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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Orlando Magic

May 14th, 2020 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

The Magic entered the 2019/20 season looking to build on its strong finish the previous year, but have ended up taking a slight step back instead, entering the hiatus with a 30-35 record after winning 42 games in 2018/19.

With Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Terrence Ross still earning eight-figure salaries for multiple years beyond this season, and Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz expected to eventually be locked up too, the Magic may not be in position to make major changes to their roster within the next year or two unless they do so on the trade market.

Here’s where things stand for the Magic financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • None

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

Assuming they plan to keep their first-round pick and sign Okeke in 2020, the Magic will have more than $102MM in guaranteed money committed to 10 players. That should put the club in position to either re-sign Fournier or accommodate his $17MM player option without approaching tax territory.

Letting Fournier walk would theoretically give the Magic even more flexibility, but probably wouldn’t result in any cap room. It would make more sense for Orlando to operate as an over-the-cap team in that scenario in order to retain its full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 3
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 3

Footnotes

  1. The cap holds for Grant, Afflalo, and Speights remain on the Magic’s books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2019/20. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
  2. The 16th overall pick in 2019, Okeke has yet to sign his rookie scale contract. He’ll be eligible to sign in 2020/21 for the same amount as the No. 16 pick in the 2020 draft.
  3. These are projected values. If the Magic’s team salary continues to increase, it’s possible they’d be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2020 Offseason

May 13th, 2020 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

When the NBA’s 2020/21 league year begins in November, players eligible for free agency will be able to begin negotiating and reaching contract agreements with suitors. In addition to those free agents, another group of players will also become eligible to sign new deals.

For players who are entering the fourth and final year of their rookie scale contracts, the first day of the new league year (November 21) is the first day they can agree to rookie scale extensions. Those players, who are almost exclusively 2017 first-round selections, will have until December 21, the day before the 2020/21 regular season starts, to finalize long-term agreements with their current teams.

Players eligible for rookie scale extensions can sign new deals that run for up to four – or five – years, with those contracts taking effect beginning in 2021/22. If they don’t sign extensions during the coming offseason, those players will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2021.

A year ago, nine players eligible for rookie scale extensions signed new deals between July 1 and the start of the season. That number was a little higher than usual, likely because few teams projected to have significant cap room available in 2020. Still, we should have at least that many viable candidates for rookie scale extensions this time around, even if that doesn’t mean they’ll all sign new contracts.

Here are the players who will be eligible to sign rookie scale extensions during the 2020 offseason:

The following players were either selected in the first round of the 2017 draft or signed their rookie scale contracts in ’17 along with the players listed above. However, they aren’t eligible for rookie scale extensions this year for the reasons noted:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder

May 12th, 2020 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

After trading away Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Jerami Grant last July, the Thunder seemed on track for a rebuild. However, even after spending the offseason stockpiling draft picks, Oklahoma City still had too much talent on its roster to bottom out.

Instead of returning to the lottery, the Thunder emerged as a no-doubt playoff team in the West, entering the hiatus with a 40-24 record that placed them fifth in the conference. Some form of rebuilding is probably still around the corner for the franchise, but it looks as if OKC will be able to remain competitive during that transition.

Here’s where things stand for the Thunder financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • None

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

A taxpaying team for all but one of the last six seasons, the Thunder are finally in position to remain below that threshold in 2020/21, even if the cap doesn’t increase.

Re-signing Gallinari would push team salary well beyond the cap, and even if they don’t bring him back, the Thunder figure to operate as an over-the-cap team. But there’s some flexibility here that Oklahoma City didn’t have in past seasons. That flexibility should only increase as pricey contracts for Paul, Adams, and Schroder expire in the next couple years.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 4
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 4
  • Trade exception: $10,389,997 (expires 7/10/20)
  • Trade exception: $9,346,153 (expires 7/8/20)
  • Trade exception: $1,620,564 (expires 1/25/21)

Footnotes

  1. If his team option is exercised, Nader’s salary remains non-guaranteed.
  2. If his team option is exercised, Burton’s salary becomes partially guaranteed for $1,174,336.
  3. The cap holds for Cole, Collison, Felton, and Evans remain on the Thunder’s books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2019/20. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
  4. These are projected values. If the Thunder’s team salary continues to increase, it’s possible they’d be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll Results: Hoops Rumors’ 2020 All-Rookie Teams

May 11th, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting NBA hiatus have thrown award season into disarray, but it’s probably safe to assume that any remaining regular season games for 2019/20 won’t affect award races too significantly. With that in mind, we asked you to vote last week on the 10 players you feel deserve All-Rookie spots for ’19/20.

We opened voting for the All-Rookie First Team last Tuesday before moving onto the Second Team on Friday. The results of all those polls are in, so let’s check them out.

All-Rookie First Team:

All-Rookie Second Team

The rest of the top vote-getters in the final round of polling who didn’t quite earn spots on the All-Rookie Second Team were Cameron Johnson (Suns) and Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets), followed by Terence Davis (Raptors) and Matisse Thybulle (Sixers).

I think these results will end up being pretty close to what the actual All-Rookie teams for 2019/20 look like. In fact, it wouldn’t be a total shock if these match up exactly with the official results.

I expect Paschall and Washington to receive some First Team votes, but given the roles that Morant, Clarke, Nunn, and Herro had on playoff teams, they’re all very worthy choices. And I anticipate Williamson will make the cut too — 19 games isn’t a lot, but I think it’ll be enough for voters, especially in a shortened season.

Given my personal bias toward rookies that play important roles on playoff teams over those who rack up counting stats on lottery-bound clubs, I’d give strong consideration to Porter, Davis, and/or Thybulle for the Second Team. Their offensive numbers – especially Thybulle’s – paled in comparison to those posted by Barrett, White, and Hachimura, but the minutes they saw were more important.

Porter probably didn’t play enough overall – and wasn’t a strong enough defender – to earn one of my spots, and Thybulle’s limitations on offense hurt his case. But I’d at least make room for Davis, who had a +10.0 net rating and was the only Raptors player not to miss a game this season. Hachimura, who appeared in just 41 games and ranked 91st out of 95 power forwards in defensive real plus-minus, would likely be my odd man out.

What do you think? Do our poll results match up closely with your picks, or do you think we made some major missteps? Do you expect these results to line up pretty closely with the actual All-Rookie teams for 2019/20, or do you think the official voters will make some different choices?

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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: New York Knicks

May 9th, 2020 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the NBA calendar, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

It was another dismal season for the Knicks, who were on track to miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive year when the season was suspended in March. And while RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson look like potential long-term building blocks, former top-10 picks Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina still aren’t producing consistently for the club.

The good news? The Knicks have a new president of basketball operations (Leon Rose) who will likely bring in a new head coach and some new voices in the front office. Plus, with plenty of cap flexibility going forward, the team isn’t locked into the current roster.

Here’s where things stand for the Knicks financially in 2020/21, as we launch our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • Taj Gibson ($8,450,000) 1
  • Wayne Ellington ($7,000,000) 2
  • Elfrid Payton ($7,000,000) 3
  • Reggie Bullock ($3,200,000) 4
  • Mitchell Robinson ($1,663,861) 5
  • Kenny Wooten (two-way)
  • Total: $27,313,861

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

In theory, the Knicks could operate as an over-the-cap team if they retain all of their veterans with team options or non-guaranteed salaries. In reality, I’d expect only two or three of those players to be back. Besides Robinson, who will obviously be retained, Bullock looks like a solid value, and Gibson and/or Payton are candidates to stick around.

Even if they retain all of those players, plus their guys on guaranteed deals and their two first-round picks, the Knicks project to open up more than $25MM in cap space, assuming the cap doesn’t drop from its 2019/20 level. Moving on from Gibson, Payton, and/or Bullock would push that number even higher and could result in New York having the second- or third-most room of any NBA team this offseason.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Room exception: $4,767,000 6
  • Trade exception: $3,988,766 (expires 2/8/21) 7

Footnotes

  1. Gibson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  2. Ellington’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  3. Payton’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  4. Bullock’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  5. Robinson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  6. This is a projected value.
  7. The Knicks will have to renounce this exception in order to use cap room.

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: New Orleans Pelicans

May 8th, 2020 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

The Pelicans were considered a playoff sleeper prior to the 2019/20 season and again by the time the season went on hiatus. In between, things were a little up and down — the team got off to a dismal 6-22 start in the fall while No. 1 pick Zion Williamson recovered from a knee injury. However, New Orleans bounced back nicely and showed some tantalizing potential in the 19 games Williamson played, as he meshed nicely with young building blocks Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram.

The priority this offseason for the Pelicans will be re-signing Ingram, who will be in line for either a maximum-salary contract or something close to it. The franchise has enough cap flexibility to accommodate that deal without approaching tax territory.

Here’s where things stand for the Pelicans financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

With just $76MM in guaranteed money on their books for next season so far, the Pelicans could theoretically create cap room. However, there would be no better way to use that room than by re-signing Ingram. He’ll be a restricted free agent, giving New Orleans the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs, and his new deal figures to erase any cap space the Pelicans could carve out.

Fortunately, even with a max deal for Ingram on their books and without a cap increase, the Pelicans would have plenty of room to maneuver below the tax threshold. That should give the team the option of re-signing Favors and/or Moore, or potentially using its full mid-level exception.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 2
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 2

Footnotes

  1. Miller’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
  2. These are projected values. If team salary gets high enough, it’s possible the Pelicans would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000). If they want to use cap room, they’d have to renounce these exceptions and would gain access to the room exception ($4,767,000).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll: 2020 All-Rookie Second Team

May 8th, 2020 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s usual award season is in flux in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under normal circumstances, the regular season would be over by this point and voting would have taken place on the league’s major awards. This year, however, it’s still unclear if or when the season will resume after being suspended in March, creating uncertainty about whether players will get any more regular season games to make their cases for award consideration, and about when voting will take place.

Resolving end-of-season awards is hardly the most pressing concern facing the NBA, but while we wait for further updates on the fate of the ’19/20 season, we’re passing the time with some award-related speculation.

Earlier this week, we asked you to vote on your All-Rookie First Team for 2019/20, and the results of that poll are now in. Here are the players you selected:

All-Rookie First Team:

As those results show, many of this year’s most impressive rookies could be found on just two clubs, with Memphis and Miami each getting a pair of first-year players on the First Team.

While Morant was expected to have a significant impact after being selected second overall last June, Herro (No. 13), Clarke (No. 21), and Nunn (undrafted in 2018) flew under the radar during the 2019 offseason and have exceeded expectations as rookies. They’re all worthy First Team choices, in my opinion.

Williamson rounds out the team, despite playing just 19 games so far. His per-game numbers (23.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.2 APG) and his impact on the Pelicans were so impressive that it’s hard to argue with the choice, though I wonder a few voters will leave him off their First Team ballots this summer due to his limited playing time.

Today, we’re moving onto our vote on the 2020 All-Rookie Second Team. Unlike the All-NBA squads, which feature 15 players, there are only a pair of All-Rookie teams, featuring 10 total players. As such, this will be our last All-Rookie poll. We’ll break down the results on Monday.

You can make your picks below for the players you believe are worthy of spots on the All-Rookie Second Team. Be sure to choose five players, regardless of position, then take to the comment section to explain your choices!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves

May 7th, 2020 at 6:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

The Timberwolves were one of the NBA’s worst teams in 2019/20, entering the league’s hiatus with a 19-45 record, ahead of only Golden State in the Western Conference. Still, a healthy Karl-Anthony Towns and a revamped roster should generate some optimism going forward.

Only two players – Towns and Josh Okogie – who were on the roster when Gersson Rosas assumed control of the front office a year ago are still in Minnesota, as Rosas hasn’t been shy to put his stamp on the franchise. While that trend could continue this offseason, the Wolves’ top priority may be re-signing a couple of their own free agents rather than pursuing another splashy addition.

Here’s where things stand for the Timberwolves financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

The Timberwolves are only carrying about $75MM in guaranteed salaries on their 2020/21 cap so far, but after accounting for James Johnson’s player option and a pair of first-round cap holds, they’re unlikely to have any cap room — especially if they intend to re-sign both Hernangomez and Beasley.

Depending on where their lottery pick lands and how high they have to go to retain those two restricted free agents, the Wolves could find themselves without much further flexibility. Minnesota won’t be a tax team, but could theoretically end up close enough to that line after signing Hernangomez and Beasley that using the full mid-level exception and bi-annual exception wouldn’t be viable.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 3
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 3
  • Trade exception: $879,813 (expires 2/8/21)
  • Trade exception: $500,000 (expires 1/18/21)
  • Trade exception: $228,505 (expires 1/18/21)

Footnotes

  1. Vanderbilt’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
  2. The cap hold for Brooks remains on the Timberwolves’ books because he hasn’t been renounced after going unsigned since 2018. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
  3. These are projected values. If team salary gets high enough, it’s possible the Timberwolves would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Qualifying Offers

May 7th, 2020 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order to make a player a restricted free agent, a team must extend a qualifying offer to him — a player who doesn’t receive one becomes an unrestricted free agent instead.

The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status.

If a player reaches free agency with three or fewer years of NBA service time under his belt, his qualifying offer is worth 125% of his prior salary, or his minimum salary plus $200K, whichever is greater.

For instance, after earning $1,416,852 this season, Grizzlies guard De’Anthony Melton will be eligible for a qualifying offer worth a projected $1,907,576 this offseason, based on a $115MM cap — that’s calculated by adding $200,000 to his projected minimum salary for 2020/21 ($1,707,576).

The exact value of Melton’s qualifying offer will depend on where exactly the ’20/21 salary cap ends up, since minimum salary increase or decrease at the same rate as the cap. If the cap drops significantly, it’s possible he’d instead receive a QO worth $1,771,065 (125% of his previous salary).

Bogdan Bogdanovic is one example of a player whose qualifying offer will be 125% of his previous salary no matter where the cap lands. Bogdanovic is earning $8,529,386 in 2019/20, far above the minimum, so the Kings guard will receive a qualifying offer worth 125% of that figure: $10,661,733.

The qualifying offer for a former first-round pick coming off his rookie scale contract is determined by his draft position. The qualifying offer for a first overall pick is 130% of his fourth-year salary, while for a 30th overall pick it’s 150% of his previous salary — QOs for the rest of the first-rounders fall somewhere in between. The full first-round scale for the draft class of 2016, whose first-rounders will be hitting free agency this summer, can be found here, courtesy of RealGM.

Here are a pair of examples for this offseason: 2016’s second overall pick, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, is coming off a fourth-year salary of $7,265,485, so he must be extended a qualifying offer of $9,481,458 (a 30.5% increase) to become a restricted free agent. Meanwhile, the 19th overall pick, Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley, will be eligible for a qualifying offer of $3,895,424, a 42.6% increase on this season’s $2,731,714 salary.

A wrinkle in the Collective Bargaining Agreement complicates matters for some RFAs-to-be, since a player’s previous usage can impact the amount of his qualifying offer. Certain players who meet – or fail to meet – the “starter criteria,” which we break down in a separate glossary entry, become eligible for higher or lower qualifying offers. Here’s how the starter criteria affects QOs:

  • A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a same qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick.
    • Note: For the summer of 2020, the value of this QO will be $4,642,800.
  • A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick.
    • Note: For the summer of 2020, the value of this QO will be $5,087,871.
  • A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick.
    • Note: For the summer of 2020, the value of this QO will be $3,752,338.

Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl is one example of a player who falls into the first group, since he didn’t meet the starter criteria this year. The No. 9 overall pick in 2016, Poeltl will be eligible this offseason for a QO worth $4,642,800 instead of $5,087,871. Conversely, Suns forward Dario Saric (a former No. 12 overall pick) met the starter criteria and will be eligible for a QO worth $5,087,871 instead of $4,791,213.

A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club.

A player can also accept his qualifying offer, if he so chooses. He then plays the following season on a one-year contract worth the amount of the QO, and becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end if he has at least four years of NBA experience. A player can go this route if he wants to hit unrestricted free agency as early as possible, or if he feels like the QO is the best offer he’ll receive. Accepting the qualifying offer also gives a player the right to veto trades for the season.

No restricted free agents accepted their qualifying offers during the 2019 offseason, but Rodney Hood did so with the Cavaliers in 2018. When Cleveland agreed to send him to the Trail Blazers prior to the 2019 trade deadline, Hood had to give his consent to be dealt, which he did.

Finally, while the details outlined above apply to players on standard NBA contracts who are eligible for restricted free agency, a different set of rules applies to players coming off two-way contracts. For most of those players, the qualifying offer would be equivalent to a one-year, two-way salary, with $50K guaranteed.

If a player coming off a two-way contract is ineligible to sign another one – either because he’s coming off a two-year, two-way deal, he has already been on two-way deals with his current team for at least two seasons, or he has four years of NBA service – his qualifying offer would be a standard, minimum-salary NBA contract. The guarantee on that QO would have to match or exceed what a two-way player would earn in the G League.

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Milwaukee Bucks

May 6th, 2020 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

After winning an NBA-high 60 games in 2018/19, the Bucks were on pace to blow past that win total in 2019/20 — the team had a league-best 53-12 record when the season was suspended in March.

Of course, this time around, Milwaukee was hoping for a better outcome than last year’s Eastern Conference Finals loss to Toronto. If the season can be resumed, the Bucks’ success in the postseason may well factor into Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s decision on his future, which will in turn significantly impact the organization’s long-term cap outlook.

Here’s where things stand for the Bucks financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

With $114MM in guaranteed money already committed to just eight players, the Bucks definitely won’t have cap room during the 2020 offseason, regardless of whether the cap increases beyond its current $109MM figure.

If (Robin) Lopez and Matthews exercise their player options, Ilyasova returns on his non-guaranteed salary, and Milwaukee keeps its first-round pick, the team would be right up against the tax line and would likely be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception rather than having the full MLE or bi-annual exception available.

Depending on where exactly the cap lands, I could see the Bucks parting with Ilyasova to gain some added flexibility. He has played a pretty modest role this season and clearing his $7MM salary would increase the odds of avoiding the tax and possibly even opening up the club’s full MLE, though that still could be a tight fit.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Taxpayer mid-level exception: $5,718,000 2

Footnotes

  1. Ilyasova’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 18.
  2. This is a projected value. If the Bucks’ team salary doesn’t approach the tax apron, they could instead have access to the full mid-level exception ($9,258,000) and the bi-annual exception ($3,623,000).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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