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Community Shootaround: Anthony Davis Situation

February 15th, 2019 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have had a busy day, cutting ties with GM Dell Demps and naming Danny Ferry as the interim replacement. Whether that has any impact on what the franchise will do with Anthony Davis the rest of the season remains to be seen.

New Orleans wants to get a maximum return on Davis this offseason and won’t necessarily limit itself to one of his preferred destinations. The efforts of agent Rich Paul to force the Pelicans’ hand before the trade deadline backfired, as the front office refused to buckle and work out a deal with the Lakers.

However, the next two months will be tricky. Davis has been booed in his home arena and is now obviously in an awkward spot when he takes the court. So are coach Alvin Gentry and New Orleans’ remaining front office executives, who must decide how much to use the franchise player. The Pelicans risk league discipline if they choose to sit Davis when he’s healthy. Davis suffered in a shoulder contusion against Oklahoma City on Thursday, but the injury is a minor one.

It would seem to be in the Pelicans’ best interest to play Davis as little as possible, not only decreasing the chances of major injury but also improving their chances of winning the draft lottery. However, it would also be unfair to fans who paid full price to see Davis play not get their money’s worth.

That leads us to our question of the day: Should the Pelicans continue to play Anthony Davis the rest of the season or should they try to shut him down and risk league penalties? If they decide to play him, should they limit his minutes or use him as they did before his trade demand?

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

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Starter Criteria

February 15th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s rookie scale, which determines how much first round picks earn during their first four NBA seasons, also dictates how much the qualifying offers will be worth for those players once they’re eligible for restricted free agency after year four. However, the value of those qualifying offers can fluctuate depending on whether or not a player has met the “starter criteria.”

Here’s how the starter criteria works:

A player who is eligible for restricted free agency is considered to have met the starter criteria if he plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency.

A player can also meet the criteria if he averages either of those marks in the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency. For instance, if a player started 50 games in 2017/18 and 32 in 2018/19, he’d meet the starter criteria, since his average number of starts over the last two seasons is 41.

A player’s ability or inability to meet the starter criteria impacts the value of the qualifying offer he receives as a restricted free agent, as follows:

  • A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 15th overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
    • Note: For the summer of 2019, the value of this QO will be $4,485,665. Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Kaminsky are examples of players who fall into this group.
  • A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the ninth overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
    • Note: For the summer of 2019, the value of this QO will be $4,915,726. Kelly Oubre and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are examples of players who may fall into this group — Oubre needs to play 229 more minutes this season, while Hollis-Jefferson must make two more starts.
  • A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 21st overall pick would receive if he signed for 100% of the rookie scale.
    • Note: For the summer of 2019, the value of this QO will be $3,021,354. Thomas Bryant and Rodney McGruder are examples of players who fall into this group.
  • For all other RFAs, the standard criteria determine the amounts of their qualifying offers.

Extending a qualifying offer to a player who is eligible for restricted free agency officially makes that player an RFA, ensuring that his team has the right of first refusal if he signs an offer sheet with another club. It also gives the player the option of signing that one-year QO.

Generally, the value of a restricted free agent’s qualifying offer isn’t hugely important, since very few RFAs accept those offers outright. There are exceptions though.

Last offseason, for instance, Rodney Hood was the only player to accept his qualifying offer, which was worth $3,472,888. Hood was nagged by injuries during the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency and was limited to just 119 total games, including 78 starts. If he had started four more games during that two-year stretch, he would have met the starter criteria and bumped the value of his QO up to $4,749,591, which could have changed the way his free agency played out.

We’ll revisit the starter criteria at season’s end to see which potential restricted free agents will have their qualifying offers impacted by meeting – or failing to meet – the starter criteria.

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.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2019’s Most Valuable Traded Second Round Picks

February 15th, 2019 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

For fans of teams like the Knicks, Suns, Cavaliers, and Bulls, the bottom of the NBA’s standings are of particular interest this season because of the effect they’ll have on the first-round order of the 2019 NBA draft.

Of course, those reverse standings will also dictate the order of the draft’s second round, and an early second round pick can nearly as valuable as a first rounder.

So, while traded first round selections like the one the Raptors sent the Spurs or the one the Nuggets traded to the Nets may have received more attention, it’s worth taking a closer look at some traded 2019 second rounders that now project to be valuable picks.

[RELATED: Traded Second Round Picks For 2019 NBA Draft]

Here are five of those picks:

1. Knicks’ pick traded to Nets

The Knicks originally sent their 2019 second round pick to Philadelphia in a 2014 salary dump involving Travis Outlaw. The Sixers subsequently sent it to to the Nets, along with Jahlil Okafor and Nik Stauskas, last season for Trevor Booker.

Now, that pick looks pretty intriguing — if the season ended today, it would be the No. 32 overall selection.

2. Cavaliers’ pick traded to Sixers (or Kings)

Cleveland initially surrendered this pick in a 2015 trade that netted them Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, and it has since changed hands multiple times and become tied up in a convoluted series of swaps — the Sixers will receive it as a result of this month’s Markelle Fultz trade, assuming it’s more favorable than the Orlando, Houston, and Portland second rounders, which seems like a safe bet.

While this selection projects to be No. 33 overall, the Cavaliers probably feel it was worth it to give it up years ago, since Shumpert and Smith played roles on 2016’s title team.

3. Bulls’ pick traded to Sixers

The Bulls attached this pick to Jose Calderon in a salary-dump deal during the 2016 offseason, trading it to the Lakers. L.A., in turn, sent it to Philadelphia as part of a draft-day deal this past summer — it was the price to acquire Isaac Bonga.

It now projects to be the No. 34 pick this year, which could give the Sixers two of the first four selections in the second round.

4. Grizzlies’ pick traded to Bulls

It may seem hard to believe now, but less than a month and a half ago, the Grizzlies were still in buying mode, sending a pair of second round picks – including their 2019 selection – to Chicago for Justin Holiday.

Memphis has slumped badly since then, and that pick would be No. 36 overall if the season ended today. For the Bulls, getting this selection helps make up for having moved their own second rounder.

5. Wizards’ pick traded to Hornets or Nuggets

The Wizards first dealt this pick on draft night in 2015 in a trade that allowed them to move up to select Kelly Oubre. The Hawks, who received it in that deal, flipped it to Denver in a 2017 three-way trade involving Danilo Gallinari and Jamal Crawford.

Here’s where it gets complicated: When they moved up two spots in the 2018 draft to nab Jarred Vanderbilt, the Nuggets agreed to give the Magic the least favorable of Denver’s own 2019 second round pick and that Wizards’ second rounder they got from Atlanta. Orlando then sent the least favorable of those two picks to Charlotte in a deal involving Timofey Mozgov, Jerian Grant, and Bismack Biyombo.

But the Nuggets had sent their own top-55 protected second rounder to New Orleans – by way of Milwaukee – in a separate deal, meaning the “least favorable” pick sent to Charlotte via Orlando had to account for those conditions too. So, if Denver’s pick falls between 56-60, the Pelicans will acquire it and the Hornets will instead get the more favorable pick, Washington’s second rounder. Got all that?

For now, the Nuggets’ second rounder projects to be No. 57 — in that scenario, the Pelicans would receive it and the Hornets would receive Washington’s pick, which would be No. 37. But if Denver’s pick ends up at, say, No. 54, Orlando will get it, New Orleans won’t get anything, and the Nuggets will get the Wizards’ selection.

Information from RealGM was used in the creation of this post.

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Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android

February 15th, 2019 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

  • All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
  • Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
  • Notifications. For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
  • Commenting. You can read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
  • Customer service. If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
  • Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!
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Poll: 2019 NBA MVP Race

February 15th, 2019 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

An MVP race that looked like Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s to lose during the first third of the 2018/19 season became much more hotly contested over the last couple months. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes today, James Harden and Paul George have both been on incredible runs that have made them legitimate MVP candidates – if not frontrunners – as the season enters its home stretch.

Harden’s streak of 30-point outings, which is now up to 31 consecutive games, has been well documented, but it’s still worth repeating some of his eye-popping numbers. His current rate of 36.6 points per game would rank seventh in NBA history, and would be the second-best ever mark for any player not named Wilt Chamberlain.

Harden is also chipping in 7.7 APG and 6.6 RPG while playing a league-high 37.4 MPG, and has averaged a staggering 41.5 PPG in his last 31 games. Perhaps most importantly, his run has coincided with a push up the standings for the Rockets — out of the playoff picture early in the season, Houston is now 33-24 and is vying for a top-four seed in the West.

George, obviously, hasn’t matched Harden’s historic scoring numbers, but his 28.7 PPG is easily the best mark of his career. George is also averaging career highs in RPG (8.0), APG (4.1), and SPG (an NBA-best 2.3), while making 40.6% of his three-point shots. Plus, unlike Harden, he’s a legit contender for the Defensive Player of the Year award due to his excellent work on his other end of the floor. His Thunder, at 37-20, are also a few games ahead of Houston in the standings.

Of course, when it comes to team success, neither Harden’s Rockets nor George’s Thunder can match Giannis’ Bucks, whose league-best record sits at 43-14 heading into the All-Star break. Antetokounmpo still doesn’t have a reliable outside shot, but he hasn’t needed one this season — he’s shooting 58.1% from the field, including 64.0% on two-point attempts.

The Greek Freak is averaging a double-double for the second straight year, with 27.2 PPG and 12.7 RPG. And he has supplemented those numbers with impressive play-making abilities (6.0 APG) and defensive prowess (1.4 BPG and 1.4 SPG). In close MVP races, team success is often a tiebreaker, and Antetokounmpo – in addition to being the best player in the Eastern Conference – is simply the best player on the NBA’s best team so far this season.

There are other players who should be included in the MVP conversation too. Despite the Bucks’ superior record, NBA observers would still consider the Warriors the team to beat, and Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry are both having MVP-caliber seasons.

Joel Embiid‘s two-way impact for the Sixers deserves consideration. There are cases to be made for guys like Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) and Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers). Kawhi Leonard (Raptors) and LeBron James (Lakers) would be viable contenders if not for their injury absences, and could get back in the conversation if they finish the season strong.

What do you think? Which player do you expect to win this season’s MVP award?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your two cents!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Fantasy Hoops: Knicks, DFS, Valentine’s Day Games

February 14th, 2019 at 3:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Hoops Rumors wants to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s day and acknowledge those who continue to love the Knicks and stand by the team through all the hardship, drama, and overall disappointment.

After a divorce with Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks have a path to add two max-level free agents this summer. Better times could be on the horizon for the New York faithful in 2019.

Rumors that Anthony Davis wouldn’t mind the Knicks as a long-term partner are encouraging. Kyrie Irving potentially breaking off his engagement with the Celtics provides hope. The Kevin Durant speculation and the potential to land the No. 1 overall pick both stand out as ways to spice up your relationship while slogging through the formality that is the remainder of the regular season (our Reverse Standings show every team’s chances at landing the top pick).

From a fantasy basketball standpoint, the Knicks still have plenty to love this season. Dennis Smith Jr. had a rocky first game upon joining the team, but since then, he has become a reliable asset. He’s averaging 18.4 points per game in 32.2 minutes over his past five starts. He’s dishing out nearly six assists per game, and only six players have more steals than the second-year point guard over that span.

Behind him at the moment is Kadeem Allen. Over the past three contests, Allen has averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 27.7 minutes per game. Roughly 70% of his minutes have come without DSJ on the floor, giving him ample opportunity to post fantasy-friendly numbers.

Emmanuel Mudiay, who is sidelined with a shoulder strain, is expected to return after the All-Star break, so Allen’s fantasy relevance may only be a short-term fling. However, tonight against the Hawks—the most fantasy-friendly matchup for opposing point guards, per Hashtag Basketball—Allen will have backup duties all to himself and is a great low-cost DFS tournament option, coming in at nearly half the price as Smith on FanDuel.

Here’s more on the teams playing in tonight’s games plus some items to keep an eye on post-All-Star break:

  • Mitchell Robinson accumulated 14 points and 13 rebounds in the Knicks‘ loss to the Sixers and he should be owned in all season-long leagues going forward. Over his past dozen games, Robinson is averaging 9.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game while making 76.9% of his looks. He saw just 20.0 minutes per contest during that stretch but should expect to see more minutes than DeAndre Jordan going forward, as was the case against Philadelphia on Wednesday.
  • Damyean Dotson should earn starter minutes against the Hawks with Mario Hezonja doubtful for the contest. Dotson played 31 minutes on Wednesday vs. the 76ers, scoring 16 points while adding two rebounds and three assists.
  • Will Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook record his 11th consecutive triple-double against the Pelicans tonight? New Orleans has given up the seventh-most points and fifth-most assists to opposing point guards this season, according to Hashtag Basketball. The Pelicans are in the middle of the pack in allowing rebounds to opposing guards, but something tells me Westbrook will be alright in that area with Jerami Grant sitting out (Dennis Schroder is also expected to miss the game).
  • Heat point guard Goran Dragic is expected to return after the All-Star break, with the Miami Herald reporting that he is “making a lot of progress.” Dragic’s return will push Justise Winslow back into the second unit and create a logjam for Dion Waiters and Dwyane Wade.
  • Don’t expect Markelle Fultz to be ready anytime soon. The newest member of the Magic, who is still without an official timeline for his return, took a subtle shot at his former employer after his breakup with the Sixers. “It really excites me to have coaches that are going to push you and not just tell you what you want to hear,” Fultz said (via Greg Joyce of The New York Post).

Fantasy questions? Take to the comment section below or tweet me at @CW_Crouse.

Missed an earlier edition of Fantasy Hoops? Check out the entire series here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Teams That Must Add Players Within Next Week

February 14th, 2019 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement requires teams to carry at least 14 players on their rosters during the regular season, not counting two-way players. However, clubs are allowed to dip below that line for up to two weeks at a time.

At the February 7 trade deadline, with so many players on the move, a handful of teams around the league fell below that 14-player threshold, meaning they have until February 21 – give or take a day – to get back up to 14.

Here’s a breakdown of which teams must make at least one roster move within the next week or so:

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks dipped to 13 players when they released Shelvin Mack and Jabari Bird last Friday, and went down to 12 when they cut Jeremy Lin on Monday. They’ve reached a deal to sign two-way player Jaylen Adams to a standard contract, but even after they finalize that agreement, they’ll still have to add one more player by next Friday.

Houston Rockets

A series of salary-dump deals on deadline day left the Rockets with just 12 players under contract. They’ll have to sign two more – either to standard deals or 10-day contracts – by next Thursday.

Miami Heat

The Heat had been carrying 14 players for a while, but dropped to 13 when they traded Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington for Ryan Anderson on Wednesday. They’ll have until next Wednesday to fill that 14th roster spot.

New York Knicks

The Knicks released Wesley Matthews and Enes Kanter on deadline day to drop to 12 players. They signed John Jenkins to a 10-day contract on Monday, but that still only leaves them with 13.

By next Thursday, Jenkins’ 10-day deal will have expired, so the Knicks will need to fill two roster spots at that point, either by re-signing Jenkins and adding someone else, or by signing two new players.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns‘ roster count has been at 13 since they waived Wayne Ellington on Thursday. They have until next Thursday to get back to 14 players.

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors dropped all the way down to 10 players last week, which forced them to sign two players – Chris Boucher and Malcolm Miller – to standard contracts. Toronto also inked Jeremy Lin to a rest-of-season deal and now has until next Thursday to add one more player.

Ben McLemore is a candidate, since the two sides were seemingly in agreement on a 10-day deal, but that deal no longer looks like a lock to get finalized.

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Community Shootaround: GMs On Hot Seat?

February 13th, 2019 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Each year typically brings multiple front office shake-ups around the NBA. In 2018, the Hornets, Pistons, Sixers, and Timberwolves all dispatched their respective heads of basketball operations. In 2017, even more teams brought in new management groups, including the Knicks, Clippers, Cavaliers, Bucks, and a handful of others.

So far in 2019, the rumor mill has been quiet when it comes to potential front office changes. However, with the end of the regular season less than two months away, it will likely just be a matter of time before we get word of a team or two going in a new direction.

Front office shake-ups aren’t always easy to predict — before a bizarre Twitter-related scandal surfaced last summer, Bryan Colangelo didn’t appear to be in any danger in Philadelphia, but just over a week after that story broke, he was gone. While a saga like that one is unlikely to be repeated, it’s possible we’ll get some surprising front office news this summer.

For now though, there are a few general managers or presidents of basketball operations who already might be on the hot seat.

Wizards president of basketball ops Ernie Grunfeld is one of those executives, as his club has failed to get past the second round of the playoffs at all during his lengthy tenure in Washington, and has taken a significant step back this season. John Wall‘s four-year, super-max deal, which will begin this July, looks like perhaps the worst contract in the NBA, and the Wizards aren’t exactly loaded with assets around Wall and backcourt mate Bradley Beal.

Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace and Pelicans GM Dell Demps have faced plenty of criticism in recent years as well. Memphis, bogged down by Chandler Parsons‘ overpriced contract and declining veteran assets, has struggled mightily in the last two seasons, and Demps’ issues navigating the Anthony Davis waters have been well documented — as have his issues building the roster around Davis over the last several years.

In Chicago, a few good moves from Bulls executives John Paxson and Gar Forman, such as drafting Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter, have helped mask some questionable decisions in free agency and on the trade market. But with the Bulls’ win total set to decline for a fourth straight year, fans are losing their patience with the Paxson/Forman duo.

As the 2018/19 approaches its home stretch, we want to get your thoughts on the front office situations around the league. Do you expect any or all of the executives we mentioned above to lose their jobs this spring? Do some deserve another chance? Are there any other GMs or presidents across the NBA that you believe should be replaced?

Jump into the comment section below to share your two cents!

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Key Rest-Of-Season NBA Dates, Deadlines

February 13th, 2019 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

The 2019 NBA trade deadline is now behind us, but it’s not the last notable date on the 2018/19 regular season calendar.

Here are a few more dates and deadlines to keep an eye out for over the next couple months:

February 28

Players eligible for veteran contract extensions can continue to negotiate those deals through the rest of the league year. However, if a player wants to renegotiate his contract to receive a raise as part of an extension, as Robert Covington did last season, it must happen by the end of this month.

In order to renegotiate a contract, a team must have cap room. The only club with a path to cap room at this point is Dallas — the Mavericks could open up space by renouncing various exceptions, including their $21MM+ traded player exception. That’s unlikely to happen though, especially since their only extension-eligible players are J.J. Barea, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dwight Powell.

March 1

  • Last day a player can be waived by one team and remain eligible to appear in the postseason for another team.

This rule is often the source of confusion. A player who is released by a team doesn’t have to sign with a new team in order to be playoff-eligible this spring. He simply has to be waived by his team before the end of the day on March 1.

As long as he’s no longer under contract by 11:59 pm ET on March 1, a player could theoretically wait until the last day of the regular season to sign with a new club and still retain his postseason eligibility. But if he’s cut on March 2 instead, he loses that postseason eligibility.

March 11

The Wizards were the only team with a sizeable disabled player exception on hand this season, and they used theirs to acquire Wesley Johnson from the Pelicans last week. That leaves the Mavericks and Grizzlies as the only clubs with DPEs left for 2018/19.

Those exceptions are both modest — Dallas’ is worth $1,855,425 and Memphis’ is worth $689,121. I wouldn’t expect either one to be used, since neither club is a contender. Plus, the Grizzlies just locked up Bruno Caboclo and their proximity to the luxury tax line will make them wary of adding anyone else for the rest of the season.

April 10

  • Last day of the regular season.
  • Last day players can sign contracts for 2018/19.
  • Last day two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA contracts.
  • Luxury tax penalties calculated based on payroll as of this day.

While we typically don’t see a flurry of last-minute activity on April 10, teams around the NBA figure to be active leading up to this date.

Playoff clubs will typically make sure their rosters are fully stocked for the postseason. Even a team with tax concerns that has avoided carrying a full 15-man roster all season may consider filling that 15th spot on the last day of the season, since the prorated minimum-salary cap hit would be less than $10K and the accompanying tax penalty would be very modest.

Meanwhile, lottery-bound teams will often fill their rosters by taking a flier on a prospect or two, signing them to contracts that include little to no guaranteed money for 2019/20. That way, they can hang onto them for next season if they want, or cut bait during the offseason without any real impact to their cap for next season.

April 12

  • Playoff rosters set (2:00pm CT).

The NBA postseason gets underway on April 13 this season, so the 16 teams in the playoffs will have to make sure their rosters are set a day before that.

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2019 NBA Free Agent Stock Watch Series

February 12th, 2019 at 1:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Over the course of the 2018/19 NBA league year, we’re keeping an eye on 2019’s free-agents-to-be, monitoring their value and assessing how their play on the court will impact upcoming contract negotiations. Each of these looks at potential 2019 free agents focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on five players — one from each team.

Each installment in our Free Agent Stock Watch series looking ahead to the 2019 offseason is linked below, along with an outline of which players we discuss in each piece.

We’ll continue to update this page – which can be found under the “Hoops Rumors Features” sidebar of our desktop page, or in the “Features” section of our mobile site – as we add new entries over the coming weeks and months.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic

Central

Southeast

Western Conference

Northwest

Pacific

Southwest

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