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Community Shootaround: Knicks/Pacers Series

May 3rd, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and Pacers closed out their respective first-round series on Thursday, securing their spots in the Eastern Conference semifinals and lining up a playoff matchup straight out of the 1990s.

As Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com details, back in the days of Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller, a New York/Indiana series was something of an annual tradition in the Eastern Conference, with the two teams meeting in six out of eight postseasons from 1993-2000. Since then, the clubs have squared off just once in the playoffs – in the 2013 Eastern Conference semifinals – but the current iterations of the Knicks and Pacers are well positioned to rekindle that old rivalry.

Both teams are led by point guards likely to earn their first All-NBA nods this spring — Jalen Brunson for the Knicks and Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers. While Haliburton is more of a distributor, having led the NBA with 10.9 assists per game during the regular season, Brunson has had to take on a far greater scoring load since Julius Randle suffered a shoulder injury in January. He averaged 31.5 points per game in 33 regular season contests after Randle went down and leads all playoff scorers with 35.5 PPG.

The Pacers, who finished the regular season with the NBA’s second-best offensive rating (120.5) have gotten much of their scoring this postseason from their frontcourt, with Pascal Siakam (22.3 PPG) and Myles Turner (19.2 PPG) leading the way while Obi Toppin (12.3 PPG) contributes off the bench. Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and T.J. McConnell, meanwhile, have given the team important minutes in the backcourt and on the wing alongside Haliburton.

With Randle unavailable, the Knicks have leaned heavily on wings Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Donte DiVincenzo for three-and-D production to complement Brunson, with Miles McBride, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Mitchell Robinson also playing key roles.

Indiana won the season series between the two teams by a 2-1 margin, but the Knicks have home-court advantage and will enter round two as heavy favorites (-265 on BetOnline.ag). As good as the Pacers were offensively during the season, New York was nearly as effective – their 117.3 offensive rating ranked seventh in the league – and the Knicks were the far stouter team on the other end of the court, ranking ninth with a 112.4 defensive rating. Indiana placed 24th at 117.6.

Several Pacers have appeared in the playoffs before – including Siakam, who played a major role for the Raptors’ championship team in 2019 – but it’s Haliburton’s first postseason and this Knicks team played into the second round a year ago, so New York probably holds the slight playoff experience edge.

The Knicks may also be more comfortable playing at a playoff pace — their regular season mark of 95.96 possessions per 48 minutes was the slowest in the NBA, and they’ve slowed things down even further during the postseason (91.09). The Pacers, conversely, ranked second in the league with a 102.16 regular season pace and have had to adjust to a more deliberate style in the postseason — their first-round mark was just 92.89.

We want to know what you think. Are you expecting the Knicks to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000, or will the Pacers continue their unlikely run with another series victory? Assuming the Celtics are the other team in the Eastern finals, will the winner of this series have a legitimate shot to topple Boston and make the NBA Finals?

Head to the comment section to share your thoughts and predictions!

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Community Shootaround: Nuggets/Timberwolves Series

May 1st, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Only one second-round matchup has been set so far in these NBA playoffs, but it looks like it has the potential to be one of the very best postseason series of 2024. The defending-champion Nuggets will face the Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals beginning on Saturday.

Denver had a target on its back entering this season after winning a title in 2023, but the team responded admirably, tying for the West’s best record (57-25) and then quickly dispatching LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers in round one.

The Nuggets are led by the NBA’s probable 2024 MVP (Nikola Jokic), along with one of the league’s best clutch playoff performers (Jamal Murray). They also have a series of role players, led by Aaron Gordon,  Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Michael Porter Jr., who complement their stars perfectly. They’re widely considered the favorites to come out of the West, with many NBA fans and experts viewing them as a good bet to repeat as champions.

But the Timberwolves showed in their first-round sweep of Phoenix that they’re a legitimate threat to make a deep playoff run of their own this spring.

Minnesota, which had the NBA’s No. 1 defensive rating during the regular season, wasn’t quite as dominant on that end of the floor against Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and the Suns, but they made up for it by raising their offensive game to new heights — the Wolves’ 123.2 offensive rating in round one easily ranks first among the 16 playoff teams.

Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns own the most award hardware of any Minnesota players, but it’s rising star Anthony Edwards who is raising the team’s ceiling and gives the Wolves a chance to be more competitive than they were in the first round against Denver a year ago.

Just 22 years old, Edwards averaged 31.0 points per game on .512/.438/.839 shooting against Phoenix and has fully embraced the postseason stage, repeatedly directing trash talk toward Durant and the Suns. In Edwards, the Wolves have a player whom they can increasingly rely on to get them a basket in clutch moments, which is crucial in the playoffs.

And like Denver, the Wolves have no shortage of talented role players, with Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker leading the defense on the perimeter, Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid providing scoring off the bench, and veteran point guard Mike Conley serving as a stabilizing force on both ends of the floor.

It’s a fascinating intra-divisional matchup that should make for a terrific series. Sports betting site BetOnline.ag considers the Nuggets (-195) the solid favorites, but the Wolves’ resounding first-round victory over Phoenix signaled that this roster is built for real postseason success.

We want to know what you think. Are you picking Denver to advance or do you think Minnesota can pull off the upset? Do you expect the winner of this series to represent the West in the NBA Finals, or do you anticipate seeing the Thunder, Mavericks, or Clippers come out of the conference?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions!

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Minimum Salary Exception

May 1st, 2024 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

The minimum salary exception is something of a last resort for capped-out teams looking to add players, as well as for players seeking NBA contracts, but it’s one of the most commonly used cap exceptions.

As its name suggests, the minimum salary exception allows an over-the-cap team to sign a player to a minimum-salary deal. A contract signed using the minimum salary exception can be a one- or two-year deal, but can’t cover more than two seasons.

Teams can use the exception multiple times in a league year, giving clubs that have used all of their cap room and other exceptions an avenue to fill out their rosters. The exception also accommodates teams’ acquisitions of minimum-salary players via trade, as players signed via the minimum salary exception don’t count as incoming salary for salary-matching purposes.

Players are entitled to varying minimum salaries based on how long they’ve been in the NBA. In 2023/24, a player with no prior NBA experience was eligible for a $1,119,563 minimum salary, while a player with 10 or more years of experience was eligible for $3,196,448.

[RELATED: NBA Minimum Salaries For 2023/24]

Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minimum salary is adjusted each season to reflect the year-to-year salary cap change. If the cap increases by 5%, so will minimum salaries. If the cap doesn’t change from one season to the next, neither will minimum salaries.

Our minimum-salary estimates for 2024/25, based on a projected salary cap of $141MM, can be found right here.

There’s a wide disparity between the minimum salary for rookies and for long-tenured players, with a minimum-salary veteran of 10+ seasons earning nearly three times as much as a rookie making the minimum next season. The NBA doesn’t want those pricier deals to discourage clubs from signing veterans, however, so the league reimburses teams for a portion of a minimum-salary player’s cost if he has three or more years of experience, as long as the contract is a one-year deal.

For example, when the Bucks signed 11-year veteran Jae Crowder to a one-year pact for 2023/24 using the minimum salary exception, he locked in a salary of $3,196,448, but the team’s cap hit was just $2,019,706, equivalent to the minimum salary for a player with two years of NBA experience. The league will reimburse the Bucks for the difference between Crowder’s salary and cap hit ($1,176,742).

Many salary cap exceptions can only be used once each season. When a team uses its full mid-level exception to sign one or more players, the club can no longer use that exception until the following league year. Unlike the mid-level and other cap exceptions though, the minimum salary exception can be used any number of times in a single season.

The Suns, for instance, used the minimum salary exception to sign Eric Gordon, Damion Lee, Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks, Chimezie Metu, Bol Bol, and Yuta Watanabe last offseason. They also used it during the season to add Thaddeus Young and Isaiah Thomas on rest-of-season contracts.

While many exceptions begin to prorate midway through the regular season, the minimum salary exception prorates beginning after opening night. If a season is 174 days long and a player signs a minimum-salary deal after 25 days have passed, he would only be paid for 149 days.

An extreme example of a prorated minimum salary occurred when the Clippers signed Kai Jones to a minimum-salary contract on the final day of the 2023/24 season. Last year’s rookie minimum for a player like Jones – with two years of NBA experience – was $2,019,706, so he received 1/174th of that amount: $11,608.

In cases where a veteran player signs a one-year contract using the minimum salary exception midway through a season, his cap hit is prorated in the same way that his salary is.

When Young signed with the Suns on February 20, 2024, there were 55 days left in the ’23/24 season. He earned a rest-of-season salary of $1,010,371 (55/174ths of his full-season minimum of $3,196,448), while his cap hit was $638,413 (55/174ths of $2,019,706, the minimum salary for a player with two years of experience).

When a player signs a two-year contract using the minimum salary exception, his second-year salary is locked in as part of that agreement. Depending on the amount of the second-year cap increase, he may end up making more or less than the amount he would have earned if he’d instead signed two consecutive one-year minimum contracts.

On a two-year, minimum-salary deal, the player’s second-year salary is worth 105% of the first-year minimum for a player with the same years of NBA experience.

For example, a rookie signing a two-year minimum-salary deal in 2023/24 would be assured of $1,891,857 in ’24/25, once he has one year of NBA experience under his belt — that’s 5% more than the minimum for a player with one year of NBA experience in ’23/24 ($1,801,769).

Finally, it’s worth noting that the minimum salary exception can be used to claim a player off waivers in the same way that it can be used to trade for a player. However, in the case of both trades and waiver claims, a minimum-salary player can’t be acquired using the minimum salary exception if his contract is for more than two years or if his salary exceeded the minimum in any previous year of the contract.

When the Wizards waived Isaiah Livers in April, he was earning a minimum salary for 2023/24 ($1,836,096). But Livers was in the third year of his contract and had earned more than the minimum in his first season of that deal — both of those factors made him ineligible to be claimed using the minimum salary exception, so if a team had wanted to claim him, it would have needed to use cap room or a trade exception.

Here are a few more notes on the minimum salary exception:

  • Players signed using the minimum salary exception are eligible for trade bonuses, but not incentive bonuses. A minimum-salary player with a trade bonus cannot be acquired in a trade using the minimum salary exception unless he waives that bonus.
  • When a minimum-salary player is traded during the season, any reimbursement from the NBA is split between his two teams. It’s prorated based on the number of days he spends with each club.
  • If a minimum-salary player with a non-guaranteed salary is waived before he exceeds the minimum for a two-year veteran, his team won’t be reimbursed for any portion of his salary.
  • Every 10-day contract is worth a prorated minimum salary. The NBA also reimburses teams for a portion of the 10-day minimum salary for veterans with three or more years of experience.

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 the Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Qualifying Offer

April 29th, 2024 at 4:08pm 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 whichever of the following amounts is greater:

  • 135% of his prior salary; or 125% of his prior salary, if he signed his contract before the 2023/24 league year
  • His minimum salary, plus $200K.

For instance, after earning $2,019,706 this season, Spurs big man Sandro Mamukelashvili projects to have a minimum salary worth $2,168,944 in 2024/25. Adding $200K to that figure works out to $2,368,944, whereas 135% of his prior salary is $2,726,603. His qualifying offer will be worth the greater amount ($2,726,603).

Let’s use Lakers guard Max Christie as another example — he earned a $1,719,864 salary in 2023/24. Unlike Mamukelashvili, Christie signed his contract prior to this season, so to determine his qualifying offer, we’d start by calculating 125% of that amount, which works out to $2,149,830. On the other hand, his projected minimum salary ($2,093,637) plus $200K would be $2,293,637.

Christie’s projected minimum could vary a little depending on where exactly the 2024/25 salary cap ends up, but it’s a safe bet his QO will be determined based on that amount rather rather than the 125% figure.

The qualifying offer for a former first-round pick coming off his rookie scale contract is determined by his draft position. Under the previous CBA, the qualifying offer for a first overall pick was 130% of his fourth-year salary, while for a 30th overall pick it was 150% of his previous salary — QOs for the rest of the first-rounders fall somewhere in between. Those numbers will increase to 140% and 160%, respectively, under the new CBA, beginning when the 2023 draft class reaches restricted free agency in 2027.

The full first-round scale for the draft class of 2020, whose first-rounders will be hitting free agency this summer, can be found here, courtesy of RealGM.

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: In 2024, the value of this QO will be $7,744,600.
  • 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: In 2024, the value of this QO will be $8,486,620.
  • 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: In 2024, the value of this QO will be $5,216,324.

Pistons center James Wiseman is one example of a player who falls into the first group, since he didn’t meet the starter criteria this year. The No. 2 overall pick in 2020, Wiseman will be eligible this offseason for a QO worth $7,744,600 instead of $15,815,870.

Conversely, Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley (a former No. 25 overall pick) met the starter criteria and will now be eligible for a QO worth $8,486,620 instead of $6,128,004.

[RELATED: How Starter Criteria Will Impact QOs For Potential 2024 RFAs]

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, assuming 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.

Hornets forward Miles Bridges was the most noteworthy restricted free agent to accept his qualifying offer during the 2023 offseason. As a result, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.

Here are a few more details related to qualifying offers:

  • A team that issues a qualifying offer can unilaterally withdraw that offer anytime up until July 13.
  • A player who receives a qualifying offer has a deadline of October 1 to accept it. He and the team can agree to extend that deadline.
  • 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 a small portion (known as the “maximum two-way protection amount”) guaranteed. For 2024/25, that partial guarantee will be worth approximately $78K.
  • A player who is coming off a two-year, two-way deal; has already been on two-way deals with his current team for at least two seasons; or has accumulated four years of NBA service would be eligible for a qualifying offer equivalent to a standard, minimum-salary NBA contract, with a small portion (known as the “two-way QO protection amount”) guaranteed. For 2024/25, that partial guarantee projects to be worth approximately $93K.

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.

Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years.

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2024 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker

April 27th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With another regular season in the books, multiple teams around the NBA are making head coaching changes in advance of the 2024/25 campaign.

In the space below, we’ll provide regular updates on the head coaching searches for each club that has yet to give anyone the permanent title. Some of these searches could extend well into the offseason, so be sure to check back often for the latest updates.

You’ll be able to access this page anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu.

Updated 6-30-24 (9:50am CT)

Active Searches

None

Completed Searches

Brooklyn Nets

  • New coach:
    • Jordi Fernandez (story)
  • Previous coach:
    • Kevin Ollie (interim)
  • Other finalists:
    • Former NBA head coach Mike Budenholzer (story)
    • Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
  • Also reportedly considered:
    • Pelicans assistant James Borrego (story)
    • Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant (story)
    • Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie (story)
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)

After parting ways with former head coach Jacque Vaughn in February, the Nets launched their head coaching search well before the regular season ended, though they did so in relative secrecy. While they reportedly cast a wide net, considering – and interviewing – many candidates, there were few leaks until word broke on April 13 that it was down to Fernandez, Budenholzer, and Young.

With Budenholzer’s contract demands said to be quite high in terms of both years and dollars, the Nets turned to a first-time NBA head coach, picking Fernandez over Young. While Fernandez has never led an NBA team, he’s not entirely without head coaching experience — he coached the Canton Charge in the G League from 2014-16 and is the current leader of the Canadian national team, which won bronze at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Nets general manager Sean Marks has gone through several head coaches during his tenure in Brooklyn, but this was his most exhaustive search process since he hired Kenny Atkinson back in 2016. Atkinson took over a rebuilding club and got them back to the postseason in his third season. With more foundational pieces in place this time around, the Nets are hoping Fernandez can turn things around even faster.

Charlotte Hornets

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
  • Reportedly interviewed:
    • Nuggets assistant David Adelman (story)
    • King assistant Jordi Fernandez (interviewed before being hired by Nets)
    • Kings’ G League head coach Lindsey Harding (story)
    • Rockets assistant Royal Ivey (story)
    • Clippers assistant Jay Larranaga (story)
    • Lakers assistant Jordan Ott (story)
    • ESPN analyst J.J. Redick (story)
    • Former Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse (story)
    • Suns assistant Kevin Young (interviewed before being hired by BYU)
  • Also reportedly considered:
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
    • Jazz assistant Lamar Skeeter (story)

The Hornets were able to get a head start on their head coaching search when Clifford announced during the first week of April that he would be stepping down from his role at season’s end. The team has changed ownership and revamped its front office since Clifford was hired in 2022, so this was new management’s first opportunity to hire a head coach.

The Hornets ultimately chose a familiar face. After being mentioned most frequently as the frontrunner for the job, Celtics assistant Charles Lee agreed to a four-year deal to become Charlotte’s new head coach. Lee, who has received consideration from several teams seeking head coaches in recent years, was an assistant with the Hawks from 2014-18. New Hornets head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson was in Atlanta’s front office at the time, while co-owner Rick Schnall was a minority stakeholder in the Hawks beginning in 2015.

Charlotte, which is building around young players like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, was said to be seeking a first-time head coach who specializes in player development to lead its young squad. Lee, 39, fits that bill and also has some championship experience under his belt, having served as an assistant with the Bucks during their 2021 championship run.

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
  • Reportedly interviewed:
    • Nuggets assistant David Adelman (story)
    • Pelicans assistant James Borrego (story)
    • Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant (story)
    • Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori (story)
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
  • Also reportedly considered:
    • Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen (story)
    • Bucks assistant Dave Joerger (story)
    • Former NBA head coach Terry Stotts (story)

Bickerstaff led the Cavaliers to a 48-win season and the franchise’s first playoff series win without LeBron James since 1993. It wasn’t enough to save his job though, with a report following Cleveland’s elimination from the postseason indicating that Donovan Mitchell and other Cavs players didn’t necessarily have full confidence in the veteran coach.

The Cavaliers were said to be seeking a “fresh approach” as they sought to hire a new head coach capable of taking the team deeper into the postseason. Atkinson and Borrego were each identified as the presumed favorite during the process, and it sounded as if Cleveland’s decision came down to the two former head coaches, with Atkinson winning out and receiving a five-year contract.

Atkinson, who previously coached Cavaliers like Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert in Brooklyn, was the choice in part because Cleveland believes he’s the best candidate to bring out the best in rising young star Evan Mobley. He’ll get that opportunity after spending the past three years as Steve Kerr‘s top assistant in Golden State.

Detroit Pistons

  • New coach:
    • J.B. Bickerstaff (story)
  • Previous coach:
  • Reportedly interviewed:
    • Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori (story)
    • Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney (story)
  • Also reportedly considered:
    • Former Pistons assistant Jerome Allen (story)
    • Pelicans assistant James Borrego (withdrew from consideration)
    • Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant (story)
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
    • Former Nets assistant Will Weaver (story)

It was just one year ago that Williams signed a six-year, $78.5MM deal that was the most lucrative contract for a head coach in NBA history. After a dismal season that saw the Pistons go 14-68 and set a new single-season record for longest losing streak (28 games), Detroit replaced Troy Weaver with Trajan Langdon as the new head of basketball operations, then decided on a fresh start on the sidelines as well, eating the estimated $65MM remaining on Williams’ contract.

As last season’s record shows, the Pistons aren’t close to contending, so they didn’t need to target a veteran coach with championship experience. While they’d like to take a step forward sooner rather than later, player development remains the priority in Detroit.

That made Bickerstaff a logical choice. While he was let go in Cleveland in part due to the team’s modest postseason results over the last two years, he played a key role in the developmental process that made Darius Garland and Evan Mobley into an All-Star guard and All-Defensive big man, respectively, and in turning the Cavaliers from a lottery team into a solid playoff club.

Bickerstaff reportedly received a five-year deal from the Pistons that includes four guaranteed seasons.

Los Angeles Lakers

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
  • Reportedly interviewed:
    • Nuggets assistant David Adelman (story)
    • Pelicans assistant James Borrego (story)
    • Celtics assistant Sam Cassell (story)
    • Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori (story)
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
  • Also reportedly considered:
    • Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson (story)
    • Former NBA head coach Mike Budenholzer (hired by Suns)
    • UConn head coach Dan Hurley (story)
    • Celtics assistant Charles Lee (hired by Hornets)
    • Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue (extended by Clippers)
    • Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney (story)

Shortly after the Lakers’ season ended, a pair of reports from ESPN and The Athletic classified Ham’s job as being in serious danger and pointed to several specific reasons why. It was clear at that point that Ham wasn’t going to be back in his role as head coach, but the team took three more days to make it official.

Seeking a new head coach to lead a team they still feel is capable of contending, the Lakers reportedly had serious interest in the guy coaching their cross-town rivals. However, the Clippers were said to be highly motivated to retain Lue and backed that up by signing him to a long-term extension.

With Lue off the table, the Lakers cast a wide net and took their time as they consider options ranging from former head coaches (such as Atkinson and Borrego) to veteran assistants (like Adelman, Cassell, and Quinn, among others) to total newcomers (Redick). They reportedly want a “grinder” capable of challenging Lakers players and holding them accountable.

The search took an unexpected turn when a report stated that the Lakers’ top target was actually Hurley, whom L.A. attempted to lure away from the college ranks with a six-year, $70MM deal. However, Hurley passed on that offer in favor of seeking a third consecutive national title at UConn, sending the Lakers back to the drawing board. They ultimately circled back to Redick, who has no coaching experience at the NBA level, agreeing to a four-year, $32MM deal with the ESPN analyst.

Although Redick is LeBron James‘ podcast co-host, reports stated that the Lakers star wasn’t involved in the search and that management was infatuated by Redick’s potential as a coach, given his “basketball IQ” and his “ability to connect with players.” The goal will be to surround him with an experienced coaching staff to help accelerate his learning curve.

Phoenix Suns

  • New coach:
    • Mike Budenholzer (story)
  • Previous coach:

In his first season as the head coach in Phoenix, Vogel led the Suns to a 49-33 record and a top-six seed in a competitive Western Conference. However, the club was quickly eliminated from the playoffs, failing to win a single game against the Timberwolves in the first round.

With little flexibility to make major moves affecting their roster this offseason, the Suns decided to make a head coaching change, dismissing Vogel just one season into the five-year, $31MM contract he signed with the franchise last spring. He’ll be replaced by Budenholzer, another veteran coach with a championship on his résumé.

Word broke that the Suns had decided on Budenholzer less than 24 hours after Vogel was fired, so it’s clear the team had a specific candidate in mind and didn’t feel the need to conduct a lengthy search. There was no indication that Phoenix seriously considered anyone else besides the former Bucks head coach, who reportedly agreed to a five-year contract worth in excess of $50MM.

Washington Wizards

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
    • Brian Keefe (interim); replaced Wes Unseld Jr. during season (story)
  • Also reportedly considered:
    • Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson (story)
    • Rockets assistant Royal Ivey (story)
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
    • Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney (story)

The Wizards technically made their head coaching change in January, when they removed Unseld from his position and had him transition into a front office role. Keefe was promoted from assistant coach to head coach at that time and was ultimately named Unseld’s permanent replacement in May.

It’s a little surprising that Washington’s new front office, led by president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins, ultimately ended up landing on the in-house option who posted an 8-31 record after taking over for Unseld. But Keefe improved the defense in the second half and is known as a player development specialist, which was the priority for a rebuilding Wizards club.

It’s unclear whether any other candidates received serious consideration for the job. While a May 10 story indicated that interviews would begin soon, there were few leaks throughout the process and no real indication of which other contenders received interviews.

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Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2024

April 26th, 2024 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

When the NBA’s 2024/25 league year begins this summer, 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 (July 1) is the first day they can agree to rookie scale extensions. Those players, who were all 2021 first-round selections, will have until October 21 – the day before the 2024/25 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 five years, with those contracts taking effect beginning in 2025/26. If they don’t sign extensions during the coming offseason, those players will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2025.

Fourteen players who were eligible for rookie scale extensions during the 2023 offseason signed new deals. That total easily surpassed the previous record of 11 (set in 2021 and matched in 2022), and continued a recent trend — we’ve seen an uptick in rookie extensions during the last several offseasons as more teams look to lock up their promising young players in advance of free agency.

We should expect several more rookie scale extensions to be signed between July and October of this year.

Here are the players who will be eligible to sign rookie scale extensions during the 2024 offseason:

The following players were selected in the first round of the 2020 draft along with the players listed above. However, they aren’t eligible for rookie scale extensions this year for the reasons noted:

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NBA Team Option Decisions For 2024/25

April 24th, 2024 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

Having already created a space to track this offseason’s player option decisions, we’re turning our attention today to team options. Over the next couple months, we’ll use the space below to keep tabs on all the team options for 2024/25, making note of whether they’re exercised or declined.

True team options are different than non-guaranteed salaries, which aren’t listed in the space below. Non-guaranteed salaries are less restrictive and provide a little more flexibility than team options, which clubs must act upon by a specific date (June 29) each year.

However, team options can be useful at the end of a contract, since turning down that option allows the team to retain some form of Bird rights on the player — waiving a player with a non-guaranteed salary doesn’t present that same opportunity. Additionally, a handful of contracts still don’t become fully guaranteed once an option is picked up, giving teams an extra level of flexibility.

The list below doesn’t include rookie scale team options for 2024/25, since those third- and fourth-year options function differently than team options on standard veteran contracts. Those ’24/25 rookie scale team option decisions were made during the 2023 offseason, and can be found here.

The standard team options for 2024/25 are listed below. This list – which can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu – will be updated throughout the fall to note the latest decisions as they’re reported and/or announced.

Unless otherwise indicated, a player’s salary will become guaranteed once his team option is exercised.

Atlanta Hawks

  • Garrison Mathews ($2,230,253): Exercised
    • Note: If Mathews’ option is exercised, his salary would remain non-guaranteed until June 29.

Boston Celtics

Charlotte Hornets

  • JT Thor ($1,988,598): Declined
    • Note: If Thor’s option is exercised, his salary would remain non-guaranteed.

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

Houston Rockets

Los Angeles Clippers

  • Kai Jones ($2,196,970): Declined
    • Note: If Jones’ option is exercised, his salary would remain non-guaranteed.

Memphis Grizzlies

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Lindy Waters ($2,196,970): Exercised
    • Note: Waters has been traded to the Warriors as part of his opt-in.
  • Isaiah Joe ($2,164,993): Declined
    • Note: If Joe’s option is exercised, his salary would remain non-guaranteed.
  • Aaron Wiggins ($1,988,598): Declined
    • Note: If Wiggins’ option is exercised, his salary would remain non-guaranteed.

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

  • Jeff Dowtin ($2,196,970): Declined
    • Note: If Dowtin’s option is exercised, his salary would remain non-guaranteed.

Portland Trail Blazers

  • Dalano Banton ($2,196,970): Exercised
    • Note: If Banton’s option is exercised, his salary would be partially guaranteed ($217,533), with multiple trigger dates to follow.

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards

  • Tristan Vukcevic ($2,424,892): Declined
    • Note: If Vukcevic’s option is exercised, his salary would remain non-guaranteed.
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Community Shootaround: First Round Playoff Series

April 23rd, 2024 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

After the NBA playoffs tipped off on Saturday with a handful of one-sided contests, things got a little more interesting on Sunday and Monday, with the Thunder, Knicks, and Nuggets among the teams to pull out victories in games that went down to the wire.

All three days of the playoffs so far, however, have had one thing in common: The home team has won. The road teams have an 0-11 record entering Tuesday’s action.

It’s not necessarily surprising that the home teams are controlling the eight series so far. Those clubs are the higher seeds, and home-court advantage is often a difference-maker in the postseason.

Still, it’s somewhat rare for the higher seeds to be quite this dominant to open the playoffs, especially when we saw so much parity during the regular season. The No. 2 and No. 8 seeds in the East finished the season just four games apart, while only two games separated the No. 4 to No. 7 teams in the West.

The lower seeds are going to start picking up some wins at some point, especially in Game 3s when they get to play on their respective home courts. But will any of them actually make it out of the first round?

Currently, BetOnline.ag lists all the lower seeds as series underdogs, giving the Mavericks (+140) the best chance to erase its 1-0 deficit and win the series. Those odds aren’t surprising — Dallas finished the season strong, was only a game behind the Clippers in the standings, and seems unlikely to face a fully healthy Kawhi Leonard in the first round.

The Suns (+150) and Pacers (+195) are also viewed as viable candidates to pull off upsets over Minnesota and Milwaukee, respectively. On the other hand, despite only being down 1-0 in their series, the Pelicans (+660) and Heat (+5000!) are massive underdogs vs. the Thunder and Celtics.

Of the teams who have to climb out of a 2-0 hole, BetOnline.ag views the Sixers (+380) as the strongest candidates for a comeback, followed by the Magic (+640) and Lakers (+870).

We want to know what you think. Will any of the eight lower seeds make it out of the first round? If so, which ones do you expect to see in round two?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

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NBA Player Option Decisions For 2024/25

April 23rd, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of NBA contracts include player options in the final year. Those option years give the player the opportunity to either opt into the last year of his deal and finish out his contract or to decline the option and hit the free agent market a year early.

Several factors play a part in a player’s option decision. The value of the option salary is obviously crucial, as is the player’s performance in the season leading up to his decision.

The state of the NBA’s salary cap also often becomes a necessary consideration for players weighing their decisions. If the salary cap is projected to increase only modestly, or if not many teams around the league project to have cap room, a player may be more inclined to take the guaranteed money rather than trying his luck on the open market.

This year’s player options are listed below. This list – which can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu – will be updated throughout the spring and early summer to note the latest decisions as they’re reported or announced.

While some players may face earlier deadlines (as noted below), all option decisions must be finalized by June 29.

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

  • Davis Bertans ($16,000,000): Opted in
    • Note: Bertans’ option is technically an early termination option.
    • Note: If Bertans opts in, his salary will only be partially guaranteed for $5.25MM.

Chicago Bulls

Denver Nuggets

Golden State Warriors

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

New York Knicks

Phoenix Suns

Washington Wizards

Decision deadline information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used in the creation of this post.

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2024 Pre-Lottery NBA Draft Order

April 22nd, 2024 at 5:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA conducted its draft tiebreakers on Monday, further cementing the draft order for 2024. While we’ll have to wait until the May 12 draft lottery to learn the exact order for this year’s event, we now know what most of the 58 selections look like.

Listed below is the pre-lottery 2024 NBA draft order. Each lottery team’s chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick is noted in parentheses. We’ve also included notes for picks whose status remains up in the air depending on the lottery results.

[RELATED: 2024 NBA Draft Lottery Odds]

The second-round draft order for teams with identical regular season records is the inverse of their first-round order. This rule applies even when one club made the playoffs and one didn’t. For instance, the 46-36 Heat will pick ahead of the 46-36 Kings in the second round.

We’ll provided an updated list after the May 12 lottery, once the official draft order is set, but here’s the tentative 2024 NBA draft order:

First Round:

  1. Detroit Pistons (14.0%)
  2. Washington Wizards (14.0%)
  3. Charlotte Hornets (13.3%)
  4. Portland Trail Blazers (13.2%)
  5. San Antonio Spurs (10.5%)
  6. Toronto Raptors (9.0%)
    • Note: The Spurs will receive this pick if it falls out of the top six (54.2%).
  7. Memphis Grizzlies (7.5%)
  8. Utah Jazz (6.0%)
    • Note: The Thunder will receive this pick if it falls out of the top 10 (0.5%).
  9. Houston Rockets (from Nets) (4.5%)
  10. Atlanta Hawks (3.0%)
  11. Chicago Bulls (2.0%)
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Rockets) (1.5%)
    • Note: The Rockets will retain this pick if it moves into the top four (7.2%).
  13. Sacramento Kings (0.8%)
  14. Portland Trail Blazers (from Warriors) (0.7%)
    • Note: The Warriors will retain this pick if it moves into the top four (3.4%).
  15. Miami Heat
  16. Philadelphia 76ers
  17. Los Angeles Lakers
    • Note: The Pelicans have until June 1 to decide whether they want to acquire this pick or instead acquire the Lakers’ unprotected 2025 first-round pick.
  18. Orlando Magic
  19. Toronto Raptors (from Pacers)
  20. Cleveland Cavaliers
  21. New Orleans Pelicans (from Bucks)
  22. Phoenix Suns
  23. Milwaukee Bucks (from Pelicans)
  24. New York Knicks (from Mavericks)
  25. New York Knicks
  26. Washington Wizards (from Clippers)
  27. Minnesota Timberwolves
  28. Denver Nuggets
  29. Utah Jazz (from Thunder)
  30. Boston Celtics

Second Round:

  1. Toronto Raptors (from Pistons)
  2. Utah Jazz (from Wizards)
  3. Milwaukee Bucks (from Trail Blazers)
    • Note: This pick would move to No. 34 if the Trail Blazers end up with a higher first-round pick than the Hornets via the lottery.
  4. Portland Trail Blazers (from Hornets)
    • Note: This pick would move to No. 33 if the Trail Blazers end up with a higher first-round pick than the Hornets via the lottery.
  5. San Antonio Spurs
  6. Indiana Pacers (from Raptors)
  7. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Grizzlies)
  8. New York Knicks (from Jazz)
  9. Memphis Grizzlies (from Nets)
  10. Portland Trail Blazers (from Hawks)
  11. Philadelphia 76ers (from Bulls)
  12. Charlotte Hornets (from Rockets)
  13. Miami Heat
  14. Houston Rockets (from Warriors)
    • Note: This pick would move to No. 45 if the Warriors end up with a higher first-round pick than the Kings via the lottery.
  15. Sacramento Kings
    • Note: This pick would move to No. 44 if the Warriors end up with a higher first-round pick than the Kings via the lottery.
  16. Los Angeles Clippers (from Pacers)
  17. Orlando Magic
  18. San Antonio Spurs (from Lakers)
  19. Philadelphia 76ers
  20. Indiana Pacers (from Cavaliers)
  21. Indiana Pacers (from Pelicans)
  22. Washington Wizards (from Suns)
  23. Golden State Warriors (from Bucks)
  24. Detroit Pistons (from Knicks)
  25. Boston Celtics (from Mavericks)
  26. Los Angeles Lakers (from Clippers)
  27. Denver Nuggets (from Timberwolves)
  28. Memphis Grizzlies (from Thunder)
  29. Phoenix Suns (from Nuggets)
  30. Dallas Mavericks (from Celtics)
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