Hoops Rumors Originals

Heading into the 2020 offseason, 29 veterans held player options on their contracts, allowing them to either opt in for the 2020/21 season or opt out and reach the open market. Of those 29 players, 13 decided to turn down their options and become free agents.

For some players, that decision was a simple one. Jerami Grant, for instance, was never going to exercise his $9.3MM option with the Nuggets, since opting out allowed him to get a raise and gain long-term security — and, as it turned out, to land with a new team.

The decision wasn’t so easy for every player who opted out though. Now that those 13 veterans have officially signed new contracts and the salary details are in, we want to look back on those decisions and see if they paid off.

Let’s dive in…

Players who received a 2020/21 raise and a multiyear contract:

• Anthony Davis
  • Option: $28,751,774 (Lakers)
  • New contract: Five years, $189.9MM (Lakers)
• Jerami Grant
  • Option: $9,346,153 (Nuggets)
  • New contract: Three years, $60MM (Pistons)
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
  • Option: $8,543,746 (Lakers)
  • New contract: Three years, $39.11MM (Lakers)
    • Note: Third year isn’t fully guaranteed.
• JaMychal Green
  • Option: $5,005,350 (Clippers)
  • New contract: Two years, $15MM (Nuggets)
• Rajon Rondo
  • Option: $2,692,991 (Lakers)
  • New contract: Two years, $15MM (Hawks)

Opting out was a win-win for these players, who will not only receive a higher salary in 2020/21 than they would have if they’d opted in, but also received at least one more guaranteed year beyond the coming season. In Green’s case, his second year is a player option, so he’ll be faced with another opt-out decision in 2021.

Players who received a raise for 2020/21:

• Rodney Hood
  • Option: $6,003,900 (Trail Blazers)
  • New contract: Two years, $20.9MM (Trail Blazers)
    • Note: Second-year is not guaranteed.
• Avery Bradley
  • Option: $5,005,350 (Lakers)
  • New contract: Two years, $11.6MM (Heat)
    • Note: Second year is not guaranteed.
• Austin Rivers
  • Option: $2,436,046 (Rockets)
  • New contract: Three years, $10MM (Knicks)
    • Note: Second and third years are not guaranteed.
• Willie Cauley-Stein
  • Option: $2,286,357 (Mavericks)
  • New contract: Two years, $8.2MM (Mavericks)
    • Note: Second year is not guaranteed.
• Robin Lopez
  • Option: $5,005,350 (Bucks)
  • New contract: One year, $7.3MM (Wizards)
• Wesley Matthews
  • Option: $2,692,991 (Bucks)
  • New contract: One year, $3.6MM (Lakers)
• James Ennis
  • Option: $2,130,023 (Magic)
  • New contract: One year, $3.3MM (Magic)

This group of players didn’t receive any guarantees beyond 2020/21, but it’s hard to argue that any of them made the wrong move by opting out, since they’ll all earn more this season than they would have on their respective options.

Players who received a long-term commitment and more overall money:

• Gordon Hayward
  • Option: $34,187,085 (Celtics)
  • New contract: Four years, $120MM (Hornets)

Hayward’s decision to opt out received more scrutiny than any other player’s, since turning down a $34MM+ option raised eyebrows — especially since so few teams had cap room available. But it had always seemed likely that Hayward would be able to secure an overall guarantee that significantly exceeded $34MM, even if he had take a modest pay cut in the short term.

As expected, Hayward won’t earn as much in 2020/21 on his new deal as he would have if he’d opted in. But he’ll still have a $28.5MM salary this season, and the Hornets were willing to give him raises for three years on top of that, resulting in a $120MM overall commitment.

Of the 13 players who opted out, Hayward is the only one who will earn less this season than he would have if he’d exercised his option. However, he also increased his overall guarantee by nearly $86MM, making him one of free agency’s biggest winners. He and the other dozen players who turned down their player options all clearly made the right call.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Despite some speculation earlier in the year that the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic would dissuade NBA teams from making head coaching changes (and having to pay two contracts at once), 2020 has been an eventful year on the league’s coaching carousel.

Ten teams have made changes since we listed the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches in the summer of 2019. That’s a full third of the league.

Of those who were replaced, Doc Rivers (Clippers), Brett Brown (Sixers), and Billy Donovan (Thunder) had ranked among the top 10 longest-tenured head coaches, while only David Fizdale (Knicks), Jim Boylen (Bulls), and John Beilein (Cavaliers) had coached their respective clubs for fewer than four seasons.

Given the turnover in the head coaching ranks, it’s time we update our list. Here’s the current breakdown of the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches by team, sorted by the date they were hired:

1. Gregg Popovich, Spurs: December 1996
2. Erik Spoelstra, Heat: April 2008
3. Rick Carlisle, Mavericks: May 2008
4. Terry Stotts, Trail Blazers: August 2012
5. Brad Stevens, Celtics: July 2013
6. Steve Kerr, Warriors: May 2014
7. Quin Snyder, Jazz: June 2014
8. Michael Malone, Nuggets: June 2015
9. Scott Brooks, Wizards: April 2016
10. James Borrego, Hornets: May 10, 2018
11. Lloyd Pierce, Hawks: May 11, 2018
12. Mike Budenholzer, Bucks: May 17, 2018
13. Steve Clifford, Magic: May 30, 2018
14. Dwane Casey, Pistons: June 11, 2018
15. Nick Nurse, Raptors: June 14, 2018
16. Ryan Saunders, Timberwolves: January 2019
17. Luke Walton, Kings: April 2019
18. Monty Williams, Suns: May 3, 2019
    • Note: Remained a Sixers assistant through the end of Philadelphia’s playoff run.
19. Frank Vogel, Lakers: May 13, 2019
20. Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies: June 2019
21. J.B. Bickerstaff, Cavaliers: February 2020
22. Tom Thibodeau, Knicks: July 2020
23. Steve Nash, Nets: September 3, 2020
24. Billy Donovan, Bulls: September 22, 2020
25. Doc Rivers, Sixers: October 3, 2020
26. Nate Bjorkgren, Pacers: October 20, 2020
27. Tyronn Lue, Clippers: October 20, 2020
28. Stan Van Gundy, Pelicans: October 22, 2020
29. Stephen Silas, Rockets: October 30, 2020
30. Mark Daigneault, Thunder: November 2020

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Under the revamped schedule for the 2020/21 league year, NBA teams have until December 29 to make decisions on the third- and fourth-year team options for players on rookie scale contracts.

All the players whose options will be exercised or declined by December 29 are already under contract for the 2020/21 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 2021/22 campaign.

For players who signed their rookie scale contracts in 2018 and have already been in the NBA for two years, teams must decide on fourth-year options for 2021/22. 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 ’21/22.

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 Mavericks ever considered turning down their option on Luka Doncic, 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 2021/22 team options that clubs must make by December 29. 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 2021/22 salaries:

Atlanta Hawks

• Trae Young (fourth year, $8,326,471): Exercised
• De’Andre Hunter (third year, $7,775,400): Exercised
• Cam Reddish (third year, $4,670,160): Exercised
• Kevin Huerter (fourth year, $4,253,357): Exercised

Boston Celtics

• Romeo Langford (third year, $3,804,360): Exercised
• Robert Williams (fourth year, $3,661,976): Exercised
• Grant Williams (third year, $2,617,800): Exercised

Brooklyn Nets

• Landry Shamet (fourth year, $3,768,342): Exercised

Charlotte Hornets

• Miles Bridges (fourth year, $5,421,493): Exercised
• P.J. Washington (third year, $4,215,120): Exercised

Chicago Bulls

• Wendell Carter Jr. (fourth year, $6,920,027): Exercised
• Coby White (third year, $5,837,760): Exercised
• Chandler Hutchison (fourth year, $4,019,459): Exercised

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Free agent signees, trade acquisitions, and 2020 draftees have been the most common additions to NBA rosters in recent weeks. However, a small number of players come via the draft-and-stash route, as teams bring aboard players drafted in previous years.

First-round draftees from the last three years – such as Chuma Okeke of the Magic – are limited to the 2020 rookie scale. Players who were previously selected in the second round of a draft – or who were first-round picks more than three years ago – are free to sign any type of contract via cap room or exceptions.

Listed below are the draft-and-stash prospects who have signed so far this offseason, with contract details noted. If and when more teams add draft-and-stash players, we’ll update this list, which can be found at anytime on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or in the “Features” page in our mobile menu.

• Orlando Magic: Chuma Okeke, F (2019 draft; No. 16) (story)
  • Okeke was still rehabbing a torn ACL when the Magic selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2019 draft. The two sides had an agreement in place to have him do his rehab work in the G League for a year before signing his rookie scale contract with Orlando.
  • Contract: Four years, $15.1MM. First two years guaranteed.
    
• Detroit Pistons: Deividas Sirvydis, G/F (2019 draft; No. 37) (story)
  • After being drafted in 2019, Sirvydis remained with Rytas Vilnius, his team in Lithuania, for another season. He then briefly joined Hapoel Jerusalem, signing a multiyear contract with the team in May 2020. However, his stint with Israeli club was short-lived, since the Pistons decided to bring him stateside for 2020/21.
  • Contract: Three years, minimum salary. First two years guaranteed.
    
• New Orleans Pelicans: Tony Carr, G (2018 draft; No. 51) (story)
  • Carr spent his first professional season in Italy after being drafted in 2018, then played for Parma Basket in Russia to start the 2019/20 season. He returned to the U.S. early in 2020 and finished the season with the Erie BayHawks, New Orleans’ G League affiliate, before joining the Pelicans during the offseason. However, his non-guaranteed training camp deal suggests he probably isn’t a big part of the team’s future plans.
  • Contract: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed.
    
• New Orleans Pelicans: Didi Louzada, G (2019 draft; No. 35) (story)
  • Louzada joined the Sydney Kings after being drafted in 2019 and played there for two seasons before signing with the Pelicans late in the 2020/21 season. New Orleans could’ve negotiated a longer-term deal with Louzada, so the fact that the team only tacked on one extra year to his first NBA contract indicates he’s not a centerpiece of the rebuild.
  • Contract: Two years, minimum salary. Includes second-year team option.

While NBA rosters are limited to 15 players during the regular season, teams are allowed to carry up to 20 players during the offseason. Expanded offseason rosters allow clubs to bring in players on contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed, giving those players a chance to earn a regular season roster spot or getting a closer look at them before sending them to their G League affiliate.

In addition to the usual 15-man rosters, NBA teams are permitted to carry two players on two-way contracts. Two-way deals, which we describe in detail in our glossary, essentially give clubs the NBA rights to players, though they’ll spend the majority of the season in the G League rather than with the NBA team. While two-way players don’t count toward the regular season roster limit, they do count toward the 20-man offseason limit.

Following a whirlwind offseason, we’ve done our best in the space below to present a picture of where each team’s roster stands. Here are the various categories you’ll find in our list:

• Official: These players are officially under contract, with fully guaranteed salaries for 2020/21.
• Reported: These are players whose contract agreements have been reported but haven’t been made official. We’re expecting them to be finalized at some point, though it’s possible some will fall through or were reported erroneously.
• 10-day: These are players officially signed to 10-day contracts, along with the expiry date on those deals.
• Two-way: These are players officially signed to two-way contracts. You can find a specific team’s two-way players right here.
• Total: A team’s total roster count, taking into account all of the above.

Here are 2020/21’s NBA roster counts, which we’ll continue to update through the preseason and into the regular season:

Updated 5-17-21 (6:20am CT)

Atlanta Hawks

• Official: 15
• Two-way: 2
• Total: 17

Boston Celtics

• Official: 15
• Two-way: 2
• Total: 17

Brooklyn Nets

• Official: 15
• Two-way: 2
• Total: 17
  

Charlotte Hornets

• Official: 15
• Two-way: 2
• Total: 17
  

Chicago Bulls

• Official: 15
• Two-way: 2
• Total: 17
  

Cleveland Cavaliers

• Official: 15
• Two-way: 2
• Total: 17

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We’re only 10 days removed from the start of NBA free agency, but with teams already finalizing their 20-man rosters and training camps set to begin, a lot has happened in those 10 days. Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason.

To this end, we continue to update our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had 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 sometimes be based on what’s been reported to date, so those amounts could be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
• Our tracker will continue to be updated with the latest moves right up until opening night on December 22. Signings completed after the season begins won’t be included.
• If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.

Our 2020 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.

A number of 2020 free agents, including Brandon Ingram, Gordon Hayward, and Davis Bertans, did extremely well for themselves on the open market this fall. However the most lucrative contracts signed since the new league year began weren’t free agent deals at all — they were contract extensions.

Extensions, of course, don’t involve adding a new player to the roster. By extending a contract, a team ensures that a current player will remain locked up for multiple years to come. Although a contract extension may not change the club’s outlook on the court, it can have a major impact on that team’s salary cap situation for the next several seasons.

Rookie scale extensions have typically been the most common form of contract extension. Former first-round picks who are entering the fourth and final year of their rookie deals are eligible to sign those up until December 21. It’s common for about four to eight players eligible for rookie scale extensions to sign them.

[RELATED: Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2020 Offseason]

While they used to be less common than rookie scale extensions, veteran extensions are happening more frequently these days, with the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement expanding the rules for eligibility and creating some additional incentives for star players to sign new deals before they reach free agency. In 2019/20, a total of 12 veteran extensions were signed, compared to just nine rookie scale extensions.

The deadline for a veteran extension for a player who isn’t in the final year of his current contract is December 21. That’s also the super-max extension deadline, so it applies to Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, extension-eligible players who are on expiring deals can sign new contracts throughout the season too.

Listed below are the players who have finalized contract extensions so far in the 2020/21 league year. This list, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site (or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu) will be kept up to date throughout the offseason — and throughout the ’20/21 regular season if any veteran players ink an extension at that point.

Rookie scale contract extensions:

• Donovan Mitchell (Jazz): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $163,000,590. Projected value can increase to $195,600,710 if Mitchell earns All-NBA honors in 2021. Includes fifth-year player option and 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2021/22.
• Jayson Tatum (Celtics): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $163,000,590. Projected value can increase to $195,600,710 if Tatum earns All-NBA honors in 2021. Includes fifth-year player option and 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2021/22.
• Bam Adebayo (Heat): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $163,000,590. Projected value can increase to $195,600,710 if Adebayo earns MVP honors in 2021 ($185,820,675 for All-NBA First Team; $179,300,645 for Defensive Player of the Year). Starts in 2021/22.
• De’Aaron Fox (Kings): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $163,000,590. Projected value can increase to $195,600,710 if Fox earns First Team All-NBA honors in 2021 ($182,560,660 for Second Team; $169,522,180 for Third Team). Starts in 2021/22.
• OG Anunoby (Raptors): Four years, $72,000,000 (story). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
• Jonathan Isaac (Magic): Four years, $69,600,000 (story). Includes $10.4MM in incentives and Exhibit 3 injury protection. Starts in 2021/22.
• Derrick White (Spurs): Four years, $68,000,000 (story). Includes $5MM in incentives. Starts in 2021/22.
• Luke Kennard (Clippers): Four years, $56,000,000 (story). Includes $7.64MM in incentives and a fourth-year team option. Starts in 2021/22.
• Markelle Fultz (Magic): Three years, $50,000,000 (story). Includes $3MM in incentives and partial guarantee in third year. Starts in 2021/22.
• Kyle Kuzma (Lakers): Three years, $39,000,000 (story). Includes third-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.

Veteran contract extensions:

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks): Five years, super-max salary (story). Projected value of $228,200,830. Includes fifth-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
• Rudy Gobert (Jazz): Five years, $205,000,000 (story). Includes fifth-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
• Paul George (Clippers): Four years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $176,265,468. Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2021/22.
• Jrue Holiday (Bucks): Four years, $134,997,334 (base value) (story). Includes approximately $25MM in incentives. Starts in 2021/22.
• LeBron James (Lakers): Two years, $85,660,532 (story). Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2021/22.
• Steven Adams (Pelicans): Two years, $35,000,000 (story). Includes 7.5% trade kicker. Starts in 2021/22.
• Monte Morris (Nuggets): Three years, $27,300,000 (story). Includes incentives. Starts in 2021/22.