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Outstanding 2021/22 Rookie Scale Option Decisions

December 28th, 2020 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for teams to exercise the third- and fourth-year team options for 2021/22 on players’ rookie scale contracts is Tuesday, December 29, meaning that clubs who have yet to finalize those decisions will have to do so today or tomorrow.

Most clubs with options to pick up have already done so, and in many cases those decisions were no-brainers. Luka Doncic (Mavericks), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), Trae Young (Hawks), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) are among the players whose 2021/22 options have been exercised, and as long as they remain on their rookie contracts, they’ll be among the best bargains in the NBA.

With the help of our tracker, here are the option decisions that have not yet been announced or reported, with Tuesday’s deadline looming:

Boston Celtics

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles Clippers

Minnesota Timberwolves

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Washington Wizards

The fact that these option decisions haven’t been formally finalized yet doesn’t mean they won’t be easy calls. For instance, there’s no chance that the Sixers are going to decline their third-year option on Thybulle — they just haven’t made it official yet.

However, not all of these options are locked to be picked up. The Knicks, for instance, previously exercised their options on RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox but didn’t do so for Spellman. Teams almost always announce all their option pick-ups at once, so the fact that Spellman wasn’t included in that press release is a strong sign that New York will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Meanwhile, Poole’s option is the least expensive on this list and is barely worth more than the minimum, but even at that price, the Warriors have a tough decision to make. Poole has been relatively ineffective so far (.334/.277/.805 shooting in 60 games) and Golden State’s roster is expensive. The team has to determine whether it makes sense to continue investing in Poole’s development next season, or whether a minimum-salary veteran should get his spot on the ’21/22 roster.

I think most of the other options listed here – with the possible exception of Wagner’s – are more likely to be exercised than declined, but it’s possible there will be a surprise or two. It’s worth noting that turning down an option doesn’t mean the team can’t re-sign the player in 2021 free agency — it just means they can’t offer a starting salary higher than the value of the declined option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Is Brooklyn The Best Team In The East?

December 26th, 2020 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets knew they were investing in the future when they signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to huge free agent deals in July of 2019. Durant was less than three weeks removed from a ruptured Achilles tendon and Irving was looking for a fresh start after being the scapegoat for a disappointing season in Boston. Durant didn’t play at all during the 2019/20 season, while Irving suffered a shoulder impingement that limited him to 20 games, so the Nets’ wait to enjoy the spoils of their free agency coup became even longer.

Two games into the new season, Durant and Irving are both healthy and Brooklyn looks like a legitimate contender. The Nets started off with blowout wins over the Warriors and Celtics in a pair of nationally televised games. Irving is putting up MVP-level numbers with averages of 31.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per night, and Durant isn’t far behind with a 25.5/4.5/3.0 line.

The Nets, who had trouble assembling a full roster this summer at Disney World, suddenly have a deep, talented team that looks capable of a long playoff run. Caris LeVert has become the primary ball-handler on the reserve unit and is third on the team in scoring at 15.0 PPG. Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris bring additional firepower to the starting unit. DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen split time at center, while free agent addition Jeff Green provides versatility in the frontcourt.

Brooklyn’s emergence adds another contender to the crowded playoff picture in the East. Milwaukee had the best record in the conference last season, but Miami reached the NBA Finals. The Celtics, Raptors, Sixers, and Pacers should all be in the mix as well.

We want to get your opinion. If the Nets can get a full season from both Durant and Irving, should they be considered the best team in the East? Please leave your replies in the comments section.

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Key In-Season NBA Dates, Deadlines For 2020/21

December 26th, 2020 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The list of important in-season dates and deadlines for 2020/21 may look a little off for hardcore NBA fans.

For instance, you’ve grown accustomed to the fact that teams are permitted to start signing players to 10-day contracts on January 5 during a typical league year, you’ll have to adjust your thinking to accommodate for the league’s revamped ’20/21 schedule. This year, February 23 is the first day that 10-day deals can be signed.

We’re here to help provide the rescheduled dates for those usual in-season deadlines. Here’s a breakdown of the dates, deadlines, and events that will influence player movement for the next several months across the NBA:

December 29

January 25

  • Priority order for waiver claims is now based on 2020/21 record, rather than 2019/20 record (as of March 11). Teams with the worst records receive the highest waiver priority.

January 29

February 6

February 10

  • NBA G League season begins.

February 23

February 24

  • Last day to waive non-guaranteed NBA contracts before they become guaranteed for the rest of the season. Salaries officially guarantee on February 27 if players haven’t cleared waivers before that date.

March 3

March 4

  • First half of NBA regular season ends.

March 5-9

  • NBA All-Star break.

March 6

  • NBA G League regular season ends.

March 8-11

  • NBA G League playoffs.

March 10

  • Second half of NBA regular season begins.

March 15

  • Former first-round picks who were stashed overseas may sign rookie scale NBA contracts for the 2021/22 season.

March 25

  • Trade deadline (2:00pm CT).

April 9

  • Last day for contract renegotiations.
  • Last day a player can be waived by one team and remain eligible to appear in the postseason for another team.
  • Last day for a restricted free agent to sign an offer sheet.

April 19

May 16

  • Last day of the NBA regular season.
  • Last day players can sign contracts for 2020/21
  • Last day two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA contracts.
  • Luxury tax penalties calculated based on payroll as of this day.

May 18-21

  • Play-in tournament for seventh and eighth playoff seeds in each conference.

May 22

  • NBA playoffs begin.

Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and NBA.com were used in the creation of this post.

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Poll: Best Value Among Non-Max Rookie Scale Extensions

December 26th, 2020 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

After four players signed maximum-salary rookie scale extensions relatively early in the NBA’s condensed offseason, six more players eligible for rookie extensions completed deals in the final 24 hours or so before Monday’s deadline.

[RELATED: 2020/21 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]

All six of those 11th-hour deals were worth well below the max, ranging from $40MM to as much as $80MM. Contracts in that range are generally trickier to negotiate than maximum-salary extensions — it’s fair to assume the Magic spent more time weighing how much to offer Jonathan Isaac, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, than the Celtics did thinking about what to offer Jayson Tatum.

With that in mind, we want to get your thoughts on the six non-max rookie scale extensions signed in 2020, all of which will take effect in 2021/22. They are as follows:

  • OG Anunoby (Raptors): Four years, $72MM. Includes fourth-year player option.
  • Derrick White (Spurs): Four years, $70MM. Includes $5MM in incentives.
  • Jonathan Isaac (Magic): Four years, $69.6MM. Includes $10.4MM in incentives and Exhibit 3 injury protection.
  • Luke Kennard (Clippers): Four years, $56MM. Includes $8MM in incentives and a fourth-year team option.
  • Markelle Fultz (Magic): Three years, $50MM. Includes $3MM in incentives and partial guarantee in third year.
  • Kyle Kuzma (Lakers): Three years, $40MM. Includes third-year player option.

While White’s and Isaac’s contracts were initially reported as being worth $75MM and $80MM, respectively, it’s actually Anunoby who received the highest overall guarantee. His fourth-year player option also probably makes his contract the most player-friendly overall, though you could make the case that he deserves it — unlike a number of other players on this list, he hasn’t dealt with ongoing injury issues since entering the NBA, and has a clear-cut role as a three-and-D weapon who still has room for improvement.

White will be able to match Anunoby’s $72MM total across four seasons if he’s able to play at least 70 games in each year of his deal. His other incentives will be harder to reach, but $18MM per year is still a a strong investment in a player who came off the bench for much of the 2019/20 campaign.

Isaac and Fultz both have injury histories, but the Magic protected themselves in each case. They included games-played incentives and injury language related to Isaac’s knee in the forward’s contract, and are only on the hook for a small partial guarantee ($2MM) in the third year of Fultz’s deal.

The Clippers took a similar approach with Kennard, who missed much of the 2019/20 season with knee issues — in addition to having to earn a series of annual incentives, he only has three guaranteed years on his extension, which features a fourth-year team option.

As for Kuzma, he joined Anunoby as the only other player in this group to get a player option on the final year of his extension, which works in his favor — he’ll be able to hit the open market in advance of his age-28 season if he outplays this contract. Of course, he also got the lowest per-year commitment of any of these six players, so even if he doesn’t live up to the deal, it shouldn’t be a major albatross.

What do you think? Which of these contract extensions do you think represents the best value from a team perspective?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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2020/21 NBA Disabled Player Exceptions

December 25th, 2020 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

A disabled player exception can be granted when an NBA team has a player go down with an injury deemed to be season-ending. The exception gives the club some additional spending flexibility, functioning almost as a cross between a traded player exception and a mid-level exception.

We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, a DPE gives a team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.

Because the rules related to disable player exceptions are somewhat restrictive and the exceptions themselves often aren’t worth a lot, they often simply expire without being used. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on which disabled player exceptions have been granted, just in case.

We’ll use this space to break down the teams with disabled player exceptions available for the 2020/21 league year, updating it as the season progresses if more teams are granted DPEs and/or to indicate which ones have been used.

Teams have until March 3 to apply for a disabled player exception and until April 19 to actually use them.

Here’s the list so far:

Teams that have been granted disabled player exceptions:

The Warriors were granted a disabled player exception following Thompson’s season-ending Achilles tear. Because his salary exceeds $35MM+, Golden State’s exception is worth the amount of the mid-level exception. However, it remains to be seen how enthusiastic the team will be to use it. The Warriors, who are way over the luxury tax line, already project to have the NBA’s most expensive roster in 2020/21.

Two of Orlando’s young building blocks suffered torn ACLs that will sideline them for the entire 2020/21 season, resulting in a pair of disabled player exceptions for the team. However, the Magic have a full 15-man roster and aren’t far from the tax line, which will limit their options as they consider whether or not to use it.

Brooklyn received a disabled player exception after Dinwiddie underwent ACL reconstruction surgery. Like the Warriors, the Nets project to have a significant luxury tax bill at the end of the 2020/21 season, so they’ll be careful about using their disabled player exception. Since Brooklyn still has its full taxpayer mid-level exception, the DPE could be more useful on the trade market.

Leonard’s season-ending shoulder surgery paved the way for the Heat to apply for and receive a disabled player exception. However, they forfeited that exception when they agreed to send Leonard to Oklahoma City in a trade for Trevor Ariza.

The Wizards were granted a disabled player exception in response to Bryant’s ACL tear. The team doesn’t have the flexibility to use the full exception and remain out of luxury tax territory unless it sheds salary elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Players Who Can’t Be Traded Until March 3

December 25th, 2020 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed earlier, most players who signed new contracts as free agents during the 2020/21 league year can’t be traded until February 6. As a result, nearly every team is carrying at least one player – and generally a handful – who won’t become trade-eligible until early February.

There’s also a small subset of free agent signees whose trade ineligibility lasts for an extra four weeks. Typically, these players would become trade-eligible on January 15. Due to the changes to the NBA’s calendar for the 2020/21 league year, that date has been shifted to March 3.

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 March 3, 2021. Players who have the ability to veto trades in 2020/21 are marked with an asterisk (*).

Brooklyn Nets

Chicago Bulls

Los Angeles Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Milwaukee Bucks

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

Orlando Magic

Phoenix Suns

Portland Trail Blazers

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards

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

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Players Who Can’t Be Traded Until February 6

December 25th, 2020 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

As teams explore the trade market for potential deals in the coming weeks, there are a handful of trade restrictions those clubs must take into account. Most notably, newly-signed free agents can’t be dealt until at least February 6.

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that – in a typical league year – a free agent who signs with an NBA team can’t be traded for three months or until December 15, whichever is later. That rule has had to be tweaked for 2020/21 to account for the league’s revamped calendar, so the new trade eligibility date for most offseason signees is February 6.

There are also some recently-signed players who meet a few specific criteria and can’t be traded until March 3. The list of those players can be found right here.

The players who aren’t eligible to be traded until February 6 are listed below. Players who have the ability to veto trades in 2020/21 are marked with an asterisk (*).

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Read more

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2020/21 NBA Waiver Claims

December 25th, 2020 at 11:49am 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. While there are a few teams with sizable trade exceptions available, only the Warriors and Magic have disabled player exceptions on hand, and the Knicks and Hornets are the only teams with any cap room left.

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 exceptions — 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.

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 2019/20 league year featured a total of 12 waiver claims, which was the highest mark in several years.

Despite how infrequent they are, we still want to track all the waiver claims that take place during the 2020/21 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:

  • Rockets claim Kenny Wooten from Knicks (November 21) (story)
    • Wooten signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Knicks last January, but never played an NBA game with the team and was cut in November with a new regime in charge. It looked like the Rockets may end up poaching Wooten for one of their two-way contract slots, but they decided to waive him during the preseason, using that slot on Brodric Thomas instead.
  • Nets claim Paul Eboua from Heat (December 18) (story)
    • Eboua was a training camp invitee in Miami who was beaten out by Max Strus for the club’s second two-way slot. The Nets claimed his non-guaranted minimum salary contract off waivers, then promptly re-released him. Brooklyn likely plans to have Eboua play for the Long Island Nets in the G League this season.
  • Suns claim Frank Kaminsky from Kings (December 21) (story)
    • Of the first three waiver claims of 2020/21, Kaminsky is the only one who began the regular season on his new team’s roster. The Suns, who had Kaminsky on their roster in 2019/20, declined his $5MM team option at the start of the offseason, but were happy to get him back on a non-guaranteed minimum salary deal via waivers, taking him into their open 15th roster spot.
  • Rockets claim DaQuan Jeffries from Kings (April 5) (story)
    • After re-signing Jeffries to a two-year, minimum-salary deal during the 2020 offseason, the Kings decided late in the first year that he wasn’t in their plans. The rebuilding Rockets opted to take a flier on Jeffries to see if he might be worth retaining in 2021/22 on his second-year team option.
  • Spurs claim DaQuan Jeffries from Rockets (May 15) (story)
    • Being released twice in a single season isn’t ideal, but the silver lining for Jeffries is that he was the only player to be claimed off waivers twice during the 2020/21 season. Houston had to make room on its roster to sign Khyri Thomas to a multiyear deal, making Jeffries the odd man out. The Spurs decided to use their open roster spot to claim his rights and will have to make a decision later this year on his 2021/22 team option.
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Community Shootaround: Christmas Day Games

December 25th, 2020 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

When the 2019/20 NBA season ended in October, it didn’t seem likely that we’d see another NBA game played until some time in the new year, perhaps even as late as February or March. But the league accelerated its plans for the 2020/21 regular season in the fall, ensuring that an annual tradition was preserved: the five-game Christmas Day slate.

Today’s schedule is as follows:

  • New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat (11:00am central time)
  • Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks (1:30pm CT)
  • Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics (4:00pm CT)
  • Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers (7:00pm CT)
  • Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets (9:30pm CT)

A couple of these matchups look even more tantalizing today than they did a week ago. The Pelicans, for instance, looked awfully impressive in their opening-night game against Toronto on Wednesday and will be going up against the defending Eastern champion Heat, who are hungry for their first win of the season.

A Stephen Curry/Giannis Antetokounmpo showdown between the Warriors and Bucks will be followed by a matchup of two potential Eastern Conference contenders who looked great on opening night, the Nets and Celtics.

Luka Doncic and the Mavericks and LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers will all be looking for their first win of the season in the evening.

And the night is capped off with a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Semifinals, with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the Clippers visiting Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Nuggets.

Which game are you most looking forward to watch today? Which five teams are you picking to win the Christmas Day games? Use the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and make your predictions!

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NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots To Start Season

December 24th, 2020 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the regular season is underway, no NBA team is carrying more than 17 players in total — 15 on standard contracts and two on two-way deals. However, not every team is making use of all 17 roster spots available to them.

Currently, 12 of the league’s 30 teams have at least one open roster spot, either on their regular roster or in their two-way slots.

Those dozen teams have different reasons for not carrying a 15th man on their standard roster. For some clubs, the decision is likely financially motivated, since an open roster spot means not having to pay an extra player.

Some teams may want to maintain the roster flexibility that an open roster provides — it can allow a club to act quickly and decisively in the event of an injury or a two-for-one trade opportunity.

A handful of teams actually can’t add a 15th man at this point, since they’re too close to their hard cap and won’t be able to fit another minimum-salary contract below that hard cap until later in the season.

With the G League season not yet underway, a healthy team may simply decide there’s no point in filling the 15th spot with a developmental player who won’t see any game action. That may also be the reason why some teams haven’t yet filled both their two-way contract slots.

Listed below, with the help of our roster counts breakdown, are the teams that aren’t carrying full rosters.

Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:

  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Houston Rockets *
  • Los Angeles Clippers *
  • Los Angeles Lakers *
  • Milwaukee Bucks *
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Utah Jazz

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes that the team can’t currently sign a 15th man due to the hard cap.

Teams with an open two-way slot:

  • Detroit Pistons
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Portland Trail Blazers
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