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Traded First-Round Picks For 2022 NBA Draft

September 13th, 2021 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2022 NBA draft is still over nine months away, but a number of teams have already traded away their first-round picks for ’22, and more clubs may do so before this season’s trade deadline.

We’ll use the space below to keep tabs on each team’s first round pick for 2022, continually updating it as necessary throughout the year.

We’ve listed all 30 teams here, so even if a team hasn’t traded its first-round pick, that will be noted. We’ll also provide details on the protections for each traded pick, including what happens to the pick in 2023 if it doesn’t change hands in 2022.

Here’s the full breakdown on the status of each 2022 first round pick:

Atlantic

  • Boston Celtics: Traded to Spurs (top-four protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Celtics would owe the Spurs their 2023 first-round pick (top-four protected).
  • Brooklyn Nets: Traded to Rockets or Heat.
    • Houston will receive the two most favorable picks of the Nets’, Heat’s, and Rockets’ first-rounders; Miami will receive the least favorable of the three, unless the Heat’s pick is in the top 14, in which case it would be protected and Houston would receive the Nets’ first-rounder and their own first-rounder.
  • New York Knicks: Own pick.
  • Philadelphia 76ers: Traded to Nets.
    • The Nets have the option to defer this traded pick to 2023.
  • Toronto Raptors: Traded to Spurs (top-14 protected).

Central

  • Chicago Bulls: Own pick.
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: Traded to Pacers (top-14 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Cavaliers would owe the Pacers their 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected).
  • Detroit Pistons: Traded to Thunder (top-16 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Pistons would owe the Thunder their 2023 first-round pick (top-18 protected).
  • Indiana Pacers: Own pick.
  • Milwaukee Bucks: Own pick.

Southeast

  • Atlanta Hawks: Own pick.
  • Charlotte Hornets: Traded to Hawks (top-18 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Hornets would owe the Hawks their 2023 first-round pick (top-16 protected).
  • Miami Heat: Own pick or Rockets‘ pick or Nets‘ pick.
    • Houston will receive the two most favorable picks of the Nets’, Heat’s, and Rockets’ first-rounders; Miami will receive the least favorable of the three, unless the Heat’s pick is in the top 14, in which case it would be protected and Houston would receive the Nets’ first-rounder and their own first-rounder.
    • If the Heat keep their own first-round pick, they would instead send the Rockets a 2022 second-round pick (Denver’s or Philadelphia’s, whichever is least favorable).
  • Orlando Magic: Own pick.
  • Washington Wizards: Own pick.

Northwest

  • Denver Nuggets: Own pick.
  • Minnesota Timberwolves: Own pick.
  • Oklahoma City Thunder: Traded to Hawks (top-14 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Thunder would instead send their own 2024 and 2025 second-round picks to Atlanta.
  • Portland Trail Blazers: Traded to Bulls (top-14 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Blazers would owe the Bulls their 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected).
  • Utah Jazz: Traded to Grizzlies (top-6 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Jazz would owe the Grizzlies their 2023 first-round pick (top-3 protected).

Pacific

  • Golden State Warriors: Own pick.
  • Los Angeles Clippers: Traded to Thunder.
  • Los Angeles Lakers: Traded to Pelicans or Grizzlies.
    • New Orleans will receive this pick if it lands in the top 10; Memphis will receive it if it falls between 11-30.
    • If the Pelicans get the pick, they’ll send the Grizzlies two future second-round picks (Cleveland’s 2022 second-rounder and New Orleans’ own 2025 second-rounder). If the Grizzlies get the pick, the Pelicans won’t get anything.
  • Phoenix Suns: Traded to Thunder (top-12 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Suns would owe the Thunder their 2023 first-round pick (top-10 protected).
  • Sacramento Kings: Own pick.

Southwest

  • Dallas Mavericks: Own pick.
  • Houston Rockets: Own pick.
  • Memphis Grizzlies: Own pick.
  • New Orleans Pelicans: Traded to Trail Blazers (top-four protected) or Hornets (top-14 protected).
    • New Orleans will keep this pick if it lands in the top four; Portland will receive it if it falls between 5-14; Charlotte will receive it if it falls between 15-30.
    • If this pick lands in the top four or between 15-30, the Pelicans would owe the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected) to Portland.
    • If this pick lands in the top 14, the Pelicans would instead send their own 2022 and 2024 second-round picks to Charlotte.
  • San Antonio Spurs: Own pick.

Information from RealGM was used in the creation of this post.

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Community Shootaround: 2022 Most Improved Player

September 12th, 2021 at 7:00pm CST by JD Shaw

When Knicks All-Star Julius Randle won the 2020/21 Most Improved Player award in May, several intriguing names trailed him in voting: Detroit’s Jerami Grant (second place), Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. (third place) and Houston’s Christian Wood (fourth place) being among them.

Randle deserved the award, however, as the 26-year-old averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and six assists per game, shooting 46% from the field and 41% from deep. The season before, he held per-game averages of 19.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists, shooting 46% from the floor and 28% from deep.

The competition was tough — Grant, Porter and Wood all put forth respectable campaigns — but that tends to be the norm with the league’s awards. Predicting the Most Improved Player before the season starts is an extremely difficult task, however.

This year figures to have much of the same. Players such as Porter (with Jamal Murray injured), Zion Williamson (featured with a new Pelicans lineup) or Deandre Ayton (coming off his first playoff experience) could be good places to start.

What do you think? Will one of the players who received votes last year reign supreme, or will a surprise name win the award? Feel free to voice your predictions in the comments section below!

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Cash Sent, Received In NBA Trades For 2021/22

September 10th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

During each NBA league year, teams face limits on the amount of cash they can send out and receive in trades. Once they reach those limits, they’re no longer permitted to include cash in a deal until the following league year.

For the 2021/22 NBA season, the limit is $5,785,000. If a team is including cash in a deal, the minimum amount required is $110,000.

The limits on sending and receiving cash are separate and aren’t dependent on one another, so if a team sends out $5,785,000 in one trade, then receives $5,785,000 in another, they aren’t back to square one — they’ve reached both limits for the season and can’t make another deal that includes cash.

Adding cash to a deal can serve multiple purposes. It can be a sweetener to encourage a team to make a deal in the first place – like when a team acquires a second-round pick in exchange for cash – or it can be a necessity to meet CBA requirements.

For instance, when the Knicks agreed to turn their signing of Evan Fournier into a sign-and-trade deal to allow the Celtics to create a trade exception, New York acquired two extra second-round picks (one was heavily-protected) along with Fournier. Since the Celtics had to receive something in the deal besides just creating their trade exception, the Knicks agreed to send Boston $110K, the minimum amount that can change hands in any trade involving cash.

We’ll use the space below to track each team’s cash sent and received in trades for the 2021/22 season, updating the info as necessary leading up to the 2022 trade deadline and for the first part of the 2022 offseason next June. These totals will reset once the ’22/23 league year begins next July.

Note: Data from Basketball Insiders and various media reports was used in the creation of this post.

Atlanta Hawks

  • Cash available to send: $4,950,411
  • Cash available to receive: $3,785,000

Boston Celtics

  • Cash available to send: $0
    • Sent $2,150,000 to Spurs.
    • Sent $3,635,000 to Magic.
  • Cash available to receive: $5,675,000
    • Received $110,000 from Knicks.

Brooklyn Nets

  • Cash available to send: $0
  • Cash available to receive: $3,675,000
    • Received $110,000 from Rockets.
    • Received $2,000,000 from Sixers. ^

Charlotte Hornets

  • Cash available to send: $5,785,000
  • Cash available to receive: $3,785,000

Chicago Bulls

  • Cash available to send: $4,585,000
  • Cash available to receive: $4,685,000
    • Received $1,100,000 from Rockets.

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Cash available to send: $4,035,000
    • Sent $1,750,000 to Kings.
  • Cash available to receive: $5,785,000

Dallas Mavericks

  • Cash available to send: $5,785,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,785,000

Denver Nuggets

  • Cash available to send: $5,585,000
    • Sent $200,000 to Spurs.
  • Cash available to receive: $5,785,000

Detroit Pistons

  • Cash available to send: $5,785,000
  • Cash available to receive: $0
    • Received $5,785,000 from Nets.

Golden State Warriors

  • Cash available to send: $3,785,000
    • Sent $2,000,000 to Hawks.
  • Cash available to receive: $5,785,000

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2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Boston Celtics

September 10th, 2021 at 8:12am 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, examine what still needs to be done before opening night, and look ahead to what the 2021/22 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Boston Celtics.

Free Agent Signings:

Note: Exhibit 10 deals aren’t included here.

Trades:

  • Acquired Al Horford, Moses Brown, and either the Thunder’s, Wizards’, Mavericks’, or Heat’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) from the Thunder in exchange for Kemba Walker, the No. 16 pick in the 2021 draft, and either the Celtics’ or Grizzlies’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable).
    • Note: If the Mavericks’ and Heat’s 2023 second-round picks are the two least favorable of the four 2023 second-rounders, the Celtics would acquire the most favorable of those two picks.
  • Acquired Josh Richardson from the Mavericks in exchange for Moses Brown.
  • Acquired Kris Dunn, Bruno Fernando, and the Trail Blazers’ 2023 second-round pick from the Hawks in a three-team trade in exchange for Tristan Thompson (sent to Kings).
  • Acquired cash ($110K) from the Knicks in exchange for 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).
    • Note: If the Mavericks’ and Heat’s 2023 second-round picks are the two least favorable of the four 2023 second-rounders, the Knicks would acquire the most favorable of those two picks.
    • Note: The Celtics created a $17,142,857 trade exception in the deal.
  • Acquiring Juan Hernangomez from the Grizzlies in exchange for Kris Dunn, Carsen Edwards, and the right to swap either the Pacers’ or Heat’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable) for the Celtics’ 2026 second-round pick.
    • Note: This deal is not yet official.

Draft picks:

Contract extensions:

  • Marcus Smart: Four years, $77,087,995. Includes trade kicker ($1MM or 15%; whichever is lesser). Starts in 2022/23.
  • Robert Williams: Four years, $48,000,000 (base value). Includes $6MM in incentives. Starts in 2022/23.
  • Josh Richardson: One year, $12,196,084. Starts in 2022/23.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Danny Ainge stepped down as president of basketball operations.
  • Moved head coach Brad Stevens to the front office, naming him president of basketball operations.
  • Hired Ime Udoka as new head coach.
  • Added Will Hardy, Aaron Miles, Damon Stoudamire, Ben Sullivan, and Garrett Jackson to coaching staff; Jamie Young, Jerome Allen, Scott Morrison, and Jay Larranaga departed coaching staff.

Salary cap situation:

  • Remained over the cap and above the tax line.
  • Carrying approximately $143.2MM in salary.
  • Used full taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.89MM) to sign Dennis Schröder.
  • Would need to shed salary to use rest of non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($3,646,000) or bi-annual exception ($3,732,000), since using either would create a $143MM hard cap.
  • Five traded player exceptions available, including one worth $17.1MM and another worth $9.7MM.

Lingering preseason issues:

  • The trade for Juan Hernangomez can be finalized on September 15, when Kris Dunn‘s aggregation restriction lifts.
  • The Celtics will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Jabari Parker on a small ($100K) partial guarantee. They’ll have to decide whether to carry a 15th man and – if so – whether Parker will be that player. Parker’s salary would become 50% guaranteed if he makes the opening night roster.
  • The Celtics have one open two-way contract slot.
  • Al Horford is eligible for a veteran contract extension until October 18 (extend-and-trade limitations are in place).

The Celtics’ offseason:

Even after an underwhelming showing in 2020/21, it wouldn’t have been a huge surprise if the Celtics favored continuity this summer, attributing last season’s struggles to bad luck with COVID-19 and injuries and betting on a bounce-back year in 2021/22.

Instead, Boston made major changes at nearly every level of the organization. The Celtics will head into the fall with a new president of basketball operations and a new head coach, and without their highest-paid player from the last two seasons.

Entering the 2021 offseason, Brad Stevens was the fifth longest-tenured head coach in the NBA and Danny Ainge was the third longest-tenured head of basketball operations. Coaches and executives who have been around that long often make their own decisions on their futures rather than being forced out the door, and it appears that was the case with Ainge — he stepped down from his role rather than being fired. Stevens wasn’t fired either, as his move from the sidelines to the front office actually represented a promotion, putting him in position to hire his replacement.

That replacement will be Ime Udoka, an established NBA assistant who had been viewed as a future head coach for years due in large part to the time he spent under Gregg Popovich, both in San Antonio and with Team USA. While it’s difficult to predict how a first-time head coach will adapt to his new position, Udoka will be supported from the get-go by many of the Celtics’ top players. He was reportedly endorsed by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart after working closely with them during the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Kemba Walker was also a member of that 2019 U.S. team, but by the time Udoka was hired by the Celtics, Walker had already been sent to Oklahoma City, as Stevens wasted no time making the first trade of his executive career.

The deal, which essentially saw the C’s swap Walker and the 16th overall pick for Al Horford, created financial flexibility for the team this year and next, but the jury’s still out on how it will affect the team on the court. Walker battled knee injuries during his time in Boston and Horford was great during his last stint with the franchise, but Horford may not be able to recapture his old form at age 35, and a healthy Walker remains a very dangerous offensive player. Throw in the fact that the No. 16 pick was eventually used on Alperen Sengun, one of the standouts of Summer League, and it’s possible Stevens’ first trade will eventually come back to haunt him.

For now though, the deal makes some sense for the Celtics. With the help of the money saved by swapping Walker for Horford, Boston was able to trade for Josh Richardson to replace departed free agent wing Evan Fournier, and sign Dennis Schröder, who will be handed many of Walker’s minutes at the point.

Richardson and Schröder had up-and-down seasons in 2020/21, but they have the ability to be better going forward. Richardson is an athletic, versatile defender who is comfortable with switching and guarding multiple positions, while Schröder should emerge as Boston’s third-most reliable scorer behind Tatum and Brown.

Floor spacing could be an issue for the Celtics, but there’s intriguing upside if Udoka can figure out how to get Richardson, Schröder, and Juan Hernangomez open, comfortable looks. None of the three connected on more than 33.5% of their three-point attempts in 2020/21, but Richardson’s and Hernangomez’s career rates are much higher, and Schröder made 38.5% of his threes in ’19/20.

Stevens was most active on the trade market this offseason, agreeing to five deals so far, but the work he did with contract extensions shouldn’t be overlooked. Rather than attempting to clear long-term money in the hopes of eventually opening enough cap space to make a run at a third star alongside Tatum and Brown, Stevens doubled down on the current core, signing Smart, Robert Williams, and Richardson to extensions.

Those deals don’t necessarily mean that all three players are part of the Celtics’ long-term future — they might actually be easier to trade on their new contracts. In recent years, the C’s have faced challenges on the trade market due to their lack of mid-level salaries — two years ago, for instance, Smart was the only player besides Tatum and Brown who was earning between $5MM and $32MM. That made it difficult to acquire starter- or rotation-caliber players on the trade market.

Boston’s big Gordon Hayward trade exception helped matters last year, making it possible to acquire Fournier, but taking on significant salary via a trade exception is no longer as practical due to the team’s luxury tax situation. Having movable contracts in the $10-20MM range like Smart’s, Williams’, and Richardson’s will give the Celtics more options in the trade market going forward, even if they end up deciding to keep those players.

The Celtics’ upcoming season:

The Celtics were considered one of the best bets to come out of the Eastern Conference entering the 2020/21 season. They finished with a .500 record and won just a single game in the postseason.

This year’s version of the Celtics seems likely to fall somewhere in between those two extremes. Boston is clearly a tier below the conference’s best teams (Brooklyn and Milwaukee), but there’s no reason to think the team can’t contend for a top-four spot in the East.

Udoka’s ability to get the hang of the head coaching job quickly will be a key factor in determining the Celtics’ upside, as will the ability of Schröder and Smart to handle the point guard job. However, the club’s ceiling could ultimately be decided by whether the young players can take a step forward.

Can Williams stay healthy and take on a bigger role at center? Can Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith establish themselves as reliable rotation regulars? Do Tatum and Brown have another level to reach? If the answer to all of those questions is “yes,” the Celtics will be in line for a nice bounce-back year.

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

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Players Who Can’t Be Traded Until January 15

September 9th, 2021 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed in an earlier article, players who signed new contracts as free agents during the 2021/22 league year can’t be traded for three months or until December 15, whichever comes later. That means that nearly every team has at least one player – and generally a handful – who won’t become trade-eligible until mid-December.

There’s also a small subset of free agent signees whose trade ineligibility lasts for an extra month. These players all meet a specific set of criteria: Not only did they re-sign with their previous team this offseason, but they got a raise of at least 20%, their salary is worth more than the minimum, and their team was over the cap, using Bird or Early Bird rights to sign them.

Listed below are the players who meet this criteria and can’t be traded until at least January 15, 2022. Players who have the ability to veto trades in 2021/22 are marked with a caret (^).

We’ll continue to update this page over the next few months, if necessary.

Atlanta Hawks

Brooklyn Nets

Cleveland Cavaliers

Detroit Pistons

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Miami Heat

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

Toronto Raptors

Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Players Who Can’t Be Traded Until December 15

September 9th, 2021 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

As teams explore the trade market for potential deals to complete their rosters for training camp, there are a number of trade restrictions those clubs must take into account. Most notably, newly-signed free agents can’t be dealt until at least December 15.

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that a free agent who signs with an NBA team can’t be traded for three months or until December 15, whichever is later. Those rules will be tweaked slightly this year to account for the shortened offseason, but December 15 will still be the earliest date that a player who signs as a free agent this summer can be dealt.

There are also some recently-signed players who meet a few specific criteria and can’t be traded until January 15. Those players are listed here.

The players who aren’t eligible to be traded until December 15 are listed below.

Players whose contracts haven’t been officially finalized aren’t yet listed below. Players who have the ability to veto trades in 2021/22 are marked with a caret (^). Players on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts are marked with an asterisk (*). However, those on Exhibit 10/training camp deals won’t be listed here unless they make the regular season roster.

We’ll continue to update this page over the next few months as players are signed or waived.

Updated 11-7-21 (6:02am CT)

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

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2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Atlanta Hawks

September 8th, 2021 at 1:13pm 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, examine what still needs to be done before opening night, and look ahead to what the 2021/22 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Atlanta Hawks.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 10 deals aren’t included here.

  • John Collins: Five years, $125MM. Fifth-year player option. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Bird rights.
  • Lou Williams: One year, $5MM. Re-signed using Bird rights.
  • Gorgui Dieng: One year, $4MM. Signed using mid-level exception.
  • Solomon Hill: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Skylar Mays: Two-way contract. Accepted two-way qualifying offer as restricted free agent.

Trades:

Draft picks:

Contract extensions:

  • Trae Young: Five years, maximum salary. Projected value of $172,500,000. Projected value can increase to $207,060,000 if Young earns All-NBA honors in 2022. Includes fifth-year player option and 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2022/23.
  • Clint Capela: Two years, $42,881,280 (base value). Includes $4MM in incentives. Starts in 2023/24.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Retained Nate McMillan as their permanent head coach.
  • Onyeka Okongwu underwent shoulder surgery and will miss the start of the 2021/22 season.
  • Added Joe Prunty, Jamelle McMillan, and Nick Van Exel to coaching staff; Melvin Hunt and Marlon Garnett departed coaching staff.

Salary cap situation:

  • Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
  • Carrying approximately $133.1MM in salary.
  • $5,536,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($4MM used on Gorgui Dieng).
  • Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
  • One traded player exception ($1,782,621) available.

Lingering preseason issues:

  • The Hawks have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, so they could still add a 15th man.
  • Kevin Huerter is eligible for a rookie scale contract extension until October 18.
  • Delon Wright is eligible for a veteran contract extension all season (extend-and-trade limitations are in place until December).

The Hawks’ offseason:

A year ago, the Hawks’ offseason priority was using their significant cap room to add veteran players capable of complementing the team’s young core. Not all of those signings were successful (Kris Dunn and Rajon Rondo didn’t last long in Atlanta), but the approach paid off as a whole, as the team made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

This time around, the Hawks’ offseason focus wasn’t on continuing to add outside talent to the roster, but rather on retaining the franchise’s most important pieces for the long term.

First and foremost, this meant locking up leading scorer Trae Young to a rookie scale extension. The Hawks offered Young a five-year, maximum-salary deal as soon as they were allowed to do so, and now have the former No. 5 overall pick under team control through at least 2026.

Shortly after reaching a deal with Young, Atlanta agreed to terms with John Collins on a five-year deal. That negotiation was trickier — Young was still a year away from free agency, but Collins became a restricted free agent this summer, meaning he could’ve sought an offer sheet from a rival suitor. And while the negotiations with Young essentially amounted to handing over a blank check, the Collins talks revolved around finding a number below the maximum that satisfied both sides.

That number ended up being $25MM per year, which looks like a fair price for a versatile frontcourt player who is a force on offense and still has room to grow on defense. The Hawks left those negotiations happy that they locked in Collins for less than the max, while the fifth-year player option in his new contract will allow the big man to hit the open market again at age 27, when he could be in line for an even bigger payday.

Having secured Young and Collins to long-term deals near the start of free agency, the Hawks waited a few weeks before working out an extension with big man Clint Capela as well. Teams around the NBA aren’t investing in the center position like they used to, but some players are still worthy of big-money commitments, and Capela showed in 2020/21 that he fits that bill — he anchored Atlanta’s defense and finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Tacking on two more years to the two left on Capela’s current contract was a good bit of business for the Hawks, who now have the center on the books for about $83.7MM over the next four years (various incentives could slightly shift that total in one direction or the other).

The Hawks’ final key retention wasn’t a player at all — it was head coach Nate McMillan. The team’s trajectory changed significantly midway through the 2020/21 season when McMillan replaced Lloyd Pierce on the sidelines. The veteran coach led Atlanta to a 27-11 record the rest of the way and won two playoff series, showing that his lack of postseason success in four years in Indiana didn’t mean he couldn’t win in the playoffs.

There was never any doubt that the Hawks would offer McMillan the permanent job at season’s end — luckily for the franchise, he accepted that offer rather than exploring the open market, where he surely would’ve received plenty of interest from a few of the seven teams seeking new coaches.

While re-signing and extending their in-house talent was the primary focus of the Hawks’ offseason, their work around the edges of the roster shouldn’t be overlooked. Atlanta is hoping Delon Wright can give the team the kind of backcourt production that Rondo and Dunn didn’t — Wright is a versatile defender who is capable of getting to the basket and taking some ball-handling pressure off of Young.

The free agent addition of Gorgui Dieng was another solid move by president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk and his front office. Dieng wasn’t a great value on his previous contract (four years, $63MM), but at one year and $4MM, he should provide a solid return on investment — especially with Onyeka Okongwu expected to miss the start of the season while he recovers from shoulder surgery.

The Hawks’ upcoming season:

Expecting the Hawks to return to the Eastern Conference Finals may be overly optimistic. Milwaukee and Brooklyn are probably the two best teams in the East, while Miami, Boston, Indiana, New York, and others will be looking to claim places in the upper tier.

Still, even if the Hawks don’t make another deep playoff run in 2022, we shouldn’t necessarily count on a significant amount of regression. Atlanta was successful in 2020/21 despite missing key players like De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish for virtually all of the second half of the season, and Bogdan Bogdanovic for a big chunk of the first half. Young and Collins have room to continue improving, and this will be the team’s first full season under McMillan.

I think the Hawks are still one move away from legitimate title contention, but this is a deep, talented team capable of competing for a top-four seed in the East and making some noise in the postseason again.

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

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How Players Who Declined Options Fared In Free Agency

September 7th, 2021 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Of the 16 veterans who had player options on their contracts for the 2021/22 season, seven picked up those options, forgoing free agency for another year of security. However, that leaves nine players who opted out and reached the free agent market.

For some players, that decision was an easy one. For instance, Norman Powell was long believed to be in line for a multiyear deal in the range of $15-20MM per year, so exercising his $11.6MM player option never would’ve made any sense.

The decision wasn’t so easy for every player who opted out though. Now that we’re five weeks into free agency, we want to look back on those decisions to see if they paid off for the nine players who opted out.

Let’s dive in…

The biggest wins:

  • Kawhi Leonard
    • Option: $36,016,200 (Clippers)
    • New contract: Four years, $176,265,152 (Clippers)
  • Norman Powell
    • Option: $11,615,328 (Trail Blazers)
    • New contract: Five years, $90,000,000 (Trail Blazers)
  • Spencer Dinwiddie
    • Option: $12,302,496 (Nets)
    • New contract: Three years, $54,000,000 (Wizards)
      • Note: Deal includes $8MM in incentives; third year partially guaranteed.

Leonard, Powell, and Dinwiddie all secured raises for the 2021/22 season and increased their overall guarantees exponentially. Leonard tacked on an extra $140MM in guaranteed money, while Powell’s new overall guarantee is nearly eight times more than his option salary.

Dinwiddie’s new contract isn’t quite as favorable as the other two, but it’s still a major win for a player who missed nearly the entire 2020/21 season due to an ACL tear. Even in a worst-case scenario, Dinwiddie will earn $45MM in guaranteed money. He can ensure his third-year salary becomes fully guaranteed by appearing in at least 50 games in each of the next two seasons, and he has the ability to earn even more in incentives.

A solid win:

  • Chris Paul
    • Option: $44,211,146 (Suns)
    • New contract: Four years, $120,000,000 (Suns)
      • Note: Deal includes $75MM in guaranteed money. Third year is partially guaranteed; fourth year is non-guaranteed.

If you want to move Paul to the “biggest wins” group, I wouldn’t argue with that. After all, he increased his overall guarantee by more than $30MM, which is no small feat for a player hitting free agency at age 36.

I’m separating him into his own group because his 2021/22 salary was reduced by more than $13MM as part of his new deal, and I think it’s possible he could’ve gotten more than $30MM in guaranteed money on his next deal if he had simply picked up his option and hit free agency next year.

I certainly don’t blame him for going this route though, given his injury history. And if he continues to play at a high level, the Suns will probably want to keep him for the third year of the deal, which would increase his overall guarantee on this contract to $90MM.

Minor wins:

  • Will Barton
    • Option: $14,669,642 (Nuggets)
    • New contract: Two years, $30,000,000 (Nuggets)
      • Note: Deal includes $2MM in incentives.
  • JaMychal Green
    • Option: $7,559,748 (Nuggets)
    • New contract: Two years, $16,400,000 (Nuggets)
      • Note: Deal includes $400K in incentives.
  • Bobby Portis
    • Option: $3,804,150 (Bucks)
    • New contract: Two years, $8,912,580 (Bucks)
  • Bryn Forbes
    • Option: $2,454,002 (Bucks)
    • New contract: One year, $4,500,000 (Spurs)

The Nuggets took a similar approach to their negotiations with Barton and Green — Denver gave each player a small raise this year, plus a second guaranteed season (Green’s second year is a player option).

The Bucks went that route with Portis too, giving him the biggest raise they could offer using his Non-Bird rights and including a second-year player option on his new deal.

You could make a case that Forbes is a big winner for nearly doubling his 2021/22 salary, but without any future years tacked onto that deal (and given the relatively small salaries involved), I’m classifying it as a modest victory.

The jury’s still out:

Hartenstein is the only one of these nine players who remains unsigned. Based on his solid play with the Cavs down the stretch, turning down his minimum-salary player option seemed like a reasonable bet at the time, but it now looks like he might’ve been better off taking the guaranteed money.

While he’ll probably be signed at some point in the coming weeks, Hartenstein isn’t a lock for a fully guaranteed deal. And even if he gets a guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary contract, it’ll be worth slightly less ($1,729,217) than the option he declined, due to the league’s minimum-salary rules.

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Decisions On 2022/23 Rookie Scale Team Options

September 7th, 2021 at 8:37am CST by Luke Adams

With the NBA set to return to its usual schedule for the start of the 2021/22 regular season, the deadline for decisions on third- and fourth-year team options for players on rookie scale contracts is back to its usual date at the end of October. Actually, because October 31 falls on a Sunday this year, the deadline will be on the Monday (November 1).

All the players whose options will be exercised or declined by November 1 are already under contract for the 2021/22 season. Their teams will have to make a decision on whether they want to lock in those players’ contracts beyond the coming season, picking up or turning down team options for the 2022/23 campaign.

For players who signed their rookie scale contracts in 2019 and have already been in the NBA for two years, teams must decide on fourth-year options for 2022/23. For players who just signed their rookie deals last year and only have one season of NBA experience under their belts, teams will already be faced with a decision on third-year options for ’22/23.

In many cases, these decisions aren’t hard ones. Rookie scale salaries are affordable enough that it usually makes sense to exercise most of these team options, even if a player isn’t a key cog on the roster. And for those players who do have a significant role on a team’s roster, the decision is even easier — it’s not as if the Hornets will consider turning down their option on LaMelo Ball, for instance.

Still, we’ll wait for a trusted reporter, the NBA, a player (or his agent), or a team itself to confirm that an option is indeed being exercised or declined, and we’ll track that news in this space.

Listed below are all the rookie scale decisions for 2022/23 team options that clubs must make by November 1. This list will be updated throughout the rest of the month as teams’ decisions are reported and announced. The salary figures listed here reflect the cap hits for each team.

Here are the NBA’s rookie scale team option decisions for 2022/23 salaries:

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

  • None

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

  • None

Los Angeles Lakers

  • None

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

Milwaukee Bucks

  • None

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Utah Jazz

Washington Wizards

Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Community Shootaround: 2022 NBA MVP

September 6th, 2021 at 7:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Injury issues may have factored into the MVP race more than usual during the pandemic-shortened 2020/21 season, when Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic remained healthier than several other All-NBA talents en route to earning his first MVP award.

Regardless, Jokic turned in an incredible and worthy MVP season. The three-time All-Star center played in all 72 regular season games and averaged an eye-popping 26.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 8.3 APG, on .566/.388/.868 shooting splits, for a Denver team that finished third in the crowded Western Conference with a solid 47-25 record. Can the 25-year-old superstar repeat as the MVP for the 2022 season?

Sixers center Joel Embiid, Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (the eventual 2021 Finals MVP), and Suns point guard Chris Paul rounded out the list of the top five players receiving the most votes. Prior to incurring significant mid-season injuries, Embiid and Lakers forward LeBron James, a four-time winner, appeared to be the frontrunners for the award last year, alongside eventual victor Jokic.

Antetokounmpo has already won the award twice, in 2019 and 2020. As the best player on the reigning champion Bucks, the 26-year-old appears likely to vie for the honor again next year. Curry was also a back-to-back winner, in 2015 and 2016.

Through the first month of the 2020/21 NBA season, there was a different MVP favorite among media members. Nets All-Star Kevin Durant enjoyed a terrific comeback year in 2020/21 after an Achilles tear kept him sidelined for the entire 2019/20 season. Injuries and load maintenance limited Durant to just 35 regular season games with Brooklyn, however. He certainly looked like the best player on the planet during the Nets’ injury-impeded 2021 playoff run, plus a subsequent march to his third Olympic gold medal with Team USA. The 32-year-old was previously the 2014 MVP while with the Thunder.

Durant’s All-Star teammate James Harden, the 2018 MVP, is normally quite durable, but he missed an unusual amount of time last year with a nagging quad injury. Given that the Nets will field perhaps the most loaded roster in the NBA between Durant, Harden, All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, and significant depth, one of Durant or Harden seems like a very viable MVP candidate next year.

With 2021/22 returning to an 82-game schedule amidst a much-lengthier turnaround time between seasons than last year, it appears likely that many veteran All-Stars will again be in the running for MVP honors. The aforementioned players all seem like safe bets to be in the mix for the award again this season, assuming good health. James and Paul, the two oldest players among that group, could see their MVP chances hampered by minutes management.

Beyond these usual suspects, other players may find their way into the MVP conversation. Depending on team record and player health, Lakers big man Anthony Davis, Suns shooting guard Devin Booker, Hawks point guard Trae Young, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert, Heat swingman Jimmy Butler and center Bam Adebayo, Clippers forward Paul George, Knicks forward Julius Randle, Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard and Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic all seem like fringe candidates for MVP consideration.

The crowded Eastern Conference could also see a surprise MVP contender (or, at least, a conceivable top-five finisher in media voting) emerge from several teams hoping to vault up the standings, thanks to active offseasons. Bulls All-Star guard Zach LaVine, Celtics All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and Pacers All-Star center Domantas Sabonis seem positioned to benefit the most from their teams’ summer makeovers, should those changes lead to top-four conference finishes for any of their clubs. In the case of the Pacers, the biggest personnel upgrade may have been on the bench, where the team added longtime Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle to replace one-year Indiana coach Nate Bjorkgren.

We want to hear what you think! Which of these players we mentioned is your way-too-early favorite to win the 2021/22 MVP award? Which young All-Star could move into being a top-five MVP vote-getter for the first time? Is there anyone we haven’t mentioned that you think could work their way into the conversation? Weigh in below in our comments section!

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