Hoops Rumors Originals

2019 Offseason In Review: Cleveland Cavaliers

September 17th, 2019 at 2:52pm 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 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Signings:

Standard contracts:
- None
Two-way contracts:
- Dean Wade
Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Marques Bolden: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Daniel Hamilton: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- J.P. Macura: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Jarell Martin: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Alex Robinson: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Sindarius Thornwell: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Malik Newman: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10) (Waived).
- Levi Randolph: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10) (Waived).

Trades:

Acquired the draft rights to Kevin Porter Jr. (No. 30 pick) from the Pistons in exchange for the Jazz’s 2020 second-round pick, the Trail Blazers’ 2021 second-round pick, the Trail Blazers’ 2023 second-round pick, the Heat’s 2024 second-round pick (top-55 protected), and cash ($5MM).

Draft picks:

1-5: Darius Garland — Signed to rookie contract.
1-26: Dylan Windler — Signed to rookie contract.
1-30: Kevin Porter Jr. — Signed to rookie contract (worth less than 120% of the rookie scale).

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Parted ways with head coach Larry Drew.
Hired John Beilein as head coach.
Hired J.B. Bickerstaff as associate head coach.
Hired Lindsay Gottlieb as assistant coach.
Team owner Dan Gilbert hospitalized with stroke symptoms.

Salary cap situation:

Remained over the cap.
Carrying approximately $129.77MM in salary.
Taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000) still available.
- Note: The Cavaliers are below the tax apron ($138.93MM) and could theoretically use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and/or bi-annual exception, but wouldn’t be able to use those exceptions in full while staying below the apron.

Story of the summer:

LeBron James hasn’t suited up for the Cavaliers since June of 2018, but the franchise remains very much in transition mode following his departure. Most of the team’s expensive contracts for veteran players who were acquired to play alongside James won’t expire until after the 2019/20 season, meaning they were still clogging the cap this summer.

With all those contracts on the books, the Cavs had little flexibility to do anything in free agency. And since most of those vets on expiring deals don’t have positive trade value, the club also didn’t have much leverage to get anything done on the trade market.

As such, the Cavs had essentially completed their offseason work by the end of draft night. The team hired a new head coach in the spring, then added three first-round prospects at the draft. One of those three first-rounders – Kevin Porter Jr. – was acquired in Cleveland’s only trade in the offseason, and the cap-strapped club didn’t sign a single veteran free agent to a guaranteed contract.

While the Cavs may have liked to make a few more moves and accelerate their rebuild a little, their cap situation necessitated patience. The organization will be in a better position to be more active at this year’s trade deadline or in the 2020 offseason.

Key offseason losses:

None of the departing Cavaliers players were core pieces. Channing Frye and J.R. Smith were key contributors during the team’s NBA Finals years, but neither player saw much action last season, though Frye at least was still a positive presence in the locker room.

Marquese Chriss and Nik Stauskas, two former lottery picks, arrived in midseason trades and got a chance to make an impression in the Cavs’ rotation. Stauskas played well enough to earn a roster spot on a contender (Portland). However, Chriss struggled and has seemingly generated little interest on the free agent market this summer, just three years after he was drafted eighth overall. He remains unsigned.

David Nwaba is the other notable departure for the Cavs. The young swingman played some solid two-way ball in Cleveland last season, but he wasn’t in the team’s long-term plans. Despite the fact that he was eligible for restricted free agency, the Cavs did him a favor by declining to tender him a qualifying offer, allowing him to sign outright with the Nets.

Key offseason additions:

Having failed to secure a top-four pick in this year’s draft lottery, the Cavaliers missed out on the very best prospects in the 2019 rookie class, including Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and RJ Barrett. With the No. 5 overall selection, Cleveland nabbed Darius Garland, the second point guard drafted in the top 10 by the team in the last two years.

If the Cavs viewed Garland as the best player available, he was the right pick in that spot, but it’s not an ideal outcome for the Cavs that their first two lottery picks in the post-LeBron era – Garland and Collin Sexton – essentially play the same position. While Sexton sounds bullish on the duo’s chances to emulate the success of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in Portland, that may be an unrealistic goal. It will be interesting to see how the two young guards complement one another.

Cleveland completed its draft by selecting Dylan Windler at No. 26 and Porter at No. 30. Windler, who made 3.0 three-pointers per game at a 42.9% rate in his final season at Belmont, will add some outside shooting to the roster, while Porter is the sort of low-risk, high-upside prospect the Cavs can afford to gamble on at this point in their rebuild — especially since the former USC Trojan became the first player in years to accept a salary lower than 120% of his rookie scale amount.

New head coach John Beilein is the other important addition for the Cavaliers this offseason. Based on the candidates who interviewed to replace Larry Drew, it appeared the team was targeting an up-and-coming assistant in the mold of Lloyd Pierce or Taylor Jenkins. Instead, the 66-year-old Michigan head coach was the choice.

While he doesn’t necessarily fit the mold we envisioned, Beilein makes sense as the pick to lead the Cavs’ rebuild — he has spent the last several decades getting the most out of young college players at Michigan, West Virginia, Richmond, and a handful of other schools, establishing his bona fides as a developmental guru. He’ll look to do the same in Cleveland, working with the likes of Garland, Sexton, Cedi Osman, and Ante Zizic, among others.

Outlook for 2019/20:

With a 19-63 record, the Cavaliers were one of the NBA’s worst teams in 2018/19. Given how little their roster changed during the summer, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be firmly in the lottery once again in 2019/20.

If he’s healthy and isn’t traded before the deadline, Kevin Love could help Cleveland win a few more games, but this is a team that will be focused more on player development than its spot in the standings. The Cavs figure to have fewer veterans on their roster by the end of the season than they do today, and won’t be making the pivot to serious playoff contention for at least another year or two.

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

Five 2020/21 Rookie Scale Option Decisions To Watch

September 17th, 2019 at 8:45am CST by Luke Adams

Because the fourth-year team options on rookie scale contracts are significantly more lucrative than third-year options and players selected at the top of the draft receive the highest-paying contracts, no rookie scale option for 2020/21 is worth more than Markelle Fultz‘s. Now that the Magic have officially picked up that option, Fultz will have a $12,288,697 cap charge locked in for the ’20/21 season.

That option was by no means a lock to be exercised. Fultz has only appeared in 33 career NBA games and hasn’t played at all since he arrived in Orlando at last season’s trade deadline. The former No. 1 overall pick has been sidelined since last November with a condition known as thoracic outlet syndrome, and the Magic have provided few clues about when he might be ready to return to the court, simply saying that he’s making good progress.

Given how highly touted he was as a prospect, the 21-year-old is still a very intriguing project, and it makes sense that the Magic would want to lock him in for an extra year beyond this season to see if he can deliver on his upside. But that $12.3MM cap hit is a hefty one for a player on a rookie scale contract. It couldn’t have been a quick decision.

While Fultz’s option has been exercised, there are several other players on rookie scale contracts whose 2020/21 options aren’t necessarily slam dunks. Here are five players worth keeping an eye on as the October 31 decision deadline approaches:

Josh Jackson, Grizzlies ($8,930,242): The fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft, Jackson is joining a new team this summer after two up-and-down years in Phoenix. The terms of the trade that sent him to Memphis suggest that Jackson’s value isn’t particularly high — the Suns had to attach a pair of second-round picks to move his contract. At this point, it seems more likely than not that the Grizzlies will turn down Jackson’s fourth-year option.
Frank Ntilikina, Knicks ($6,176,578): A solid World Cup showing has boosted Ntilikina’s stock a little heading into training camp, but the Knicks still don’t appear all that eager to have him play a significant role for this year’s squad. The team brought in Elfrid Payton in free agency and seems more invested in Dennis Smith Jr. than Ntilikina. With the 2020/21 cap expected to come in at $116MM, a $6.2MM cap hit is barely a drop in the bucket, so I think it’s worth betting on the young point guard, but we’ll see what New York’s front office has in mind.
Justin Jackson, Mavericks ($5,029,650): Acquired in the Harrison Barnes trade at February’s deadline, Jackson played well for Dallas down the stretch, averaging 8.2 PPG on .484/.372/.724 shooting in 29 games (11 starts). That strong second-half audition likely helped secure his $5MM+ salary for the 2020/21 season.
Caleb Swanigan, Kings ($3,665,787): As a former No. 26 overall pick, Swanigan’s 2020/21 option salary won’t break the bank, but with new contracts on tap for Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings will likely be looking to maximize their flexibility for next summer. That could mean declining their fourth-year option on Swanigan, who was acquired in a midseason trade with Portland last season.
Tony Bradley, Jazz ($3,542,060): Bradley has only appeared in 12 total NBA games during his first two NBA seasons, having been buried on the depth chart behind Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, and Ekpe Udoh. With Favors and Udoh no longer on the roster, Ed Davis was brought in to back up Gobert, but there could be an opportunity for Bradley as Utah’s third center. Given his lack of NBA playing time so far, it’s hard to get a sense of how seriously the Jazz are invested in Bradley, so the club’s decision on his fourth-year option should provide a hint.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

Community Shootaround: East Also-Rans

September 16th, 2019 at 8:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

All of the major offseason moves have been made. Training camp is just around the corner.

We will soon find out whether those changes improved some of the also-rans last season. In terms of the Eastern Conference, the seven teams that failed to reach the playoffs approached the summer in many different ways.

The Heat made the boldest move. They got a commitment from one of the top free agents, Jimmy Butler, and turned it into a sign-and-trade. Josh Richardson and Hassan Whiteside were sent packing in that four-team swap and Miami also acquired reserve big man Meyers Leonard.

The Hornets lost their All-Star point guard Kemba Walker and worked out a sign-and-trade with the Celtics to acquire Terry Rozier. The Wizards resisted trade overtures for Bradley Beal and replaced injured John Wall with stopgap veterans Ish Smith and Isaiah Thomas. They also declined their option on Jabari Parker.

The Hawks continue to embrace improvement via lottery picks, adding De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish to a young core that includes Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and John Collins.

The Bulls added point guard Coby White in the draft but also acquired another guard, Tomas Satoransky, via sign-and-trade and inked veteran forward Thaddeus Young to a three-year deal.

Kevin Love remains on the Cavaliers’ roster for the time being but they’ve decided to build around young players. They surprised many people around the league by hiring Michigan coach John Beilein to spearhead that process.

The Knicks struck out on the major free agents, so they signed a bunch of second-tier free agents — Bobby Portis, Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, Taj Gibson and Elfrid Payton — on short-term contracts after drafting point guard RJ Barrett.

That brings us to our question of the day: Which non-playoff team from the Eastern Conference last season is most likely to make the postseason and why?

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

2019 Offseason In Review: Phoenix Suns

September 16th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Signings:

Standard contracts:
- Ricky Rubio: Three years, $51MM. Signed using cap room.
- Kelly Oubre: Two years, $30MM. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Frank Kaminsky: Two years, $9.77MM. Signed using room exception.
- Jalen Lecque: Four years, minimum salary. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using cap room.
- Cheick Diallo: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year team option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Two-way contracts:
- Jared Harper
Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Haywood Highsmith: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
  - Note: Not yet official.
- David Kramer: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Tariq Owens: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).

Trades:

Acquired cash ($1.1MM) from the Pacers in a three-way trade in exchange for T.J. Warren (to Pacers) and the draft rights to KZ Okpala (No. 32 pick; to Heat).
Acquired Dario Saric and the draft rights to Cameron Johnson (No. 11 pick) from the Timberwolves in exchange for the draft rights to Jarrett Culver (No. 6 pick).
Acquired Aron Baynes and the draft rights to Ty Jerome (No. 24 pick) from the Celtics in exchange for the Bucks’ 2020 first-round pick (top-7 protected).
Acquired Kyle Korver and Jevon Carter from the Grizzlies in exchange for Josh Jackson, De’Anthony Melton, the Suns’ 2020 second-round pick, and the Suns’ 2021 second-round pick (protected 36-60).
- Note: Korver later waived.

Draft picks:

1-11: Cameron Johnson — Signed to rookie contract.
1-24: Ty Jerome — Signed to rookie contract.

Departing players:

Dragan Bender
Jamal Crawford
Troy Daniels
Jimmer Fredette (declined team option)
Richaun Holmes
Josh Jackson
George King (two-way)
De’Anthony Melton
Ray Spalding (declined team option)
T.J. Warren

Other offseason news:

Named James Jones permanent general manager
Hired Jeff Bower as senior VP of basketball operations.
Fired head coach Igor Kokoskov.
Hired Monty Williams as new head coach.
Hired Steve Blake, Willie Green, and several other assistant coaches.

Salary cap situation:

Used cap space; now over the cap.
Carrying approximately $120.86MM in salary.
No cap exceptions available.

Story of the summer:

After unexpectedly firing general manager Ryan McDonough just before the 2018/19 season got underway, the Suns didn’t name a permanent replacement until this past spring. James Jones, less than two years removed from appearing in the NBA Finals as a player, was placed in charge of Phoenix’s front office, with veteran executive Jeff Bower joining him in a key management role.

Although the Suns are in rebuilding mode, their offseason moves perhaps reflected the new front office’s belief that some veteran stability was necessary to complement its young prospects — and to help them develop.

It didn’t initially look like Phoenix would have any real cap room to work with in free agency, but the team managed to create a little flexibility by moving T.J. Warren and Josh Jackson – two players drafted by the previous regime – in separate trades. That newly-created room was enough to sign Ricky Rubio to a three-year, $51MM deal and to take on Aron Baynes‘ and Dario Saric‘s expiring contracts.

While Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker project to be the cornerstones of the Suns for years to come, they’ll need to some help to maximize their potential, and the front office identified those veterans as good candidates to move that process forward. Rubio will create easier shots for Phoenix’s young duo; Baynes will serve as a veteran mentor for Ayton; and Saric’s ability to stretch the floor will help open up space for both young stars to operate.

Key offseason losses:

The Suns haven’t made the postseason since 2010 and haven’t won more than 24 games in a season since the 2014/15 campaign. The miserable run has been protracted in part due to the club’s inconsistent hit rate on high draft picks, and the 2019 offseason saw Phoenix give up on two more of those recent lottery selections.

Dragan Bender – the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft – moved on in free agency after three underwhelming seasons with the Suns, while Jackson – 2017’s No. 4 overall pick – was jettisoned in a salary-dump trade. Both players are entering their age-22 seasons, so it’s fair to question whether Phoenix gave up on them too early. But neither player really showed enough on the court to inspire much optimism, and Jackson ran into legal trouble off the court.

The decision to dump Warren’s salary was a more surprising one. He’s under contract for the next three years at less than $12MM annually and is coming off two straight seasons in which he averaged more than 20 points per 36 minutes — he even added a reliable three-point shot to his game in 2018/19. If the Suns didn’t view him as a great fit, that’s fine. But giving up the No. 32 pick along with Warren just to get rid of him seemed like poor value.

The Suns lost role players Richaun Holmes and Troy Daniels in free agency too, and it seems safe to assume Jamal Crawford won’t be back either. Additionally, De’Anthony Melton, whom the club was reportedly high on a year ago, was sent to Memphis as part of the Jackson trade.

Key offseason additions:

The Suns had been in the market for a point guard since the fall of 2017, when they traded Eric Bledsoe to Milwaukee, and finally found an answer at the position this summer when they locked up Rubio to a fully guaranteed three-year contract. The new backcourt duo will be a fascinating one to watch — Booker has often served as Phoenix’s de facto point guard over the last two years, but he should be playing off-ball more than ever in 2019/20, since Rubio is at his best with the ball in his hands.

Although it hasn’t been as high-profile as their search for a point guard, the Suns have also been seeking a reliable stretch four in recent years. Last year’s Ryan Anderson experiment was a disaster, but the team will hope for better results from Saric and Frank Kaminsky, two frontcourt players who have shot the ball well from outside (38.1% over the last two years for Saric; 37.3% for Kaminsky).

Saric and Kaminsky should help create more room for Ayton to go to work down low. Baynes, the other incoming veteran up front, appears in position to claim the backup center minutes that Holmes played last season.

The Suns also added a pair of prospects in the first round of this year’s draft, passing up a chance to select a prospect like Jarrett Culver or Coby White at No. 6 and instead trading down to No. 11, where they selected Cameron Johnson.

It was perhaps the most surprising pick of the first round — Johnson, who wasn’t one of 24 players invited to the green room, was among the oldest players in this year’s class and faced questions about the health of his hips. His shooting prowess (.457 3PT% as a senior) can’t be denied, but the pick looked like a bit of a reach at No. 11.

Ty Jerome, the 24th overall pick in the draft, will likely be brought along more slowly than Johnson and could see time with the G League’s Northern Arizona Suns in his rookie season.

Finally, one of the Suns’ most notable offseason additions was new head coach Monty Williams, who was a sought-after candidate this spring, choosing Phoenix over an opportunity with the Lakers. Williams, the team’s seventh head coach since the 2012/13 season began, will be tasked with getting the most out of up-and-coming youngsters like Booker, Ayton, and Mikal Bridges — and hopefully outlasting the many coaches that came before him this decade.

Outlook for 2019/20:

It’s probably a little too soon to expect the Suns to seriously contend for the playoffs, but it’s time for the franchise to take at least a modest step forward. Phoenix has lost between 58 and 63 games for four consecutive seasons, and Booker and Ayton are too good to remain mired at the bottom of the Western Conference standings for much longer.

The Suns’ front office and coaching staff may look at the Kings’ 2018/19 season as a model to emulate. After losing 49 or more games for 10 straight years, Sacramento posted a 39-43 record last season, with the team’s young players leading the charge. I don’t expect this year’s Suns to match that win total, but it’d be a good goal for a team that won’t realistically have championship aspirations.

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

NBA Teams With Most, Fewest Guaranteed Salaries

September 16th, 2019 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

At this point in the offseason, the majority of the NBA’s teams are carrying either 13 or 14 players on guaranteed salaries. Teams will have to pare down their rosters to no more than 15 players on standard contracts once the regular season begins, so having 13 or 14 players on guaranteed deals now gives those clubs the flexibility to allow one or two non-guaranteed players to make the team — or to carry an open roster spot into opening night.

However, there are currently a dozen teams around the league carrying fewer than 13 guaranteed salaries or more than 14. With the help of our roster counts tool, here’s a look at those teams, with details on what they might be thinking as the 2019/20 season nears:

Fewer than 13 fully guaranteed salaries:

Houston Rockets (10)
Miami Heat (12)
Toronto Raptors (12)
Utah Jazz (12)

With only 10 players on fully guaranteed salaries, the Rockets may have some competition for their final few roster spots in training camp. For now Isaiah Hartenstein and Gary Clark – each of whom have partial guarantees – look like good bets to earn spots, with Ben McLemore perhaps the frontrunner for the 13th spot. Anthony Bennett, Chris Clemons, Michael Frazier, William McDowell-White, and Shamorie Ponds are candidates to fill out the roster, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Houston eventually acquires a veteran or two with its open spots.

Duncan Robinson‘s and Kendrick Nunn‘s partial guarantees put them in good position to earn the Heat‘s 13th and 14th roster spots. The hard-capped club won’t have room for a 15th player to start the season.

Royce O’Neale is a lock to make the Jazz, and Georges Niang seems like a safe bet too. William Howard and Stanton Kidd could be the prime contenders for the 15th spot if Utah wants a full roster.

For the Raptors, second-round pick Dewan Hernandez, veteran point guard Cameron Payne, and returning role players Chris Boucher and Malcolm Miller are the top candidates for the final two or three openings on the regular season roster.

More than 14 fully guaranteed salaries:

Brooklyn Nets (15)
Dallas Mavericks (15)
Indiana Pacers (15)
Memphis Grizzlies (15)
Minnesota Timberwolves (15)
New York Knicks (15)
Phoenix Suns (15)
San Antonio Spurs (15)

The Grizzlies were the only team carrying more than 15 guaranteed salaries, but a buyout agreement with Dwight Howard changed that. If they reach a similar deal – or find a trade – involving Andre Iguodala, their roster count would dip to 14 fully guaranteed contracts.

The Nets, Mavericks, Pacers, Timberwolves, Knicks, Suns, and Spurs could shake things up with roster moves before the season begins, particularly if any of those teams is impressed by a non-guaranteed camp invitee. But for now, their regular season rosters look pretty set with their 15 players on guaranteed salaries.

Several Reported Free Agent Deals Not Yet Official

September 15th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

When a free agent agrees to join an NBA team, his tentative deal with the club is generally reported before he officially signs his contract. Often, word of an agreement between a player and team breaks minutes or hours – or perhaps a day or two – before the deal is formally finalized. But there are instances when it takes longer for the two sides to complete the contract, and there are even some examples of deals falling through altogether.

The most memorable instance of a tentative free agent agreement falling apart probably came during the 2015 offseason, when DeAndre Jordan agreed to sign with the Mavericks during the July moratorium, only to change his mind several days later and re-sign with the Clippers instead. It’s not uncommon for this to happen a few times each summer on a smaller scale.

In 2019, for instance, Marcus Morris agreed to terms with the Spurs before changing course and singing with the Knicks instead. Alec Burks committed to the Thunder before the team entered rebuilding mode — after trading Paul George, Oklahoma City allowed Burks to look for a new deal and he ultimately decided to sign with the Warriors. Undrafted rookie Kris Wilkes and the Knicks were on track to complete a two-way contract before health issues derailed the deal.

The most recent example of a contract agreement falling through happened last week, when Joe Johnson agreed to sign with the Pistons. Multiple reports at the time of the signing indicated that Michael Beasley would be waived to make room on the roster for Johnson, but Beasley never actually signed a contract with Detroit after agreeing to a deal with the club in August. The Pistons will just sign Johnson in place of Beasley rather than waiving anyone.

Our roster count tool tracks the free agent agreements that have been reported but haven’t yet been made official, and there are currently several names worth keeping an eye on there. Most of those tentative deals will eventually be completed, but a couple may follow the Pistons’ example with Beasley and just never get done.

Here are a few of the reported agreements that aren’t yet finalized:

Hawks/Vince Carter: There’s a simple explanation for why Carter has yet to put pen to paper with the Hawks after committing to the team way back on August 5: Atlanta is the only team that still has any real cap room available. Signing Carter would cut into that room by about $1.62MM, so the club is presumably scouring the trade market to see if it can maximize its cap flexibility before having to give up some of that flexibility.
Pistons/Joe Johnson: After the Pistons’ deal with Beasley was scuttled, it’s extremely unlikely that the same thing will happen with Iso Joe. Still, it’s worth noting that even though the two sides reached a deal on Thursday, it’s not officially done yet.
Timberwolves/Tyus Battle: A report surfaced shortly after the draft ended in June indicating that the Wolves would sign Battle to an Exhibit 10 contract. Agreements reported in June – before the new league year begins – are the ones most frequently uncompleted. In some cases, a team or player will decide to go in a new direction; in other cases the team simply intended to bring the player to Summer League rather than to training camp and the deal was misreported. In Battle’s case, the fact that his deal was specifically reported as an Exhibit 10 pact means it should still happen in the coming weeks.
Hornets/Kobi Simmons and Celtics/Kaiser Gates: It has been 12 days since Simmons’ deal was reported and 10 days since we heard Gates would sign with Boston. Neither agreement appears to be in any jeopardy though. In fact, Charlotte’s G League affiliate recently acquired Simmons’ NBAGL rights and Boston’s affiliate did the same for Gates. That’s a signal that both players will ultimately end up in the G League — by signing Exhibit 10 contracts with those NBA teams, they’ll be eligible to receive $50K bonuses as a result of their time in the NBAGL.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

Poll: Andre Iguodala’s Future

September 15th, 2019 at 2:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies, Andre Iguodala, and Iguodala’s potential suitors appear to be engaged in a game of chicken as training camps approach for the 2019/20 season.

Memphis acquired Iguodala in an offseason trade with the Warriors, but the move was a straight salary dump for Golden State and the Grizzlies are in rebuilding mode, so it seemed as if the former Finals MVP would push for a trade or buyout to join a contender.

For now though, the Grizzlies appear unwilling to seriously engage in buyout talks, having indicated that they’d like to start the season with Iguodala serving as a veteran mentor to their young prospects. Meanwhile, teams that might be interested in acquiring Iguodala via trade or buyout also seem content to wait, recognizing that the veteran swingman should eventually become available either at a more reasonable trade cost or as a free agent.

Iguodala’s camp would probably like to speed up the process, but unless the former Warrior is willing to surrender a large chunk of his $17MM salary in a buyout agreement, he has little leverage to force the Grizzlies’ hand.

A trade partner could potentially land Iguodala sooner rather than later by offering Memphis a first-round pick without a cumbersome multiyear contract attached, but it doesn’t seem as if any team is desperate enough to pay that price at this point.

With Iguodala’s outlook for 2019/20 still up in the air, we want you to weigh in. Will his situation be resolved before the season begins, or will he have to wait until closer to the trade deadline? And when the Grizzlies eventually trade him or buy him out, which contender will he join?

Vote in our poll on Iguodala’s timeline, then jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts on his next destination!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Community Shootaround: Is Team USA Still The World’s Best?

September 14th, 2019 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

At least they were better than Poland.

Team USA wrapped up a disappointing World Cup experience this morning with a 13-point win over the Polish contingent in a battle for seventh place. It’s not what the Americans expected going into the tournament or where they appeared to be headed when the invitations for training camp went out last month.

But that was before Anthony Davis passed on the chance to play in China, followed by James Harden, Eric Gordon, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Tobias Harris, Kevin Love and a host of other NBA stars. The final 12-man roster didn’t have enough shooting, size or cohesiveness to compete with the world’s best teams, resulting in the worst finish for the Americans in a major tournament since NBA players started participating in 1992.

It’s easy to dismiss this year’s results and expect Team USA to be back on top at the 2020 Olympics. But Kobe Bryant, who helped re-establish American dominance after a similar performance in 2004, isn’t buying it.

“It’s not a matter of the rest of the world catching up to the U.S., it’s that the rest of the world has been caught up for quite some time,” Bryant told Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “And it’s to the point now where us in the U.S. are going to win some, we’re going lose some. And that’s just how it goes.”

Windhorst believes the Americans didn’t underachieve, but finished about where their talent level should indicate. They lost to France and Serbia in the tournament and dropped an exhibition game to Australia, leaving their overall record at 7-3. It would have been 6-4 if not for a fortunate win over a Turkish team that let a victory slip away because of missed free throws.

Whatever the roster looks like for 2020, Team USA won’t have the overwhelming talent advantage it has gotten used to in Olympic play. LeBron James will be 35. Kevin Durant may still be awaiting his return from an Achilles injury. Kawhi Leonard has never played in an Olympics or World Cup and isn’t a sure thing to participate.

As Bryant noted, the rest of the world has been catching up for a while. Many teams are filled with NBA players and work together frequently, while the Americans will be starting from scratch when Olympic training camp begins.

We want to get your opinion. Does the World Cup performance mean that Team USA’s Olympic crown is in jeopardy?

Head to our comment section below to share your feedback.

Hoops Rumors Originals: 9/7/19 – 9/14/19

September 14th, 2019 at 5:19pm 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:

Our Offseason in Review series spotlighted the Knicks.
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Hoops Rumors Originals

2019 Offseason In Review: New York Knicks

September 13th, 2019 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Signings:

Standard contracts:
- Julius Randle: Three years, $56.7MM. Third year partially guaranteed ($4MM). Signed using cap room.
- Bobby Portis: Two years, $30.75MM. Second-year team option. Signed using cap room.
- Taj Gibson: Two years, $18.5MM. Second year partially guaranteed ($1MM). Signed using cap room.
- Wayne Ellington: Two years, $16MM. Second year partially guaranteed ($1MM). Signed using cap room.
- Elfrid Payton: Two years, $16MM. Second year partially guaranteed ($1MM). Signed using cap room.
- Marcus Morris: One year, $15MM. Signed using cap room.
- Reggie Bullock: Two years, $8.2MM. Second year partially guaranteed ($1MM). Signed using room exception.
Two-way contracts:
- None
Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Amir Hinton: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- V.J. King: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Lamar Peters: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Kenny Wooten: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).

Trades:

Acquired the draft rights to Ignas Brazdeikis (No. 47 pick) from the Kings in exchange for the draft rights to Kyle Guy (No. 55 pick) and cash ($1MM).

Draft picks:

1-3: RJ Barrett — Signed to rookie contract.
2-47: Ignas Brazdeikis — Signed to three-year, minimum salary contract. Third year team option. Signed using cap room.

Departing players:

Henry Ellenson (declined team option)
Billy Garrett (declined team option)
Mario Hezonja
Isaiah Hicks (two-way)
John Jenkins (declined team option)
DeAndre Jordan
Luke Kornet
Emmanuel Mudiay
Lance Thomas (waived)
Noah Vonleh

Other offseason news:

Reggie Bullock underwent surgery for cervical disc herniation.
Damyean Dotson underwent surgery on torn labrum.
Hired Mike Miller as assistant coach.

Salary cap situation:

Used cap space; now over the cap.
Carrying approximately $112.6MM in salary.
$767K of room exception still available ($4MM used on Reggie Bullock).

Story of the summer:

As the Knicks and their fans endured a forgettable 17-65 season in 2018/19, optimism persisted that better days were around the corner.

Rumors that free agents like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were strongly considering a move to New York swirled all season long, especially after the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas to create a second maximum-salary slot.

While the Porzingis blockbuster was criticized by a wide swath of Knicks fans, most of those fans were at least cautiously hopeful that the deal signaled how confident the front office was in landing two stars in free agency. That belief became even more prevalent after team owner James Dolan offered the following assessment in March: “From what we’ve heard, we’re going to have a very successful offseason.”

You know by now how things actually played out. The Knicks weren’t seriously considered by any of the very best free agents on the market, and just hours into free agency – after missing out on its top targets – the organization put out a public statement to address fans’ disappointment, re-wording and re-issuing that statement moments later to insert a mention of the team’s “core of young players” in its rebuilding plans.

Rather than landing a pair of stars to jumpstart their ascent to contention, the Knicks ended up signing a series of veteran role players to short-term contracts. Those players will likely help the franchise win more games in 2019/20, but New York’s coaching staff will have to walk a fine line in balancing playing time for its incoming veterans with minutes for that “core of young players” the club is still determined to develop.

The short-term contracts those veteran free agents signed will allow New York to retain salary cap flexibility for the next two summers. But there’s no reason at this point to expect the Knicks to have any more success recruiting stars in 2020 or 2021 than they did this summer. There’s still plenty of work to be done to rehab the unflattering reputation the franchise has earned in recent years.

Key offseason losses:

After striking out on their top targets on the open market, the Knicks could have retained some of their own veteran free agents, but opted to let virtually all of them walk. Among those players, DeAndre Jordan, Emmanuel Mudiay, Noah Vonleh, and Mario Hezonja were perhaps the most notable.

Jordan was supposed to help recruit Durant and Irving to the Knicks, but joined the duo across town in Brooklyn instead. As for Mudiay, Vonleh, and Hezonja, it seems as though they and/or the Knicks had little interest in new deals — none of them signed for more than $2MM with their new teams, so it’s not as if New York couldn’t have afforded them.

Although the Knicks lost some veteran leadership in the frontcourt when they waived Lance Thomas, he was no longer an effective on-court performer by the end of last season. Luke Kornet, a seven-footer who made 36.0% of his three-point attempts in two seasons with New York, is also gone.

Key offseason additions:

With plenty of cap room available and no stars to use it on, the Knicks committed over $40MM of their 2019/20 team salary to Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, and Elfrid Payton. While New York had to spend its money somehow in order to reach the salary floor, it was a little surprising to see the club invest so heavily in this group of players rather than using its cap flexibility to accommodate salary dumps.

As we saw in trades that sent Andre Iguodala to Memphis, Maurice Harkless to the Clippers, and Allen Crabbe to Atlanta, teams around the NBA were willing to attach first-round picks to unwanted contracts this summer.

Taking on one or two of those unwanted contracts could have helped the Knicks stockpile future assets. It also could’ve helped create more opportunities to get their young prospects consistent playing time while not necessarily compromising their ability to acquire veteran talent — Iguodala, Harkless, and Crabbe all figure to play rotation minutes this year.

Instead, the Knicks will move forward with players like Randle, Portis, and Payton, who have put up big per-game numbers for lottery teams throughout their respective careers. Of the three, only Portis has ever appeared in the postseason, having played a bench role for a 2016/17 Bulls team that was eliminated in the first round.

Incoming veteran free agents Taj Gibson and Wayne Ellington have better records of success, but they’re no more than role players at this point in their respective careers (Gibson is 34 years old, while Ellington will turn 32 in November). Reggie Bullock would have been a solid addition to the rotation, but he’s not healthy, having undergone cervical disc surgery in July. It remains to be seen when he’ll make his Knicks debut.

The Knicks’ best free agent addition of the summer might have been Marcus Morris, whom the team snatched away from the Spurs after he had already reached a tentative agreement to sign with San Antonio. But that signing came after New York had already signed Randle, Portis, and Gibson, three players who essentially play the same position as Morris. Perhaps Morris can slide down to small forward, though it’s hard to imagine many effective lineups that feature more than two of those players.

While New York’s approach in free agency may have been questionable, the team’s most important acquisition happened in June. RJ Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft, figures to play a more crucial role on the Knicks’ next playoff team than any free agents signed this summer. Fans were disappointed not to land the No. 1 overall pick and Zion Williamson, but Barrett’s star potential shouldn’t be understated — he could eventually develop into one of the NBA’s best perimeter scorers.

Outlook for 2019/20:

Once it became clear that the Knicks weren’t going to sign Durant, Irving, or other star free agents, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the franchise to “win” the offseason. It’s at least a step in the right direction that the front office didn’t make any misguided long-term commitments to lesser options, a la Joakim Noah in 2016.

Still, while this stopgap Knicks team should win more than 17 games, it doesn’t look like a serious playoff threat, even in the league’s lesser conference. The club’s primary goals should be getting good value for its veteran trade chips before February’s deadline and making sure that young players like Barrett, Kevin Knox, and Dennis Smith Jr. get plenty of opportunities to play and improve over the course of the season.

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

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