Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Hoops Rumors Originals

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Orlando Magic

October 28th, 2021 at 2:47pm 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 Orlando Magic.

Free agent signings:

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

  • Robin Lopez: One year, $5MM. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
  • Moritz Wagner: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • E’Twaun Moore: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Ignas Brazdeikis: Two-way contract.

Trades:

  • Acquired the Pistons’ 2026 second-round pick and cash from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Jason Preston (No. 33 pick).

Draft picks:

  • 1-5: Jalen Suggs
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $29,955,705).
  • 1-8: Franz Wagner
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $22,781,932).

Contract extensions:

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Hired Jamahl Mosley as head coach to replace Steve Clifford.
  • Hired Nate Tibbetts, Jesse Mermuys, Dale Osbourne, Bret Brielmaier, and Lionel Chalmers as assistant coaches; lost assistants Tyrone Corbin, Pat Delany, Steve Hetzel, and Michael Batiste.
  • Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz continue to recover from ACL tears and are sidelined to start the season.
  • Michael Carter-Williams is recovering from ankle surgery and is sidelined to start the season.
  • Chuma Okeke is dealing with a bone bruise in his hip and is sidelined to start the season.

Salary cap situation:

  • Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
  • Carrying approximately $113.7MM in salary.
  • $4,536,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($5MM used on Robin Lopez).
  • Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
  • Three traded player exception available, including one worth $17.2MM.

The Magic’s offseason:

A whirlwind 2021 trade deadline paved the way for the Magic to have a relatively quiet offseason. Back in March, Orlando decided to launch a full-scale rebuild and finalized three separate trades that sent Nikola Vucevic to Chicago, Aaron Gordon to Denver, and Evan Fournier to Boston.

That type of roster overhaul is more common during the summer than midway through the season, but the Magic had been hit hard by injuries and had lost 27 of 35 games leading up to the deadline after winning six of eight to open the year. They weren’t going to make the playoffs and they were in a position to be one of the league’s few major in-season sellers, so they struck early.

That decisiveness allowed the Magic to perhaps extract more for Vucevic than they would’ve if they’d taken a more patient approach. When the Bulls sent their top-four protected 2021 first-rounder to Orlando in the package for the standout center, they were presumably counting on grabbing one of the last couple playoff spots in the East and sacrificing a pick in the 15-16 range. Instead, Chicago struggled down the stretch and had to convey the No. 8 overall pick to the Magic.

The Magic’s draft luck continued when, despite having their own pick land at No. 5 in the lottery, they were able to land one of the consensus top-four prospects in the 2021 class. Toronto surprised observers by snagging Scottie Barnes at No. 4, allowing Jalen Suggs to slip to Orlando.

Whether Suggs will turn out to be a better pro than Barnes remains to be seen, but the former Gonzaga guard was the higher-ranked player on most experts’ – and, by all accounts, most teams’ – draft boards. The Magic likely could’ve extracted a significant price from a club interested in trading up for Suggs, so staying put and selecting him – even with point guards Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony already locked up for the next three years – is a good indication they’re high on his potential.

Orlando used its second lottery pick (courtesy of the Bulls) to select Michigan’s Franz Wagner, a talented young forward who looks capable of becoming an impact player on both sides of the ball. The idea of pairing Wagner with Jonathan Isaac – once Isaac gets healthy – and letting the two young forwards loose on the defensive end is a tantalizing one.

While adding Suggs and Wagner were the Magic’s major moves of the summer, the team also decided to invest long-term in Wendell Carter after acquiring the former Bulls big man in the Vucevic trade. The price Orlando paid – $50MM over four years – suggests the team is confident the former Duke standout can continue to improve after putting up pretty similar numbers in each of his first three seasons.

Even if Carter plateaus, the contract will never be an albatross. Its descending structure means it will be worth just $10.85MM by its final year in 2025/26, making it a good trade chip if WCJ is no longer in Orlando’s plans by then.

The Magic were relatively quiet on the trade market and made just a couple free agent additions, bringing in steady veterans Robin Lopez and E’Twaun Moore on inexpensive one-year contracts. Lopez, in particular, is a heady player who will be able to impart plenty of knowledge on young big men Carter and Mohamed Bamba over the course of the season.

Orlando’s offseason was ultimately defined by the rookies it added, both on and off the court — besides drafting Suggs and Wagner, the team hired first-time head coach Jamahl Mosley to replace Steve Clifford. Mosley gained a strong reputation for player development during his time in Dallas under Rick Carlisle and will be tasked with guiding a young Magic team through the toughest stage of its rebuild. The losses will come early and often for Mosley, but if guys like Suggs, Wagner, Fultz, and Isaac are improving under his tutelage, he’ll be doing his job.

The Magic’s season:

The Eastern Conference will be competitive this season, with 12 or 13 teams eyeing a playoff berth or at least a play-in spot. The odds of the Magic joining that group are slim — they and the Pistons are good bets to occupy the 14th and 15th spots in the conference, in some order.

Still, there are some intriguing building blocks here, especially once the team gets healthier. Suggs, Wagner, Carter, Fultz, Isaac, Bamba, Anthony, Chuma Okeke, and R.J. Hampton aren’t all future stars, but there’s plenty of untapped upside in that group, and the Magic have the ability to add a few more assets to their collection by trading Terrence Ross at some point in the coming months.

There’s a long way to go before the Magic will be talking about contending again, but the rebuild has taken a good first step or two this year.

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

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Community Shootaround: Slow Starters

October 28th, 2021 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Entering the 2021/22 season, the Lakers and Nets were widely viewed as the frontrunners to reach the NBA Finals. When ESPN polled 16 of its NBA experts on predictions for the coming season, 10 picked the Lakers to win the West and 10 chose the Nets to win the East.

So far though, Los Angeles and Brooklyn have been inconsistent and underwhelming, posting matching 2-3 records. The Lakers lost two home games to open the season, then blew a 26-point lead in Oklahoma City on Wednesday against the winless Thunder. The Nets, meanwhile, have lost three games by double-digits — one in Milwaukee and two at home, vs. the Hornets and Heat.

It’s far, far too early for either team to panic. LeBron James has missed two games for the Lakers and James Harden is still working his way back from a hamstring injury for the Nets. And with the exception of the Lakers’ disaster in OKC, both teams’ losses so far have come against pretty tough opponents.

Still, the early-season results can’t be written off entirely. James has been increasingly affected by injuries in recent years — if that trend continues this season, it’ll have a significant impact on a top-heavy Lakers team. The club acquired Russell Westbrook over the summer in part to have another star available when James or Anthony Davis miss time, but Westbrook has gotten off to a shaky start in L.A., averaging just 17.8 PPG (his lowest mark since 2009/10) and turning the ball over six times per game. His fit on this Lakers roster was an open question entering the season, and it doesn’t seem as if the team has fully figured it out.

As for the Nets, the impact of Kyrie Irving‘s absence shouldn’t be understated. Brooklyn is supposed to have one of the best offenses in league history, but through five games, the club’s offensive rating is an ugly 100.6 — only Detroit and New Orleans have been worse. Harden expects to be back to his old self soon, but he’s certainly not benefiting from the NBA’s reduction on foul calls when offensive players go out of their way to initiate contact.

Again, it’s too early for a sub-.500 record to be a major concern for either of these teams, whose rosters are heavy on star power and veteran experience. But the expectations in Los Angeles and Brooklyn are high. Anything less than an NBA Finals appearance will be a letdown, so there’s not much room for error.

Many of the NBA’s other sub-.500 teams aren’t surprising, but the Celtics (2-3), Pacers (1-4), Suns (1-3), and Clippers (1-3) certainly would’ve hoped for better starts.

We want to know what you think. Is it still too early to draw any conclusions about any of this season’s slow starters? Or has some of what you’ve seen from the Lakers, the Nets, or other sub-.500 clubs made you skeptical of their ability to meet preseason expectations?

Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA’s Top 50 Highest-Paid Players For 2021/22

October 28th, 2021 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

Many of the NBA’s highest-paid players are on contracts considered maximum-salary deals, but the 2021/22 salaries for those players vary significantly depending on when the player signed his contract and how much NBA experience he has. That’s why a player like Stephen Curry will earn about $17.7MM more than Jayson Tatum in ’21/22 despite both stars technically being on max deals.

When a player signs a maximum-salary contract, he doesn’t necessarily earn the NBA max for each season of that contract — he earns the max in year one, then gets a series of identical annual raises. In Curry’s case, his 2021/22 salary actually exceeds this year’s maximum, since his deal started in the summer of 2017 and includes 8% annual raises. The annual cap increases haven’t kept up with those 8% raises.

Listed below, with the help of salary data from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac, are the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2021/22 season. The players on this list don’t necessarily have the contracts with the largest overall value. The list below only considers salaries for ’21/22.

Additionally, we’ve noted players who could potentially increase their earnings via incentives or trade bonuses. We didn’t add those notes for players like Curry who have trade bonuses but are already earning the maximum — their salaries for this season can’t increase beyond their max.

The cutoff for a spot on this year’s top-50 list is north of $20MM, so Danilo Gallinari, Harrison Barnes, Jerami Grant, and Jarrett Allen didn’t make the cut despite the fact that all four players have cap hits of at least $20MM.

Here are the NBA’s 50 highest-paid players for the 2021/22 season:

  1. Stephen Curry, Warriors: $45,780,966
  2. James Harden, Nets: $44,310,840
    John Wall, Rockets: $44,310,840
  3. Russell Westbrook, Lakers: $44,211,146
  4. Kevin Durant, Nets: $42,018,900
    • Note: Durant’s cap hit includes a $40,918,900 base salary and $1,100,000 in likely incentives.
  5. LeBron James, Lakers: $41,180,544
  6. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $39,344,900
    Paul George, Clippers: $39,344,900
    Kawhi Leonard, Clippers: $39,344,900
    Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers: $39,344,900
  7. Klay Thompson, Warriors: $37,980,720 (15% trade kicker)
  8. Jimmy Butler, Heat: $36,016,200 (15% trade kicker)
  9. Tobias Harris, Sixers: $35,995,950 (trade kicker of $5MM or 5%, whichever is lesser)
  10. Khris Middleton, Bucks: $35,500,000
    Anthony Davis, Lakers: $35,361,360
  11. Rudy Gobert, Jazz: $35,344,828
  12. Bradley Beal, Wizards: $33,724,200
  13. Pascal Siakam, Raptors: $33,003,936
    Ben Simmons, Sixers: $33,003,936

    • Note: Simmons may lose upwards of $2MM due to fines accumulated during his holdout.
  14. Jrue Holiday, Bucks: $32,431,333
    • Note: Holiday’s cap hit includes a $30,133,333 base salary and $2,298,000 in likely incentives. Holiday also has another $3MM+ in unlikely incentives.
  15. Devin Booker, Suns: $31,650,600
    Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks: $31,650,600
    Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves: $31,650,600
  16. Joel Embiid, Sixers: $31,579,390
    Andrew Wiggins, Warriors: $31,579,390
    Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: $31,579,390

    • Note: Jokic’s cap hit includes a $30,510,423 base salary and $1,068,967 in likely incentives.
  17. Kevin Love, Cavaliers: $31,258,256
  18. CJ McCollum, Trail Blazers: $30,864,198
  19. Chris Paul, Suns: $30,800,000
  20. D’Angelo Russell, Timberwolves: $30,013,500
  21. Gordon Hayward, Hornets: $29,925,000 (15% trade kicker)
  22. Brandon Ingram, Pelicans: $29,467,800
    Jamal Murray, Nuggets: $29,467,800
  23. Bam Adebayo, Heat: $28,103,500
    De’Aaron Fox, Kings: $28,103,500
    Donovan Mitchell, Jazz: $28,103,500
    Jayson Tatum, Celtics: $28,103,500
  24. Al Horford, Celtics: $27,000,000
  25. Kyle Lowry, Heat: $26,984,128
  26. Jaylen Brown, Celtics: $26,758,928
    • Note: Brown’s cap hit includes a $24,830,357 base salary and $1,928,571 in likely incentives. Brown also has another $964,286 in unlikely incentives.
  27. DeMar DeRozan, Bulls: $26,000,000
  28. Draymond Green, Warriors: $24,026,712 (15% trade kicker)
  29. Nikola Vucevic, Bulls: $24,000,000
  30. Buddy Hield, Kings: $23,073,234
    • Note: Hield’s cap hit includes a $22,477,272 base salary and $595,962 in likely incentives. Hield also has another $4,487,371 in unlikely incentives.
  31. John Collins, Hawks: $23,000,000
  32. Julius Randle, Knicks: $21,780,000
    • Note: Randle’s cap hit includes a $19,800,000 base salary and $1,980,000 in likely incentives. Randle also has another $990,000 in unlikely incentives.
  33. Malcolm Brogdon, Pacers: $21,700,000
  34. Tim Hardaway Jr., Mavericks: $21,306,816
  35. Mike Conley, Jazz: $21,000,000
    • Note: Conley has another $1,500,000 in unlikely incentives.
  36. Gary Harris, Magic: $20,482,143
    • Note: Harris has another $2,600,000 in unlikely incentives.

One name not included in this list is Nets star Kyrie Irving. Irving has a base salary of $34,916,200 and could theoretically earn another $1,100,000 in likely and unlikely incentives. However, as long as he continues to be fined for missing home games due to his vaccination status, he’ll lose such a significant portion of his salary that he’ll end up outside of the NBA’s top 50 highest-paid players this season.

If Irving gets vaccinated or New York City adjusts its vaccine mandate to allow him to suit up, he’ll likely end up back on this list.

Also not included among the 50 names above are players like Kemba Walker and Blake Griffin, who were bought out of lucrative contracts earlier in 2021. The cap hits the Thunder and Pistons are carrying this season for Walker and Griffin, respectively, are bigger than some salaries on our top-50 list. However, Walker and Griffin aren’t actually earning all that money this season — even if teams don’t apply the stretch provision to a player’s cap hit when he’s waived, the player’s payments still get “stretched” across multiple seasons.

For instance, the Thunder are carrying about $53.7MM in dead-money cap hits for Walker this season and next. But Kemba will be paid that $53.7MM across five seasons. As such, combining his earnings from his old contract with the Thunder and his new one with the Knicks wouldn’t make him one of the NBA’s top 50 highest-paid players for 2021/22.

Retweet 5 Share 0 Send via email0

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Oklahoma City Thunder

October 27th, 2021 at 8:46pm 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 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Free agent signings:

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

  • Mike Muscala: Two years, $7MM. Second-year team option. Re-signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
  • Paul Watson: Two-way contract.

Trades:

  • Acquired Kemba Walker, the No. 16 pick in the 2021 draft, and either the Celtics’ or Grizzlies’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable) from the Celtics in exchange for Al Horford, Moses Brown, and either the Thunder’s, Wizards’, Mavericks’, or Heat’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
    • Note: If the Mavericks’ and Heat’s 2023 second-round picks are the two least favorable of the four, the Celtics would acquire the most favorable of those two picks.
    • Note: Walker was subsequently bought out.
  • Acquired the Pistons’ 2022 first-round pick (top-16 protected) and the Wizards’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected) in exchange for the draft rights to Alperen Sengun (No. 16 pick).
  • Acquired the draft rights to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (No. 32 pick) from the Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Rokas Jokubaitis (No. 34 pick) and the draft rights to Miles McBride (No. 36 pick).
  • Acquired Derrick Favors and the Jazz’s 2024 first-round pick (top-10 protected) from the Jazz in exchange for either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Pacers, or Heat’s 2027 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) and cash ($2MM).
    • Note: If the Jazz don’t convey their 2022 first-round pick (top-six protected) to Memphis in 2022, the first-round pick they send the Thunder will be pushed back until at least 2025.

Draft picks:

  • 1-6: Josh Giddey
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $27,214,807).
  • 1-18: Tre Mann
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $14,047,213).
  • 2-32: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
    • Signed to four-year, $7.89MM contract. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
  • 2-55: Aaron Wiggins
    • Signed to two-way contract.

Draft-and-stash signings

  • Vit Krejci (No. 37 pick; 2020 draft)
    • Signed to four-year, minimum-salary contract. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Five years, maximum salary. Projected value of $172,500,000. Projected value can increase to $207,060,000 if Gilgeous-Alexander earns All-NBA honors in 2022. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Hired Nick Collison as special assistant to general manager Sam Presti.

Salary cap situation:

  • Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
  • Carrying approximately $78.1MM in salary.
  • $23MM below salary floor.
  • Hard-capped at $143MM.
  • $3,110,742 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($6,425,258 used on Mike Muscala, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Vit Krejci).
  • Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
  • Two traded player exceptions available, including one worth $12.8MM.

The Thunder’s offseason:

Two years after initially launching their rebuild by trading Paul George and Russell Westbrook, and one year after sending Chris Paul to Phoenix, the Thunder entered the 2021 offseason in no rush to speed up the process.

Armed with a ton of potential cap room and a massive stash of future draft picks, Oklahoma City could have begun cashing in its chips and taken a significant step toward contention this summer. However, general manager Sam Presti made it clear he’s still very much in asset-gathering mode and won’t be rushed into pushing for the playoffs quite yet.

The approach makes sense. The Thunder have one potential future All-Star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who received a maximum-salary extension from the team in August, but none of the team’s other young prospects have displayed that sort of upside yet. Oklahoma City will also still have cap flexibility for years to come even after accounting for Gilgeous-Alexander’s lucrative new deal. And the team owes its lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick to Atlanta — that obligation will turn into two second-rounders if OKC keeps its 2022 first-rounder. In other words, it would be premature for the club to push all its chips into the center of the table so soon.

That meant the Thunder were happy to accommodate a couple more salary dumps this offseason, securing extra first-round picks from Boston and Utah for taking on Kemba Walker and Derrick Favors, respectively. Oklahoma City also avoided free agency nearly entirely — its only non-two-way signing was an inexpensive short-term investment in Mike Muscala, a trusted veteran who will provide leadership but won’t make much of an impact on the team’s win-loss record.

Given Presti’s patient approach, it was a little surprising that the Thunder were willing to complete a buyout with Walker shortly after acquiring him from the Celtics. He seemed like a candidate to be the club’s next Paul — a star point guard who could rebuild his value after an injury-plagued season and could eventually be flipped for another bad contract and another draft pick.

Still, the decision to complete a buyout early was justifiable for a few reasons: Walker was willing to give up a significant chunk of salary (about $20MM over two years); the franchise wanted to show it treats its veteran players well; and Kemba might’ve compromised the quest for another top-five pick by making the team a little too competitive.

Conversely, the decision to trade this year’s 16th overall selection for two heavily-protected future picks was a perfect example of the Thunder’s willingness to play the long game. Rather than selecting promising big man Alperen Sengun, Oklahoma City accepted a Pistons first-rounder that may not convey for several years (it’s top-16 protected in 2022, then top-18 protected in 2023 and 2024 before becoming top-13 protected in 2025), along with a lottery-protected Wizards 2023 first-rounder that’s also at least two years from turning into anything concrete.

It’s entirely possible – perhaps likely – that Sengun will be a better pro than the two players eventually selected with those future picks, but for a Thunder team focused on accumulating assets, the deal made sense. Turning one first-rounder into two helps ensure that OKC’s pile of future assets will be well-stocked when the team eventually wants to cash them in. It’s just not that time yet.

The Thunder did use their No. 6 pick to select Josh Giddey, an intriguing young point guard who came off the board a few spots earlier than expected. The fact that Oklahoma City wasn’t willing to pick up more assets by trading down a little and hoping Giddey was still available is a reflection of how much the team likes him.

It’s still too early to know what Oklahoma City has in Giddey, but he flashed his real upside in his third career game on Sunday when he filled up the box score with 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. The Thunder are going to lose a lot this season, but it’ll at least be entertaining watching Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander play together in the backcourt and imagining what they could look like two or three years from now.

Tre Mann, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and 2020 pick Vit Krejci are among the Thunder’s newly-added rookies. The Robinson-Earl selection was a sign that the organization is prepared to consolidate its assets in order to land a player it likes — OKC gave up the 34th and 36th picks to move up just two spots to No. 32 to snag Robinson-Earl. We can probably expect more moves along those lines in years to come, since the Thunder control way too many future picks to realistically use them all.

The Thunder’s season:

The Thunder are off to an 0-4 start this season, putting them dead last among the NBA’s 30 teams. It’s probably safe to assume they’ll remain in that spot – or pretty close to it – for most of the season. This just isn’t a team that’s built to win yet, and the front office will be happy to pile up the losses and secure a high lottery pick in the 2022 draft while assessing its young talent and starting to determine which players are keepers.

The most pressing question in Oklahoma City this season isn’t how the team will perform on the court — it’s what moves will be made off it. The Thunder remain well below the salary floor for the 2021/22 league year, which means they’ll almost certainly be looking to take on more unwanted contracts in midseason trades. There should be a handful of clubs looking to either get out of luxury tax territory or reduce their tax bill, and the Thunder are well positioned to help out more than one of them, procuring a few more future draft picks for their cooperation.

The Thunder’s extreme approach to asset-gathering may feel like overkill, but the more ammunition Presti stockpiles, the more leeway he’ll have to take big swings down the road when the club eventually pivots to playoff contention.

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

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android

October 27th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

  • All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
  • Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
  • Notifications. For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
  • Commenting. You can read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
  • Customer service. If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
  • Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Rookie Scale Option Decisions Due Next Monday

October 26th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Outside of the occasional back-of-the-roster transaction – like Orlando signing Mychal Mulder to a two-way contract earlier today – the first few weeks of the NBA’s regular season are generally a fairly quiet time for roster moves.

However, one noteworthy deadline arrives next Monday — teams have until November 1 to exercise the 2022/23 third- and fourth-year rookie scale options for players who were first-round picks in the 2019 and 2020 drafts. For instance, the Cavaliers will have to pick up the fourth-year option for 2019 first-rounder Darius Garland, while the Hornets will have to exercise the third-year option for 2020 first-rounder LaMelo Ball.

Typically, the deadline for these decisions is October 31, but that’s a Sunday this year. When the deadline falls on a weekend, it’s moved to the next business day, per CBA expert Larry Coon.

As our tracker shows, there are still a number of options that have yet to be picked up, including Garland’s and Ball’s. However, there’s no suspense about whether those ones – or most others – will be exercised.

Rookie scale contracts for productive rotation players are among the biggest bargains in the NBA. Most teams even pick up their options on players who haven’t cracked the rotation, since controlling a young player with upside is usually worth the modest cost of his option.

Here’s the list of option decisions that have yet to be announced or reported:

Boston Celtics

Charlotte Hornets

Cleveland Cavaliers

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

Utah Jazz

It wouldn’t be a shock if all 18 of these options are ultimately picked up, but there are a few players who are more at risk than others.

Windler, for instance, has been limited to just 32 games since being drafted in 2019 due to health problems and isn’t a lock to have his $4MM option for 2022/23 exercised.

Azubuike logged garbage-time minutes in just 15 games as a rookie and doesn’t project to have a rotation role in Utah anytime soon. Third-year options are rarely declined and Azubuike’s $2.17MM salary would be very modest, but we saw the Clippers turn down Mfiondu Kabengele‘s option at the same price point a year ago.

Langford, Bitadze, and Smith are among the other players whose option decisions won’t be automatic, though I’d be a little surprised if their teams don’t opt in.

We’ll continue passing along all of these option decisions as they’re reported over the next week, so be sure to keep an eye on our tracker for the latest updates.

Retweet 5 Share 0 Send via email0

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: New York Knicks

October 26th, 2021 at 11:32am 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 New York Knicks.

Free agent signings:

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

  • Evan Fournier: Four years, $73MM. Fourth-year team option. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
  • Derrick Rose: Three years, $43.56MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
  • Alec Burks: Three years, $30.04MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using cap room.
  • Nerlens Noel: Three years, $27.72MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using cap room.
  • Kemba Walker: Two years, $17.89MM. Signed using cap room.
  • Taj Gibson: Two years, $10.07MM. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using room exception.
  • Wayne Selden: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Luka Samanic: Two-way contract.

Trades:

  • Acquired the draft rights to Rokas Jokubaitis (No. 34 pick) and the draft rights to Miles McBride (No. 36 pick) from the Thunder in exchange for the draft rights to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (No. 32 pick).
  • Acquired the draft rights to Quentin Grimes (No. 25 pick) and the Pistons’ 2024 second-round pick from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Keon Johnson (No. 21 pick).
  • Acquired the Hornets’ 2022 first-round pick (top-18 protected) from the Hornets in exchange for the draft rights to Kai Jones (No. 19 pick).
  • Acquired Evan Fournier (sign-and-trade), the Hornets’ 2022 second-round pick (top-55 protected), and either the Thunder’s, Wizards’, Heat’s, or Mavericks’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) from the Celtics in exchange for cash ($110K).
    • Note: If either the Heat’s or Mavericks’ 2023 second-round pick is the least favorable of the four, the Knicks would instead receive the second-least favorable pick of the four.

Draft picks:

  • 1-25: Quentin Grimes
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $11,128,042).
  • 2-34: Rokas Jokubaitis
    • Stashed overseas.
  • 2-36: Miles McBride
    • Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. Third-year team option. Signed using cap room.
  • 2-58: Jericho Sims
    • Signed to two-year, two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

  • Julius Randle: Four years, $106,444,800 (base value). Includes $15,966,720 in incentives, a fourth-year player option, and a 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Signed general manager Scott Perry to two-year contract extension.

Salary cap situation:

  • Went under the cap, used their cap room, then used the room exception.
  • Carrying approximately $119.1MM in salary.
  • Hard-capped at $143MM.

The Knicks’ offseason:

Armed with more cap flexibility than just about every other team in the NBA entering the 2021 offseason, the Knicks could’ve gone in a number of different directions in free agency and on the trade market.

Although New York hadn’t been the most desirable destination for top-tier free agents over the last several years, the team earned a playoff berth last season and its new-look front office and coaching staff helped established some stability within the organization. If the Knicks had wanted to go out and chase impact free agents, those players were probably more inclined to listen to the club’s pitch than they would have been in past years.

Rather than shaking up their roster too significantly though, the Knicks doubled down on the core that led the turnaround in 2020/21.

That meant Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel, who signed team-friendly one-year deals in 2020, got three-year contracts and sizable raises. Derrick Rose, a midseason trade acquisition who was a key part of New York’s second-half push into the postseason, also received a three-year deal and a pay bump. Even Taj Gibson, who helped solidify the frontcourt during Mitchell Robinson‘s injury absence, was rewarded with a salary increase — after Gibson initially agreed to a minimum-salary contract, the Knicks decided to give him $5MM per year with their room exception that may have otherwise gone unused.

In addition to re-signing their own free agents, the Knicks made a long-term commitment to Julius Randle, offering the most money they could over four years ($106MM, or up to $122MM with incentives) following his breakout season. Some of the gains Randle made in 2020/21 – such as his .411 3PT% – may be unsustainable, but the extension was still a win for New York. The 26-year-old could easily have decided to wait a year and try his luck in free agency, where he would’ve been eligible for a much larger payday. The Knicks were able to lock him up at a rate more commensurate with a No. 2 option than a maximum-salary star.

Not every one of the team’s key players returned. Reggie Bullock, a three-and-D specialist who played more minutes last season than every Knick except for Randle and RJ Barrett in ’20/21, chose the Mavericks in free agency. New York had plenty of cap room to replace him though, and after considering other wings like DeMar DeRozan, the front office brought in Evan Fournier, whose four-year, $73MM contract was the biggest free agent deal handed out by the organization this summer. Fournier isn’t the defender Bullock is, but he has a more well-rounded offensive game.

Finally, there had been speculation entering the summer that the Knicks would make a run at a free agent like Spencer Dinwiddie or Lonzo Ball to address the point guard position, which was viewed as their most glaring need. New York did turn to free agency to fill its hole at the point, but the choice was an unexpected one — after being traded from Boston to Oklahoma City, Kemba Walker reached a buyout agreement with the Thunder that allowed him to sign with his hometown Knicks.

It was a fortuitous turn of events for the team. Walker has a history of knee issues that could be a problem, but when he’s healthy and at his best, he’s an All-Star caliber player who was available at a bargain price due to the circumstances of his availability and his desire to play in New York. Walker is a defensive downgrade from Elfrid Payton, and relying on Kemba and Rose as the top two point guards on the depth chart is a risky endeavor. But as long as he’s available, Walker will provide a major influx of offensive firepower.

Besides having plenty of cap room, the Knicks entered the offseason with four 2021 draft picks, including two in the first round and three in the top 32. The team made multiple draft-night deals to move down from their original slots, picking up a couple future picks in the process, but still came away with four players — two (Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride) who made the 15-man roster, one (Jericho Sims) on a two-way deal, and one (Rokas Jokubaitis) who will remain overseas for at least another year. Given the amount of veteran depth the Knicks are carrying, I wouldn’t expect them to count on any of their rookies to play big roles right away.

The Knicks still have a surplus of future draft picks they could use to go shopping on the trade market at some point, but this offseason essentially represented the end of their rebuilding era. The years they spent hoarding cap room and drafting in the top 10 are over for the time being — while most of the contracts the Knicks handed out this offseason have early outs (via non-guaranteed final seasons), the team will be operating well over the cap in 2022.

The Knicks’ season:

After finishing no better than 18 games below .500 for six straight seasons, the Knicks posted a 41-31 record and claimed the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2020/21. That kind of massive jump is a rarity in the NBA, and it’s fair to expect some regression going forward.

Still, even if the Knicks take a step back, it shouldn’t be a big one. Tom Thibodeau‘s impact is real, there’s plenty of depth on the roster, and Barrett should keep getting better. Plus, it’s not as if everything went right last season — Robinson missed more than half the season, and Rose only arrived midway through the year. It’s overly optimistic to count on 82 games from Rose, but if he and Robinson play more minutes in 2021/22, it should only increase the club’s ceiling.

Competition in the Eastern Conference will be stiffer going forward than it was last season, when presumed contenders like the Celtics, Heat, Raptors, and Pacers all fell well short of expectations. Another top-four finish may be unlikely, but the Knicks have more than enough talent to remain firmly in the playoff mix.

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

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: New Orleans Pelicans

October 25th, 2021 at 12:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

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 New Orleans Pelicans.

Free agent signings:

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

  • Devonte’ Graham: Four years, $47.3MM. Fourth year partially guaranteed. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
  • Josh Hart: Three years, $38MM. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Third-year player option. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Bird rights.
  • Garrett Temple: Three years, $15.47MM. Third year non-guaranteed. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
  • Didi Louzada: Four years, $7.68MM. Third and fourth years non-guaranteed. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Non-Bird rights.
  • Willy Hernangomez: Three years, $7.33MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.
  • Jose Alvarado: Two-way contract.
  • Daulton Hommes: Two-way contract.

Trades:

  • Acquired cash ($2MM) from the Sixers in exchange for the No. 53 pick in the 2021 draft.
  • Acquired the Trail Blazers’ 2026 second-round pick and cash ($2MM) from the Trail Blazers in exchange for the draft rights to Greg Brown (No. 43 pick).
  • Acquired Jonas Valanciunas (from Grizzlies), Devonte’ Graham (sign-and-trade; from Hornets), the draft rights to Trey Murphy (No. 17 pick; from Grizzlies), and the draft rights to Brandon Boston (No. 51 pick; from Grizzlies) in a three-team trade in exchange for Eric Bledsoe (to Grizzlies), Steven Adams (to Grizzlies), the draft rights to Ziaire Williams (No. 10 pick; to Grizzlies), the draft rights to Jared Butler (No. 40 pick; to Grizzlies), the Lakers’ 2022 first-round pick (top-10 protected; to Grizzlies), Wesley Iwundu (to Hornets), the Pelicans’ 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected; to Hornets), and cash ($2MM; to Hornets).
    • Note: The Pelicans created a $17,073,171 trade exception in the deal.
  • Acquired the Kings’ 2022 second-round pick (top-54 protected) and cash ($2.5MM) from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Brandon Boston Jr. (No. 51 pick).
  • Acquired Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple (sign-and-trade), the Bulls’ 2024 second-round pick, and cash ($1.2MM) from the Bulls in exchange for Lonzo Ball (sign-and-trade).

Draft picks:

  • 1-17: Trey Murphy
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $14,779,414).
  • 2-35: Herb Jones
    • Signed to three-year, $5.32MM contract. Third-year team option. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

  • Jonas Valanciunas: Two years, $30,135,000. Includes trade kicker ($1MM or 15%; whichever is lesser). Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Hired Willie Green as head coach to replace Stan Van Gundy.
  • Hired Jarron Collins as assistant coach and Mike D’Antoni as coaching advisor.
  • Zion Williamson underwent offseason foot surgery and remains sidelined to start the season.
  • Jaxson Hayes was arrested and charged with battery following a domestic dispute.
  • Being investigated by NBA for possible gun-jumping violation in Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade.
  • Launched new G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

Salary cap situation:

  • Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
  • Carrying approximately $114.9MM in salary.
  • Hard-capped at $143MM.
  • $7,836,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($1.7MM used on Herb Jones).
  • Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
  • Two traded player exceptions available, including one worth $17MM.

The Pelicans’ offseason:

The Pelicans hit the reset button again over the summer in their effort to build a contending team around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. They brought in a new backcourt, a new center, and the third head coach in Williamson’s three seasons in New Orleans.

The coaching change came first, as the Pelicans turned to Willie Green following a disappointing year with Stan Van Gundy at the helm. A former player, the 40-year-old Green spent time as an assistant with the Warriors and Suns, and the organization hopes he’ll be able to motivate his players more effectively than Van Gundy did.

New Orleans shook up its roster with a pre-draft trade agreement that sent Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams to the Grizzlies for Jonas Valanciunas and an exchange of draft picks. That trade was folded into a three-team deal with the Hornets once the Pelicans reached an agreement with Devonte’ Graham in free agency.

Valanciunas, who agreed to a two-year extension this week, is more of a scoring threat than Adams while providing the same rugged inside presence. He is now signed through the 2023/24 season and will hopefully be able to complement Williamson’s unique skills. The Pelicans gave Adams a similar extension after acquiring him last year, so the team is counting on better results from its commitment to Valanciunas.

The Pelicans decided against bringing back point guard Lonzo Ball, even though they could have matched offers for the restricted free agent on the open market. Instead, they worked out a sign-and-trade that sent Ball to Chicago in exchange for Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and a future draft pick. The deal gives New Orleans a stronger veteran presence in its backcourt and potentially opens up more playing time for young guards Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis.

The other significant move in free agency was re-signing swingman Josh Hart, one of the pieces still remaining from the Anthony Davis trade. Hart, who has been a useful bench player during his two seasons in New Orleans, agreed to a three-year deal that only has guaranteed money in the first season. The Pelicans can waive him by June 25 if they want to get out of the final two years of that contract without a financial hit.

New Orleans kept two more of its own free agents by re-signing Willy Hernangomez and Didi Louzada.

In the draft, the Pelicans used their first-round pick to add Virginia forward Trey Murphy, who shot 43.3% from three-point range last season and should help space the court. Alabama’s Herb Jones, taken with the 35th pick, provides a strong defensive presence and is expected to see time as a backup center.

Every move the Pelicans make is under the shadow of a looming decision by Williamson, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer. No player has ever turned down a maximum-salary rookie extension, but there has been speculation that Williamson might consider doing so if he’s not happy with the direction of the team. Amid rumors that Williamson’s family wants him to move on and that he has a strained relationship with head of basketball operations David Griffin, there is an obvious need to make progress before that offer gets put on the table.

The offseason shakeup leaves the Pelicans with a much different group to put around their two stars. They have security with Ingram, who is under contract through the 2024/25 season, but the direction of the franchise will change drastically if Williamson doesn’t accept an extension next year.

The Pelicans’ season:

Injury concerns with Williamson are already threatening to throw this season into chaos. He underwent surgery on his right foot during the offseason, and there’s no firm timetable for when he’ll be able to start playing. Williamson is a game-changing talent when healthy, but he has played just 85 total games in his first two NBA seasons.

The Pelicans know what to expect from Ingram, who has become one of the league’s most consistent scorers. He has averaged 23.8 PPG during both of his seasons in New Orleans and was an All-Star selection in 2019/20. He’s capable of carrying the offense until Williamson returns.

The Pelicans need a strong season from Graham, who was overshadowed by rookie LaMelo Ball last year with the Hornets after a breakthrough season in 2019/20. They were confident enough in the 26-year-old guard to give him a four-year deal and let him take over for Lonzo Ball. New Orleans needs to work out the roles for its other guards and determine whether it’s better to play Satoransky or use those minutes to develop Lewis and Alexander-Walker.

The Pelicans are hoping to at least reach the play-in round, but it seems like a lot to ask in a tough Western Conference where the top eight or nine teams appear already set. A quick return by Williamson would help as New Orleans will need big things from him to become a contender. But no matter what happens on the court, the real excitement for the Pelicans will begin next offseason.

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

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

2021/22 NBA Waiver Claims

October 25th, 2021 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

Waiver claims are something of a rarity in the NBA. In order to claim a player off waivers, a team generally must be able to fit the player’s entire salary into cap room, a traded player exception, or a disabled player exception.

Given those limitations, the players most frequently claimed on waivers are those on minimum-salary deals, since any club is eligible to place a claim on those players using the minimum salary exception.

Even then though, there are some caveats — the minimum salary exception can only be used to sign players for up to two years, so the same rules apply to waiver claims. If a player signed a three-year, minimum salary contract, he can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception, even if he’s in the final year of his deal.

Taking into account all the rules that reduce the odds of a waiver claim – not to mention the limited roster spots available for NBA teams – it makes sense that nearly all of the players who get released ultimately clear waivers. The 2020/21 league year featured a total of just five waiver claims, for instance, including one player (DaQuan Jeffries) who was claimed twice.

Despite how infrequent they are, we still want to track all the waiver claims that take place during the 2021/22 league year, since you never know which claim may end up being crucial (such as the Pistons‘ July 2019 claim of Christian Wood). We’ll track this year’s waiver claims in the space below, updating the list throughout the season to include the latest moves.

Here’s the list:

  • Thunder claim Mamadi Diakite from Bucks (September 26) (story)
    • After spending his rookie season in Milwaukee, Diakite was cut prior to training camp in his sophomore year. The Thunder claimed his minimum-salary deal and took on his $100K partial guarantee, but after Diakite fractured his left hip during the preseason, he was released by Oklahoma City rather than earning a spot on the team’s regular season roster.
  • Wizards claim Joel Ayayi from Lakers (October 17) (story)
    • The Lakers quickly signed Ayayi to a two-way contract after he went undrafted out of Gonzaga this summer, but decided to go in another direction with that two-way slot before the regular season began. The Wizards, who had a two-way opening, took advantage, claiming Ayayi and keeping him on his two-way deal.
  • Lakers claim Avery Bradley from Warriors (October 18) (story)
    • Despite reportedly receiving some support from the Warriors’ stars, Bradley failed to earn the team’s 15th roster spot entering the regular season. After Golden State cut him and his non-guaranteed contract, Bradley was claimed by his old team in Los Angeles — the veteran guard played for the Lakers during the 2019/20 season.
  • Rockets claim Garrison Mathews from Celtics (October 18) (story)
    • Mathews could’ve stuck with the Celtics if he’d agreed to have his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal, but he didn’t see a path to earning a 15-man roster spot if he remained in Boston and turned down that opportunity. When the Rockets claimed him, they converted him a two-way deal, but Mathews should have a clearer path to a promotion on a rebuilding team that could sell over veterans during the season.
  • Warriors claim Jeff Dowtin from Magic (October 18) (story)
    • Orlando had presumably planned on having Dowtin report to its G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, after he played for the club last season. The Warriors foiled that plan by claiming Dowtin and converting his Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract. Dowtin could still action in the G League, but it’ll be with Santa Cruz for now, not Lakeland.
  • Spurs claim Devontae Cacok from Nets (October 18) (story)
    • Cacok was in camp with Brooklyn competing for a two-way contract, but lost that competition to David Duke. The Spurs, with a two-way slot open, viewed Cacok as a good fit for that role, claiming him and converting his Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal.
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Minnesota Timberwolves

October 24th, 2021 at 10:41am 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 Minnesota Timberwolves.

Free agent signings:

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

  • Jarred Vanderbilt: Three years, $13.12MM. Includes incentives. Third year partially guaranteed. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Bird rights.
  • Jordan McLaughlin: Three years, $6.48MM. Includes incentives. Third year non-guaranteed. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Early Bird rights.
  • Nathan Knight: Two-way contract.
  • McKinley Wright: Two-way contract.

Trades:

Draft picks:

  • None

Draft-and-stash signings:

  • Leandro Bolmaro (No. 23 pick; 2020 draft)
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $11,805,395).

Contract extensions:

  • None

Departing players:

  • Jarrett Culver
  • Ed Davis
  • Juan Hernangomez
  • Ricky Rubio

Other offseason news:

  • Fired president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas; promoted Sachin Gupta to head of basketball operations.
  • Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore approved as part-owners; the Wolves’ succession plan calls for them to take over as majority owners in 2023.
  • Hired Elston Turner, Micah Nori, and Joe Boylan as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches David Vanterpool, Bryan Gates, and Joseph Blair.

Salary cap situation:

  • Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
  • Carrying approximately $135.8MM in salary.
  • Full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($9,536,000) and bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
    • Note: The Timberwolves wouldn’t be able to fully use both exceptions, since doing so would hard-cap the team at $143MM.
  • One traded player exception ($4.75MM) available.

The Timberwolves’ offseason:

Through mid-August, few NBA teams had experienced a quieter offseason than the Timberwolves. They entered the offseason with no draft picks and no cap space, limiting their ability to make meaningful roster upgrades.

The trade market was the Wolves’ best bet for a shakeup, but two weeks into free agency, the club’s activity had been limited to one deal: sending Ricky Rubio to Cleveland in exchange for Taurean Prince, a future second-round pick, and some cash.

The benefits of the move were three-fold — while both players are on expiring deals in 2021/22, Prince makes less money than Rubio, freeing up a little extra room below the tax line for the Wolves. The team also picked up a couple extra assets in the swap (the draft pick and cash) while addressing, to some extent, its major hole at the forward position. Prince isn’t a difference-maker, but he’s capable of taking on a rotation role and playing either the three and four. Minnesota was in short supply of that type of player last season.

Still, it’s not as if Rubio was someone the Wolves necessarily wanted to salary-dump. The Spaniard had a real impact on rookie Anthony Edwards last season, and the team’s point guard depth chart looked a little thin without Rubio on it — especially since D’Angelo Russell was coming off an injury-plagued season in which he was limited to 42 games.

So, with virtually all the top free agents off the market, the Wolves once again turned to the trade market a couple weeks into the new league year, sending Juan Hernangomez and Jarrett Culver to Memphis in exchange for veteran guard Patrick Beverley.

The Wolves’ relationship with Hernangomez became strained over the summer when the organization held him back from participating in the Olympics due to a shoulder injury, so it made sense to move on from him. Trading Culver was a tougher pill to swallow. Gersson Rosas‘ first major move when he took over as the head of basketball operations in Minnesota in 2019 was to trade up from No. 11 to No. 6 in order to nab Culver. However, the former Texas Tech standout made little impact at the NBA level in his first two seasons, prompting the Wolves to admit defeat on that pick.

Beverley isn’t the passing maestro that Rubio is, but he’s a better shooter, and the Wolves hope he can play a somewhat similar role, bringing toughness and veteran leadership to a team that needs it. He’ll be Russell’s backup, but he’s capable of playing alongside him too, handling the tougher defensive assignments in order to allow D-Lo to focus more on his offensive game.

The Wolves filled out their depth chart in September by re-signing a pair of restricted free agents, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin, to multiyear contracts. Vanderbilt was one of the few forwards the team could rely on in 2020/21 and should continue to play a regular role going forward.

The team’s acquisition of Beverley suggests the front office wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having McLaughlin as its primary backup at the point. But he has provided steady production in limited minutes over the last two seasons and looks a lot better as the third option behind Russell and Beverley.

Minnesota also made up for its lack of a first-round pick this year by signing 2020 first-rounder Leandro Bolmaro after stashing him in Spain for a year. It’s not the most satisfying consolation prize, since Bolmaro probably isn’t ready for regular NBA minutes and the team surely would’ve rather had the No. 7 pick it had to send to Golden State as part of last year’s Russell trade. But it’s better than nothing.

Just as it seemed like the Wolves were wrapping up a fairly quiet, uneventful offseason, the team shocked the basketball world by firing Rosas and replacing him with top lieutenant Sachin Gupta.

The timing of the move – which happened just days before training camp – raised eyebrows around the league, and while team ownership insisted it was performance-related, it’s safe to assume the extramarital relationship Rosas was reportedly having with a team staffer resulted in the team expediting his dismissal. While current owner Glen Taylor announced the decision, the incoming ownership group – which won’t take full control until 2023 – certainly would’ve been involved in those discussions too.

Rosas’ fingerprints all over the current roster, which he overhauled upon taking the reins in 2019. Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie are the only players from the previous regime still with the current group, and Rosas mortgaged major draft capital in the trade for Russell. He may no longer be a part of Minnesota’s front office, but the way this year’s squad performs will be a reflection on Rosas’ team-building ability, for better or worse.

The Timberwolves’ season:

The Timberwolves won 19 games in 2019/20 and 23 in 2020/21. On paper, with so few changes to this year’s roster, there’s little reason to expect much improvement on those numbers.

But some better injury luck would go a long way toward allowing Minnesota to at least compete for a play-in spot. Good friends Towns and Russell have barely played together since D-Lo was acquired at the 2020 trade deadline, and Malik Beasley missed about half the team’s games last season due to injuries and a suspension.

Availability wasn’t a problem for Edwards, the one Minnesota player who appeared in all 72 games in ’20/21, but the club can still expect more from him in his sophomore season, as he appeared to be taking the first steps toward stardom in the second half of his rookie year.

The Wolves are probably a power forward away from becoming a legit playoff team (they’re one of the few clubs that would be a great fit for Ben Simmons, and they have interest). But there’s enough talent here to avoid another bottom-three finish in the West, and if things break right, a play-in spot could be in play.

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

Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts