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NBA G League Affiliations For 2021/22 Season

September 6th, 2021 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

After an abridged 2020/21 season that only included 18 of the league’s 28 teams, the NBA G League is expected to get back to normal in 2021/22. And for the first time, the league appears on track to feature 30 franchises.

That doesn’t mean that all 30 NBA teams will have a G League affiliate of their own, however. While 28 NBAGL franchises have relationships with NBA squads, the other two are independent, without affiliations.

One of those two is the G League Ignite, which debuted last season. The Ignite is the NBAGL’s developmental program for top prospects coming out of high school. About half the roster is made up of those prospects, while the other half is made up of veterans who will serve as mentors to those up-and-coming teenagers.

The other unaffiliated G League franchise will be the Capitanes Ciudad De Mexico, the NBAGL’s first franchise based in Mexico.

The G League actually still hasn’t officially announced that the Capitanes – based in Mexico City – will be part of the 2021/22 season and doesn’t mention the club in the list of teams on its official website. However, Shams Charania reported in May that the Capitanes would be joining the G League for the ’21/22 campaign, and the team has said so as well. The NBA may still be working through COVID-related logistical issues before formally confirming the Capitanes’ inaugural NBAGL season.

[UPDATE: G League’s Mexico City Team To Play In U.S. In 2021/22]

Besides the Ignite and Capitanes, there are expected to be 28 more teams taking part in the G League’s 2021/22 season, all affiliated with NBA teams. Those affiliations are as follows:

  1. Atlanta Hawks: College Park Skyhawks
  2. Boston Celtics: Maine Celtics
    • New name (formerly Maine Red Claws).
  3. Brooklyn Nets: Long Island Nets
  4. Charlotte Hornets: Greensboro Swarm
  5. Chicago Bulls: Windy City Bulls
  6. Cleveland Cavaliers: Cleveland Charge
    • New name (formerly Canton Charge).
  7. Dallas Mavericks: Texas Legends
  8. Denver Nuggets: Grand Rapids Gold
    • New affiliation, name (formerly Grand Rapids Drive, affiliated with Pistons).
  9. Detroit Pistons: Motor City Cruise
    • New affiliation, name, location (formerly Northern Arizona Suns, affiliated with Suns).
  10. Golden State Warriors: Santa Cruz Warriors
  11. Houston Rockets: Rio Grande Valley Vipers
  12. Indiana Pacers: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
  13. Los Angeles Clippers: Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario
  14. Los Angeles Lakers: South Bay Lakers
  15. Memphis Grizzlies: Memphis Hustle
  16. Miami Heat: Sioux Falls Skyforce
  17. Milwaukee Bucks: Wisconsin Herd
  18. Minnesota Timberwolves: Iowa Wolves
  19. New Orleans Pelicans: Birmingham Squadron
    • New name, location (formerly Erie BayHawks).
  20. New York Knicks: Westchester Knicks
  21. Oklahoma City Thunder: Oklahoma City Blue
  22. Orlando Magic: Lakeland Magic
  23. Philadelphia 76ers: Delaware Blue Coats
  24. Sacramento Kings: Stockton Kings
  25. San Antonio Spurs: Austin Spurs
  26. Toronto Raptors: Raptors 905
  27. Utah Jazz: Salt Lake City Stars
  28. Washington Wizards: Capital City Go-Go

Of those 28 G League teams, 26 are fully owned and operated by their NBA partners. Only the Rockets and Nuggets have “hybrid” affiliations with their G League teams, meaning they manage and fund the basketball operations while local ownership maintains the control of the business and its community relations.

The two teams without NBAGL affiliates are the Trail Blazers and Suns. As noted above, Phoenix actually had its own G League team – the Northern Arizona Suns – but sold the club to the Pistons, who have relocated it to Detroit and rebranded it as the Motor City Cruise. Portland, meanwhile, has long been one of the few NBA teams without an NBAGL affiliate.

The Blazers and Suns are still permitted to send players to another team’s G League affiliate during the season via the flexible assignment rule, but won’t have much say in how those players are used or developed at the NBAGL level.

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Hoops Rumors’ 2021 NBA Free Agent Tracker

September 5th, 2021 at 5:19pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NBA’s 2021 free agent period into its second month and nearly all of this year’s most interesting names off the board, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this fall.

To this end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a tool we’ve maintained each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.

A few notes on the tracker:

  • Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect tentative agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
  • Similarly, contract years and dollars will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in many cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
  • Players reported to be joining teams on training camp/Exhibit 10 contracts won’t be added to the tracker until those signings are official, since those deals are more likely to fall through and some will end up being procedural moves that aren’t completed until the preseason.
  • A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet won’t be included in the tracker right away. We’ll wait to hear whether the player’s original team will match or pass on that offer sheet before we update our tracker in order to avoid any confusion.
  • If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.

Our 2021 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. On our mobile site, it can be found in our menu under “Free Agent Lists.”

The tracker will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.

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Mid-Level, Bi-Annual Projections For 2022/23

September 5th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

[UPDATE: The NBA has updated its salary cap projection for 2022/23. Our new MLE/BAE projections for ’22/23 can be found here.]

Under the NBA’s previous Collective Bargaining Agreement, the values of various salary cap exceptions like the mid-level and bi-annual were established years in advance, but the league’s current CBA tweaked how those exceptions are calculated.

Rather than being determined ahead of time, the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions – along with several other cap-related figures and exceptions – are dependent on the movement of the salary cap from year to year. If the cap increases by 5% from one league year to the next, the exceptions increase by the same rate.

As such, we don’t know yet exactly what those exceptions will be worth in 2022/23, but we can make an educated estimate. When the NBA updated its salary cap estimates in August, the league projected a $119MM cap for the ’22/23 season.

[RELATED: Maximum Salary Projections For 2022/23]

Based on a $119MM cap, here’s what the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions would look like in 2022/23:

Mid-Level Exception

Year Standard MLE
 Taxpayer MLE Room MLE
2022/23 $10,095,000 $6,149,000 $5,198,000
2023/24 $10,599,750 $6,456,450 $5,457,900
2024/25 $11,104,500 $6,763,900 –
2025/26 $11,609,250 – –
Total $43,408,500 $19,369,350 $10,655,900

The standard mid-level exception is available to over-the-cap teams that haven’t dipped below the cap to use room and don’t go over the tax apron. It can run for up to four years, with 5% annual raises. Once a team uses the standard/non-taxpayer MLE, that team is hard-capped at the tax apron for the rest of the league year.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Mid-Level Exception]

The taxpayer mid-level exception is for in-the-tax teams, or teams that want the flexibility to surpass the tax apron later. It can run for up to three years, with 5% annual raises.

The room exception is for teams that go under the cap and use their space. Once they’ve used all their cap room, they can use this version of the mid-level exception, which runs for up to two years with 5% annual raises.

Bi-Annual Exception

Year BAE Value
2022/23 $3,951,000
2023/24 $4,148,550
Total $8,099,550

The bi-annual exception – which can be used for contracts up to two years, with a 5% raise after year one – is only available to teams that are over the cap and under the tax apron.

It can also only be used once every two years, which will disqualify the Mavericks from using it in 2022/23 — so far, Dallas is the only team to use its BAE in 2021/22.

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Community Shootaround: 2022 Rookie Of The Year

September 5th, 2021 at 2:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With a star-studded NBA draft and the 2021 Summer League in our rear view, it’s high time for a still-way-too-early Rookie Of The Year Community Shootaround! The three top picks this season are widely considered to be the players with brightest long-term futures in the NBA, but that doesn’t preclude someone else from swooping in for 2021/22 Rookie Of The Year award honors.

Top pick Cade Cunningham, selected by the Pistons out of Oklahoma State, is a lead ball-handler with the size of a forward (6’8″), beloved by scouts for his shooting ability and passing acumen.

Long-term, the Rockets are hoping No. 2 selection Jalen Green can replace ex-Houston All-Star James Harden as an All-NBA caliber shooting guard with a versatile offensive portfolio. Green opted to spend his post-high school season with the NBA’s G League Ignite rather than in a collegiate program. How much Green produces during his inaugural NBA season remains an open question, though he at least will see plenty of looks for a presumably lottery-bound Houston team.

Though the Cavaliers frontcourt is crowded between $100MM man Jarrett Allen, pricey former All-Star Kevin Love (owed $60.2MM over the next two seasons), and new addition Lauri Markkanen (signed to a four-year, $67MM deal), exciting USC big man Evan Mobley, the third pick in the draft, is a good bet to get major rotation minutes.

The top five selections were rounded out by two other intriguing prospects this season. 6’8″ FSU forward Scottie Barnes, selected with the No. 4 pick, will join a seasoned Raptors team loaded with forward depth and should have ample time to develop as a bench player.

The Magic chose 6’4″ Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs with the fifth pick in the draft, and subsequently added 6’9″ swingman Franz Wagner with the No. 8 pick. Suggs should receive significant scoring opportunities on an Orlando team not expected to compete for the playoffs.

The Thunder drafted 6’8″ guard Josh Giddey from NBL club the Adelaide 36ers with the sixth pick in the draft. The Thunder appear poised to continue their rebuilding project in Oklahoma City after trading away Chris Paul to the Suns during the summer of 2020, and as such should be able to find extended playing time for Giddey.

New Warriors lottery selections Jonathan Kuminga (the No. 7 pick), a 6’8″ forward out of the G League Ignite, and Moses Moody (the No. 14 pick), a 6’6″ guard out of Arkansas, are likely in line for smaller roles on a club trying to return to title contention this year, though of course that could change should Golden State opt to move them for veteran depth during the season.

6’2″ Kings guard Davion Mitchell, chosen with the ninth pick out of Baylor, will likely begin the 2021/22 season in a reserve role behind incumbent backcourt starters De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, but after proving he could score in bunches during the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League (where he was named co-MVP), it seems clear he’ll get plenty of run for Sacramento. Mitchell averaged 10.8 PPG, 5.8 APG and 1.4 RPG.

Grizzlies forward Ziaire Williams, Hornets guard James Bouknight, Spurs guard Joshua Primo, and Pacers guard Chris Duarte rounded out the lottery picks this season. All will suit up for teams who appear hopeful to at least qualify for the play-in tournament.

Beyond the lottery, Mitchell’s Summer League co-MVP Cameron Thomas, who averaged 27 PPG, 2 APG, 1.75 RPG, and 1.25 SPG, may yet carve out a role for himself on a star-studded Nets team hoping to compete for a title. That said, it’s tough to see the 6’4″ LSU alum getting enough touches in the backcourt, playing behind two All-Stars, to warrant Rookie Of The Year consideration.

Wizards rookie swingman Corey Kispert, Rockets rookie forward Alperen Sengun and Pelicans rookie wing Trey Murphy III also look like contenders to log serious minutes this season.

We want to hear what you think! Who among these contenders is your pick to win Rookie Of The Year honors for the 2021/22 season? Will anyone else we haven’t mentioned sneak in to the conversation? Please weigh in with your own early predictions in the comments section below.

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Community Shootaround: Central Division

September 4th, 2021 at 2:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks will enter next season as the defending champions. They’ll be a heavy favorite to at least top the Central Division again and enter the Eastern Conference playoffs as one of the top seeds.

Every team in the division has made significant moves this offseason with the hope of eventually getting to the Bucks’ level.

The Bulls made the splashiest acquisitions, bringing in Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso to fortify a core group headed by Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine.

The Pistons hit the lottery and now have a potential franchise player in Cade Cunningham. Their biggest free agent signing was big man Kelly Olynyk, who will help Detroit space the floor. Jerami Grant blossomed in an expanded role and they also possess a strong young core with Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and Killian Hayes.

The Pacers brought back Rick Carlisle to coach a team that was hit hard by injuries last season. They added guard Chris Duarte as a late lottery selection and signed defensive specialist Torrey Craig. They have a solid starting five in Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner and T.J. Warren.

The Cavaliers drafted the top big man prospect, Evan Mobley, acquired Ricky Rubio and engineered a sign-and-trade for Lauri Markkanen. They also locked up center Jarrett Allen to a long-term deal. Rubio will help out the young guard duo Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.

On paper, all those teams have improved.

That leads us to our question of the day: Which Central Division team will emerge as the biggest threat to the Bucks?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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29 Of NBA’s 30 Teams Have Made At Least One Offseason Trade

September 3rd, 2021 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

So far during the NBA’s 2021 offseason, a total of 32 trades have been made, including the not-yet-official deals between the Grizzlies/Celtics and Nets/Pistons that were reported earlier today. Of the league’s 30 teams, 29 have been involved in those deals — the Nuggets are the only team that hasn’t forayed into the trade market at least once since the regular season ended.

[RELATED: 2021 NBA Offseason Trades]

After today’s trade agreement, Memphis is the only club that has completed six deals during the 2021 offseason. The Grizzlies acquired some extra draft assets from New Orleans as a reward for taking on Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams, moved up 10 spots in the draft to select Santi Aldama, sent Grayson Allen to Milwaukee, flipped Bledsoe to the Clippers for three players, then sent one of those three players (Patrick Beverley) to Minnesota in exchange for Juan Hernangomez and Jarrett Culver before flipping Hernangomez to Boston.

The Celtics, meanwhile, are one of just two other teams that has agreed to five trades so far this offseason. New president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been busy in his first summer on the job, striking the first deal of the offseason when he sent Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City. The team also acquired Josh Richardson from Dallas, traded away Tristan Thompson in a three-team deal, created a trade exception by signing-and-trading Evan Fournier, and agreed today to acquire Hernangomez.

The Pelicans are the other club that has made five trades so far this summer. Three of New Orleans’ trades came as a result of selling off picks in the July 29 draft, but the other two were significant moves — the Pels landed Valanciunas and Devonte’ Graham (via sign-and-trade) in a three-team deal with Memphis and Charlotte, and acquired Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple in the sign-and-trade sending Lonzo Ball to Chicago.

Here are a few more details on this offseason’s 32 trades:

  • The Bulls, Clippers, Knicks, and Thunder have each made four trades, with the Hornets, Nets, Pacers, Spurs, and Jazz completing three.
  • The Pistons, Cavaliers, Rockets, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Trail Blazers have made two trades apiece, while 11 teams have been involved in just one trade.
  • Three of this offeason’s 32 trades have been three-teamers, while one (the Russell Westbrook/Spencer Dinwiddie deal) included five teams. The other 28 deals were just two-team agreements.
  • Nearly half of this summer’s trades (15 of 32) included at least one 2021 draft pick — either the pick itself was dealt before the draft started, or the rights to a player were traded after he was selected on July 29.
  • Eight of this offseason’s deals included a free agent being signed-and-traded. One of those eight – the Bulls/Pelicans deal – featured multiple players being signed-and-traded, with Ball heading to Chicago and Temple going to New Orleans.
  • Eight first-round picks from future drafts (ie. 2022 and beyond) changed hands this offseason in six different deals. However, all of those picks were fairly heavily protected — all of them had at least top-10 protection.
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NBA Players Who Can Veto Trades In 2021/22

September 1st, 2021 at 8:36am CST by Luke Adams

No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, and they’ve become even rarer in recent years. To be eligible to negotiate a no-trade clause, a player must have at least eight years of NBA experience and four years with his current team. Even if a player qualifies, his team is unlikely to restrict its flexibility by including a no-trade clause in his deal.

Still, even though there’s not a single NBA player with an explicit no-trade clause in his contract at the moment, there are several who will have the ability to veto trades in 2021/22.

A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with an option year – is given no-trade protection. That group doesn’t include players on two-way contracts, but it does include those who accept standard (non two-way) one-year qualifying offers.

A player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team also has the ability to veto a trade for the rest of the league year.

With those criteria in mind, here are the players who must give their consent if their teams want to trade them during the ’21/22 league year:

No-trade clauses:

  • None

Players whose offer sheets were matched:

  • None

Players re-signing for one year (or two years, with a second-year player/team option):

If any player who re-signed for one year approves a trade during the 2021/22 league year, he’ll have Non-Bird rights at season’s end instead of Early Bird or full Bird rights.

The only player with veto rights in 2020/21 who approved a trade was center Meyers Leonard — he signed off on a deal that sent him from the Heat to the Thunder. Leonard would’ve had full Bird rights if he’d finished the season with Miami, but would’ve only had Non-Bird rights at season’s end after the trade to Oklahoma City. Given the circumstances of his situation, Leonard was on track to be waived during the season whether or not he was traded, so he would’ve lost his Bird rights either way.

Any player who consents to a trade will retain his veto ability on his new team, and would have to approve a subsequent deal as well.

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

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Community Shootaround: Where Will Ben Simmons Land?

August 31st, 2021 at 8:32pm CST by Eli Cohen

We’ve reached what is generally considered the slow point of the summer, and while there are still some free agents available on the market, there’s really only one domino left to fall to wrap up this offseason: the resolution of the messy, public deterioration of the relationship between the Sixers and Ben Simmons.

Today’s news that Simmons doesn’t plan to report to training camp kicked off a fresh frenzy of speculation, with beat writers for multiple teams, most notably the Kings and Timberwolves, exploring those teams’ respective chances of landing the three-time All Star.

The Kings currently hold the best odds of landing Simmons, according to MyBookie.ag, at +275, followed by the Wolves (+400), the Warriors (+550), Blazers (+900), Spurs (+1200) and Wizards (+1900). Meanwhile, PointsBet has the Kings and Blazers at +150 each, with the Warriors at +250.

As befitting a player as complicated to build around as Ben Simmons, there are tricky questions facing each of his prospective suitors.

The Kings are desperate for a move that significantly alters the trajectory of the franchise, but are reportedly unlikely to include De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton in a deal. That leaves Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley, and possibly this year’s ninth pick Davion Mitchell, as well as future picks, as the foundation for a deal.

Hield’s shooting would undoubtedly help the Sixers, as would Barnes’ all-around game, but both offer similar skillsets/roles to Seth Curry and Tobias Harris, respectively. Bagley is only a few years removed from being the number two pick and has flashed some interesting potential, shooting 34% from three this season while being an athletic rim roller and rebounder at 6’11. But his defense remains questionable and his overall game hasn’t progressed much in three years, partially due to a series of injuries that have kept him from getting a rhythm.

Mitchell, on the other hand, offers something the Sixers could desperately use. A tenacious defender with the ability to hit pull-up threes or function off-ball, thanks to his time playing alongside Jared Butler at Baylor, Mitchell could hold interest for the Sixers. But is he ready, as a rookie, to be the main point guard on a team with championship aspirations? At 22, he’s more ready-made than some rookie point guards, but that’s still a tough ask, as well as a tough sell for cornerstone Joel Embiid.

The Wolves could put together an interesting package, with D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels, Patrick Beverley, and possibly Leandro Bolmaro as pieces that could go into a deal. If the team were to trade Russell, Beasley and picks, it’s not hard to see the appeal of surrounding offensive star talents Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards with lockdown defenders Beverley, Simmons, and McDaniels. Not to mention, McDaniels, Beverley, Towns and Edwards represents the most shooting Simmons would have been surrounded by in his career.

But is it enough? Theoretically the shooting and playmaking of Russell, combined with the shooting and attacking of Beasley, fit what the Sixers need, but it’s hardly the king’s ransom Morey has been asking for. Bolmaro is an interesting, but unproven piece, and the Wolves have their first-round picks moving forward. Wolves president Gersson Rosas also has a longstanding relationship with Morey, having worked under him for years with the Rockets.

The Warriors are perhaps the most interesting team on this list, as they have both the contracts and the young talent to make a deal work. Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green are both making upwards of $24MM per year, while James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and even young breakout wings like Jordan Poole and Juan Toscano-Anderson could be interesting trade chips.

Now, it’s almost unthinkable the Warriors would trade Green, and with Harris at the power forward spot, it’s unclear how much the Sixers would value him. Wiggins, Wiseman, one of their other young players, and future picks might not be the prettiest package for the Sixers, but there is clear value to Wiggins manning the small forward spot in Philly, and to adding depth on the bench. The problem is that would leave the Sixers without a starting point guard, which would likely necessitate a third team entering the mix.

The Blazers could see Simmons as the move to keep semi-disgruntled star Damian Lillard in the fold, though outside of CJ McCollum, Portland has little by means of assets. It’s also unclear how much a clean McCollum-for-Simmons swap would significantly change the Blazers’ trajectory, and the fit with newly-acquired Larry Nance Jr. isn’t the cleanest.

The Spurs have a good amount of solid young players, but none with the blue-chip luster that the Sixers would likely be seeking in a deal. Additionally, outside of Dejounte Murray, another poor-shooting defensive guard, and Derrick White, none of them are ready to be key members of a championship run.

Lastly, the Wizards have an interesting collection of talent, but the Sixers are unlikely to get Bradley Beal in a trade, and almost all of Washington’s other appealing players are young big men, with the exception of this year’s 15th pick, Corey Kispert. Any trade of Simmons would mean the team’s top two players are a center and a power forward, meaning it’s unlikely they would be interested in any of the Wizards’ combo forwards.

There are undoubtedly going to be more teams that enter into the discussion as the bidding war heats up, but we want to know what you think. What team is going to end up with Ben Simmons? What will they give up for him? And most importantly — will Simmons give his new team the bump they need to get where they’re going?

Take to the comments to let us know!

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Checking In On Remaining Restricted Free Agents

August 31st, 2021 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

When Lauri Markkanen finally came off the board over the weekend, it left just two standard restricted free agents who are still unsigned, as our FA list shows. Both of those players are Timberwolves free agents: Jordan McLaughlin and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Restricted free agents never have a ton of leverage, especially this deep into the offseason. Some players who remain on the market for weeks, like Markkanen, can still land player-friendly deals, but if McLaughlin or Vanderbilt have been drawing interest around the NBA as coveted sign-and-trade candidates or potential offer sheet recipients, we probably would’ve heard about it by now.

McLaughlin looked like he might be in position to secure a favorable commitment from the Timberwolves after the team traded Ricky Rubio to Cleveland, but Minnesota’s recent move to acquire Patrick Beverley adds depth to the point guard spot and clouds McLaughlin’s future.

A year ago, McLaughlin ultimately decided to accept his qualifying offer and play on a two-way contract for a second consecutive season. This time around, his QO is the equivalent of a one-year, minimum-salary deal, but only a very small portion of that offer (about $84K) has to be guaranteed, so accepting it isn’t a great option.

The Wolves are likely willing to offer a more significant guarantee in 2021/22, but probably want to tack on at least one or two non-guaranteed, minimum-salary years to any deal for McLaughlin. With two-way player McKinley Wright in the picture as a potential third point guard, Minnesota has the roster flexibility to play hardball in its negotiations with McLaughlin.

Vanderbilt may be in a slightly better negotiating position, since he’s likely a higher priority for the Wolves. He started 30 games last season, earning a regular rotation role and showing the ability to handle minutes at power forward, the team’s most glaring weak spot.

Minnesota has a few options at the four, but Taurean Prince and Jake Layman won’t move the needle much, and Jaden McDaniels remains pretty raw. Vanderbilt would be a useful depth piece at the right price, which – in the Wolves’ view – is probably something not far above the veteran’s minimum.

As we wait to see what happens with McLaughlin and Vanderbilt, it’s also worth noting that there are technically four other restricted free agents still on the market. The following four players were made RFAs after finishing the season on two-way contracts:

For these four players, accepting a qualifying offer would mean getting another two-way contract with a $50K partial guarantee.

Signing that qualifying offer would provide no security, even though the Spurs, Clippers, Rockets, and Cavaliers do all have two-way slots open right now. Given the modest guarantee, a team likely wouldn’t hesitate to replace one of its two-way players in October with a camp invitee who has an impressive preseason. And as McLaughlin’s situation shows, even playing out a second year on a two-way QO wouldn’t necessarily give a player additional leverage in his next foray into restricted free agency.

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Community Shootaround: Best FA Value Signings

August 31st, 2021 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

In a Community Shootaround discussion earlier this month, we asked you to identify the best and worst of 2021’s biggest-money free agent contracts. Today, we’re expanding our focus to encompass all of this summer’s free agent signings, then zeroing in on the good rather than the bad.

In other words, we want to know which of this year’s free agent signings represented the best value from a team’s perspective.

[RELATED: 2021 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

Dennis Schröder‘s one-year deal with the Celtics figures to be a popular choice for the best value of the summer. After all, Schröder was reportedly offered $80MM over four years during the season. It’s hard to argue that getting him for one year worth $5.9MM isn’t a worthwhile investment.

Schröder’s deal was one of a handful of guard signings I liked. The Nets‘ one-year, $4.7MM deal with Bruce Brown was another — perhaps getting him locked up to a longer-term deal this offseason would’ve been Brooklyn’s preferred option, since he’s now on track to reach unrestricted free agency in 2022. But I thought he might end up signing a deal similar to Alex Caruso‘s (four years, $37MM), so $4.7MM for one year looks pretty good.

The Knicks‘ signing of Kemba Walker to a two-year, $17.9MM contract was another move I liked, though New York was able to get that team-friendly rate in large part because Walker is still being paid big money by Oklahoma City for the next two years after being bought out by the team. The buyout caveat also applies to the Nets‘ one-year, minimum-salary deal with Blake Griffin. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that those signings represent good values for Walker’s and Griffin’s current teams.

Like Brooklyn with Griffin, the Bucks and Clippers benefited from the fact that Bobby Portis and Nicolas Batum weren’t seeking a change of scenery. Both players only received modest Non-Bird raises from their respective clubs, so Portis is on the books for $8.9MM over two years with Milwaukee, while Batum got $6.5MM for two seasons with L.A. Both Portis and Batum have second-year player options, but if they play well enough to opt out, it means the Bucks and Clippers got a nice bargain for 2021/22.

Otto Porter, coming off a four-year, $106MM contract, reportedly turned down more lucrative offers to sign with the Warriors for the veteran’s minimum. He still needs to show he’s healthy, but even if he struggles to stay on the court, the risk for Golden State is minimal. If he’s back to 100%, he should significantly outplay his $2.4MM salary (and $1.7MM cap hit).

All the deals I’ve listed so far came in at under $10MM, but there was some value to be found among bigger-money commitments too. One of my favorites was the Kings‘ four-year deal with Richaun Holmes, which is worth $46.5MM. I expected a team in need of a center – such as Charlotte or Toronto – to make a more aggressive offer for Holmes in the range of $15-18MM per year, so retaining him at an annual rate under $12MM is a nice piece of business for Sacramento.

What do you think? Which free agent signings this month do you think were the best bargains and will provide the most value going forward?

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

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