Hoops Rumors Originals

Roster Moves Required Soon For Cavs, Nuggets, Pistons

March 3rd, 2020 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA requires its teams to carry a minimum of 14 players, not including players on two-way contracts. Teams are permitted to dip below that number for up to two weeks at a time, but must return to at least 14 once those two weeks are up.

Entering today, four NBA teams had fewer than 14 players on standard or 10-day contracts. One of those teams, the Hornets, signed Joe Chealey this morning to get back to 14, so no further roster moves are required for Charlotte at this time.

[RELATED: 2019/20 NBA Roster Counts]

That leaves three clubs that must make at least one addition to their respective rosters sometime soon. Here are those teams:

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers last filled the final two openings on their 15-man roster by signing J.P. Macura and Malik Newman to 10-day contracts on February 9. Because 10-day deals are required to cover at least three games, those contracts actually ran through the All-Star break and didn’t expire until February 21.

Since then, however, Cleveland has only had 13 players under contract. The Cavs will have to add at least one player by this weekend.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets had been carrying an open roster spot for a while. They created a second opening on Sunday when they bought out Jordan McRae. It has been less than 48 hours since McRae was released, so Denver won’t be required to add a 14th man until mid-March.

Detroit Pistons

After buying out Reggie Jackson and Markieff Morris, the Pistons filled their two open roster spots by signing Derrick Walton and Donta Hall to 10-day contracts. Both of those deals expired within the last two days. Like Denver, Detroit has only just dipped down to 13 players, so they’ll still have nearly two full weeks to get back to 14.

[UPDATE: The Pistons have re-signed Hall to get back up to 14 players.]

2019/20 NBA Reverse Standings Update

March 3rd, 2020 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the 2019/20 NBA season, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on what the 2020 draft order will look like. Our 2019/20 Reverse Standings tool, which lists the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, is updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the previous night’s games.

Our Reverse Standings are essentially a reflection of what 2020’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. We’ve noted each club’s odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, based on the league’s current lottery format.

In instances where two non-playoff teams or two playoff teams have identical records, the order in our standings isn’t necessarily definitive — for draft purposes, the NBA breaks ties via random drawings, so those drawings would happen at the end of the year. Of course, the 14 non-playoff teams all draft before the 16 playoff teams, even if some non-playoff teams have better records than playoff teams. Our reverse standings account for that.

Traded first-round picks are included via footnotes. For example, the note next to Brooklyn’s pick says that the Nets will send their pick to the Timberwolves if it’s not in the top 14. As of today, Brooklyn has the worst record of any playoff teams, meaning that pick would be No. 15 and would change hands.

The Warriors are currently in the driver’s seat at the “top” of our reverse standings — their 13-48 record giving them a four-game cushion on the second-worst team, the 17-44 Cavaliers. It will be interesting to see whether that gap tightens when Stephen Curry returns.

Although the league’s bottom three teams will all have an equal chance at the No. 1 overall pick (14.0%) and a top-four selection (52.1%), finishing atop the reverse standings would still benefit the Warriors — the NBA’s worst team can’t fall further than the No. 5 pick, while the third-worst team could end up selecting as low as No. 7.

The Thunder‘s spot in the reverse standings is another detail worth noting. Their first-round pick will be sent to the Sixers if it’s not a top-20 selection. Based on Oklahoma City’s over the last few months (the team is 32-13 since starting the season 5-10), that pick currently projects to be No. 21.

Our Reverse Standings tracker can be found at anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2020. So be sure to check back often as the season progresses!

Note: Mobile users are advised to turn their phones sideways when viewing the Reverse Standings in order to see team records and lottery odds.

Players Waived Between Today, End Of Season Won’t Be Playoff-Eligible

March 2nd, 2020 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

It’s March 2, which means that a player waived by an NBA team today, tomorrow, or on any day before the end of the 2019/20 regular season won’t retain his postseason eligibility. The league’s rules state that a player must be released by the end of the day on March 1 in order to be playoff-eligible for a new team.

For the most part, this means that a player who is on one NBA roster today can’t suit up in the postseason for a different team, though there are a few exceptions to that general rule. Those exceptions apply to players currently on 10-day contracts: Donta Hall (Pistons), Dragan Bender (Warriors), Mychal Mulder (Warriors), and Jarrod Uthoff (Grizzlies).

If, for instance, Bender’s 10-day deal with Golden State expires on Tuesday night and he subsequently signs with a playoff team, he’ll be eligible to participate in the postseason, since he wasn’t released from a standard NBA contract after March 1.

It’s also worth clarifying that a player didn’t have to sign with a new team by March 1 to be playoff-eligible — he simply had to be placed on waivers or reach free agency by Sunday night. As long as a player who fits that bill signs with a new team by April 15, the final day of the regular season, he can play in the postseason.

As our recap of the 2020 buyout market shows, several players have been bought out or released since the trade deadline and joined new teams, including Marvin Williams (Hornets to Bucks), Reggie Jackson (Pistons to Clippers), Markieff Morris (Pistons to Lakers), and a handful of others. They’ll all be postseason-eligible.

Several players were also waived in recent weeks but haven’t yet lined up new teams, including Tyler Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, and Dion Waiters, among others. If they do sign with a new club anytime between now and April 15, they’ll be eligible to participate in the playoffs too. The same goes for players who haven’t played at all in the NBA this season, such as J.R. Smith and Joakim Noah.

The Nuggets have yet to announce the release of Jordan McRae, and that move isn’t yet showing up in NBA.com’s official transactions log, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t technically happen on Sunday night. That would allow McRae to retain his playoff eligibility as he prepares to join the Suns, who still have an outside shot at the postseason.

McRae and Lakers guard Troy Daniels were the last two vets released on Sunday, after Allen Crabbe (Timberwolves) and Anthony Tolliver (Kings) were waived on Saturday.

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Originals

Hoops Rumors Originals: 2/23/20 – 2/29/20

February 29th, 2020 at 5:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:

Luke Adams explained the rules regarding postseason eligibility for two-way players.
He also previewed the NBA’s buyout market ahead of Sunday’s deadline for players to be waived by their current team and still be eligible for the playoffs.
We reached into the Hoops Rumors Glossary for the definition of salary floor.
Our Free Agent Stock Watch examined the Southwest Division.
In this week’s polls, we asked:
In our Community Shootaround conversations this week, we asked:
- Do NBA teams rely too much on 3-point shooting?
- Did the NBA make the right decision by moving its trade deadline before the All-Star Game?

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Originals

Community Shootaround: 3-Point Shooting

February 28th, 2020 at 7:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Thanks to analytics, the NBA has undergone radical changes in the way the game is played.

The traditional center has become more and more obsolete. The mid-range jumper and isolation plays are discouraged, rather than being a staple of every team’s offense. A big man’s game has been replaced by small ball.

Now, every game is a bevy of drives to the basket and 3-point shots. It wasn’t long ago that players would get benched for taking transition threes. Now, coaches get upset if someone passes up a good long-range look on the fast break.

But like eating too dessert, has the emphasis on 3-point shooting become too much of a belly-ache instead of sweet satisfaction?

The amount of 3-point attempts has skyrocketed in just a decade. In 2009/10, the Magic led the league in 3-point attempts at 27.3 3-point tries per game. The Grizzlies ranked last at 12.4 per game.

Five years later, the Rockets led the league at 32.7 attempts per game but there was a big dropoff to second place in that category, as the Cavaliers shot an average of 27.5. The Timberwolves ranked last at 14.9 and 10 other teams shot fewer than 20 per game.

Look at where we are today. The Rockets, no surprise, rank first with a whopping 44.2 attempts per game. The eight teams immediately below them shoot at least 35 per game. The Pacers rank last at 27.7 per game.

That’s right. The team taking the fewest 3-pointers this season would have ranked first in that category 10 years ago.

The way things are trending, 3-point attempts will continue to rise, though not as dramatically as they have the last five or 10 years.

Is it time for the league to step in and prevent every game from essentially turning into a 3-point shooting contest? They could try to experiment with limiting the amount of threes that could be taken, such as counting shots beyond the arc as three points only at certain times of the game. Or they could do something really drastic, like erase it altogether.

The latter is a pipe dream, but there are many fans out there who would like to see basketball return to its roots.

That brings us to our question of the day: Do you like the dramatic increase in 3-point shooting in recent years or do you think the NBA should take steps to curtail or discourage teams from taking so many 3s?

Please take to the comments section to voice your opinion. We look forward to what you have to say.

Playoff Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 28th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Sunday is March 1, which is the last day that a player can be waived and retain his postseason eligibility for a new team. Although we haven’t heard many buyout rumors this week – beyond a small update on Evan Turner – it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a couple more veterans hit the waiver wire by Sunday night and become free agents next week.

Any team can sign a free agent between now and the end of the season, but teams with open roster spots have a cleaner path to doing so. And those teams are worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks, since even if no appealing targets emerge on the buyout market, those roster spots will likely be filled at some point.

During the regular season, there are benefits to carrying 14 – or even 13 – players for long stretches, particularly for healthy teams with luxury-tax concerns. But when the postseason rolls around, there’s little downside to filling the entire roster, even if it just means adding a 15th man during the final week (or day) of the season.

With that in mind, here are the teams in the top eight in each conference that still have at least one open spot on their 15-man rosters and seem likely to sign a player between now and April 15:

Playoff teams with an open roster spot:

Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis Grizzlies *
Oklahoma City Thunder

The Rockets are only on this list due to a technicality — Jeff Green‘s 10-day contract expired last night and he hasn’t yet officially signed his rest-of-season deal with the team. Once he does, Houston will have a full 15-man roster.

The other teams are worth keeping an eye on though. I’d guess the Thunder will save their 15th roster spot for two-way player Luguentz Dort, but the Nuggets and Clippers don’t have obvious internal candidates for promotions, so they could target a veteran free agent if they want to add a little more depth.

* As for the Grizzlies, they technically have a full 15-man roster for the time being, but Jarrod Uthoff is on a 10-day contract, so he could be replaced after it expires next weekend.

Playoff contenders with at least one open roster spot:

Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs

Of the teams within five games of a playoff spot, these are the ones with roster openings. The Trail Blazers have tax concerns and may not add a 15th man, but the Suns and Spurs are candidates to do so. Phoenix, in particular, is reportedly keeping an eye on the free agent market in the wake of Kelly Oubre‘s knee injury.

For a full breakdown of the current NBA roster counts, be sure to check out our tracker.

Poll: Which Western Team Will Claim No. 8 Seed?

February 28th, 2020 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

After moving to two games above .500 for the first time this season heading into the All-Star break, the Grizzlies lost four consecutive games on a post-All-Star road trip and now hold a 28-30 record. They still have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, according to Tankathon.com, and they’re missing two of their most important rotation players, as Jaren Jackson and Brandon Clarke are both sidelined with injuries.

It all points to a team that looks vulnerable to losing its hold on the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Especially since there are five challengers within 4.5 games of Memphis in the standings, ready to make a run at that eighth seed.

So far though, none of those challengers has gotten on the sort of run that really closes the gap with the Grizzlies. The closest current threats are the Trail Blazers (26-34) and Pelicans (25-33), who are each three games back of the No. 8 spot.

Portland lost its star player, Damian Lillard, to a groin injury at an inopportune time, and has dropped five of its last six games, but the All-Star guard could be back by early next week and the Blazers have the NBA’s third-easiest schedule the rest of the way, per Tankathon. Lillard is probably the best player on any of the six teams competing for the No. 8 slot, so if he gets on another hot streak like the one he was riding before his injury, it’s possible he’ll shoot the Blazers into the playoffs.

New Orleans is a more popular playoff pick, however, in large part because the team has looked rejuvenated since getting No. 1 pick Zion Williamson into its lineup. Adding Williamson to a group that already features Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram gives the Pelicans the most dangerous “Big Three” of any of the playoff competitors, and their schedule is the league’s second-easiest down the stretch, according to Tankathon. Still, it’s worth noting that the Pelicans are a modest 7-6 when Zion plays, so it’s not as if his return has transformed them into a contender overnight.

While one of those three teams is probably the best bet to earn the West’s final playoff spot, there are a few other teams not far behind. The Spurs (24-33) have a disastrous 10-20 record on the road, but will play 14 of their final 25 games at home and have the league’s sixth-lightest schedule in terms of opponents’ winning percentage. Gregg Popovich‘s squad won’t let its 22-year playoff streak end without a fight.

The Kings (24-34) and Suns (24-35) also still have an outside shot at a playoff berth if they can get hot. Injuries have hit Sacramento hard, with Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley missing for much of the season and De’Aaron Fox now battling an abdominal issue. But they’ve played much better in the last month than they did in the first half, winning nine of their last 14 games. And their end-of-season schedule is favorable — it’s the ninth-easiest, per Tankathon, with 14 of 24 games at home.

Phoenix, meanwhile, will badly miss Kelly Oubre, who had been averaging nearly 19 PPG before going down with a torn meniscus. The Suns are said to be considering free agency options to help replace Oubre, a signal that they haven’t given up on the playoff chase. If they want to stay in the hunt, they’ll need to play well in their next five games, all at home. After that, they finish with 12 of 18 on the road, against a pretty challenging slate of opponents.

What do you think? Will the Grizzlies hang onto the No. 8 seed? Will the rising Pelicans grab it from them? Will last year’s Western Conference finalists, the Trail Blazers, get back into the postseason? Will the Spurs extend their playoff streak to 23 years? Or can the upstart Kings or Suns make an end-of-season run for No. 8?

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

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Hoops Rumors Glossary: Salary Floor

February 28th, 2020 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s salary cap primarily serves as a way to restrict the amount a team can invest in player salaries in a given year. However, because the league has a soft cap rather than a hard cap, there’s technically no specific figure that clubs are prohibited from exceeding once they go over the cap to re-sign players. As long as a team doesn’t use certain exceptions or acquire a player via sign-and-trade, that team doesn’t face a hard cap.

There is, however, a specific threshold on the lower end that teams must meet in each NBA season. The league’s minimum salary floor requires a club to spend at least 90% of the salary cap on player salaries. For instance, with the 2019/20 cap set at $109,140,000, the salary floor for this season is $98,226,000.

If a team finishes the regular season below the NBA’s salary floor for that league year, the penalties levied against that team aren’t exactly harsh — the franchise is simply required to make up the shortfall by paying the difference to its players. For example, if a team finished this season with a team salary of $95,226,000, that team would be required to distribute that $3MM shortfall among its players.

The players’ union determines how exactly the money is divvied up — most recently, players who spent at least 41 games on a team’s roster have received a full share, while players with between 20-40 games on the roster receive a half share. A player can’t exceed his maximum salary as a result of a shortfall payment.

For the purposes of calculating whether a team has reached the minimum salary threshold, cap holds and international buyouts aren’t considered, but players who suffered career-ending injuries or illnesses are included in the count, even if they’ve since been removed from the club’s cap. For instance, the NBA permitted the Bulls to remove Omer Asik‘s $3MM cap charge from their 2019/20 cap, but that figure would still count toward their salary floor for this season.

Additionally, the NBA made a change in its most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement to prevent teams from circumventing certain rules to reach the salary floor. Under the old CBA, a team that was $8MM below the salary floor could trade a player earning $4MM for a player earning $12MM halfway through the season and be in accordance with minimum team salary rules.

Under the current CBA, only the salary the team actually pays the player counts for minimum team salary purposes. For instance, in the example above, the team would be credited with having paid its original player $2MM for the first half of the season and its new player $6MM for the second half. In that scenario, the club would still be $4MM shy of the salary floor.

No team is at risk of falling below the salary floor for the 2019/20 season. In fact, no team is even close — every club except the Hawks used up all its cap room prior to start of the regular season, and a series of in-season trades pushed Atlanta over the cap as well. Even when they were under the cap earlier in the season, the Hawks still had a team salary exceeding the $98,226,000 floor.

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 was used in the creation of this post.

An earlier version of this post was published in 2018.

Free Agent Stock Watch 2020: Southwest Division

February 27th, 2020 at 10:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Southwest Division:

Ben McLemore, Rockets, 27, SG (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $4.3MM deal in 2019
If you’re in the same backcourt as James Harden and Russell Westbrook, you’re not going to have many opportunities to shoot. And when you do, you’d better make them. McLemore is making them. In his last three games, McLemore has averaged 13.3 PPG and knocked down 11 of 18 3-point attempts. Houston has shuffled its roster over the past month but as long as McLemore remains a perimeter threat, he’ll remain in the rotation. Houston needs to guarantee his modest $2.28MM salary for next season prior to free agency. It will be a surprise if the Rockets turn down that bargain.

Jordan Bell, Grizzlies, 25, PF/C (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $1.62MM deal in 2019
Bell wasn’t much of a factor with Minnesota this season, even when Karl-Anthony Towns missed some games due to injury or suspension. He got traded to Houston, which quickly flipped him to Memphis for Bruno Caboclo. Bell has only appeared in two games with the Grizzlies but there is a glimmer of hope. With injuries to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke depleting the frontcourt, Bell could get an extended look in the next couple of weeks. He’ll have to show a lot more than he did in Minnesota in order for Memphis to extend a qualifying offer, which would make him a restricted free agent.

Jahlil Okafor, Pelicans, 24, PF/C (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $3.27MM deal in 2018
When the Pelicans were shorthanded last month in Detroit, Okafor erupted for 25 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. He never left the bench the next four games, which shows how little he figures in the organization’s plans. Okafor has played a total of 25 minutes since that game against the Pistons. Once Zion Williamson got healthy, Okafor’s already spotty playing time virtually evaporated. His ability to score in the low post has lost much of its value since he was taken with the third pick in the 2015 draft. He’ll be seeking another second-unit opportunity this summer.

Bryn Forbes, Spurs, 26, PG (Up) – Signed to two-year, $6MM deal in 2018
Undrafted despite playing for a major college (Michigan State), Forbes has fit well with the blue-collar Spurs. After Danny Green was traded during the 2018 offseason, Forbes became a starter in his third year in the league. He’s held onto that role this season and continues to provide a perimeter option on a team lacking in that area. Forbes has been on fire this month, draining 47.4% of his 3-point attempts. Forbes will enter unrestricted free agency this summer and should get a nice raise and a multiyear deal, perhaps without changing uniforms.

Willie Cauley-Stein, 27, PF/C (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $4.46MM deal in 2019
When Dwight Powell suffered a season-ending Achilles tear late last month, the Mavericks opted to trade with Golden State for Cauley-Stein. It seemed like a great opportunity for Cauley-Stein to pump up his value on a playoff contender. It hasn’t worked out that way. Cauley-Stein’s role has been limited since joining the Mavericks and he hasn’t played since the All-Star break due to undisclosed personal reasons. It’s a good thing for WCS that he has a $2.29MM option on his contract for next season. It should come in handy the way things are trending.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Sixth Man Of The Year Race

February 27th, 2020 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award has been Lou Williams‘ to lose in recent years. Williams has earned Sixth Man honors twice in a row and three times overall in the past five seasons.

Williams is a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year once again in 2019/20, leading all bench scorers with 19.1 PPG in 55 games. However, his scoring numbers aren’t quite as gaudy as they’ve been in past seasons, and his .414 FG% and .351 3PT% represent his lowest marks since the 2015/16 season. On top of that, if there’s any voter fatigue with the Clippers guard this spring, there are several other viable candidates to choose from.

One is another Clipper, Montrezl Harrell, who has nearly matched Williams’ scoring rate this season. In 57 games, Harrell has posted new career highs in PPG (18.6) and RPG (7.0), and if L.A. uses a center in crunch time, it’s Harrell rather than starter Ivica Zubac. Harrell isn’t the league’s most talented rebounder or rim protector, and centers with size can give him problems, but he has arguably been the NBA’s most productive backup big man this season.

The other contender for that title would be Davis Bertans, who has had a breakout year playing at the four and five for the Wizards. Always a strong three-point shooter, Bertans has maintained an impressive .421 3PT% in 2019/20 while nearly doubling his previous career high in three-point attempts per game, from 4.4 to 8.4. He has been a crucial floor-spacer and scorer (15.0 PPG) for Washington on offense and has held his own on defense.

In Oklahoma City, meanwhile, the Thunder have an All-Star point guard (Chris Paul) and a second point guard who received All-Star consideration (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), meaning the team’s third point guard, Dennis Schroder, has flown somewhat under the radar. Schroder has been better than ever this season though, with 19.1 PPG off the bench to go along with 4.1 APG and 3.8 RPG. His shooting rates of 47.3% from the floor and 38.6% from beyond the arc are both career bests, and the team has a +6.6 net rating when he plays, compared to a -3.1 mark when he sits.

Finally, Zach Harper of The Athletic wrote today that his current pick for Sixth Man of the Year would be Pistons guard Derrick Rose. The former MVP has missed a little time due to injuries, and Detroit isn’t a playoff team, which hurts his case. However, Rose has been arguably the Pistons’ best player this season, with 18.0 PPG and 5.7 APG, and he has produced consistently despite a ton of roster upheaval, Harper notes.

One other issue with Rose’s case is that he has been a starter since mid-January, which isn’t likely to change going forward. If he starts the Pistons’ remaining 22 games, Rose would end up with 35 starts and 35 games off the bench, making him ineligible. I expect he’ll miss at least one game before the season ends, but if he ends up with 30+ starts, voters may not view him as a true “sixth man.”

There are a few other candidates who I believe should receive Sixth Man of the Year consideration, including Heat guard Goran Dragic, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, and even Lakers center Dwight Howard. But Williams, Harrell, Bertans, Schroder, and Rose look to me like the favorites at this point.

In today’s poll, we want to know what you think. If you had to place a Sixth Man of the Year vote today, would you pick Williams for the three-peat? Or do you think one of his challengers has a stronger case?

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

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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