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Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Atlantic Division

November 1st, 2019 at 9:53pm 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 Atlantic Division:

Fred VanVleet, Raptors, 25, SG (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $18MM deal in 2018
VanVleet was a key reserve in the Raptors’ run to the championship. With Danny Green‘s departure, he’s now a backcourt starter alongside Kyle Lowry. Green was mainly a floor spacer, while VanVleet has provided the added element of playmaking to help make up for the enormous loss of Kawhi Leonard. He’s averaging a team-high 7.2 assists through the first five games while getting the line more often and delivering his usual excellent shooting from deep. An unrestricted free agent next summer, VanVleet will attract plenty of attention in a weak FA market.

James Ennis, Sixers, 29, SF (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal in 2019
Ennis has bounced around the league, wearing six different uniforms since his rookie year in 2014/15. He saw action in 18 regular-season and 11 postseason games with Philadelphia after being acquired from the Rockets in a trade deadline swap. Thus far this season, Ennis has retained a rotation spot and helped around the boards (5.8 RPG in 14.0 MPG). Ennis has a $2.13MM player option after the season — if can remain a contributor on a contender, perhaps he’ll feel comfortable opting out and testing the market for additional security.

Marcus Morris, Knicks, 30, SF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $15MM deal in 2019
Morris caused a lot of consternation in the Spurs’ organization by reneging on a two-year verbal agreement and then signing a one-year deal with New York, giving him more money this season and the freedom to explore the market again next year. In his first five games with the Knicks, Morris is the one doing the squawking. He’s already picked up a league-high three technicals. He’s also off to a slow shooting start (35%). It’s hard to see Morris enhancing his value with New York but his expiring contract could be attractive to a contender looking for a frontcourt player.

Daniel Theis, Celtics, 27, PF (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $10MM deal in 2019
Theis’ $5MM salary for next season isn’t guaranteed until July 3rd and there will a number of factors playing into the Celtics’ decision next summer, especially whether Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter opt in. What Theis can control is being productive when he gets opportunities and making it a tougher decision for the front office. Theis needs to have more nights like he did Wednesday, when coach Brad Stevens used him for 28 minutes and he produced 11 points and nine rebounds. The 6’8” Theis will see quite a bit of time at the ‘five’ spot in downsized lineups.

Wilson Chandler, Nets, 32, SF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $2.56MM deal in 2019
Chandler quietly latched on with the Nets on a veteran’s minimum contract while they inked deals with high-profile free agents Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan. Chandler’s chances of carving out a role in coach Kenny Atkinson‘s rotation was squashed by a 25-game league suspension for a failed PED test. It’s uncertain what Brooklyn plans are for Chandler once he becomes eligible on December 15. However, the suspension won’t make it any easier for his agent to find his client work next summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Doncic Or Young?

November 1st, 2019 at 7:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The careers of the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and Hawks’ Trae Young will be forever linked.

They were traded for each other, with the Hawks receiving an additional first-round pick in a draft-night deal that allowed Dallas to move up two notches.

Initially, the Mavericks looked like they had fleeced the Hawks. Doncic, who had been playing at the highest level of competition in Europe for years, made an immediate impact while Young struggled with his shooting and turnovers during the first half of last season.

Perceptions quickly changed when Young grew more comfortable with the NBA game. After averaging 16.9 PPG, 7.6 APG and 3.9 TPG while shooting 31.2% from long range, Young sliced up defenders after the All-Star break to the tune of 24.7 PPG, 9.2 APG and 34.8% shooting beyond the arc while reducing his turnovers (3.4).

Young came up short in the Rookie of the Year voting to Doncic but it was clear that both teams had franchise players on their hands.

During the early going this season, they have seemingly upped the ante. Now partnered with a healthy Kristaps Porzingis, Doncic has averaged 25.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 6.8 APG and 2.0 SPG, an increase in each category from his final totals last season (21.4/7.9/6.0/1.1). Dallas is off to a 3-1 start and has the look of a playoff contender.

In Young’s first two games this season, he spoiled the Pistons’ home opener with a 39-point, seven-rebound, nine-assist performance, then posted nearly identical numbers against the Magic in another Hawks victory (38 points, seven rebounds, nine assists). He suffered a minor ankle sprain in the team’s fourth game but should be back soon.

Young’s speed, ankle-breaking moves and unlimited shooting range, a la Stephen Curry, make him a nightmare for defenders. Doncic’s guile, creativity and sneaky athleticism, a la James Harden, provide a different set of headaches for opponents.

Safe to say, both franchises are thrilled with the player they wound up with last June.

That brings us to our question of the day: If you were starting a franchise, which young floor leader would you choose — Luka Doncic and Trae Young — and why?

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

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Heat’s Bet On Kendrick Nunn Paying Off

November 1st, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Heat made their major roster moves in July, Kendrick Nunn‘s chances to secure a spot on the team’s 15-man regular-season squad appeared to be in jeopardy. At that time, Nunn only had a $50K partial guarantee on his deal, and Miami’s offseason maneuvers had imposed a $138.93MM hard cap on the team, leaving little breathing room below that cap.

Without the flexibility to add a 15th man to their roster, the Heat would have to make the most of their other 14 roster spots. Presumably, that would mean carrying 14 players capable of playing real minutes, and it wasn’t clear that an undrafted rookie such as Nunn fit that bill. Waiving him would only cost Miami $50K, and would give the club the flexibility to bring in a minimum-salary veteran who could contribute immediately.

However, the former Oakland University standout – who ranked second in the NCAA in scoring in 2017/18, behind only Trae Young – impressed the Heat in Summer League play. Nunn averaged 24.0 PPG in two Summer League games in Sacramento, then 21.0 PPG in four Las Vegas contests. When the team kept him under contract through August 1, allowing his partial guarantee to increase to $150K, it became clear that he was in position to earn that 14th and final roster spot.

Three months later, Nunn isn’t just the Heat’s 14th man — he’s their leading scorer.

Through the first five games of his NBA career, the 24-year-old is averaging 22.4 PPG on .518/.484/1.000 shooting and has played a key role in Miami’s 4-1 start. According to ESPN, he has scored more points in his first five NBA games than all but two players (Kevin Durant and Jerry Stackhouse) who have debuted in the last 25 years.

While Nunn almost certainly won’t keep up this pace, he’s no longer at risk of losing his roster spot, meaning his $1,416,852 minimum salary should become fully guaranteed in January. At that price, he could be one of the NBA’s best bargains both this season and next, when he has a $1,663,861 non-guaranteed salary.

Assuming he plays out that contract, Nunn will be on track to become a restricted free agent during the summer of 2021 with two seasons’ worth of NBA games under his belt. However, as cap expert Albert Nahmad pointed out earlier this week (via Twitter), Miami won’t just have Early Bird rights on Nunn at that time. Because he signed his current contract with one day left in the 2018/19 regular season, he’s credited with an extra year of service.

That means the Heat will have full Bird rights on Nunn by the time he’s eligible for free agency, meaning they could offer him anything up to the max. With only his Early Bird rights, they would have been limited to making him an offer in the mid-level range, and would’ve opened the door to a potential back-loaded offer sheet like the one they were forced to match for Tyler Johnson in 2016.

After five games, it’s far too early to say with any certainty that the Heat will even need that sort of financial flexibility to sign Nunn to his next contract. But if he continues to produce and increase his value, his current contract will make him an ideal asset for Miami to carry into 2021’s free agent period. The Heat reportedly want to make a run at stars that summer and could maximize their cap space by keeping Nunn’s minimum-salary cap hold on the books as they pursue top free agents. Once they’ve used up all their cap room, they could go over the cap to re-sign him.

Again, it’s worth stressing that Nunn’s hot streak likely won’t last — he’s not going to shoot .518/.484/1.000 all season. It’s entirely possible that by the All-Star break, the Heat’s investment won’t look quite as savvy as it does now.

Still, ESPN’s Zach Lowe says several clubs around the NBA are “kicking themselves” for not rolling the dice on Nunn. That group includes the Warriors, who had him on their G League roster for most of the 2018/19 season after waiving him last fall.

According to Lowe, some teams tried to entice Nunn earlier in the year by promising a training camp deal for this fall, but the Heat went a step further, signing him to a multiyear deal at the very end of the ’18/19 season. That bet is paying off in a big way for Miami now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Southeast Division

November 1st, 2019 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the 2019/20 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.

Friday is just the 11th day of the 2019/20 regular season, so trade talks around the NBA haven’t started to heat up yet. In fact, the trade market has been pretty quiet for months — no deal has been completed since the Thunder and Rockets finalized their Russell Westbrook/Chris Paul swap way back on July 16.

Still, based on contract situations and early-season rotations, some potential trade candidates may begin to emerge sooner rather than later. Here’s a look at three Southeast players who could fit that bill…

Dion Waiters, SG
Miami Heat
$12.1MM cap hit; $12.65MM guaranteed salary in 2020/21

Waiters was said to be unhappy with his playing time during the preseason and was suspended for the Heat‘s first game of the season after expressing his displeasure on the sidelines during the club’s final exhibition contest. Since then, he has remained inactive as he works toward meeting Miami’s conditioning requirements.

According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), Waiters was “contrite” when he met with Heat officials this week, so perhaps he’ll eventually return to action, accept a reduced role, and play out the rest of his contract with the team without incident. Still, this feels a little like the situation Miami previously encountered with Hassan Whiteside, who griped about his declining role multiple times and eventually got traded.

With two years still left on his contract, Waiters doesn’t have positive trade value at this point, and the Heat’s hard cap will make it tricky for them to pull off certain deals. A trade may have to wait until 2020/21. But if the team explores the market in search of a major deal in the coming months, Waiters is a good candidate to be included to match salaries and get him a change of scenery.

Willy Hernangomez, C
Charlotte Hornets
$1.68MM cap hit; UFA in 2020

The Hornets almost certainly wouldn’t mind moving big expiring contracts belonging to Bismack Biyombo, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Marvin Williams. But it’s hard to imagine the team getting quality assets for any of those players.

As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer pointed out in a recent mailbag, a trade involving Hernangomez might be more realistic, since his expiring salary is just $1.68MM. If a team is willing to give up a second-round pick for Hernangomez, Charlotte would probably listen, Bonnell writes.

Still, it’s not clear if there will be a team willing to pay even that modest price for Hernangomez, whose stock has dipped in the years since a promising 2016/17 rookie season. He has played in just two of the Hornets’ five games so far, and his trade value will be limited by the fact that he’ll be an unrestricted – rather than restricted – free agent at season’s end.

C.J. Miles, G/F
Washington Wizards
$8.73MM cap hit; UFA in 2020

Miles has already been traded twice in 2019, from Toronto to Memphis in February and then to Washington in July. With the Wizards in retooling mode and not expected to contend this season, there’s no reason to think the team wouldn’t move him once more before the deadline if he can rebuild his value.

Although he’s still recovering from offseason foot surgery, Miles is reportedly inching closer to making his Wizards debut. The veteran swingman should fit right in on a squad that has been letting it fly from beyond the arc so far — Washington has attempted the sixth-most three-pointers in the NBA (38.0 3PG) and ranks fourth in three-point percentage (38.2%).

Given the other shooters on their rosters, the Wizards won’t need to lean on Miles to space the floor, but it will be interesting to see whether they give him regular minutes to showcase him for a potential trade. That $8.73MM expiring deal won’t be easy to move, and a buyout may ultimately be more likely, but if Miles looks healthy and is knocking down 40% of his threes, maybe a playoff team in need of shooting help gets desperate.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Recap Of 2020/21 Rookie Scale Option Decisions

November 1st, 2019 at 8:44am CST by Luke Adams

Decisions on rookie scale options for the 2020/21 season were due on Thursday — any team that wanted to exercise a third- or fourth-year option on a player for next season was required to do so by last night.

As is typically the case, a huge majority of those options were picked up. Even for top picks, who are paid higher salaries due to the NBA’s rookie scale, those third- and fourth-year options are relatively team-friendly. So unless a player has fallen well short of his team’s expectations, it generally makes sense to lock in his salary for the following season at this point.

That was especially true this year of players with third-year options. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), 2018 first-round picks went 30-for-30 on having those options picked up, a reflection of both the strength of that draft class and the value of controllable rookie scale contracts.

However, not every player with a 2020/21 team option had it exercised by Thursday’s deadline. The players who had those options declined will now be on track to reach unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2020, assuming they’re not waived before then.

Listed below are the players who had their options turned down, followed by the players whose options were exercised. If a player had his option picked up, his ’20/21 salary is now guaranteed and he won’t be eligible for free agency until at least 2021.

Declined options:

Note: These players will become unrestricted free agents in 2020.

Exercised options:

Fourth year:

Note: These players will become eligible for rookie scale extensions on July 1, 2020. If they’re not extended, they’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2021.

Third year:

Note: Teams will have to make fourth-year option decisions for 2021/22 on these players by October 31, 2020.

For a team-by-team breakdown of this year’s rookie scale option decisions for the 2020/21 season, along with full stories on each decision, you can check out our tracker.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Community Shootaround: Top Performers On New Teams

October 31st, 2019 at 11:05pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The league saw more players change teams this offseason than ever before and not everyone on a new team is contributing equally. Let’s take a look at which players are adding the most value to their new squads (ranking via NBAMath’s TPA*).

  1. Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets
  2. Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
  3. Aron Baynes, Phoenix Suns
  4. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
  5. Russell Westbrook, Houston Rockets
  6. Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana Pacers
  7. Al Horford, Philadelphia 76ers
  8. Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics
  9. Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers
  10. Delon Wright, Dallas Mavericks

*Entering Thursday night’s contest

As I wrote in my weekly notebook for NBA Math, there are some surprises on the list. Baynes is chief among them, as the center has found additional playing time thanks to the Deandre Ayton suspension. The 32-year-old was acquired by the Suns in what essentially amounted to a salary dump (Phoenix also netted a first-rounder from the deal) and the fact that he’s been able to step up has significantly contributed to the Suns’ hot start.

So this leads us to tonight’s community shootaround question: Now that we have over a week of action in the books, Which non-star player on a new team do you feel will contribute the most this year and which star (in a new uniform) will have the biggest impact?

Take to the comment section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say!

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2019 Offseason In Review: Portland Trail Blazers

October 31st, 2019 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Portland Trail Blazers.

Signings:

Trades:

Draft picks:

Contract extensions:

  • Damian Lillard: Four years, 35% maximum salary (super-max). Projected value of $196MM. Designated veteran extension. Starts in 2021/22; runs through 2024/25.
  • CJ McCollum: Three years, $100MM. Starts in 2021/22; runs through 2023/24.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Signed head coach Terry Stotts to a contract extension through 2021/22.
  • Signed president of basketball operations Neil Olshey to a contract extension through 2024.
  • Lost associate head coach David Vanterpool to Timberwolves; promoted Nate Tibbetts to associate head coach.
  • Exercised 2020/21 rookie scale options on Zach Collins, Anfernee Simons.

Salary cap situation:

  • Remained over the cap.
  • Over the tax line by approximately $12.38MM; projected tax bill of about $22.2MM.
  • Carrying approximately $145.01MM in salary.
  • Two traded player exceptions available; largest TPE ($1.79MM) expires 7/8/20.

Story of the summer:

The Trail Blazers exceeded expectations in a big way in 2018/19, winning 53 games and making the Western Conference Finals after oddsmakers gave them a preseason over/under forecast of 42.5 wins.

Still, while Portland’s two playoff series victories produced some memorable moments, including a Damian Lillard dagger that will show up in highlight packages for years, the team’s season eventually ended the same way it did in 2018, on the wrong end of a frustrating four-game sweep by a conference rival.

That run to the Western Conference Finals at least quieted chatter about whether Lillard and CJ McCollum have to be split up. The Blazers further quieted that speculation by signing both star guards to massive new contract extensions during the offseason, locking up McCollum through 2024 and Lillard through 2025.

Even though the Blazers were willing to double down on their backcourt duo, it still seemed as if this roster was missing the piece that would help get it over the top and get it into the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, the Portland entered the offseason projected to be a taxpaying team and lacking the resources necessary to bring back all the team’s key free agents, forcing president of basketball operations Neil Olshey to get creative.

Olshey and the front office managed to bring back Rodney Hood, but lost several other notable free agents, including Al-Farouq Aminu, Seth Curry, Jake Layman, and Enes Kanter. Needing a big man to replace Kanter and injured center Jusuf Nurkic in the middle, Olshey surrendered two more players from last year’s roster – Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard – in a trade for Hassan Whiteside.

After a few more low-cost free agent signings and trades, the Blazers had set their roster, but questions remain. Besides Lillard and McCollum, six of Portland’s next eight most-used players from last year’s team are gone, and one of the two that’s still around – Nurkic – probably won’t play until sometime in 2020. In addition to to all that roster turnover, the Blazers sacrificed much of their depth on their wing when they lost Aminu, Curry, Harkless, Layman, and Evan Turner.

The Blazers have a strong culture and may be evolving into one of those teams like San Antonio that becomes perennially underrated. But at this point, this year’s squad doesn’t look like an upgrade over last year’s.

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2019 Offseason In Review: Philadelphia 76ers

October 30th, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Signings:

  • Standard contracts:
    • Tobias Harris: Five years, $180MM. Includes trade kicker of 5% or $5MM (whichever is lesser). Re-signed using Bird rights.
    • Al Horford: Four years, $109MM. Fourth year partially guaranteed ($14.5MM). Signed using cap room.
      • Note: Horford’s fourth-year partial guarantee can increase to $19.5MM (if Sixers make Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022) or can fully guarantee to $26.5MM (if Sixers win Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022).
    • Mike Scott: Two years, $9.77MM. Signed using room exception.
    • Shake Milton: Four years, minimum salary. Fourth-year team option. Converted from two-way contract to standard contract using cap room.
    • James Ennis: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
    • Furkan Korkmaz: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
    • Raul Neto: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
    • Kyle O’Quinn: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
    • Trey Burke: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($405K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
      • Note: Guarantee increased to $810K at start of regular season.
  • Two-way contracts:
  • Non-guaranteed camp contracts:

Trades:

  • Acquired the draft rights to Matisse Thybulle (No. 20 pick) from the Celtics in exchange for the draft rights to Ty Jerome (No. 24 pick) and Carsen Edwards (No. 33 pick).
  • Acquired cash ($2MM) from the Wizards in exchange for Jonathon Simmons and the draft rights to Admiral Schofield (No. 42 pick).
  • Acquired Josh Richardson in a four-team trade with the Heat, Clippers, and Trail Blazers in exchange for Jimmy Butler (sign-and-trade; to Heat) and the draft rights to Mathias Lessort (to Clippers).
  • Acquired the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick), the Hawks’ 2020 second-round pick (56-60 protected), and either the Hawks’, Hornets’, or Nets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable) from the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Bruno Fernando (No. 34 pick).
  • Acquired the Heat’s 2024 second-round pick (top-55 protected) and cash ($2MM) from the Pistons in exchange for the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick).

Draft picks:

  • 1-20: Matisse Thybulle — Signed to rookie contract.
  • 2-54: Marial Shayok — Signed to two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

  • Ben Simmons: Five years, 25% maximum salary. Projected value of $168,200,000. Starting salary can be worth up to 30% of the cap if Simmons earns All-NBA honors in 2020 (full details). Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2024/25.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Salary cap situation:

  • Used cap space; now over the cap.
  • Carrying approximately $128.39MM in salary.
  • No cap exceptions available.

Story of the summer:

No team had a more crushing end to its 2018/19 campaign than the Sixers, who would have forced overtime and been in position to eke out a second-round series win over the Raptors if Kawhi Leonard‘s miracle Game 7 buzzer-beater hadn’t dropped in after bouncing four times on the rim.

As heartbreaking as that finish was for Philadelphia, the team had to be encouraged by the Raptors’ subsequent wins over the Bucks in the Eastern Finals and the Warriors in the NBA Finals. Neither of those teams forced Toronto to a seventh game, meaning it was Philadelphia that actually gave the eventual champs their biggest scare.

The Sixers appeared to take that silver lining to heart. Rather than buying into theories that the Ben Simmons/Joel Embiid pairing might not work in the long run, the team doubled down on that duo, signing Simmons to a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension. And despite some disappointing postseason showings from Tobias Harris, the 76ers heavily invested in the veteran forward, re-signing him to a five-year, $180MM deal.

Philadelphia likely would’ve been willing to run it back to an even greater degree by retaining Jimmy Butler, but he decided he wanted to head to South Beach, choosing the Heat in free agency. Fortunately for the Sixers, Miami didn’t have the cap room necessary to sign Butler outright and had to cooperate on a sign-and-trade, giving the 76ers the leverage to acquire Josh Richardson in the process.

Then, rather than bringing back sharpshooter and floor-spacer J.J. Redick, the Sixers opted to use their newly-opened cap room to bring aboard Al Horford, a veteran capable of either playing alongside Embiid or stabilizing the team’s defense when the All-NBA center is off the floor.

With Richardson and Horford replacing Butler and Redick in the starting lineup, the 76ers lost a little outside shooting and play-making, but potentially made a strong defense even stronger.

Philadelphia’s size flummoxed just about every Raptors player not named Kawhi Leonard during the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and this year’s starting five – Simmons, Richardson, Harris, Horford, and Embiid – is even bigger. After just missing out on a deep postseason run in 2018/19, the Sixers have gone all-in on their biggest strength for 2019/20.

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Rookie Scale Option Decisions Still To Come

October 30th, 2019 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Thursday, October 31 is the deadline for teams to exercise rookie scale options for the 2020/21 season. These options apply to either the third or fourth year of a rookie scale contract for players who were drafted in the first round. If they’re not exercised, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent the following summer.

These decisions must be made a year in advance, so even though Lonzo Ball has just started his third season, the Pelicans are already required to exercise his fourth-year option for $11MM+.

Most clubs facing these options decisions have already made them. As our tracker shows, of the 58 rookie scale options for 2020/21, 48 have been exercised so far. That leaves just 10 outstanding rookie scale options to be picked up or turned down by the end of the day on Thursday.

Here are the 2020/21 rookie scale options that have yet to be exercised:

Teams only have to take action if they intend to pick up these options. Otherwise, they can simply let the deadline pass without exercising them. That’s reportedly what the Grizzlies intend to do with Jackson; we’ll see if any other teams follow suit.

Players like Bagley, Fox, and Okogie are locks to have their options picked up, but that’s not necessarily the case for everyone on this list. Zizic and Swanigan are among the candidates to potentially join Jackson as unrestricted free agents in 2020.

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Poll: Which Team Will Stay Winless Longest?

October 30th, 2019 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

On Tuesday, we published a poll asking which of the NBA’s four remaining undefeated teams would be the last to lose. The Nuggets received nearly 40% of the vote, making them the top choice, then promptly lost their first game about 12 hours later.

Today, we’ll shift our focus to the NBA’s three winless teams and see if we have more success forecasting their short-term futures. After eight days, there are three teams around the league that have yet to win a game. The Pelicans and Kings each have 0-4 records while the Pacers are 0-3.

The Pelicans were a popular dark horse playoff pick during the preseason, but they’ve been hit with injuries early on this year — they’re playing without star rookie Zion Williamson, and key veterans Jrue Holiday and Derrick Favors have missed time as well. Still, it’s not as if they’ve been blown off the floor in the first week. Despite a pretty tough schedule, New Orleans hasn’t lost by more than 11 points.

The same can’t be said of the Kings, who have been disastrous on the road so far, losing by 29 points in Phoenix and 32 in Utah. They’ve also dropped home games to the Blazers and Nuggets, digging an early hole for themselves as they look to improve upon last year’s 39-43 record and compete for a postseason spot.

De’Aaron Fox (.392 FG%), Buddy Hield (.351), and Bogdan Bogdanovic (.275) haven’t been making shots so far, and the team has missed Marvin Bagley III, who suffered a thumb fracture on opening night. The Kings have too much talent to be this bad, but so far they have the NBA’s worst net rating by a substantial margin, ranking in the bottom five on both offense and defense.

The Pacers, meanwhile, are trying to adjust to having four new players in their starting lineup and are without star guard Victor Oladipo. They can’t blame their schedule for their slow start, as they’ve dropped two games to a Pistons squad without Blake Griffin and one to the Cavaliers. Indiana also hasn’t shown yet that it has the firepower necessary to fight back from a defect, ranking 29th in the NBA in pace and dead last in made three-pointers per game.

These three teams have the following games on tap as they look to get in the win column:

  • Pelicans: vs. Den (10/31), @ OKC (11/2), @ Bkn (11/4), vs. Tor (11/8), @ Cha (11/9)
  • Kings: vs. Cha (10/30), vs. Utah (11/1), @ NYK (11/3), @ Tor (11/6), @ Atl (11/8)
  • Pacers: @ Bkn (10/30), vs. Cle (11/1), vs. Chi (11/3), @ Cha (11/5), vs. Wsh (11/6)

New Orleans probably has the most challenging short-term schedule, and would become this season’s last winless team by default if Sacramento and Indiana both win tonight. But the Pels have arguably looked the best of the three teams so far, and Holiday and Favors appear close to returning.

What do you think? Which of the NBA’s three winless teams will be the last to earn a victory?

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