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How Teams Are Using 2019/20 Mid-Level Exceptions

July 26th, 2019 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to receiving approximately $109MM in cap room and being allowed to surpass that threshold in order to sign players using Bird Rights or the minimum salary exception, each NBA team also receives a mid-level exception. The value of this exception varies depending on a club’s total team salary.

A team that goes under the cap to use its available cap room, for instance, receives only a modest form of the MLE known as the room exception. An over-the-cap team receives the full mid-level exception, unless that team is also over the tax line, in which case it gets a taxpayer version of the MLE that falls in between the full MLE and the room exception. We detailed the exact values of each form of mid-level exception earlier this offseason, but here’s a quick breakdown:

  • Room exception: Can be used for contracts up to two years, with a starting salary worth up to $4,767,000.
  • Taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to three years, with a starting salary worth up to $5,718,000.
  • Full mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to four years, with a starting salary worth up to $9,258,000.

Now that nearly all of the NBA’s teams have used up their cap space, it’s worth keeping an eye on which teams still have part or all of their mid-level exceptions available, which we’ll do in the space below. This list will be kept up to date throughout the 2019/20 league year.

Note: As of January 10, the value of the exceptions below began to prorate downward by 1/177th per day.

Here’s where things currently stand:

Mid-Level Exception:

Non-taxpayer: $9,258,000
Taxpayer: $5,718,000

Charlotte Hornets

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

Minnesota Timberwolves

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

Portland Trail Blazers

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards

Room Exception:

Available: $4,767,000

Atlanta Hawks

  • Used: $0

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

Chicago Bulls

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Milwaukee Bucks

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

Sacramento Kings

Utah Jazz

Salary information from Basketball Insiders, Early Bird Rights, and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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20 NBA Free Agents Signed Four- Or Five-Year Deals

July 22nd, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, many of the NBA’s top free agents decided to sign short-term contracts in order to reach the open market again in 2019.

As we noted last August, seven of the 15 players on our list of top 50 free agents of 2018 signed one-year contracts or two-year deals with options. All seven of those players, led by Kevin Durant, found themselves in search of new contracts this summer, with many of them opting for longer-term deals this time around.

By contrast, all 15 players in our list of 2019’s top 50 NBA free agents signed multiyear contracts this summer. Unless they’re unexpectedly released in a year, none of those players will hit the open market again in 2020.

Kawhi Leonard will have the ability to become a free agent again in 2021, since his new three-year contract with the Clippers has a third-year player option. However, the rest of this year’s top 15 free agents all signed four- or five-year contracts and won’t be free agents again before 2022.

It’s an interesting change in direction for top free agents after we’d become accustomed to superstars like Durant and LeBron James going year to year in order to maximize either their earnings, their flexibility, or both. A “one-plus-one” contract (a two-year deal with a second-year option) could have been a viable option for several stars this summer, but no top free agents chose to go that route.

In total, as our tracker shows, 20 NBA free agents signed long-term (four- or five-year) contracts this offseason. That figure doesn’t include Jalen Lecque, an undrafted free agent who signed a four-year deal with the Suns, since Lecque wasn’t a veteran free agent and his agreement more closely resembles a rookie contract. Our list also doesn’t include Nikola Mirotic, whose new three-plus-one deal is with Barcelona rather than an NBA franchise.

Still, that leaves 20 veteran NBA free agents who signed for four or five years this summer, a major jump from 2018, when just 11 players signed those long-term deals.

Here’s the full list:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Western Conference Favorite

July 21st, 2019 at 5:45pm CST by JD Shaw

With free agency finally beginning to wind down, it’s time to look at which teams have the best chance of competing for an NBA championship entering the 2019/20 season.

We previously discussed which Eastern Conference teams could be in contention during a Community Shootaround earlier this month, including the Bucks, Nets, Sixers and more. The Western Conference appears to be slightly more crowded at the moment, however, with the Clippers, Jazz, Lakers, Nuggets and Rockets all made noticeable upgrades during the offseason.

The Clippers (Kawhi Leonard/Paul George) and Lakers (LeBron James/Anthony Davis) now have star-studded duos, with both franchises working diligently to fill in the remaining holes. The Clippers managed to re-sign Patrick Beverley, JaMychal Green and Ivica Zubac, while the Lakers added the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Quinn Cook and others to its roster.

Houston made a surprising splash this month for longtime Thunder star Russell Westbrook, who’s widely considered to be the most talented teammate James Harden has had during his seven years with the organization.

The Jazz also made some major moves this offseason, acquiring Mike Conley from Memphis and signing Bojan Bogdanovic (18 PPG in 2018/19) to a four-year contract. Utah plans to pair those players alongside stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

Elsewhere in the West, Denver quickly re-signed guard Jamal Murray to a five-year extension, exercised its $30MM team option on Paul Millsap and acquired athletic power forward Jerami Grant from Oklahoma City in a trade.

The Trail Blazers and Warriors can never be totally counted out, with Portland acquiring shot-blocking center Hassan Whiteside and Golden State adding D’Angelo Russell to a newly projected starting five of Stephen Curry, Russell, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Willie Cauley-Stein.

With all of this in mind, who do you believe is the current favorite to win the Western Conference this upcoming season? Is it one of the seven teams listed above, or is it a separate wild card team? Take to the comments section below to voice your opinion!

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Community Shootaround: J.R. Smith

July 20th, 2019 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Say what you will about J.R. Smith, he always finds a way to keep things interesting. Whether he’s parading around without a shirt, throwing soup at an assistant coach or forgetting the score during the NBA Finals, there’s never a shortage of excitement when Smith is around.

His outrageous behavior was accepted while he was helping LeBron James pile up Eastern Conference championships, but he wore out his welcome quickly when the Cavaliers started rebuilding. Smith began last season embroiled in a dispute over playing veterans or young guys that got coach Tyronn Lue fired after six games. Smith was exiled after 11 games and had been on the roster in name only since November.

Even with a trade-friendly contract, the Cavs couldn’t find a taker for Smith and opted to waive him this week rather than giving him more money to further extend his guarantee date. The 33-year-old is now on the open market, where interest so far has been lukewarm.

He met Thursday with the Bucks, who were searching for another wing player to hit 3-pointers. There’s hasn’t been any word on how that meeting went, but Milwaukee reached an agreement with Kyle Korver this afternoon, which may eliminate any need for Smith.

The Lakers and a reunion with LeBron had been considered another possibility, but a report Monday seemed to quash that rumor. It’s not clear whether James wants Smith on his team again, and L.A. is well stocked at shooting guard with Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Troy Daniels already on the roster.

There’s a limited market for Smith considering his age and eccentricities. He’ll have to find a contending team willing to give him a rotation role, but also one with strong leadership to keep him from disrupting the locker room. Smith will also likely have to be content with the veterans minimum, which is all that most contenders can offer at this point. The Sixers have been mentioned as a possibility, along with the Heat, Clippers, Rockets, Celtics and a few other teams.

We want to get your input on the best place for Smith to end up. Or has he outlived his usefulness in the NBA? Please leave your answers in the space below.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 7/13/19 – 7/20/19

July 20th, 2019 at 1:54pm CST by clarkcrum

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:

  • In this week’s lone community shootaround post, we asked whether the Sixers make the right decision by agreeing to a max-extension with Ben Simmons.
  • Luke Adams broke down the Exhibit 10 clause and its affects on certain contracts, commonly known as Exhibit 10 deals.
  • Luke Adams also took a look at the players selected in the 2019 NBA Draft who have yet to sign a contract with their new teams.
  • In our latest poll, we asked for your opinion on which newly-formed star duo you’d most want on your favorite team.
  • Finally, Luke Adams complied a list of the longest-tenured NBA players by team.
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Longest-Tenured Players By NBA Team

July 19th, 2019 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

After perhaps the wildest free agent period in NBA history, our list of longest-tenured players by team is in desperate need of an update.

When we compiled this list a year ago, it was headed up by veterans like Dirk Nowitzki, who had been a Maverick since 1998, and Manu Ginobili, who had been on the Spurs‘ roster since 2002. Both players are now retired. Stars like Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook rounded out our top five, but those two guards have since moved onto new teams. So have Kemba Walker, Anthony Davis, Derrick Favors, and many other players who had spent most of the decade with the same organization.

In fact, of the 30 longest-tenured players by NBA team on our 2018 list, just 14 remain with the same team now. Of those 14, Heat veteran Udonis Haslem and Warriors star Stephen Curry are the only players who have been with their current franchise for more than 10 years.

That means that the league’s other 16 teams have new longest-tenured players, and in some cases, those names may come as a bit of a shock. Cristiano Felicio, Ivan Rabb, and Frank Ntilikina are among the players on the list below.

Here are the NBA’s current longest-tenured players by team as of the 2019 offseason:

  1. Miami Heat: Udonis Haslem (free agent), August 2003
  2. Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry (draft), June 2009
  3. Washington Wizards: John Wall (draft), June 2010
  4. Cleveland Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson (draft), June 2011
  5. San Antonio Spurs: Patty Mills (free agent), March 2012
  6. Charlotte Hornets: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (draft), June 2012
  7. Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard (draft), June 2012
  8. Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond (draft), June 2012
  9. Toronto Raptors: Kyle Lowry (trade), July 2012
  10. Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic (trade), August 2012
  11. Houston Rockets: James Harden (trade), October 2012
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Steven Adams (draft), Andre Roberson (draft trade), June 2013
    • Note: Adams is technically the slightly longer-tenured member of the Thunder, having been drafted 12th overall, while Roberson was picked 26th overall.
  13. Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo (draft), June 2013
  14. Minnesota Timberwolves: Gorgui Dieng (draft trade), June 2013
  15. Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert (draft trade), June 2013
  16. New Orleans Pelicans: Jrue Holiday (trade), July 2013
    • Note: Darius Miller first joined the Pelicans (then the Hornets) in June 2012 and hasn’t played for an NBA team besides New Orleans since then, but he spent two seasons overseas from 2015-17.
  17. Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid (draft), June 2014
  18. Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart (draft), June 2014
  19. Denver Nuggets: Gary Harris (draft trade), Nikola Jokic (draft), June 2014
    • Note: Harris is technically the slightly longer-tenured member of the Nuggets, having been drafted 19th overall, while Jokic was picked 41st overall.
  20. Dallas Mavericks: J.J. Barea (free agent), October 2014
  21. Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner (draft), June 2015
  22. Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker (draft), June 2015
  23. Chicago Bulls: Cristiano Felicio (free agent), July 2015
  24. Brooklyn Nets: Caris LeVert (draft), June 2016
  25. Atlanta Hawks: DeAndre’ Bembry (draft), June 2016
  26. Sacramento Kings: Buddy Hield (trade), February 2017
    • Note: The Kings acquired Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s draft rights in June 2016, but he didn’t sign his first NBA contract with the team until July 2017.
  27. New York Knicks: Frank Ntilikina (draft), Damyean Dotson (draft), June 2017
    • Note: Ntilikina is technically the slightly longer-tenured member of the Knicks, having been drafted eighth overall, while Dotson was picked 44th overall.
    • Note: Lance Thomas, who joined the Knicks via trade in January 2015, remains unsigned. It’s possible he’ll rejoin the team.
  28. Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma (draft), June 2017
  29. Memphis Grizzlies: Ivan Rabb (draft trade), Dillon Brooks (draft trade), June 2017
    • Note: Rabb is technically the slightly longer-tenured member of the Grizzlies, having been drafted 35th overall, while Brooks was picked 45th overall.
  30. Los Angeles Clippers: Patrick Beverley (trade), Montrezl Harrell (trade), Lou Williams (trade), June 2017
    • Note: All three players were acquired in the same trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll: NBA’s Best Newly-Formed Star Duo

July 18th, 2019 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

After NBA teams spent the last decade trying to emulate the 2010 Heat’s “Big Three” approach to roster-building, those clubs didn’t necessarily move away from that strategy during the 2019 offseason. However, when the Lakers came up short in their effort to add Kawhi Leonard to their roster to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it helped create a new storyline.

Rather than teaming up in threes this offseason, many of the NBA’s star players joined up with just one other All-Star, creating a handful of new dynamic duos around the league.

The Lakers acquired Davis – a perennial MVP candidate going forward – to team up with a four-time MVP in James.

In rebuffing the Lakers’ advances, Leonard – a two-time Finals MVP – headed to the Clippers, who also acquired Paul George – third in MVP voting last season – in a trade with Oklahoma City.

The Nets cleared enough cap room for two maximum-salary free agents, and used those slots to land Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who have combined for a total of 16 All-Star berths, 11 All-NBA nods, and three championships.

The Rockets reunited a pair of former MVP winners when they struck a deal to land triple-double machine Russell Westbrook from Oklahoma City, adding him to a backcourt that already featured the league’s leading scorer, James Harden.

Even the Warriors got into the act after losing Durant, acquiring All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade to share the backcourt with two-time MVP Stephen Curry to start the 2019/20 season.

Golden State has two more former All-NBA players in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and several other clubs around the league have their own dynamic duos, including Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in Portland, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in Philadelphia, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton in Milwaukee, among others.

Today though, we’re focusing on newly-formed pairings, so we want to know which of the five star duos listed above you’d most like to have on your roster moving forward.

We’re looking at both the short- and long-term here, so injuries like Durant’s Achilles tear should be taken into account — the fact that KD will likely miss all of next season negatively impacts Brooklyn’s duo, but we want you to consider the next few years, rather than just 2019/20.

Players’ contract situations and injury histories matter too — maybe the Clippers’ duo is slightly less appealing due to the fact that both players are only guaranteed to be around for the next two seasons, or because George is coming off two shoulder surgeries. Age is also a factor, since there’s no guarantee how many more All-NBA seasons a 34-year-old like LeBron has left.

With all that in mind, which newly-formed star duo do you like best going forward? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Checking In On 2019’s Unsigned Draft Picks

July 16th, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2019 NBA draft took place less than a month ago, but the majority of the players selected on the night of June 20 have already signed their first NBA contracts. That includes all but one of the 30 players drafted in the first round, as well as more than half of 2019’s second-rounders.

The following players have not yet signed contracts with their new NBA teams:

  1. Orlando Magic: Chuma Okeke, F (Auburn)
  2. New Orleans Pelicans: Didi Louzada, G/F (Brazil)
  3. Charlotte Hornets: Cody Martin, F (Nevada)
  4. Detroit Pistons: Deividas Sirvydis, G/F (Lithuania)
  5. Minnesota Timberwolves: Jaylen Nowell, G (Washington)
  6. Denver Nuggets: Bol Bol, C (Oregon)
  7. Dallas Mavericks: Isaiah Roby, F (Nebraska)
  8. Utah Jazz: Jarrell Brantley, F (Charleston)
  9. Boston Celtics: Tremont Waters, G (LSU)
  10. Charlotte Hornets: Jalen McDaniels, F (San Diego State)
  11. Utah Jazz: Justin Wright-Foreman, G (Hofstra)
  12. Brooklyn Nets: Jaylen Hands, G (UCLA)
  13. Sacramento Kings: Vanja Marinkovic, G (Serbia)

Louzada will reportedly spend the 2019/20 season in Australia, so we can safely remove his name from this list — he won’t be signing an NBA contract this offseason. I’d expect Marinkovic to remain overseas too, and it sounds like Sirvydis is a draft-and-stash candidate as well. Waters, meanwhile, has reportedly agreed to terms on a two-way contract with Boston, though it’s not yet official.

That would leave just nine players from 2019’s draft class who still seem likely to sign at some point. Of those nine players, Okeke is the most interesting. He tore his ACL in March and is expected to miss a good chunk – if not all – of his rookie season. It may just be a coincidence that he’s the last first-round pick to sign a contract, but it wouldn’t be shocking if the Magic were exploring possible alternatives to the traditional 120% of the rookie scale for him.

The Hornets (Martin), Timberwolves (Nowell), Nuggets (Bol), and Mavericks (Roby) all have fewer than 15 guaranteed contracts on their books and a portion of their mid-level exceptions available, so those other top-45 draftees look like good bets to sign multiyear deals at some point.

The players selected in the 50s may be candidates for two-way contracts. Not counting Waters, four players selected in the 49-57 range have already signed two-way deals. Hands, in particular, makes sense in a two-way slot, since the Nets currently project to have a full 15-man roster.

[RELATED: 2019/20 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]

The outlook for McDaniels (Hornets), Brantley (Jazz), and Wright-Foreman (Jazz) is cloudier. Charlotte has an open two-way slot and Utah has two, but those clubs also have multiple potential openings on their 15-man rosters, so it remains to be seen what the future holds for these late second-rounders. We should find out in the coming weeks.

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Exhibit 10 Contract

July 16th, 2019 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

After the NBA’s biggest-name free agents come off the board, many teams shift their focus to filling out their training-camp rosters. Teams can only carry 15 players on NBA contracts (plus two on two-way deals) during the regular season, but their maximum roster size increases to 20 players in the offseason, allowing clubs to bring a few extra players to camp to audition for a place on the regular-season roster or a spot on the team’s G League affiliate.

Many of those players will sign a contract with an Exhibit 10 clause. Introduced in the NBA’s most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year deals worth the minimum salary. They don’t come with any compensation protection, but can include an optional bonus ranging from $5K to $50K.

Let’s say an undrafted rookie signs an Exhibit 10 contract with the Knicks that includes a $50K bonus. He attends camp with the Knicks, but is waived before the regular season begins, with New York designating him an affiliate player in order to retain his G League rights. In that scenario, if the rookie elects to play in the G League for the Westchester Knicks and remains with the club for 60 days, he’d be entitled to his full $50K bonus.

The player wouldn’t receive that bonus if he opts to sign with a team overseas after being waived by the Knicks. Essentially, the Exhibit 10 bonus serves as an incentive for players to stick with their team’s G League affiliate — they must spend at least 60 days with the NBAGL club in order to get their bonus.

There’s another scenario in which that undrafted rookie who signs an Exhibit 10 deal with the Knicks would receive his $50K. Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted into two-way contracts, so if New York opted to do that before the season begins, the $50K bonus would turn into a salary guarantee for the player. As soon as his contract becomes a two-way deal, he’s entitled to that bonus, even if the Knicks waive him a week later.

Only teams with a G League affiliate can include an Exhibit 10 bonus in a contract. In 2019/20, the Pelicans will become the 28th NBA team with its own affiliate, leaving only the Trail Blazers and Nuggets on the outside looking in. Those clubs could technically sign players to Exhibit 10 deals, but wouldn’t be able to include bonus money.

The Heat have been one of the most active teams so far this offseason when it comes to signing Exhibit 10 contracts. Jeremiah Martin, Chris Silva, and Kyle Alexander have all received those deals, which benefit Miami in one important way — they don’t count against team salary during the offseason. That’s crucial for the hard-capped Heat, who are less than $1MM away from the tax apron and otherwise wouldn’t be able to add free agents to their roster without shedding salary elsewhere.

Here are a few more notes relating to Exhibit 10 contracts:

  • A team can’t carry more than six Exhibit 10 contracts at a time.
  • An Exhibit 10 contract can only be converted to a two-way deal before the regular season begins.
  • An Exhibit 10 contract that gets converted to a two-way deal can later be converted into a standard NBA contract.
  • An Exhibit 10 bonus earned by a player who ends up in the G League or on a two-way contract isn’t counted toward the NBA team’s total salary.

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.

An earlier version of this post was published in 2018.

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Community Shootaround: Ben Simmons’ Contract

July 15th, 2019 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ben Simmons has agreed to a max extension with the Sixers which will reportedly pay the point guard $170MM over five seasons, beginning with the 2020/21 campaign.

There’s no doubt that Simmons is one of game’s best passers. His creativity and court vision, along with his size, make him one of the most unique players in the league. He’s also one of the league’s best rebounding guards and puts steady pressure on defenses with his ability to get to the rim. His size, quickness and length also make him an effective and versatile defender.

For all of his gifts, Simmons is also one of the most limited offensive players you’ll ever see. It’s almost unfathomable the way the game is currently played that he’s never made a 3-pointer in his career. He has no mid-range game, either. Virtually all of his shot attempts come within 10 feet of the basket.

When he does shoot beyond 10 feet, he’s doing the opponent a favor. Last year, he made 25.7% of his shot attempts from 1o-15 feet and 10.7% from 16 feet and out, according to Basketball Reference. He’s also a poor free throw shooter — 60% last season.

Despite those obvious weaknesses, he still averaged 17.8 PPG in his second year. And he’s got plenty of time to expand his offensive game. Simmons turns 23 this week and will undoubtedly get better with age.

However, Simmons’ deficiencies are magnified in the postseason and that could hinder the Sixers’ championship aspirations in future years. He averaged just 13.9 PPG and 6.0 APG during Philadelphia’s playoff run last season, which won’t cut it for a max player.

Still, superior young talent is tough to find and the Sixers probably couldn’t risk offering Simmons less without alienating him.

That leads us to our question of the day: Did the Sixers make the right move by giving Ben Simmons a max extension?

Please take to the comments to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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