Hoops Rumors Originals

Five Non-Bird Free Agents Who May Be Difficult To Re-Sign

October 7th, 2020 at 12:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Every player who finishes a season as a member of an NBA roster gets some form of Bird rights as a free agent, allowing his team to go over the cap to re-sign him. However, a player who spent just one year with his club typically only has Non-Bird rights, which are the weakest form of Bird rights, as their oxymoronic name suggests.

With the Non-Bird exception, a team can re-sign a player for up to four years and give him a raise, but that raise has to be a modest one. Non-Bird rights allow for a starting salary worth up to 120% of the player’s previous salary or 120% of the minimum salary, whichever is greater.

In other words, a Non-Bird free agent who earned $5MM can only get a starting salary worth up to $6MM on his new deal unless his team uses cap room or another exception (such as the mid-level) to bring him back.

This cap restriction will apply specifically to a handful of players around the NBA who may be in line for raises this summer. Because these players will be Non-Bird free agents, it may be a challenge for their teams to re-sign them without cap room or an exception like the bi-annual or mid-level.

Let’s take a closer look at five players who will fall into this category this offseason…

Markieff Morris, F, Lakers
Dwight Howard, C, Lakers

During their run to the NBA Finals, the Lakers have matched up with talented opposing centers such as Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic, and Bam Adebayo, while also facing a Rockets team that doesn’t use a traditional center. Anthony Davis has, of course, been the most important factor in the Lakers winning those frontcourt battles, but Morris and Howard have played major roles as well, proving their value as role players on a championship-caliber team.

Morris signed a $1.75MM contract during the season, while Howard’s one-year deal is worth the veteran’s minimum, so neither player can sign for more than 120% of the minimum if the over-the-cap Lakers hope to use their Non-Bird rights. If the cap doesn’t increase, that would mean a max of $2.8MM for Morris and $3.08MM for Howard.

My assumption is that both players would be able to do better than that on the open market. So if they’re not willing to accept team-friendly discounts to remain in Los Angeles, the Lakers may have to dip into their mid-level exception (projected to be worth $9.26MM) to try to re-sign one or both players.

Carmelo Anthony, F, Trail Blazers

Anthony’s NBA career appeared to be on the verge of ending before he worked out a minimum-salary deal with Portland. He outperformed that modest contract, with 15.4 PPG and 6.3 RPG on .430/.385/.845 shooting in 58 games (all starts) for the Trail Blazers in 2019/20.

Like Howard, Anthony would be limited to a ’20/21 salary of $3.08MM via his Non-Bird rights. If the Blazers need to go higher than that to retain him, they’ll have to repeat a move they used last summer, when they re-signed Non-Bird free agent Rodney Hood with their taxpayer mid-level exception in order to give him a raise.

Jeff Green, F, Rockets

Green was underwhelming during his brief stint with Utah early in the 2019/20 season, but he thrived in Houston, averaging 12.2 PPG on .564/.354/.857 shooting in 18 games (22.6 MPG) as part of the club’s micro-ball lineup. He was nearly as good in the postseason, with 11.6 PPG on .495/.426/.824 shooting in an increased role (28.6 MPG).

Green hasn’t signed a contract worth more than the minimum since 2016, so it’s possible that’s all it will take for Houston or another team to sign him this fall. That’d be a best-case scenario for the Rockets, given how well he fit in their system down the stretch — topping any rival offer exceeding $3.08MM would mean dipping into the mid-level or bi-annual.

Reggie Jackson, G, Clippers

Like most players on the buyout market, Jackson signed a minimum-salary contract with the Clippers to finish out the season, meaning the team will be limited to an offer starting at about $2.8MM.

Jackson was pretty good for the Clippers in 17 regular season games, knocking down 41.3% of his three-point attempts and chipping in 9.5 PPG and 3.2 APG. But he fell out of the rotation in the second round of the playoffs vs. Denver, and the Clippers will likely be looking to upgrade the point guard position this fall. A reunion probably doesn’t make sense for either side, especially if Jackson can get offers exceeding the Non-Bird limit.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Community Shootaround: Knicks’ Offseason Trade Options

October 6th, 2020 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

With only about $56MM in guaranteed salary on their books for next season, the Knicks have the flexibility necessary to create cap room and make a run at one or more top free agents. However, the team also feels as if it’s well-positioned to trade for an impact player, as an April report indicated.

This year’s free agent class isn’t particularly star-heavy, so it’s possible that greasing the wheels for a blockbuster trade may be a better use of the Knicks’ cap space. Plus, New York has accumulated seven first-round picks in the next four drafts and has a roster loaded with former lottery selections, so the team could put together an appealing package for the right player.

In a report this week, Marc Berman of The New York Post indicated that Pacers guard Victor Oladipo could be that player. Knicks general manager Scott Perry, who drafted Oladipo when he was a member of the Magic front office in 2013, “still is enamored” with him, according to Berman, and there have been rumblings that the All-Star may not be fully committed to Indiana for the long term.

Thunder guard Chris Paul, a former CAA client of new Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose, is another potential trade target for the franchise.

Writing today about that possibility in a separate story for The New York Post, Berman suggests that Oklahoma City would likely seek a first-round pick and a young prospect on his rookie contract in return for Paul. According to Berman, the Thunder would probably target Kevin Knox in a deal with New York, while the Knicks would rather give up Frank Ntilikina or Dennis Smith Jr.

Oladipo and Paul aren’t the only potential trade candidates who could catch the Knicks’ eye this offseason, but they’re probably two of the only All-Stars who will realistically be available. Within his initial article on Oladipo, Berman names three more trade targets who would intrigue the Knicks, but it’s hard to imagine any of them (Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Paul George) actually changing teams this fall.

Of course, even if Embiid, Towns, George, or another superstar becomes available, the cost to acquire them in a trade would be extremely high. On the other hand, there are certain factors that should keep the price tags of Oladipo (health; expiring contract) and Paul (age; exorbitant salary) in check, which may appeal to the Knicks — making a trade for one of those two players could help New York move back toward playoff contention without emptying the team’s treasure chest of assets.

In today’s Community Shootaround, we want to get your input on the Knicks’ offseason options.

Does Oladipo look like an appealing trade target for New York? How about Paul? Should the team wait for a star with fewer question marks to become available before looking to trade future first-round picks? Or should the Knicks altogether avoid trading multiple assets for one impact player, focusing instead – for now at least – on using their cap room to sign free agents or to keep adding draft picks by taking on unwanted contracts?

Head to the comment section to share your thoughts on the Knicks’ offseason plan!

Various Ways Warriors Could Use Trade Exception

October 5th, 2020 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The $17.2MM traded player exception held by the Warriors as a result of last year’s Andre Iguodala trade has become one of the most intriguing non-player assets to watch during the coming NBA offseason.

Trade exceptions allow NBA teams to take on a certain amount of salary without sending out any salary in return for matching purposes. While they typically expire after one year, the expiry dates for the Warriors’ TPE and the others created last July will be postponed until after the start of this year’s free agent period to make sure clubs still have a chance to use them. The start date for the 2020 free agent period remains up in the air, but appears likely to land sometime in late November.

Despite the extended deadline, the Warriors aren’t a lock to make use of their trade exception. Most TPEs ultimately go unused, and Golden State already projects to be a taxpaying team in 2020/21 — taking on additional salary will cost the team exponentially more in tax penalties.

Still, few NBA teams are more comfortable with a high payroll than the Warriors, and that exception represents one of the few paths the capped-out club has to improve its roster, so there has been plenty of speculation in recent months about how it could be used.

Much of that speculation has centered on the idea that the Warriors will try to acquire a single player whose salary is near that $17.2MM upper limit, but there are several other ways the team could theoretically look to utilize its TPE.

We’ll run through a few of those potential paths in the space below, so let’s dive right in…

Acquiring a single player

This is the simplest option for the Warriors and a potential trade partner. In this scenario, Golden State would likely send out a draft pick or two in exchange for a single player whose salary comes in below $17,285,185.

This category covers a wide range of possibilities. For instance, Golden State would be able to use the exception to accommodate a player like Evan Fournier, who is making $17.15MM next season. However, the team has no obligation to use as much of the TPE as possible, so it could just as easily be used to acquire a player earning $3MM or $4MM who might represent a better value.

Depending on the value and the cost of the incoming player, the Warriors may be willing to put one of their most valuable trade assets – this year’s No. 2 pick or next year’s top-three protected Timberwolves pick – on the table. But some veteran trade candidates won’t have nearly that high a price tag.

Acquiring multiple players

Unlike certain other salary cap exceptions – such as the disabled player exception – a trade exception can be used multiple times as long as there’s still money left on it. For instance, the Warriors’ $17MM+ TPE could be used to acquire a player earning $10MM and a second player earning $7MM.

There are countless examples of how this could work, but after using Fournier as our first example, let’s stick with the Magic — Golden State’s exception could theoretically be used to acquire, say, Terrence Ross ($13.5MM) and Khem Birch ($3MM). The Warriors could also use it in two separate trades.

Targeting multiple lower-cost players rather than one more expensive target could be a way for the Warriors to replenish their veteran depth.

Acquiring a bridge player

Yet another member of the Magic – Aaron Gordon – has frequently been cited as a potential trade target for the Warriors, but his 2020/21 salary ($18.14MM) isn’t quite small enough to fit into Golden State’s TPE. Because trade exceptions can’t be combined with player salaries, there’s no way for the Dubs to directly use their TPE to accommodate a Gordon deal.

However, there’s a workaround if the Warriors do want to target a player who makes a salary in that range — a “bridge” player.

Using the TPE, Golden State could theoretically acquire a player on an expiring contract in the $16-17MM range, such as Timberwolves forward James Johnson. From there, they could flip that player in a second trade to acquire someone making up to about $20MM, via normal salary-matching rules. Essentially, they’d be using the first player’s contract as a bridge to accommodate the second’s.

There are plenty of potential obstacles here. For one, it would mean working out two separate trades with two different teams — negotiating one deal is tricky enough, so adding the extra step might cost the Warriors an extra asset.

Additionally, if Golden State wants to turn around and flip a player it just acquired via trade, it can’t combine him with a second player for salary-matching purposes, which would limit the club’s options to some extent.

Still, if a player like Gordon or Myles Turner ($18MM) is high on the Warriors’ wish list, this route might be the most viable way of getting them to Golden State.

Acquiring a player via sign-and-trade

Although a trade exception can’t be used to sign a free agent outright, it can be used to accommodate a sign-and-trade, as long as certain criteria are met and the player’s first-year salary fits into the exception.

Unfortunately, this probably isn’t an option for the Warriors, since a team acquiring a player via sign-and-trade can’t have a team salary above the tax apron (approximately $138.9MM if the cap doesn’t increase) at any time during the league year. This restriction is why Golden State had to trade Iguodala in the first place last July to accommodate the D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade.

The Warriors already have $142MM+ in guaranteed salaries on their books for 2020/21, so barring major cost-cutting moves, a sign-and-trade acquisition won’t be possible.

Claiming a player on waivers

A trade exception can also be used to claim a player off waivers, as long as his salary fits into the TPE. However, like the sign-and-trade concept, this may not be one of the Warriors’ more viable options.

If a team is waiving a player, it presumably means that team wasn’t able to trade him for anything of value. If that’s the case, Golden State is unlikely to want the player on the terms of his existing contract — he’ll likely pass through waivers and be available at a lower cost.

This is still a scenario worth keeping in the backs of our minds if a productive player hits waivers, but it seems like a long shot.

Completing a trade that allows the exception to be rolled over

A trade exception can essentially be “rolled over” if a team has an exception available but sends out salary as part of the deal anyway.

For example, if two teams swap a pair of players earning $15MM apiece and one team has a $15MM trade exception available, that club could use the exception to take on the incoming player and create a new exception using the outgoing player’s salary. That would reset the one-year clock to use the TPE.

This is a somewhat tricky concept, and in the Warriors’ case, it’s complicated further by the fact that the team has no contracts in the $17MM range — the only Golden State player earning between $5MM and $29.5MM in 2020/21 is Draymond Green ($22.24MM), who is unlikely to be dealt.

Still, there’s theoretically a way to make this work, especially if the Warriors’ trade partner has cap room. Here’s a hypothetical example: Let’s say the Hawks and Warriors work out a deal that sends Andrew Wiggins ($29.54MM) and a draft pick to Atlanta in exchange for Dewayne Dedmon ($13.33MM) and Kevin Huerter ($2.76MM).

The Hawks will have more than enough cap space available to accommodate the extra incoming salary, while the Warriors could fit Dedmon’s and Huerter’s contracts into their trade exception. As a result, Golden State could create a new trade exception worth Wiggins’ outgoing salary ($29.54MM) and would have a full year to use it.

I’m not sure either Atlanta or Golden State would be overly enthusiastic about that specific trade, but it serves as an example of how the Warriors could avoid losing the TPE while also avoiding tacking on a ton of extra money to their 2020/21 payroll. In this hypothetical scenario, they’d have even more flexibility with that new larger trade exception down the road, while also reducing their short-term team salary.

It will be difficult to find the right trade partner and the right combination of assets to make this scenario work. But last year’s Russell sign-and-trade was an example of the Warriors’ willingness to accumulate assets whenever and however they can in the hopes that they’ll be able to eventually maximize their value and fit — they knew Russell probably wouldn’t be a long-term fixture, but recognized getting him and trading him down the road was better than losing Kevin Durant for nothing. They’ll likely consider taking a similar approach with this trade exception if no other favorable options arise.

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

2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Dallas Mavericks

October 2nd, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Dallas Mavericks.

Salary Cap Outlook

If we assume that Tim Hardaway Jr. and Willie Cauley-Stein exercise their player options and account for the Mavericks’ first-round pick, the club will have nearly $112MM on its books before making any offseason moves. That would eliminate the possibility of cap room, but would give Dallas a good amount of breathing room below the tax threshold.

As a result, the Mavs will have the full mid-level exception ($9.26MM) available this offseason. The bi-annual exception won’t be in play since Dallas used it a year ago to sign Boban Marjanovic.

Our full salary cap preview for the Mavericks can be found right here.

Roster Decisions To Watch

Options:

Tim Hardaway Jr., player option: $18,975,000
Willie Cauley-Stein, player option: $2,286,357

Non-Guaranteed Contracts:

None

Two-Way Contracts:

Antonius Cleveland (expiring)
Josh Reaves (expiring)

Free Agents:

Courtney Lee (Bird)
J.J. Barea (Bird)
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Non-Bird)
Trey Burke (N/A)
- Note: Burke won’t have any form of Bird rights because he was signed as a substitute player.

2020 Draft Assets

First Round:

No. 18 overall pick

Second Round:

No. 31 overall pick

The Mavericks have their own first-round pick at No. 18, but traded away their second-rounder (No. 48) at the 2017 trade deadline when they acquired Nerlens Noel from Philadelphia.

Fortunately, Dallas picked up another second-round pick in the 2020 draft, acquiring the Warriors’ second-rounder back in 2016 as part of an Andrew Bogut salary dump. That deal, which helped clear the cap space necessary for Golden State to sign Kevin Durant, wasn’t a popular one among rival teams at the time, but it’s paying off for the Mavs this year — the Warriors’ pick is at the very top of the second round.

Three Key Offseason Questions

1. How will the Mavericks balance their short- and long-term outlook this offseason?

The 2019/20 season represented a breakout year for the Mavericks, who posted their best winning percentage (.573) since 2014/15 as Luka Doncic transformed into an MVP candidate and Kristaps Porzingis enjoyed a productive first year in Dallas.

After earning the No. 7 seed in the West and playing the Clippers tough in the first round, the Mavs will feel compelled to keep upgrading the roster in the hopes of taking another big step toward title contention in 2020/21. However, Dallas seems more likely to remain in something of a holding pattern during the 2020 offseason, since the team doesn’t have a ton of short-term flexibility and will want to maximize its spending ability in 2021.

A year from now, Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s $19MM salary will come off the books, as will Boban Marjanovic‘s more modest $3.5MM figure. Assuming there’s at least a small increase in the salary cap, the club will be well-positioned to create either a maximum-salary cap slot or something close to it. In other words, it probably doesn’t make sense to invest in multiyear deals for role players this offseason, since those deals would cut into the team’s ’21 cap space, compromising a potential opportunity to add an impact player.

That doesn’t mean Dallas has to stand pat in the coming months. Adding potential contributors on one-year deals is a viable option, and the club won’t hesitate to explore the trade market for upgrades. It’s even possible that the Mavericks could trade for a third impact player to complement Doncic and Porzingis without having to wait to clear cap room in 2021.

However, with multiple future first-round picks tied up due to previous trades – and without a ton of expendable young players who could be trade chips – it will probably be simpler for the Mavs to pursue that sort of impact player in free agency in 2021 rather than on the trade market.

The 2020 offseason will be an interesting challenge for Dallas. Following the team’s impressive showing in 2019/20, the Mavs’ front office won’t want to give its players the impression that it’s being inactive this fall, but the club will still want to prioritize building a long-term contender over pursuing short-term success in ’20/21.

2. How will the Mavericks use their mid-level exception?

The Mavericks won’t have cap room in 2020, but they also don’t appear to be in any danger of approaching or surpassing the luxury tax threshold, so they’ll be able to use their full $9.3MM mid-level exception.

Splitting that exception into multiple parts is one possibility. Dallas took that path in 2019/20, using most of the MLE to lock up Seth Curry and a small portion of it to sign second-round pick Isaiah Roby. Landing another veteran like Curry, who can reliably play a rotation role, should be the Mavs’ goal with the mid-level this offseason, and I expect they’ll earmark most or all of it for that purpose.

The challenge, of course, will be finding a quality contributor willing to accept a deal worth the MLE that’s only fully guaranteed for a single year, so as not to compromise the 2021 space. By comparison, Curry’s contract was for four years and $32MM.

One factor working in the Mavs’ favor is that so few teams have cap room available this offseason. Once a few of the bigger-name targets come off the board, that leaguewide cap space may completely dry up, so it’s possible that some solid players in the second or third tier of this year’s list of free agents won’t be able to do better than the mid-level. Dallas would be in position to take advantage of that situation.

We’ll have to wait to see what sort of players will be within reach for the Mavs when the free agent period begins. A couple potential targets I like are D.J. Augustin – a dependable point guard who can play on or off the board and make outside shots – and Marcus Morris, whose physicality and ability to guard high-scoring opposing forwards would help fill a hole on Dallas’ roster. However, it’s certainly possible both players will receive more appealing multiyear offers.

3. What will the Mavericks do with their two draft picks?

The Mavericks’ have another obvious path to upgrading their roster this summer: their two draft picks, which fall at No. 18 and No. 31. The team was able to find a contributor in the second round in 2018 (Jalen Brunson) and doing so with either of its draft picks this year would help open up options in the future, even if the player doesn’t make a major immediate impact.

Dallas currently has five role players slated to earn between $4-11MM in 2021/22. Trading one or more of those players in the next year would allow the club to create even more cap room in the 2021 offseason, and could be the difference between whether or not a max-salary slot is available.

The best way to make a veteran role player expendable is to find a younger, lower-cost player capable of doing many of the same things on the court that the vet does. If the Mavs draft well this year, it might clear the way to trade, say, Delon Wright.

While the Mavs hold the No. 18 and No. 31 selections for the time being, there are ways for the team to maximize the value of those picks beyond simply using them. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks suggests, combining those picks to potentially move up into the top 15 may be possible if there’s a target Dallas has its eye on. Acquiring a future first-rounder to help replace one of the picks dealt for Porzingis could be an option too.

With limited draft resources available for the next few seasons, the Mavs will want to consider all their options with these two picks to ensure they make the most of them.

Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Best NBA Head Coaching Hire So Far

October 2nd, 2020 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite some speculation earlier this year that financial constraints imposed by the coronavirus pandemic would discourage NBA teams from making head coaching changes, that hasn’t been the case at all over the last few months. A total of nine clubs – nearly a third of the league – have parted ways with coaches so far, and four of those clubs have since hired replacements.

Those four head coaching hires are as follows:

New York Knicks: Tom Thibodeau (replacing Mike Miller)
Brooklyn Nets: Steve Nash (replacing Jacque Vaughn)
Chicago Bulls: Billy Donovan (replacing Jim Boylen)
Philadelphia 76ers: Doc Rivers (replacing Brett Brown)

Thibodeau’s Bulls squads made the playoffs every year and the Timberwolves went into win-now mode when he arrived, so he didn’t necessarily seem like an obvious fit for the rebuilding Knicks. But his demanding coaching style could help get the most of New York’s young players as the team looks to return to the postseason, and he certainly won’t be intimidated by a large market.

As for the Nets, the expectation was that they’d bring in a veteran coach with a championship résumé to lead a team with title aspirations. Instead, their choice is a first-time head coach only a few years removed from retiring as a player. Nash has a preexisting relationship with Durant and his impressive accomplishments as a player should help earn him the respect of the Nets’ other veterans, but there may be a learning curve as the former two-time MVP adjusts to his first coaching job.

Donovan parted ways with the Thunder in large part because he wasn’t enthused by the idea of a rebuilding or retooling period, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him join a Bulls team coming off consecutive 22-win seasons. But it’s not as if he doesn’t have experience developing young players, having spent two decades coaching the Florida Gators. And if the Bulls take forward strides in the next year or two, Donovan’s playoff coaching experience should come in handy before long.

Finally, the Sixers hired Rivers on Thursday, pivoting to the former Clippers coach after having previously narrowed their field to Mike D’Antoni and Tyronn Lue. For a team trying to get over the hump in the playoffs, Rivers is an interesting choice — he wasn’t able to get over that hump in Los Angeles over the last seven years. And for Rivers, joining another team that features a superstar duo and some chemistry issues is a risk.

Still, despite some disappointing postseason losses, Rivers has consistently led his teams to winning records for more than a decade and he should command the respect of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

What do you think? Which of these four coaching hires do you like the best for these teams, given their respective situations, their goals, and the other options that were available to them?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Poll: Will LeBron James Win Fourth Finals MVP Award?

September 30th, 2020 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Only one player in NBA history has won more than three Finals MVP awards — Michael Jordan has six, having earned the award during each of the six championship series he won with the Bulls.

Lakers forward LeBron James, one of four players to have been named Finals MVP three times, has a chance to win the award for a fourth time this year against Miami. And the odds are in his favor.

As we noted on Tuesday, the Lakers are fairly heavily favored to win this year’s Finals. And James, who has been named MVP each of the last three times his team has won a title, is the odds-on favorite to earn the award again if the Lakers win this year. At BetOnline.ag, he’s listed at -165 for Finals MVP, meaning you’d have to risk $165 to earn a $100 profit on a winning bet.

If you expect the Lakers to win this year’s championship, James is the safe bet. He finished second in 2019/20 regular-season MVP voting, and is leading the Lakers in a number of postseason statistics, including 10.3 RPG and 8.9 APG.

However, LeBron isn’t the only superstar on his team. Anthony Davis has been the Lakers’ leading scorer during the playoffs, with 28.8 RPG on .571/.366/.810 shooting — all of those percentages are better than James’ shooting rates. And it’s Davis who is considered the anchor of Los Angeles’ stout defense, having finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season. So even if the Lakers win this year’s title, it could be Davis, not James, that takes home the Finals MVP award.

Of course, if the Lakers can’t defeat the Heat, the odds of LeBron earning Finals MVP honors fall off drastically. James received some votes for the award back in 2015, when he averaged 35.8 PPG, 13.3 RPG, and 8.8 APG in a losing cause. But even then, with no clear-cut choice on the Warriors, losing the series meant losing out on the Finals MVP award. Andre Iguodala, whose numbers (16.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.0 APG) were pedestrian by comparison to LeBron, received more MVP votes.

In other words, if you expect Miami to pull off the upset, it’s safe to assume your Finals MVP pick will be a member of the Heat, whether it’s Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, or someone else.

What do you think? Will LeBron make history by becoming the second player in NBA history to win a fourth Finals MVP award? Or will he be beaten out for this year’s award by a teammate – presumably Davis – or a Heat player?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Brooklyn Nets

September 29th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Salary Cap Outlook

With $133MM in guaranteed money already on their books for 2020/21, not including cap holds for free agents or their first-round draft pick, the Nets are assured of being over the cap and will almost certainly be over the tax line too.

If they want to sign any outside free agents, the Nets will be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.72MM) and minimum-salary deals.

Our full salary cap preview for the Nets can be found right here.

Roster Decisions To Watch

Options:

Garrett Temple, team option: $5,005,350

Non-Guaranteed Contracts:

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot ($1,824,003)

Two-Way Contracts:

Chris Chiozza (expiring)
Jeremiah Martin (expires in 2021)

Free Agents:

Joe Harris (Bird)
Tyler Johnson (Non-Bird)
Wilson Chandler (Non-Bird)
Jamal Crawford (N/A)
- Note: Crawford won’t have any form of Bird rights because he was signed as a substitute player.
Justin Anderson (N/A)
- Note: Anderson won’t have any form of Bird rights because he was signed as a substitute player.
Lance Thomas (N/A)
- Note: Thomas won’t have any form of Bird rights because he was signed as a substitute player.
Donta Hall (N/A)
- Note: Hall won’t have any form of Bird rights because he was signed as a substitute player.

2020 Draft Assets

First Round:

No. 19 overall pick

Second Round:

No. 55 overall pick

The Nets traded away their own 2020 first-rounder (No. 17) in last summer’s Allen Crabbe salary dump and gave up their second-rounder (No. 47) way back in 2014 in a deal involving Andrei Kirilenko.

However, Brooklyn received Philadelphia’s first-round pick, via the Clippers, last June, in a trade that allowed L.A. to trade up to No. 27 for Mfiondu Kabengele. The Nets also acquired Denver’s second-rounder when they accommodated a Kenneth Faried/Darrell Arthur salary dump during the summer of 2018.

Three Key Offseason Questions

1. So, are the Nets going to trade for a third star?

The idea that the Nets need to acquire a third impact player to complement Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving has been floating around for much of the last year, with some midseason comments from Irving about the team’s roster only fueling that speculation.

Brooklyn has little to no salary cap flexibility, so the idea would be to turn to the trade market, consolidating some of the club’s depth to land a star, with Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, and perhaps even Caris LeVert serving as possible trade chips.

It’s an intriguing concept, but it’s not without its pitfalls. For one, it remains unclear which star players will actually be available on the trade market this offseason. If the Wizards don’t want to trade Bradley Beal, the Nets can’t exactly force them to make a deal. While we can usually count on at least one disgruntled NBA star at a time to be pushing for a trade, Victor Oladipo currently looks like one of the only candidates to potentially take that path this fall, and Oladipo’s recent injury history compromises his appeal.

It’s also unclear how much the Nets would even benefit from adding another ball-dominant impact player. Durant and Irving will want to take on a good deal of the play-making and scoring responsibilities in Brooklyn, so adding a third player who will need 17 or 18 shots per game may create more problems than it solves.

Complicating matters further is the fact that Durant and Irving are coming off major injuries, and Kyrie especially has a history of nagging health issues. Does it really make sense for the Nets to make a blockbuster deal that would sacrifice their depth and leave them vulnerable if any of their stars have to miss time next season?

I’d personally be surprised if the Nets shake up their roster in a major way this offseason before seeing what they have with Durant and Irving both back in their lineup. LeVert is a rising star himself on a reasonably team-friendly contract and should be given an opportunity to show his value on a healthy Nets roster rather than being traded for a player who wouldn’t necessarily represent a significant upgrade, such as Oladipo.

That doesn’t mean that Brooklyn shouldn’t explore the trade market. There are some star players who don’t need the ball a ton and could be pretty nice fits alongside Durant and Irving — they’d would be worth going after if they become available. For instance, I was intrigued by the possibility of a Rudy Gobert pursuit back when his relationship with Donovan Mitchell was described as being on the rocks.

But acquiring a third star isn’t a must for Brooklyn this offseason. Most of the NBA’s top teams in 2019/20 got by just fine with two All-Star caliber players, and the Nets have two of the best on their way back from the injured list.

2. Will the Nets re-sign Joe Harris?

If the Nets don’t end up making a major trade, re-signing Harris could be the team’s most important roster move this offseason. Regardless of the team’s plans on the trade market, it should be a priority. The over-the-cap Nets don’t have many avenues to add outside talent anymore — taking advantage of Bird rights to re-sign their own key rotation players is crucial.

There will be no rules restricting Brooklyn’s ability to make an aggressive offer to retain Harris, so it will simply be a matter of how far the team is willing to go into tax territory to make it happen.

The 29-year-old is still in his prime and has been one of the NBA’s best shooters in recent years, knocking down 43.9% of his 1,150 three-point attempts over the last three seasons. That kind of outside shooting reliability is rare and it’s coveted by NBA teams, so the Nets will face stiff competition from rival suitors for Harris.

Fortunately for Brooklyn, there are almost no contending teams projected to have cap room, and those that do – such as the Heat – likely won’t be prioritizing shooters. If Harris’ best outside offers are for the mid-level, the Nets should have no problem topping them.

However, the possibility of a non-playoff team with cap room – such as the Hawks or Knicks – making a run at Harris shouldn’t be ruled out. Despite ostensibly still being in rebuilding mode, both clubs will be looking to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture sooner rather than later and should have plenty of money to spend this offseason.

A three-year offer in the range of $15MM+ annually wouldn’t seriously hamper either the Hawks’ or Knicks’ ability to spend on other positions and would put a lot of pressure on the Nets. Since Brooklyn projects to be a taxpayer even before re-signing Harris, investing $15MM per year in him would cost the club substantially more in tax penalties.

I don’t think the Nets will let Harris walk for nothing, so it might be a win-win for teams like Atlanta and New York to pursue him — even if they can’t lure him out of Brooklyn, they could potentially hinder a conference rival’s financial flexibility going forward by pushing his price tag higher.

3. What effect will Durant’s and Irving’s returns have on the Nets’ chemistry?

It may not be a question that can be definitively answered this offseason, but it’s safe to assume the Nets and new head coach Steve Nash will spend plenty of time considering how to balance the treatment of new stars Durant and Irving with the Nets’ existing vets.

The Nets will likely view the 2019/20 Clippers as a cautionary tale. The Clips had one of the NBA’s most talented rosters, but had trouble gelling and establishing positive chemistry over the course of the season. The preferential treatment that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George received was reportedly a source of frustration for some of the Clippers’ incumbent players, and the club’s inability to get on the same page played a part in its early playoff exit.

In Durant and Irving, the Nets will be led by two of the NBA’s most mercurial stars, and it remains to be seen what kind of leader Nash will be. On top of that, players like LeVert, Dinwiddie, and Allen may have to accept more modest roles in 2020/21 than they had for the injury-plagued ’19/20 squad. There are plenty of possible red flags here for Brooklyn, especially if the team experiences some growing pains to start the season.

Again, there’s no way to iron out every potential chemistry issue before next season begins, but the Nets’ front office and coaching staff should be doing all it can during the offseason to prepare to avoid the mistakes of this year’s Clippers.

Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Who Will Win 2020 NBA Finals?

September 29th, 2020 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

After winning 12 of 15 playoff games against the Pacers, the Celtics, and the top-seeded Bucks, the Heat don’t consider themselves underdogs in the NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler told reporters today (Twitter link via Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group). However, oddsmakers disagree.

At BetOnline.ag, the Lakers are considered -325 favorites to win the series, meaning you’d have to risk $325 to earn $100 on a Lakers championship. The Heat, on the other hand, are +270 underdogs — risking $100 would result in a $270 profit if Miami pulls off the upset.

Despite the Heat’s impressive postseason run, it’s not hard to see why they won’t enter the NBA Finals as the favorites to take home the 2020 title. They were the East’s No. 5 seed, and while Butler and Bam Adebayo are All-Stars, they haven’t put together the sort of superstar résumés that Anthony Davis and especially LeBron James have.

Miami’s rotation also includes a rookie (Tyler Herro) and a second-year forward (Duncan Robinson) who had logged 161 total minutes in the NBA before this season. It remains to be seen how they’ll perform on the league’s biggest stage. And while Andre Iguodala has been championship-tested, the former Finals MVP isn’t exactly in his prime anymore at age 36.

James and Davis, meanwhile, have led the Lakers to a 12-3 playoff record, never facing a serious threat in the first three rounds from Portland, Houston, or Denver. Their supporting cast isn’t outstanding, but that group – which includes Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Markieff Morris, and Alex Caruso – has consistently featured at least one or two guys stepping up at the right time throughout the postseason so far.

Still, the Lakers aren’t infallible. While their defense has been strong, their offense can get stagnant at times, and the resilient Heat are capable of making them pay for mistakes. James and Davis will be a handful, but the Heat have a handful of talented defenders capable of making them work for their points, including Butler, Iguodala, Adebayo, and Jae Crowder.

What do you think? Are you sticking with the odds-on favorites from Los Angeles and predicting LeBron will win his fourth championship? Or do you think the Heat will knock off a higher seed for a fourth consecutive round and complete their improbable run to a 2020 title?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Playoff Edition

September 25th, 2020 at 8:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. With the playoffs ongoing at the Orlando campus, it’s time to examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors.

Jerami Grant, Nuggets, 26, PF (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $27.3MM deal in 2018

The Nuggets are on the verge of elimination again despite the increased offensive production of Grant. He scored a playoff-high 26 points in Denver’s lone win against the Lakers in Game 3, then added 17 points in Game 4. The trust that coach Michael Malone has in Grant defensively against the Lakers’ jumbo lineups was apparent – he played a total of 77 minutes in those two games. Grant has a $9.35MM option on his contract for next season. Prior to the restart, Grant said he was likely to decline it and test the free agent waters. It’s doubtful he’s changed his mind.

Dwight Howard, Lakers, 34, C (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.56MM deal in 2019

Howard piled up more fouls than points in Games 2 and 3 against Denver. Instead of Howard losing playing time, coach Frank Vogel surprisingly decided to start him in Game 4. The former Defensive Player of the Year delivered a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) in 23 minutes. He’s a dinosaur by current NBA standards – an aging center who can’t stretch defenses. But every once awhile, Howard reminds everyone he can still be a factor. It’s easy to see the Lakers signing him to another short-term deal.

Dion Waiters, Lakers 28, SG (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $500K deal in 2020

Waiters got a chance to revive his career when the Lakers signed him to a rest-of-the season contract in March. The opportunity was there for Waiters to crack the rotation in the postseason but ineffectiveness and a groin injury have rendered him a non-factor. He’s only appeared in five playoff games, totaling 10 points (no threes) in 38 minutes. Given his controversial history, the fourth overall pick of the 2012 draft will probably be scrounging for a veteran’s minimum deal.

Derrick Jones, Heat, 23, SF (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $3.16MM deal in 2018

It’s been a rough restart for Jones. He had a bout with the coronavirus, then suffered a neck strain during a collision in the seeding games. He also dealt with an ankle injury during the opening round of the playoffs. His biggest problem now is he’s out of the rotation. The emergence of Tyler Herro and the presence of veterans Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala has limited him to a total of 30 unspectacular minutes against Boston. Jones will be an unrestricted free agent and he’ll draw some interest, but his price tag may have dropped this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hasheem Thabeet Signs In Taiwan

September 25th, 2020 at 12:59pm CST by JD Shaw

Former No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet has signed a contract in Taiwan with the Hsinchu Lioneers, agent Jerry Dianis told Hoops Rumors.

Thabeet, who has made past NBA stops with Memphis, Houston, Portland and Oklahoma City, will head to Taiwan for the first time in his professional career. He garnered interest from multiple teams in Europe and Asia in recent months, ultimately choosing the Lioneers for a larger playing role, Dianis said.

Thabeet, a 7’3″ shot-blocker who spent three seasons at UConn, believes he’s in the best physical and mental shape of his career. The 33-year-old veteran worked out for teams such as the Knicks, Nuggets, Bucks and Warriors as recently as last year.

“It’s an opportunity for him to play and do well on the international stage,” Dianis said. “Hasheem expects to dominate on both ends of the floor and is excited to help the team win. He’s been busting his ass and personnel across the NBA say he’s in great shape. He took this opportunity because he wants to play and show just how much he’s improved.

“Hasheem is an NBA player. He’s an elite shot-blocker because of his unique size, athleticism and insticts. After a dominant performance in Taiwan, he will have a plethora of new opportunities.”

Prior to signing in Taiwan, Thabeet signed a contract in the NBA G League last fall and was drafted in the first round by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ G League affiliate. The team concentrated on playing a small-ball brand of basketball in the weeks that followed, ultimately leading to Thabeet’s camp asking for a release.

In addition to being an effective rim-protector, Thabeet has improved offensively and is known for his leadership — Nets superstar Kevin Durant has previously stated that Thabeet was one of the best teammates he has ever had. The big man last appeared in an NBA game during the 2013/14 season when both players were with Oklahoma City.

Joining the Lioneers gives Thabeet a chance to prove his worth, with potential opportunities in China and the NBA still on the table down the road. The veteran center carries several years of experience and has played overseas before, holding a past stint in Japan during the 2017/18 season.

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