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Poll: Will Team USA Win 2019 World Cup?

August 30th, 2019 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2019 FIBA World Cup will get underway in approximately 12 hours, as Angola and Serbia are scheduled to tip off at 3:30am eastern time on Saturday. Team USA, meanwhile, will begin its quest for a gold medal on Sunday morning with a matchup against the Czech Republic.

There has been plenty of hand-wringing in recent weeks over the exodus of talent from USA Basketball’s preliminary World Cup roster. James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, and many more All-NBA stars have pulled out of the competition, leaving Team USA with a roster headlined by Kemba Walker, the only player on the squad with more than one All-Star appearance on his résumé.

Outside of Walker, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez are the only other former All-Stars in the 12-man group. The roster is rounded out by up-and-coming youngsters like Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Myles Turner, and Derrick White, along with veteran role players Harrison Barnes, Marcus Smart, Joe Harris, and Mason Plumlee.

It’s not exactly a star-studded roster, but it’s still the only 12-man squad at the World Cup that will be made up exclusively of NBA players. Team USA will have a depth advantage over every other national team in the field and will have a versatile enough roster to match up with any club it faces. It also has one of the sport’s best coaches of all-time in Gregg Popovich.

On the other hand, Team USA’s dozen representatives aren’t particularly accomplished in international play, and NBA experience isn’t everything in these tournaments — the last time USA Basketball lost a major international competition, in 2006, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard were among the stars representing America. They fell to a Greek team without a single player on an NBA roster.

In international play, and particularly in the single-elimination stage of these tournaments, a hot five-man lineup – or even a single player – can be enough to pull off an upset.

The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag view Team USA as the favorites to bring home the World Cup gold from China, but not overwhelmingly so — the line for Team USA is -170, meaning you’d only have to risk $170 to win $100.

Nikola Jokic and the Serbians (+350) are considered strong challengers, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece (+1000) in the mix as well, along with Marc Gasol and the Spaniards (+1600). Tom Ziller of SBNation.com also views Australia, France, Lithuania, and Germany as teams with the potential to knock off Team USA — Australia already did so once in exhibition play, snapping the program’s 78-game winning streak in international contests.

What do you think? Is Team USA still a slam dunk to win this year’s World Cup, despite all its missing stars, or is this the year that the country’s streak of gold medals comes to an end?

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

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Decisions On 2020/21 Rookie Scale Team Options

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

Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the deadline for teams to sign fourth-year players to rookie scale extensions was moved up from October 31 to the last day before the regular season begins, but Halloween remains an important date on the NBA’s calendar. It’s the last day that clubs can exercise team options on the rookie scale contracts of former first-round picks.

All the players whose options will be exercised or declined by October 31 are already under contract for the 2019/20 season. Their teams will have to make a decision on whether they want to lock in those players’ contracts beyond the coming season, picking up or turning down team options for the 2020/21 campaign.

For players who signed their rookie scale contracts in 2017 and have already been in the NBA for two years, teams must decide on fourth-year options for 2020/21. For players who just signed their rookie deals last year and only have one season of NBA experience under their belts, teams will already be faced with a decision on third-year options for ’20/21.

In many cases, these decisions aren’t hard ones. Rookie scale salaries are affordable enough that it usually makes sense to exercise most of these team options, even if a player isn’t a key cog on the roster. And for those players who do have a significant role on a team’s roster, the decision is even easier — it’s not as if the Hawks would ever consider turning down their option on Trae Young, for instance.

Still, we’ll wait for a trusted reporter, the NBA, a player (or his agent), or a team itself to confirm that an option is indeed being exercised or declined, and we’ll track that news in this space.

Listed below are all the rookie scale decisions for 2020/21 team options that clubs must make by October 31. This list will be updated throughout the rest of the offseason and into the first couple weeks of the regular season, as teams’ decisions are reported and announced. The salary figures listed here reflect the cap hits for each team.

Here are the NBA’s rookie scale team option decisions for 2020/21 salaries:

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Highest-Paid NBA Players By Team

August 30th, 2019 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we listed the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2019/20 season. While that list presented a clear picture of the highest earners for the upcoming season, not every NBA team was represented.

Neither the Grizzlies nor the Knicks had a player in the top 50, which isn’t a huge surprise, considering neither of those teams is expected to be a championship contender during the 2019/20 season. Memphis’ current highest-paid player – Andre Iguodala – may not even be on the roster by opening night if a favorable trade or buyout can be agreed upon.

Our list of highest-paid players for 2019/20 also only provided a snapshot for the coming year. It featured veterans like Chandler Parsons and Paul Millsap, who will be well compensated for the coming season but are on expiring contracts.

This afternoon, we’re shifting our focus to the highest-paid players by team. This will allow us to check in on the clubs that weren’t represented on our initial list, as well as exploring teams’ most lucrative multiyear commitments — we’ve included each club’s highest-paid player for the 2019/20 season and its highest-paid player in total.

Let’s dive in…

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

  • 2019/20: Kemba Walker ($32,742,000)
  • Total: Kemba Walker (four years, $140,790,600)

Brooklyn Nets

  • 2019/20: Kevin Durant ($38,199,000)
  • Total: Kevin Durant (four years, $164,255,700)
    • Note: Durant’s final year is a player option.

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • 2019/20: Kevin Love ($28,942,830)
  • Total: Kevin Love (four years, $120,402,172)

Dallas Mavericks

  • 2019/20: Kristaps Porzingis ($27,285,000)
  • Total: Kristaps Porzingis (five years, $158,253,000)
    • Note: Porzingis’ final year is a player option.

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

  • 2019/20: Blake Griffin ($34,449,964)
  • Total: Blake Griffin (three years, $110,217,988)
    • Note: Griffin’s final year is a player option.

Golden State Warriors

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Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors

August 30th, 2019 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors makes it easy to keep up with your favorite NBA teams as they plot their next moves, and we also provide multiple ways to follow the latest updates on all of your favorite players, along with the free agents and trade candidates from around the league.

You can get news about players wherever you go with our Trade Rumors app, available for iOS and Android devices. The app is free and allows you to add a feed for any player and set up notifications that will alert you whenever we write about him. It’s the easiest way to keep tabs on specific players.

If you’re using the desktop or mobile version of our site, there are other ways to follow your favorite player(s). Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find any player by using our search box, by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post in which he’s discussed, or by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, LeBron James‘ page is hoopsrumors.com/lebron-james.

In addition to players, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags that we use at the bottom of posts. For example, you can keep tabs on our 2019 World Cup stories right here. Items about the NBA G League can be found on this page. You can simply scan our top stories here.

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NBA’s Top 50 Highest-Paid Players For 2019/20

August 30th, 2019 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

While many of the NBA’s highest-paid players are on contracts considered maximum-salary deals, the 2019/20 salaries for those players vary significantly depending on when the player signed his contract and how much NBA experience he has. That’s why a player like Stephen Curry will earn nearly $13MM more than Anthony Davis in ’19/20 despite both stars technically being on max deals.

When a player signs a maximum-salary contract, he doesn’t necessarily earn the NBA max for each season of that contract — he earns the max in year one, then gets a series of identical annual raises. In Curry’s case, his 2019/20 salary actually exceeds this year’s maximum, since his deal started in the summer of 2017 and includes 8% annual raises. The annual cap increases haven’t kept up with those 8% raises.

Listed below, with the help of salary data from Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, are the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2019/20 season. The players on this list don’t necessarily have the contracts with the largest overall value. The list below only considers salaries for 2019/20

Additionally, we’ve noted players who could potentially increase their earnings via incentives or trade bonuses. We didn’t add those notes for players like Curry, James Harden, and others who have trade bonuses but are already earning the maximum — their salaries for this season can’t increase beyond their max.

The cutoff for a spot on this year’s top-50 list is a $21MM salary, so players like Tim Hardaway Jr. ($20,025,127) and Malcolm Brogdon ($20MM) just missed out.

Here are the NBA’s 50 highest-paid players for the 2019/20 season:

  1. Stephen Curry, Warriors: $40,231,758
  2. Chris Paul, Thunder: $38,506,482
    Russell Westbrook, Rockets: $38,506,482
  3. Kevin Durant, Nets: $38,199,000
    James Harden, Rockets: $38,199,000
    John Wall, Wizards: $38,199,000
  4. LeBron James, Lakers: $37,436,858 (15% trade kicker)
  5. Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $34,996,296 (plus incentives)
  6. Blake Griffin, Pistons: $34,449,964
  7. Paul George, Clippers: $33,005,556
  8. Jimmy Butler, Heat: $32,742,000
    Tobias Harris, Sixers: $32,742,000
    Kawhi Leonard, Clippers: $32,742,000
    Klay Thompson, Warriors: $32,742,000
    Kemba Walker, Celtics: $32,742,000
  9. Gordon Hayward, Celtics: $32,700,690 (15% trade kicker)
  10. Mike Conley, Jazz: $32,511,624
  11. Kyrie Irving, Nets: $31,742,000 (plus incentives; 15% trade kicker)
  12. Khris Middleton, Bucks: $30,603,448
  13. Paul Millsap, Nuggets: $30,350,000 (plus incentives)
  14. Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers: $29,802,321
  15. Kevin Love, Cavaliers: $28,942,830
  16. Al Horford, Sixers: $28,000,000
    Nikola Vucevic, Magic: $28,000,000
  17. DeMar DeRozan, Spurs: $27,739,975
  18. CJ McCollum, Trail Blazers: $27,556,959
  19. Joel Embiid, Sixers: $27,504,630
    Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: $27,504,630
    Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves: $27,504,630
  20. Devin Booker, Suns: $27,285,000
    Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks: $27,285,000
    D’Angelo Russell, Warriors: $27,285,000
    Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves: $27,285,000
  21. Otto Porter, Bulls: $27,250,576
  22. Andre Drummond, Pistons: $27,093,018 (8% trade kicker)
  23. Bradley Beal, Wizards: $27,093,018
    Anthony Davis, Lakers: $27,093,018
    Hassan Whiteside, Trail Blazers: $27,093,018
  24. Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $26,231,111 (plus incentives)
  25. LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs: $26,000,000 (15% trade kicker)
  26. Steven Adams, Thunder: $25,842,697 (7.5% trade kicker)
  27. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $25,842,697
  28. Marc Gasol, Raptors: $25,595,700
  29. Nicolas Batum, Hornets: $25,565,217
  30. Chandler Parsons, Hawks: $25,102,512
  31. Rudy Gobert, Jazz: $25,008,427 (plus incentives)
  32. Harrison Barnes, Kings: $24,147,727
  33. Serge Ibaka, Raptors: $23,271,604
  34. Danilo Gallinari, Thunder: $22,615,559
  35. Victor Oladipo, Pacers: $21,000,000

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Biggest World Cup Competition For USA?

August 29th, 2019 at 9:38pm CST by clarkcrum

Danny Chau of The Ringer has taken a look at the five teams he opines have the best chance to knock off Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He notes that Team USA is still the favorite, but it’s become clear that the playing field is more level than it’s been in a long while.

In Chau’s view, the biggest threat is Serbia, led by one of the top players in the tournament – Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. USA’s opponent in the 2016 Olympic gold medal game, Serbia has a very tall roster that includes Boban Marjanovic, Nemanja Bjelica, and Bogdan Bogdanovic in addition to Jokic.

In addition to Serbia, Chau lists France (led by Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, and Frank Ntilikina), Greece (led by NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo), Spain (led by Marc Gasol and Ricky Rubio), and Lithuania (led by Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis).

We want to know what you think. Will Team USA have trouble with one of the aforementioned teams? Will they win another Gold? With another team not listed above be the surprise of the 2019 FIBA World Cup and knock off Team USA? Please leave your responses in the space below.

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Community Shootaround: The BIG3

August 28th, 2019 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Joe Johnson may be about to change the way the NBA looks at the BIG3 League.

Since its inception in 2017, the summertime three-on-three competition has been seen as a way for former NBA players to keep their names in the spotlight once they’re past their prime. The games are played in a half-court format and feature two-, three- and four-point shots along with other unique rules.

The league has never been considered a pathway back to the NBA, but Johnson may be about to break that barrier. It was reported earlier tonight that he will work out for the Sixers tomorrow in Philadelphia. The Clippers, Bucks, Nuggets and Pelicans are also interested in seeing if the 38-year-old has anything left in the tank.

“This is and will be big for @thebig3, giving players the platform to perform and make it back to the league,” former Heat star Dwyane Wade tweeted.

Although it didn’t affect Johnson, one reason for the league’s new status is a rules change adopted this year that lowers the minimum age for players from 30 to 27. That allowed a fresh infusion of talent, including many players who are still in the prime of their careers.

One of the top proponents of the BIG3 is Celtics TV analyst Brian Scalabrine, who serves as team captain of the Ball Hogs. He told Frank Isola of The Athletic that Carmelo Anthony would be in a better position to land a training camp invitation if he had played in the league.

“Joe Johnson would not be in the conversation if he didn’t play in the BIG3,” Scalabrine said. “I want Carmelo Anthony to realize that hanging out with his trainer and playing in these bogus pick-up games is not better than playing in the BIG3. If Carmelo was killing the BIG3 it can help him, (but) I think these guys believe it can only hurt them. I think agents think it can only hurt them. But I’m telling you if you’re dominating the BIG3, you’ll get back in the league.”

We want to get your opinion. Will Johnson’s experience help the BIG3 turn into a summertime showcase for players who want to return to the NBA? Please leave your responses in the space below.

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2021 NBA Free Agents

August 28th, 2019 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2021 free agents is below. The player’s 2021 age is in parentheses.

These are players who are eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency after the 2020/21 season. They either finished the ’20/21 season on an NBA roster or were unsigned at season’s end (but appeared in at least 10 games). A small handful of other notable free agents are also listed.

You’ll be able to access this list anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site, or in the “Free Agent Lists” section of our mobile menu. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.

Updated 4-10-22 (4:07pm CT)
Note: This list is no longer being updated.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Point Guards

Shooting Guards

Small Forwards

Power Forwards

Centers

Restricted Free Agents

All of 2021’s restricted free agents have signed new contracts. They can be found here.

Player Options

All player option decisions have now been made. They can be found here.

Team Options

All team option decisions have now been made. They can be found here.

Contract information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Community Shootaround: Michael Porter Jr.’s Future With Nuggets

August 27th, 2019 at 7:01pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nuggets‘ front office believes Michael Porter Jr.‘s rehabilitation process has set him up for a standard role within an NBA rotation, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic writes. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2018 draft missed his entire rookie season while he recovered from back surgery, but is scheduled to make his debut this upcoming season.

Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Blake Griffin are among the top players who have missed their rookie season because of injury, Kosmider notes. Simmons and Griffin were each spectacular in their second season in the league, while Embiid took several seasons to fully showcase his ability. Although Embiid’s pitch count seems to get more liberal every year, it’s still a pitch count.

Denver may not ask Porter to play an expanded role right away, as the team has enough depth to compete without major contributions from the Missouri product. Porter’s ceiling can take the Nuggets from very good to great but he must first prove that he can stay on the floor consistently. The team is optimistic that Porter is ready to take that first step.

Do you believe that Porter can help elevate this Nuggets team or is it foolish to count on him for anything at this point in his career? How do you see his career going if he can stay healthy?

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

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Remaining Offseason Questions: Southeast Division

August 27th, 2019 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have now completed the brunt of their offseason work, with the draft and free agency practically distant memories. Still, with training camps more than a month away, many clubs around the league have at least one or two outstanding issues they’ve yet to address.

We’re in the midst of looking at all 30 NBA teams, separating them by division and checking in on a key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2019/20 regular season begins.

After focusing on the Atlantic on Monday, we’re moving onto the Southeast today. Let’s dive in…

Atlanta Hawks
How will the Hawks use their remaining cap room?

The Hawks are the only NBA team that has any real cap room remaining. Currently, the team is sitting on about $6.95MM in space, per Early Bird Rights. That’s not a ton of room, particularly when there are probably no free agents left on the market worth more than the minimum. But it could come in handy.

It’s not clear if Atlanta has any plans in mind for that cap room, but the club is likely holding off on making Vince Carter‘s new deal official in order to maximize its options. Once Carter signs his minimum-salary contract, the Hawks’ cap space will dip to approximately $5.33MM.

The most likely scenario for the Hawks is probably holding onto their cap room into the season and then seeing if it helps create any trade opportunities later in the year. Still, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the team using that space to accommodate a deal before the season begins.

Charlotte Hornets
What are the Hornets’ plans for second-round pick Jalen McDaniels?

McDaniels is one of four 2019 draft picks who has yet to sign an NBA contract or commit to playing overseas.

While it remains to be seen what the Hornets‘ plans are for McDaniels, a two-way contract is an outcome that would make sense for both sides. The three players selected before McDaniels (from Nos. 49-51) and after him (Nos. 53-55) in the draft all signed two-way deals, and Charlotte currently has a slot open.

Of course, the Hornets also project to have an opening or two on their 15-man regular season roster, so it’s possible McDaniels and his reps have their eye on one of those spots. The club currently has 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Thomas Welsh, Caleb Martin, Joe Chealey, and Josh Perkins among the non-guaranteed players possibly in the running for the 14th and/or 15th spot(s). We’ll have to wait to see if McDaniels gets a chance to compete with them or if he gets Charlotte’s second two-way deal.

Miami Heat
How will the Heat’s hard cap affect their remaining roster decisions?

After signing Udonis Haslem earlier this month, the Heat are about $855K below their hard cap for the 2019/20 league year, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The minimum rookie salary for this season is $898K, so Miami can’t add any more guaranteed salaries to its books without making a corresponding roster move to clear guaranteed money.

In other words, barring a trade or a last-minute use of the stretch provision, the Heat’s roster is mostly set for the regular season. The team just needs to make a pair of roster decisions: Will Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn fill out the 14-man roster?

Robinson’s $1,416,852 salary is already guaranteed for $1MM, so waiving him would create little flexibility for Miami. Nunn’s partial guarantee is only worth $150K though. If the club has any doubts about his ability to contribute in 2019/20, his roster spot could be in jeopardy. Waiving Nunn would open up enough room for the Heat to bring in another veteran on a minimum-salary deal.

Orlando Magic
When will the Magic sign Chuma Okeke?

As noted above, there are four 2019 draft picks who remain unsigned. Of those four, Okeke is the only unsigned first-round pick. Because the rookie scale for first-rounders is fairly inflexible, those players typically sign within the first week or two of the league year, so the delay on Okeke is unusual.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Okeke is the only first-round pick who is unlikely to see the court much – if at all – during his rookie season. He tore his ACL in March and is still recovering from that injury.

While virtually every first-round pick signs for 120% of his rookie scale amount, the Cavaliers were able to get Kevin Porter for lower than that earlier in the offseason — it seems likely at this point that the Magic – who don’t have much breathing room below the luxury tax line – are exploring something similar with Okeke.

Washington Wizards
Will Bradley Beal sign a contract extension?

Beal is eligible for a veteran extension, and the Wizards offered as many years and as much money as NBA rules allowed. They also did so as soon as league rules allowed. However, Beal didn’t immediately accept that offer.

It’s easy to point to the Wizards’ 2018/19 record (32-50) and unfavorable cap situation and surmise that Beal is eager to leave D.C., but that’s not necessarily the case. He has said he wants to assess the team’s new management group, led by general manager Tommy Sheppard, before making any decisions. Plus, it would be financially advantageous for him to wait at least a year before signing a new extension, as we explained in-depth last month.

Beal has until October 21 to sign an extension. Otherwise, he won’t be eligible again until next July. John Wall thinks his backcourt mate will accept Washington’s offer and he might be right, but if I had to place a bet, I’d guess that Beal will enter the 2019/20 season without a new deal in place.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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