, Toronto’s ’20/21 collapse opened the door for president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri to retool the roster.

That retooling process began with a 10-28 finish to the season, which bumped the Raptors to seventh place in the NBA’s lottery standings. Some good fortune on lottery night resulted in the team climbing a few spots higher and securing the No. 4 overall pick. While that selection didn’t give the Raps an opportunity to draft Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, or Evan Mobley, it put them in a great position to nab a potential All-Star from what was considered a four-player top tier.

However, the Raptors disagreed with the conventional wisdom that slotted Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs alongside those top three prospects. Ujiri and company passed on Suggs in favor of Scottie Barnes, a promising young forward who was viewed as a talented, versatile defender whose offensive game remained quite raw.

It might take years to determine with certainty whether the Raptors made the right call by taking Barnes over Suggs, but fans disappointed by the selection on July 29 have to like the early returns — the 20-year-old Barnes has averaged 16.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG on 52.4% shooting in his first nine NBA games, and his defense has been as good as advertised, if not better.

As one potential cornerstone arrived in Toronto, another departed. After earning six All-Star nods and a title during his nine years with the Raptors, Kyle Lowry decided to move on and maximize his remaining years by joining a team closer to title contention. Toronto accommodated a sign-and-trade deal that sent Lowry to Miami.

If the Heat hadn’t been confident in the Raptors’ willingness to play ball on a sign-and-trade, they could’ve declined Goran Dragic‘s team option and made some other small moves that allowed them to open up the cap space necessary to sign Lowry outright. In that scenario, the Raptors would’ve been able to create some cap room of their own rather than taking on Dragic’s expiring $19MM+ contract in the Lowry sign-and-trade.

Operating over the cap allowed Toronto to acquire Precious Achiuwa along with Dragic in exchange for Lowry, then to use part of the mid-level exception to re-sign Khem Birch. If the Raptors had instead gone under the cap and simply let Lowry walk, they could have made a competitive offer for a big man like Richaun Holmes (they could’ve outbid the Kings), then tried to re-sign Birch using the room exception (their offer would’ve been limited to about two years and $10MM, rather than $20MM over three years).

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Holmes would’ve wanted to come to Toronto or that Birch would’ve accepted a little less to remain with the Raptors, but it’s an intriguing “what if.” The Raps made a big bet on Achiuwa, and perhaps are counting on Dragic to maintain enough value to make him a useful trade chip rather than just a buyout candidate.

Outside of the Lowry sign-and-trade and the Barnes pick, the Raptors’ most notable transaction was re-signing restricted free agent Gary Trent Jr. to a three-year, $51MM+ contract that includes a third-year player option.

The terms of that deal were a little surprising. Of the reliable rotation players available in free agency this offseason, few – if any – were younger than Trent (22), so Toronto’s decision to negotiate a contract that allows him to reach unrestricted free agency at age 24 was curious. It will be interesting to see whether or not that deal ultimately works out better for the Raptors than a longer-term commitment would’ve.

The Raptors filled out their roster with minimum-salary players and second-round picks. Among those, the most noteworthy additions were Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, a solid sharpshooter who had a down year but had still made 36.2% of his career 3-pointers entering this season, and Dalano Banton, a second-round pick out of Nebraska whom ESPN’s Jonathan Givony described as “one of the more unique players in college basketball” due to his combination of size (6’9″) and play-making abilities.

Finally, you could make a case that the biggest news of the Raptors’ offseason wasn’t related to player movement at all — it was the extension and promotion the organization awarded Ujiri. The cost was significant – Ujiri will reportedly earn a $15MM salary and can receive incentives based on the franchise’s value continuing to increase – but it looks like a worthwhile investment for one of the most talented executives in the sport.

The Raptors’ season:

Even with Leonard, Lowry, Gasol, and Ibaka gone, the Raptors still have a couple key pieces from their 2019 title team still on the roster, in Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam. OG Anunoby, who didn’t contribute to that championship run for health reasons, has taken a huge step forward over the last couple years, Trent is a reliable rotation player, and Barnes looks ready to contribute immediately.

If the Raptors can get decent production out of some combination of Achiuwa, Birch, and Boucher up front, and a few of the reserves step up and provide consistent minutes, there’s enough talent here to make Toronto a playoff team.

Still, this roster as constructed doesn’t look like a great bet to make a run in the postseason, so the priorities this season should be developing Barnes and assessing how the club’s top three forwards (Siakam, Anunoby, and Barnes) fit together. While earning at least a play-in spot is certainly a realistic and achievable goal, the Raptors are probably still at least a year or two away from making any real noise in the East.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: San Antonio Spurs

November 7th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

Doug McDermott: Three years, $41.25MM. Includes $750K in unlikely incentives. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
Zach Collins: Three years, $22.05MM. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using cap room.
Bryn Forbes: One year, $4.5MM. Signed using room exception.
Keita Bates-Diop: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Jock Landale: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades:

Acquired Chandler Hutchison (from Wizards) and either the Bulls’, the Lakers’, or the Pistons’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Wizards) in a five-team trade in exchange for the draft rights to Nikola Milutinov (to Nets).
Acquired Doug McDermott (sign-and-trade), the Pacers’ 2023 second-round pick (top-55 protected), and the right to swap their own 2026 second-round pick for either the Pacers’ or the Heat’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) from the Pacers in exchange for the Spurs’ 2023 second-round pick (top-55 protected).
Acquired Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, the Bulls’ 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected), either the Pistons’ or Bulls’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and the Bulls’ 2025 second-round pick from the Bulls in exchange for DeMar DeRozan (sign-and-trade).
- Note: If the Bulls don’t convey their 2023 first-round pick (top-four protected) to Orlando in 2023, the first-round pick they send the Spurs will be pushed back until at least 2026.
- Note: The Spurs already had the ability to swap the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick for either the Pistons’ or Bulls’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable). Now they’ll receive the Lakers’ pick and the most favorable of the Pistons’ and Bulls’ picks.
- Note: Aminu was later waived.

Draft picks:

1-12: Joshua Primo
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $18,415,445).
2-41: Joe Wieskamp
- Signed to two-way contract.

Waiver claims:

Devontae Cacok: Exhibit 10 contract. Converted to two-way contract after being claimed.

Contract extensions:

None

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Hired Manu Ginobili as special advisor to basketball operations.
Hired Matt Nielsen as assistant coach; lost assistant coach Will Hardy.

Salary cap situation:

Went under the cap, used their cap room, then used the room exception.
Carrying approximately $117.9MM in salary.
Hard-capped at $143MM.
$410,000 of room exception still available ($4.5MM used on Bryn Forbes).

The Spurs’ offseason:

It’s been more than two decades since the Spurs have needed to rebuild, but it appears the youth movement is now fully underway in San Antonio. The veteran core that led the team to the play-in tournament last season is gone, and the roster is constructed around a promising group of 25-and-under players.

The transformation began last winter when San Antonio shut down and eventually reached a buyout agreement with LaMarcus Aldridge, who was the starting center for the first half of the season. DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, and Patty Mills all departed in free agency over the offseason, speeding up the transition to a younger group.

Gregg Popovich, the league’s oldest and longest-tenured head coach, has welcomed the opportunity to start teaching again after so many years of having a veteran-laden team. The Spurs are now led by 25-year-old Dejounte Murray, who leads the team in points, assists and steals through the early part of the season; 22-year-old Keldon Johnson, who earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team; and 25-year-old Jakob Poeltl, whose strong play last season led to the decision to part with Aldridge.

The Spurs spent the summer searching for players to complement their young nucleus. They added a sharpshooter by acquiring Doug McDermott from the Pacers in a sign-and-trade deal that didn’t cost them any assets besides cap room. McDermott is a career 40.7% shooter from three-point range who should help stretch opposing defenses and provide plenty of driving lanes for San Antonio’s guards.

More shooting came through a reunion with Bryn Forbes, who played a role off the bench for the champion Bucks last year after spending his first four NBA seasons in San Antonio. Forbes, whose modest $4.5MM deal fit into the room exception, is another deadly outside threat, connecting at 41.2% for his career from beyond the arc.

The Spurs gambled on former Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins, who has been through multiple foot surgeries over the past two years and was limited to a combined 11 games in that time. Collins agreed to a three-year, $22MM contract, but the only guarantees are $7MM for the first season and half of his $7.35MM salary in the second season. The team hopes Collins will be ready to start playing sometime after Christmas.

The other significant offseason addition was Thaddeus Young, who was part of the return in the sign-and-trade that sent DeRozan to Chicago. Now in his 15th NBA season, the 33-year-old power forward brings a touch of veteran leadership to the roster and figures to be in demand at the February trade deadline.

Al-Farouq Aminu, who was acquired from the Bulls in the same deal, was waived before the start of the season, despite having a guaranteed $10MM+ salary. The Spurs also opted to part with Luka Samanic, whom they took with the 19th pick in the 2019 draft. He’s only 21, but San Antonio had more than 15 players with guaranteed contracts in camp and Samanic didn’t produce enough in his two years with the organization.

The Spurs provided one of the surprises of this year’s lottery, using the 12th pick on Alabama guard Joshua Primo, who was the youngest player in the draft. Primo has already been assigned to the G League and may spend much of the season there so he can get regular playing time and develop his skills.

With the 41st pick, San Antonio drafted Iowa guard Joe Wieskamp, another shooting specialist. He has also been sent to the G League, and like Primo, is considered more of a long-term prospect than someone who will help right away.

The Spurs’ season:

The Spurs reaching the playoffs used to be the safest bet in sports — they got there in a record 22 consecutive seasons. Those days are gone now, as the rebuilding team that may be a long shot to return to the play-in tournament. Instead of molding a title contender, Popovich will focus on developing his youngsters and paving the way for the next era of Spurs basketball.

The Spurs have drafted well over the years and have plenty of talent on the roster. Derrick White, Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker IV are other intriguing members of the young core, and San Antonio has plenty of roster flexibility, with no player earning more this season than Murray’s $15.4MM salary.

The most pressing question about the Spurs’ future is how much longer Popovich plans to be part of it. With his 73rd birthday looming in January, he’s already the oldest coach in NBA history and he accomplished a major career goal over the summer when he led Team USA to an Olympic gold medal.

There have been conflicting rumors about Popovich’s plans for the future, but the latest report indicates the Spurs are expecting him to step down within the next two years. Before that happens, he almost certainly will pick up the 23 victories he needs to become the all-time leader in coaching wins. Popovich may not coach another title contender before he leaves, but he can develop some of the players that could eventually take San Antonio to that level again.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Sacramento Kings

November 5th, 2021 at 2:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

Richaun Holmes: Four years, $46.52MM. Fourth-year player option. 15% trade kicker. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
Maurice Harkless: Two years, $8.91MM. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.
Terence Davis: Two years, $8MM. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Early Bird rights.
Alex Len: Two years, $7.65MM. Signed using mid-level exception.

Trades:

Acquired Tristan Thompson from the Celtics in a three-team trade in exchange for Delon Wright (sent to Hawks).

Draft picks:

1-9: Davion Mitchell
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $20,951,517).
2-39: Neemias Queta
- Signed to two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

None

Departing players:

Kyle Guy
Justin James
Hassan Whiteside
Delon Wright

Other offseason news:

Team owner Vivek Ranadivé bought out shares of multiple minority stakeholders.
Hired Doug Christie and Mike Longabardi as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches Rex Kalamian and Jesse Mermuys.

Salary cap situation:

Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
Carrying approximately $130.4MM in salary.
$5,804,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($3,732,000 used on Alex Len).
Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
Two traded player exceptions available, including one worth $3.6MM.

The Kings’ offseason:

The most notable aspects of the Kings’ offseason were the things they didn’t do. They tried to pull off a blockbuster deal with the Lakers involving Buddy Hield, who had just completed the first year of a four-year, $94MM contract extension. However, Los Angeles shifted gears when Russell Westbrook became available and moved some of the pieces that may have gone to Sacramento — including Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell — to Washington.

The Kings also explored trades for colossally disappointing Marvin Bagley III, the No. 2 pick of the 2018 draft. They couldn’t move the oft-injured Bagley, then declined to pursue a rookie scale extension with the young big. He’s currently buried on Luke Walton’s bench.

Re-signing center Richaun Holmes was a priority, but heading into free agency it was anticipated that the Kings would be priced out of his market. Speculation was that Holmes would command between $15-$20MM annually, so Sacramento was pleasantly surprised to retain his services for four more seasons at less than $12MM per year.

Defense-oriented veteran wing Maurice Harkless re-signed at a reasonable price and Sacramento retained young shooting guard Terence Davis, who was acquired from Toronto for a second-round pick prior to last season’s trade deadline.

The Kings also brought back center Alex Len for a second stint. Len was with the club during the 201920 season. He and Tristan Thompson will provide depth in the middle behind Holmes.

Thompson was the only player Sacramento wound up acquiring via the trade route — his expiring $9.72MM contract may be more valued by the front office than whatever he’ll add on the court.

Draft night produced Sacramento’s biggest offseason addition. The Kings surprised a lot of people by adding Baylor star Davion Mitchell to their backcourt with the No. 9 pick. Mitchell’s perimeter defense and winner’s mentality were coveted by an organization lacking in both areas. His ability to distribute the ball and knock down 3-pointers added to his appeal.

The Kings’ season:

In an ironic twist, the Kings are trying to end their 15-year postseason drought by emphasizing continuity. Walton is in his third year as head coach and the club has a quality, youthful backcourt rotation led by De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton and rookie Mitchell. Re-signing Holmes provided some stability to the big man rotation.

A trip to the playoffs should certainly be the expectation for this group, since it’s had ample time to build chemistry. Finding a new home for Bagley would be a bonus — the current situation doesn’t seem particularly healthy for either party. A strong season from Hield, who has become a high-priced sixth man, is also a necessary ingredient for a playoff push. Sacramento thus far is off to a 4-4 start with Harrison Barnes showing signs that he might have a career year.

If the Kings come up short again, there will certainly be many more changes made next offseason, or perhaps even before this season’s trade deadline if things go sour this winter.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Hoops Rumors Glossary: Affiliate Players

November 5th, 2021 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the offseason and preseason, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 (plus a pair of two-way players) in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by a team prior to the season can be designated as “affiliate players” and assigned to that team’s G League squad.

The players have a say in this decision. If they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re under no obligation to become affiliate players. But if the player’s NBA team has designated him as an affiliate player and he signs a G League contract, he is automatically assigned to that team’s NBAGL roster.

Since most NBA and international teams aren’t looking to bring in extra players by the time the NBA regular season begins, the opportunity to continue playing in the same system appeals to many of those preseason cuts — especially since many of them will be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K after having signed Exhibit 10 contracts. Plus, they’ll continue to be NBA free agents while they play in the G League.

A player whose returning rights are held by a G League team can’t become an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted rookies typically make up a substantial portion of the annual league-wide list of affiliate players.

Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days and weeks leading up to the regular season. An affiliate player also can’t have received a partial guarantee worth more than $50K on his standard contract — a larger guarantee would make him ineligible to join his club’s NBAGL affiliate for the rest of that league year.

Finally, not every NBA team has a G League affiliate, so there are two teams – the Suns and Trail Blazers – with no place to send affiliate players.

With the G League season set to get underway today, we’ll be publishing this year’s list of affiliate players soon. By our count, there are 90 of them across 28 teams this season, but we’re still confirming that info.

Earlier version of this post were published in 2015 and 2019 by Chuck Myron and Luke Adams.

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Portland Trail Blazers

November 4th, 2021 at 9:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

Norman Powell: Five years, $90MM. Re-signed using Bird rights.
Ben McLemore: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Tony Snell: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Cody Zeller: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Dennis Smith Jr.: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Keljin Blevins: Two-way contract.
Trendon Watford: Two-way contract.

Trades:

Acquired the draft rights to Greg Brown (No. 43 pick) from the Pelicans in exchange for the Trail Blazers’ 2026 second-round pick and cash ($2MM).
Acquired Larry Nance Jr. from the Cavaliers in a three-team trade in exchange for Derrick Jones (to Bulls) and the Trail Blazers’ 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected; to Bulls).

Draft picks:

2-43: Greg Brown
- Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

None

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Hired Chauncey Billups as head coach to replace Terry Stotts.
Hired Scott Brooks, Roy Rogers, Steve Hetzel, and Edniesha Curry as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches Nate Tibbetts, Jannero Pargo, Jim Moran, and John McCullough.
Newly-hired assistant coach Milt Palacio placed on administrative leave after being accused of defrauding the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan.

Salary cap situation:

Remained over the cap and above the tax line.
Carrying approximately $139.6MM in salary.
$4,964,742 of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($925,258 used on Greg Brown).
Would need to shed salary to use more than taxpayer portion of mid-level exception or any part of bi-annual exception ($3,732,000), since doing either would create a $143MM hard cap.
One traded player exception ($1,663,861) available.

The Trail Blazers’ offseason:

The addition of Norman Powell at the 2021 trade deadline put the Trail Blazers in position to make some noise in the playoffs — the five-man lineup of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic, and Powell was one of the NBA’s best down the stretch, and the Blazers drew a fairly favorable first-round matchup, facing a Nuggets team that was missing Jamal Murray.

However, the Blazers couldn’t get past Denver, sending them back to the drawing board this summer. The disappointing finish to Portland’s season also prompted Lillard to do some summer soul searching.

The six-time All-Star professed his loyalty to Portland over and over again during his first nine years in the NBA, but a frustrating 2020/21 season made him question that commitment, if not for the first time then at least more seriously than he has in the past. For several weeks, it seemed as if Lillard might be on the verge of requesting a trade, especially since the Blazers didn’t exactly swing for the fences with their moves in free agency.

Lillard ultimately decided he wanted to remain in Portland, in large part due to the one major change the team did make in the offseason. After parting ways with longtime head coach Terry Stotts, the Blazers chose first-time head coach Chauncey Billups as his replacement.

The move initially received significant push-back from a number fans in Portland due to a perception that the Blazers didn’t look into a 1997 sexual assault case involving Billups as thoroughly as they should have. President of basketball operations Neil Olshey was cagey about the team’s investigation, simply asking fans to trust the organization’s findings and its belief that Billups hadn’t engaged in any wrongdoing.

Despite that shaky start to the Billups era, the team ultimately weathered the PR storm and the new head coach quickly established a strong connection with Lillard, who recommitted to the Blazers after weighing his options for much of the summer.

Of course, Lillard’s decision to stick with Portland came with a caveat — he wants to make sure the front office is doing all it can to build a roster capable of competing for a title. That led to speculation that the capped-out Blazers might make a major splash in the trade market this offseason, perhaps moving McCollum or Nurkic.

Instead, the team was relatively quiet in July and early August, signing Cody Zeller, Tony Snell, and Ben McLemore to minimum-salary contracts while parting ways with free agents like Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter, and Zach Collins. The only major move the Blazers made at that point of the offseason was an expected one — they committed to a lucrative new five-year deal for Powell, using his Bird rights to pay him $18MM per year over the course of the contract.

Zeller, Snell, and McLemore are solid veterans, and there was a sense that moving on from offense-first players like Anthony and Kanter might help shore up a defense that ranked 29th in the NBA in 2020/21. Still, it felt like an underwhelming offseason for a front office under pressure to show Lillard it was serious about winning. Even if Billups could make a positive impact, he wasn’t taking over a championship-caliber roster.

Just when it looked like the Blazers’ offseason was over, Olshey ventured into the trade market, getting involved in a three-team trade with the Bulls and Cavaliers in order to land Larry Nance Jr. from Cleveland in exchange for Derrick Jones‘ expiring contract and a lottery-protected first-round pick.

It was a nice bit of business for Olshey and the Blazers. Nance isn’t a star, but he’s an underrated two-way contributor who is on a team-friendly contract (two years, $20.4MM). He gives the team another reliable rotation player who brings plenty of energy and doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective. While Nance may not be the missing piece for a title, he increases Portland’s floor and ceiling for the 2021/22 season.

The Trail Blazers’ season:

The Blazers are off to an underwhelming 3-5 start this fall, but their underlying numbers look a little better than that (they have a positive net rating) and Lillard is mired in a shooting slump that presumably won’t last too much longer.

When the dust settles, I expect Portland to finish somewhere in the neighborhood of where they did last season, when they claimed the sixth spot in the Western Conference and were tied with both the fifth- and seventh-place teams.

As that result showed, there’s little margin for error in the West, so the Blazers will need a couple of their bench players – perhaps youngsters Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little – to step up and complement a strong starting five if the team hopes to clinch a playoff spot without going through the play-in tournament.

It’s easy to write the Blazers off as first-round playoff fodder for the conference’s more dangerous teams, but it’s worth noting that Portland made the Western Conference Finals just two years ago in 2019. The team still has enough talent to a win a playoff series or two if everything breaks right. If everything goes wrong, Lillard’s future could become a hot topic again in 2022.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Phoenix Suns

November 3rd, 2021 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

Chris Paul: Four years, $120MM. Third year partially guaranteed. Fourth year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Bird rights.
Cameron Payne: Three years, $19MM. Third year partially guaranteed. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
JaVale McGee: One year, $5MM. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Abdel Nader: Two years, $4.16MM. Second-year team option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
Frank Kaminsky: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
Elfrid Payton: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Chandler Hutchison: Two-way contract.

Trades:

Acquired Landry Shamet from the Nets in exchange for Jevon Carter and the draft rights to Day’Ron Sharpe (No. 29 pick).

Draft picks:

None

Contract extensions:

Mikal Bridges: Four years, $90,000,000. Starts in 2022/23.
Landry Shamet: Four years, $42,500,000. Includes non-guaranteed third year and fourth-year team option. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Hired Bryan Gates, Michael Ruffin, and Jarrett Jack as assistant coaches; lost assistant coach Willie Green.
Parted ways with senior vice president of basketball operations Jeff Bower.
Dario Saric continues to recover from a torn ACL and is expected to miss most or all of the season.
Were unable to reach a contract extension agreement with Deandre Ayton.

Salary cap situation:

Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
Carrying approximately $128.4MM in salary.
$4,536,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($5MM used on JaVale McGee).
Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.

The Suns’ offseason:

Phoenix’s 8-0 run during the 2020 summer restart at Walt Disney World portended the team’s jump in the standings in 2020/21, but even the most optimistic of Suns fans must have been pleasantly surprised by just how successful a season it was.

After finishing below .500 for six consecutive years and missing the playoffs for an entire decade, the Suns put up the second-best regular season record in the NBA (51-21) and knocked off the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, then just kept winning. Phoenix ultimately got within two games of the title before being stopped by the Bucks.

The Suns benefited from a little injury luck during their 2021 playoff run, but their success wasn’t a mirage — this is a deep, talented roster, and the club’s offseason moves reflected a desire to keep the group intact.

That meant re-signing Chris Paul, even if the idea of committing four years and $120MM to a 36-year-old may have been hard to swallow for team owner Robert Sarver. Fortunately for the Suns, only the first two years of that contract are fully guaranteed, which means that even if Paul’s performance drops off a cliff in the next year or two, it should never become a major albatross.

For comparison’s sake, CP3’s new deal includes less total guaranteed money ($75MM) than John Wall was still owed ($91.7MM) at the time the Rockets shut him down indefinitely earlier this year, and about the same amount ($74MM) that Kemba Walker was owed when he reached a buyout agreement with the Thunder.

The Suns locked up three more of their own free agents, re-signing Cameron Payne, Abdel Nader, and Frank Kaminsky. Nader and Kaminsky will play modest roles, but bringing back Payne as Paul’s backup following his career resurgence was crucial. Securing him to a new deal helped allow Phoenix to package its third-string point guard – Jevon Carter – with a first-round pick in a deal for another floor-spacing wing, Landry Shamet.

Carter is a solid defender, but reliable outside shooters like Shamet are harder to come by in today’s NBA, and the win-now Suns were unlikely to draft an immediate contributor with the No. 29 pick, so the deal made sense — especially since Phoenix was able to replace Carter on the depth chart by signing another defensive specialist, Elfrid Payton, to a minimum-salary contract.

The Suns’ other notable outside free agent addition was JaVale McGee, a solid veteran center who can help Deandre Ayton match up with star big men like Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, and Rudy Gobert in the playoffs.

Phoenix’s offseason signings didn’t push team salary for 2021/22 into tax territory, but the club projects to be a taxpayer starting in ’22/23. That knowledge informed many of the team’s remaining roster moves.

For instance, the Suns were unwilling to exercise Jalen Smith‘s 2022/23 team option after having drafted him with the 10th overall pick less than a year ago. There has simply been no room in the rotation for Smith since he arrived in Phoenix, and the club clearly didn’t expect that to change much going forward. Rather than paying Smith a $4.67MM salary in ’22/23, the team will likely sign a minimum-salary player next year to be that emergency big man off the bench.

The Suns also didn’t complete a rookie scale extension for Ayton, a former No. 1 overall pick, despite the fact that so many other members of his draft class (a record-setting 11) got new deals. Ayton’s camp reportedly refused to entertain anything less than a five-year, maximum-salary contract, which Phoenix was unwilling to offer.

Waiting until restricted free agency to work something out with Ayton is a risky move for the Suns, since it opens the door to some less desirable outcomes. Phoenix may have to match an offer sheet that features a trade kicker and an early opt-out. There’s even a chance Ayton could accept his one-year qualifying offer, putting him on track for unrestricted free agency in 2023.

But the franchise appeared more comfortable taking those risks than making such a significant financial commitment to its starting center. The best-case scenario for the Suns is that a lack of suitors with cap room results in no offer sheet for Ayton, who in turn accepts a little less than the max to remain in Phoenix, like John Collins did with Atlanta this past offseason.

The Suns did complete rookie scale extensions for Shamet and Mikal Bridges, viewing them as core players who could be locked up at a reasonable price (about $10.6MM per year for Shamet and $22.5MM annually for Bridges).

The Suns’ season:

Paul won’t play at an All-NBA level forever, but further improvements from young players such as Devin Booker, Ayton, and Bridges could offset some regression from the future Hall-of-Fame point guard. And while there are plenty of talented teams in the West, there’s not one that stands out as the clear-cut favorite to win the conference, like the Warriors were from 2016-19. Another deep playoff run is a reasonable goal for Phoenix.

One more trade to address the hole left by Dario Saric‘s ACL injury would help solidify the Suns’ place as a legit title contender, but assuming Paul doesn’t take a major step back and the team isn’t plagued by more bad injury luck, the biggest question marks in Phoenix this season may be about off-the-court issues, rather than on-court talent.

Will Ayton be distracted at all by his contract situation? Will the rumored report accusing Sarver of a series of misdeeds see the light of day? If so, will those allegations be deemed credible enough to cause an ownership shake-up?

The Suns won’t sneak up on anyone in 2021/22, so it will be fascinating to see how capable they are of defending their Western Conference crown with a target on their backs and potential off-court distractions looming.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

2021/22 NBA Two-Way Contract Conversions

November 3rd, 2021 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

At Hoops Rumors, we track virtually every kind of transaction, including free agent signings, trades, contract extensions, waiver claims, and many more. One form of roster move that has become increasingly common in recent years is the two-way conversion, involving a player either being converted from an Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, or from a two-way deal to the standard roster.

In the past, we haven’t created trackers to keep tabs on each year’s two-way conversions in one place, but we’re going to do so for the 2021/22 season, since there have already been quite a few of them.

Let’s dive in…

Exhibit 10 contracts to two-way contracts:

When a player signs a contract during the offseason that includes Exhibit 10 language, he gives his new team the ability to unilaterally convert his deal into a two-way contract. The deadline to convert such a deal is the day before the season begins — this year that was Monday, October 18.

A player who signs a training camp contract that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language could still sign a two-way deal with his club as long as his camp contract doesn’t include a guarantee exceeding $50K. However, he’d have to clear waivers before inking that new two-way contract.

Here are the players who had their Exhibit 10 contracts converted into two-way deals in 2021/22:

Armoni Brooks (Rockets)
Devontae Cacok (Spurs)
Tyler Cook (Bulls)
Jeff Dowtin (Warriors)
David Duke (Nets)
Tacko Fall (Cavaliers)
Malik Fitts (Jazz)
Garrison Mathews (Rockets)
RJ Nembhard (Cavaliers)
Daishen Nix (Rockets)
Jamorko Pickett (Pistons)
Yves Pons (Grizzlies)

A number of these players were invited to training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts and ultimately earned two-way slots based on their performances in camp and the preseason. Cook, Duke, Fall, Fitts, Nembhard, Nix, Pickett, and Pons fall into this group.

Others were waived by different teams before the regular season roster deadline, then were claimed off waivers on October 18 and immediately converted to two-way deals. This group is made up of Cacok, Dowtin and Mathews, who were cut by Brooklyn, Orlando, and Boston, respectively.

The one player who doesn’t fall into either category is Brooks, whose conversion from an Exhibit 10 to a two-way was completed entirely for procedural reasons. Doing so allowed the Rockets to negotiate a new standard contract with Brooks (as detailed below) without having to waive him.

Two-way contracts to standard contracts:

A player who is on a two-way contract can have his deal unilaterally converted a one-year, minimum-salary contract by his team (or a two-year, minimum-salary contract if the player’s two-way deal covers two years, but this is rare).

However, a team generally prefers to negotiate a longer-term contract with the player in order to avoid having him reach free agency at season’s end.

When converting a player from a two-way contract to the standard roster, the team can use cap room or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to negotiate a deal of up to four years; the taxpayer mid-level exception for a deal up to three years; or the room exception, bi-annual exception, or minimum salary exception for a two-year deal.

The player must agree to any deal that is worth more than the minimum or exceeds the number of years left on his two-way pact.

Here are the players who have been converted from two-way deals to standard contracts this year, along with the terms of their new contracts, in chronological order:

Luka Garza (Pistons): Two years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
Austin Reaves (Lakers): Two years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed ($100K). Second-year team option.
Armoni Brooks (Rockets): Four years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
Garrison Mathews (Rockets): Four years, $8,230,253. First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
Killian Tillie (Grizzlies): Two years, $3,803,250. Fully guaranteed.
Sam Hauser (Celtics): Two years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
Aaron Wiggins (Thunder): Four years, $6,388,212. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
Daishen Nix (Rockets): Four years, $6,000,212. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
Caleb Martin (Heat): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
Trendon Watford (Trail Blazers): Four years, $5,824,694. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
Devontae Cacok (Spurs): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
Joe Wieskamp (Spurs): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
Amir Coffey (Clippers): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
Jose Alvarado (Pelicans): Four years, $6,888,212. First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed ($1.1MM). Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
RJ Nembhard (Cavaliers): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
Terry Taylor (Pacers): Three years, $3,999,614. First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed.
Duane Washington (Pacers): Three years, $4,349,614. First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed.
Skylar Mays (Hawks): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
Wenyen Gabriel (Lakers): Two years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
Moses Brown (Cavaliers): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
Kessler Edwards (Nets): Two years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
Trent Forrest (Jazz): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
Ishmail Wainright (Suns): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.

All three of these players had to agree to the terms of their new contracts, since their teams didn’t exercise the unilateral conversion option. The Pistons and Lakers used the minimum salary exception to lock up Garza and Reaves to two-year deals, while the Rockets dipped into their non-taxpayer mid-level exception in order to go up to four years for Brooks.

Players on two-way contracts can be converted to standard deals until the last day of the regular season, so we expect to add more players to this list in the coming months.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Philadelphia 76ers

November 2nd, 2021 at 11:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

Danny Green: Two years, $20MM. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
Furkan Korkmaz: Three years, $15MM. Re-signed using Bird rights.
Georges Niang: Two years, $6.77MM. Signed using mid-level exception.
Andre Drummond: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Aaron Henry: Two-way contract.
Grant Riller: Two-way contract.

Trades:

Acquired the No. 53 pick in the 2021 draft from the Pelicans in exchange for cash ($2MM).

Draft picks:

1-28: Jaden Springer
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $10,393,483).
2-50: Filip Petrusev
- Stashed overseas.
2-53: Charles Bassey
- Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

Joel Embiid: Four years, maximum salary. Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2023/24.
- Note: Embiid’s starting salary in 2023/24 will be 35% of the ’23/24 salary cap.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Ben Simmons asked to be traded and was a holdout for the first two weeks of training camp. He remains on the roster but has told the team he’s not mentally ready to play.
Hired Jamie Young as assistant coach; lost assistant coach Popeye Jones.
Hired Tad Brown as CEO to replace Scott O’Neil.

Salary cap situation:

Remained over the cap and above the tax line.
Carrying approximately $142.9MM in salary.
$1,664,742 of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($4,225,258 used on Georges Niang and Charles Bassey).
Would need to shed salary to use more than taxpayer portion of mid-level exception or any part of bi-annual exception ($3,732,000), since doing either would create a $143MM hard cap.

The Sixers’ offseason:

Following some major changes prior to last season – most notably the hiring of Doc Rivers as head coach – Philadelphia wasn’t particularly active this summer. The Sixers didn’t make a noteworthy trade and their free agent moves were mainly window dressing. Under normal circumstances, they would have been under the radar, quietly preparing for another winning season and banking on their recent playoff experiences to prime them for a championship run.

Instead, the Sixers were all over the news, thanks to their disgruntled point guard in the early stages of his maximum-salary contract. Ben Simmons‘ subpar performances in last year’s playoffs, punctuated by a reluctance to shoot and woeful free-throw numbers that made it difficult to keep him in at crunch time, had a carryover effect. His offensive issues led to plenty of criticism and contributed mightily to the team’s conference semifinal loss to Atlanta. There were all kinds of detractors who wondered whether the Sixers could ever win a championship with Simmons running the show.

He could have used that as fuel to prove the critics wrong. Instead, he took the opposite approach. With four years left on his max deal, Simmons made it clear during the summer that he had no desire to suit up for the organization again. Team executives, coaches and players couldn’t make Simmons change his mind. The front office and his agent, Rich Paul, looked into potential deals but Philadelphia made it clear from the start it wanted a major haul for the three-time All-Star.

Simmons eventually ended his holdout, but the drama continued into the regular season. He has yet to play this season while top executive Daryl Morey publicly dug in his heels, saying he has four years to get a deal done.

While Simmons pushed to leave Philadelphia, the team’s other big star was happy to commit long-term with a new max extension. Despite some concerns about Joel Embiid‘s health issues, the Sixers made it clear that they’re determined to win a title with their All-Star center leading the way.

Philadelphia also brought back two key perimeter players in free agency, re-signing Danny Green and Furkan Korkmaz. Green has started on the wing since he joined the 76ers prior to last season and brings plenty of championship experience to the table. Korkmaz has been a valuable reserve the last two seasons, providing some size on the wing along with 3-point shooting.

The Sixers did go shopping for upgrades at forward and center on their second unit. They opted for former Jazz backup Georges Niang and former All-Star Andre Drummond. Niang is another player who does most of his offensive damage from beyond the 3-point line.

Drummond’s value has dropped dramatically since his first few seasons with Detroit. He had a chance to reestablish his worth when he signed with the Lakers last season after he was bought out by Cleveland following the trade deadline. Drummond was so ineffective that he wound up getting benched in Game 6 of the conference quarterfinals against Phoenix. He’s capable of putting up big numbers at times, but he’s not used to coming off the bench.

The Sixers’ season:

Rivers admitted that the Simmons drama took some of the fun and excitement out of the start of Philadelphia’s season. The franchise is in a win-now mode and that doesn’t figure to change with Embiid locked up long-term.

It’s difficult to gauge how this season will unfold until there’s more clarity regarding Simmons’ status. It’s hard to imagine him getting back in uniform and winning over Philadelphia’s demanding fans after what has transpired over the last few months. At this point, a trade would seem like the best option, but Morey will have to drop his asking price for that to happen.

The Sixers still have the league’s top big man, a rock-solid scorer and rebounder in Tobias Harris, and a promising young point man in Tyrese Maxey. They also have plenty of shooting, led by Seth Curry. But even if Embiid is healthy for the playoffs, the Sixers will need to add a quality starter via a Simmons trade to make a spirited run this season.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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