Hoops Rumors Originals

Weekly Mailbag: 12/31/18 – 1/6/19

January 6th, 2019 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.

How likely is it the Knicks can rid themselves of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee without taking back non-expiring contracts? Who could you see as potential trade partners. For Hardaway, I could see Memphis, Utah and Detroit. For Lee (and Hardaway) I could see Sacramento trying to bolster their lineup for a playoff push. — Eli Samuels

Virtually every team in the league places a high value on cap space, so it’s not going to be easy for the Knicks to move either player without taking on some long-term salary. Hardaway is owed $18.15MM next season and has an $18.975MM player option for 2020/21. That’s a lot of money for someone with a low field goal percentage (39.4%) and limited value beyond the scoring he provides. Lee is owed $12.76MM for next season, which is a gamble for a 33-year-old who has only played 10 games this season because of injuries. The Grizzlies have luxury tax concerns next year if Marc Gasol opts in, as do the Pistons, so neither team can really afford to add Hardaway. The Jazz are already set at shooting guard with Donovan Mitchell. The Knicks might have to attach a draft pick or two to entice someone to take Hardaway or Lee. Their willingness to do so may say a lot about how confident they are in their free agency pursuit of Kevin Durant.

Do you think Lauri Markkanen stays with Chicago through this next contract? I really hope he goes to a real team. — Bryan (Grêéçö§ûavë), via Twitter

It’s unusual for a player to turn down a rookie contract extension, which the Bulls will almost certainly offer when Markkanen becomes eligible in the summer of 2020. As Chicago sorts through its young talent, it’s pretty clear Markkanen has star potential and will be part of the organization’s foundation for the future. After returning from an elbow injury he suffered in training camp, Markkanen is putting up better numbers than he did in his rookie season, raising his scoring averaging from 15.2 to 17.6 PPG and improving his 3-point percentage from 36.2% to 40.6%. He’ll be in Chicago for a long time. The only question is whether Bulls management can build a “real team” around him.

Where is the best fit for Tobias Harris in free agency? — Bryan (Grêéçö§ûavë), via Twitter

Harris is putting up career-best numbers of 20.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and is poised for a huge raise from the $14.8MM he’s making this season. The Clippers own his Bird rights and can offer more years and higher annual raises than anyone else. It’s hard to envision a better situation than what Harris already has in Los Angeles. Even if the Clippers are successful in landing a star in free agency — the Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard is expected to be their main target — Harris would remain valuable in a complementary role.

Hoops Rumors Originals: 12/29/18 – 1/5/19

January 5th, 2019 at 1:03pm CST by clarkcrum

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Below are the original segments and features from the past seven days:

In a Fantasy Hoops post, Chris Crouse takes a look at the absurdly good numbers that James Harden has been putting up lately, among other fantasy notes.
In this week’s lone poll, we asked whether the recently struggling Pelicans will make the playoffs in the Western Conference?
In his Weekly Mailbag, Arthur Hill answered readers’ questions regarding trade rumors surrounding Anthony Davis, a premonition about a trade involving the Grizzlies, and the free agency strategy employed by Patrick McCaw.
In this week’s Community Shootaround posts, we asked:
- Which 2018 NBA story will you remember the most when you look back on it years from now?
- What should the Heat do with their roster logjam at the wing position?
- Which 10 players deserve to be starters in this year’s All-Star game?
January is an important month in the NBA, and Luke Adams has you covered with all of the significant upcoming deadlines.
Luke Adams also dives into some analysis on the status of 2019 first-round NBA draft picks that have been traded to other teams.
Following the Bulls/Grizzlies trade centered around Justin Holiday, Luke Adams rounded up some contract- and CBA-related details.
Both the Wizards and Pelicans are teams to keep an eye in the next couple of days when looking for players on non-guaranteed contracts who may be waived.
Our Free Agent Stock Watch series highlighted the Northwest Division.

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Originals

Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Northwest Division

January 4th, 2019 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we turn our attention to the Northwest Division:

Raul Neto, Jazz, 26, PG (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $4.4MM deal in 2018
Neto’s $2.15MM salary for next season becomes guaranteed if he’s still on the roster after July 6. Even though it’s not much money, Neto has given the Jazz little reason to keep him around. He’s not in the rotation with Dante Exum backing up Ricky Rubio. Except for a blowout win over the Knicks in which he played 20 minutes, Neto has either been benched or seen fewer than four minutes over the past 10 games. With Rubio headed to unrestricted free agency, it’s conceivable Utah could exercise that option as insurance. The Brazilian native is more likely to continue his career elsewhere, probably overseas.

Trey Lyles, Nuggets, 23, PF (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $10.4MM deal in 2015
Lyles has received rotation minutes but his offensive numbers have declined. He’s shooting just 41.1% from the field and 24.1% beyond the arc, compared to a 49.1/38.1 slash line last season. He was mired in a terrible slump last month, making just 32.3% (18.6% from distance) of his field goal attempts. Lyles will be a restricted free agent if the Nuggets extend a $4.63MM qualifying option. That may depend on some other factors. They hold a $30MM team option on Paul Millsap‘s contract. It’s also predicated on whether they believe Michael Porter Jr. will contribute significantly next season.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Thunder, 23, SG (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $4.26MM deal in 2016
Luwawu-Cabarrot, a 2016 first-round pick by the Sixers in 2016, got some opportunities in his first two seasons with Philadelphia. His court time has diminished considerably in Oklahoma City. After playing in 69 games (19 starts) in his rookie year and 52 last season, Luwawu-Cabarrot has languished at the end of OKC’s bench despite Andre Roberson‘s injury issues. He’s played just 12 minutes since November 28. The Thunder didn’t pick up Luwawu-Cabarrot’s option during the offseason, so he’ll be unrestricted in July. It will be interesting to see if any team believes he has untapped potential or whether he’ll have to seek overseas opportunities.

Taj Gibson, Timberwolves, 33, PF (Up) — Signed to a two-year, $28MM deal in 2017
Gibson has become a more efficient offensive player in recent years while providing his usual toughness in the paint as well as rebounding. Gibson remains one of the top offensive rebounders in the league (2.7 per game) and has kept a positive attitude despite the addition of Dario Saric, which has cut into his minutes. If Tom Thibodeau remains in charge, the Timberwolves will likely try to re-sign him. Otherwise, Gibson will find work as a 25-30 minute option at power forward for a suitor looking for an upgrade at that position.

Nik Stauskas, Trail Blazers, 25, SG (Down)– Signed to a one-year, $1.6MM deal in 2018
Stauskas is playing for his fourth organization in five seasons. He will be on the move again if his shooting doesn’t perk up. After a strong start, Stauskas has gone into an offensive funk. He made just 24.3% of his 3-point attempts in December and went scoreless in a nine-minute stint against Sacramento in his first 2019 appearance. Stauskas reached double figures in five of his first eight games with the franchise but has hit that mark just twice since that point. With first-rounder Anfernee Simons showing no signs of taking Stauskas’ rotation spot, the Blazers may try to acquire a wing player before the trade deadline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Five Non-Guaranteed Contract Situations To Watch

January 4th, 2019 at 7:06pm CST by Luke Adams

While non-guaranteed NBA contracts don’t technically become fully guaranteed until next Thursday, Monday is really the day to watch. Because players have to clear waivers before January 10 to avoid having their salaries locked in for the rest of 2018/19, a team will have to release a player by January 7 at the latest to avoid guaranteeing his contract.

As our list of non-guaranteed contracts by team shows, there are a number of players around the NBA who don’t have fully guaranteed deals, though many are in no danger of being waived by Monday. It’s not as if the Sixers are seriously considering whether or not to guarantee T.J. McConnell‘s minimum salary. Ditto for the Jazz and Royce O’Neale, and several others players on that list.

However, there are at least a handful of players worth keeping an eye on as Monday’s deadline nears. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of them:

Michael Carter-Williams, PG (Rockets): Most criticism of the Rockets‘ offseason moves has focused on Carmelo Anthony, but signing Carter-Williams hasn’t worked out for the team either. The former Rookie of the Year has fallen out of the rotation and looks like a potential trade candidate, as David Weiner of ClutchFans.net recently observed (via Twitter). His minimum salary only has a partial guarantee of $1.2MM, but the Rockets would have to eat that amount if they waive him — and would be on the hook for the associated tax penalty. By trading him and including some cash in the deal, Houston could eliminate his cap hit and reduce its projected tax bill, saving a little money. A trade partner would only be on the hook for about $500K of MCW’s salary if he’s waived immediately, and could more than make up that amount with the cash the Rockets sent their way.
Patrick McCaw, SG (Cavaliers): I don’t expect the Cavaliers to waive McCaw. He’s a young wing who has some upside, and Cleveland can afford to take a long look at him this season before making a decision on his non-guaranteed 2019/20 salary. Still, when the Cavs finalized his offer sheet last week, they also elected to make his first-year salary non-guaranteed, so they have an exit door for a few more days if they want it.
James Nunnally, G/F (Timberwolves): After thriving as a three-point marksmen in Europe, Nunnally appeared poised to contribute right away for a Timberwolves team in need of shooting. Instead, he has played just 61 total minutes for the club, primarily in garbage time. Nunnally is the only one of Minnesota’s 15 players on a non-guaranteed contract, so if the club wants to open up a roster spot for potential 10-day signings, he’d probably be the odd man out.
The Pelicans’ non-guaranteed players: No team has more players on non-guaranteed contracts than the Pelicans, who have yet to lock in full-season salaries for Jahlil Okafor, Tim Frazier, and Kenrich Williams. Okafor has played a regular role recently and Frazier was a frequent starter with Elfrid Payton sidelined, so Williams may be the player most at risk here. Since the Pelicans will likely try to be active on the trade market, opening a spot on their 15-man roster by waiving one of these three would create some added flexibility in those discussions.
The Wizards’ non-guaranteed players: With John Wall out for the season, the Wizards currently have two guards – Ron Baker and Chasson Randle – on non-guaranteed deals, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if one of them is cut by Monday. Although they’re carrying an NBA-minimum 14 players, the Wizards are allowed to dip down to 13 for up to two weeks at a time and did so earlier in 2018/19 to help keep their projected tax bill in check. It’s possible they’ll do so again now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Community Shootaround: All-Star Starters

January 4th, 2019 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The first returns on fan voting for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game were announced on Thursday, and most of the results weren’t too surprising.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, and Joel Embiid lead the frontcourt voting in the Eastern Conference, while Kyrie Irving is the top vote-getter among Eastern guards. In the West, LeBron James and Stephen Curry – last year’s All-Star captains – have received the most early votes.

However, several of the other names near the top of those lists may have inspired a double-take. Rookie of the Year frontrunner Luka Doncic has the second-most votes among Western frontcourt players, ahead of Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Paul George, among others. In the backcourt, Derrick Rose ranks No. 2 in fan voting, ahead of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, and others.

In the East, fans apparently want to see Dwyane Wade in the All-Star Game once more before he retires — he ranks second in votes among guards, ahead of Kemba Walker, Ben Simmons, Victor Oladipo, and others.

All-Star voting will remain open for two and a half more weeks, so the current order can – and almost certainly will – change. Plus, fan votes only make up 50% of the consideration for the All-Star Game’s starting lineup, with players (25%) and media (25%) also receiving a portion of the vote. So the early results don’t mean that we’ll see Doncic, Rose, and Wade starting in Charlotte next month.

Still, given the popularity of Doncic, Rose, and Wade early in the process, there’s a discussion to be had here.

Has Doncic shown enough in his 36 NBA games to earn an All-Star spot? Does it make sense to reward Rose for his bounce-back season or Wade on his farewell tour? Or would you rather just see the best first-half players in the starting lineups? And, if that’s the case, which five Eastern and five Western players do you believe deserve those spots?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts on this season’s All-Star lineups.

Leftover Cap Details On Bulls/Grizzlies Trade

January 4th, 2019 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

On Thursday, the Grizzlies and Bulls completed the fifth in-season trade of the NBA’s 2018/19 campaign, with Chicago sending Justin Holiday to Memphis in exchange for two players and two second-round draft picks.

While this deal was hardly a blockbuster, it features a few salary cap related details worth noting, so we’ll round those up in this space…

The Bulls create a modest traded player exception:

The Grizzlies had no traded player exceptions large enough to absorb Holiday’s $4,384,616 salary, so they had to aggregate MarShon Brooks ($1,656,092) and Wayne Selden ($1,544,951) for matching purposes. As a result, they didn’t create a TPE as a result of the deal.

On the other hand, the Bulls were able to take on Selden using the minimum salary exception, since he’s earning his minimum. As such, Chicago essentially traded Holiday straight up for Brooks for salary-matching purposes, leaving the Bulls with a trade exception worth the difference between the two players’ salaries: $2,728,524.

Why flipping MarShon Brooks may not be as easy as it seems:

Brooks is earning more than Selden this season because he has more years of NBA experience, but he’s also making the minimum salary. So why were the Bulls able to use the minimum salary exception to absorb Selden, but not Brooks?

Well, even though Brooks is earning his minimum this season, the first season of his deal wasn’t worth the minimum, as cap expert Albert Nahmad notes (via Twitter). The Grizzlies signed Brooks to a two-year pact last April, with just six days left in the 2017/18 campaign. A minimum salary contract would have paid him just $49,877 for those six days, but because Brooks was drawing interest from other suitors, Memphis upped its offer using a portion of its mid-level exception, giving him $249,348. That’s five times the amount of his prorated minimum.

As such, Brooks’ contract isn’t technically considered a minimum salary deal, which is why the Bulls had to account for that $1,656,092 for matching purposes.

Now, with the Bulls reportedly looking to flip Brooks to another team, those same rules apply. Like Chicago, a new trade partner wouldn’t be able to use the minimum salary exception to acquire Brooks. That trade partner would need a trade exception big enough to absorb his salary or would have to send back a contract in return.

That could eliminate a number of potential landing spots for the veteran guard and make it a little more challenging for the Bulls to make a second deal.

The Grizzlies still have a small amount of breathing room below the tax line:

The Grizzlies were pretty close to the luxury tax threshold before this trade. Having taken on a little money in acquiring Holiday, they’re even closer now. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Memphis has approximately $463K in breathing room before becoming a taxpayer.

While the Grizzlies opened up a roster spot by making a two-for-one deal, using that roster spot on a rest-of-season contract right now would take them into the tax. A veteran player (at least two years of experience) signed to a minimum salary deal today would have a cap hit of $829K.

Teams can begin signing 10-day contracts as of Saturday, and the Grizzlies could fit one of those under the tax line — a veteran on a 10-day deal would cost about $85K. So Memphis could afford five 10-day contracts for the rest of the season. A sixth would take the team into tax territory.

The Grizzlies could make a separate cost-cutting move before the February 7 trade deadline to create a little more wiggle room to sign a player. If they don’t reduce their team salary, however, that 15th roster spot is probably a good bet to remain open for a good chunk of the second half.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Fantasy Hoops: Harden, DeRozan, Rivers, Russell

January 3rd, 2019 at 2:03pm CST by ChrisCrouse

James Harden is unreal. Over his last 10 contests, he is averaging 40.8 points per game. Kobe Bryant (three times) and Michael Jordan (twice) are the only other players to score at least 400 points over a 10-game stretch in the last 30 years.

During the month of December, Harden scored 546 total points, 115 more than any other player (Paul George was second). For fantasy owners in both points and category leagues, he’s closing in on the top overall spot in terms of value (I’d still take Anthony Davis for No. 1 by the slightest margin) and there aren’t many players who are better to build around in daily leagues.

Harden is gunning for a second MVP and absolutely belongs in that conversation. Any talk of his unworthiness for a second trophy can only add fuel to his fire, which bodes well for employing him in the fantasy basketball world.

The Rockets are in action tonight against the Warriors in a night of great matchups. The Nuggets are visiting the Kings, while the Spurs will host Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors in the small forward’s first game back in San Antonio since being traded.

Let’s take a look at some more stats and notes surrounding these matchups, along with a few trends from around the league:

Eric Gordon won’t play for the Rockets for the second straight contest, keeping the door ajar for Austin Rivers to continue playing a major role. Rivers has been busy since signing with Houston, averaging 35.6 minutes per game (only Harden and P.J. Tucker have received more MPG since Rivers made his debut).
DeMar DeRozan is enjoying a solid season for the Spurs, but beware of inserting him into daily lineups tonight against his former team. Leonard will play and DeRozan has struggled when going up against the two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Over the last four seasons, DeRozan has made just 28 of his 58 attempts when playing against Leonard and has only attempted 19 free throws.
Since the start of December, no player has seen more minutes per game (39.3) than Wizards guard Bradley Beal. With John Wall out, expect Beal to continue to be among the league leaders in court time.
D’Angelo Russell had arguably the best game of his career for the Nets on Wednesday, scoring 22 points and dishing out 13 assists while committing just one turnover. Since Christmas Day, only six players have a higher usage rate than the former No. 2 overall pick and if Russell can keep the turnovers down, his fantasy value will continue to rise.

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.

Community Shootaround: Heat Roster Logjam

January 2nd, 2019 at 9:34pm CST by clarkcrum

As we relayed earlier today, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is “sick” to his stomach about his inability to find minutes for veteran sharpshooter Wayne Ellington. And now that fellow guard and teammate Dion Waiters is set to return from his ankle injury, don’t expect playing time decisions to get any easier for Spoelstra.

Not counting Waiters or up-and-coming youngster Derrick Jones, the Heat already have 11 players on standard NBA contracts who log 20.5 minutes per game or more, the most of anyone in the league. And of those 12 players, seven are swingmen who play primarily on the wing (Josh Richardson, Rodney McGruder, Justise Winslow, Dwyane Wade, Tyler Johnson, Ellington, and Waiters).

In tonight’s blowout win against the Cavs, Wade logged a DNP-Illness, with the remainder of the minutes on the wing going to Richardson (32), Jones (31), Winslow (27), Johnson (26), McGruder (21), and Waiters (11).

With Wade back in the mix soon and Waiters presumably playing his way into more minutes, the question becomes whether the Heat will move on from some of the aforementioned players, such as Waiters or Ellington, or keep the roster logjam as currently constructed as insurance in the event of another injury.

That brings us to our question of the day: Do you think the Heat should try to move on from some of their wings or keep them all around for the rest of the 2018/19 season? If they alter their roster, who is the most likely wing to be moved? Ellington? Waiters? Somebody else?

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

Checking In On 2019’s Traded First-Round Picks

January 2nd, 2019 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Of the eight 2019 first-round picks that have already been traded, seven had some sort of protections on them from the moment they were dealt. The eighth – Sacramento’s first-rounder – started off as unprotected when it was sent to the Sixers, but Philadelphia added protections and swap rights to it when it was re-routed to Boston in 2017’s Markelle Fultz/Jayson Tatum blockbuster.

In other words, the destinations for all eight of this year’s traded first-round picks will hinge on the NBA’s 2018/19 league standings.

[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Reverse Standings]

With the regular season nearing its halfway point, it’s worth checking in on those protected first-round picks to get a sense of which ones are likely to change hands and which ones may end up falling within their protected ranges.

Here’s a breakdown of where things stand right now:

Traded picks that are likely to change hands:

Kings‘ pick to Celtics
- Protection: Top-1
- Current draft slot: No. 14
Nuggets‘ pick to Nets
- Protection: Top-12
- Current draft slot: No. 28
Raptors‘ pick to Spurs
- Protection: Top-20
- Current draft slot: No. 29

The Nuggets and Raptors look like good bets to finish near the top of their respective conferences, so their late first-rounders will almost certainly be conveyed in 2019. As for the Kings‘ pick, it’ll head to Boston if it’s not the No. 1 overall pick and if it’s more favorable than Philadelphia’s first-round selection. Right now, the Sixers‘ first-rounder projects to be No. 24, so the Celtics will likely end up with Sacramento’s first-rounder.

Traded picks that are unlikely to change hands:

Cavaliers‘ pick to Hawks
- Protection: Top-10
- Current draft slot: No. 1
Bucks‘ pick to Suns
- Protection: Top-3 and 17-30
- Current draft slot: No. 30

Even with the NBA’s new draft lottery rules instituted for 2019, teams can’t fall more than four spots as a result of the lottery results. So the Cavaliers would need to have a pretty strong second half for their pick to be in any real danger. The Bucks, meanwhile, have the NBA’s best record, so the odds of their first-rounder falling between 4-16 are minuscule.

Traded picks that remain up in the air:

Mavericks’ pick to Hawks
- Protection: Top-5
- Current draft slot: No. 11
Grizzlies‘ pick to Celtics
- Protection: Top-8
- Current draft slot: No. 13
Clippers‘ pick to Celtics
- Protection: Top-14
- Current draft slot: No. 19/20 (tie)

If the season ended today and there were no major lottery surprises, these picks would all change hands. Given how close the Western Conference standings are, however, that outlook could change quickly. Of these three teams, the Clippers may be the most likely to hang onto their pick, since they’ll need to make the playoffs in order for Boston to get their first-rounder.

The other two look reasonably likely to change hands for now, but the NBA’s new lottery system shouldn’t be overlooked as a potential wild-card factor here. Let’s say the Mavericks finish with the NBA’s 10th-worst record — under the old system, they would have had just a 4.0% chance at jumping into the top three. Under the new system, they’d have a 13.9% at moving into the top four and keeping their pick.

NBA Dates, Deadlines To Watch In January

December 31st, 2018 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Near the start of the 2018/19 campaign, we looked ahead and identified several dates and deadlines to watch on the NBA calendar throughout the rest of the season. While that list covered the general highlights, it’s worth taking a closer look at some of those key dates to keep an eye out for in January, which should be a busy month.

Let’s dive in…

Non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed

January 10 is the date that all non-guaranteed NBA contracts for 2018/19 will officially become guaranteed, but January 7 is really the day to watch. If a team wants to avoid having a salary become guaranteed, the player must clear waivers before January 10, which means he needs to be cut by January 7, at the latest.

Many players without fully guaranteed salaries are in no danger of being waived within the next week, but some teams will take the opportunity to save a little money and open up a roster spot. Here’s the list of players to watch, including newly-signed Cavaliers guard Patrick McCaw.

Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts

Around the same time that several NBA clubs will be opening up a roster spot by waiving a player on a non-guaranteed salary, teams will also be able to use those newly-created openings to sign players to 10-day contracts. Those 10-day deals, which can be signed as of January 5, give teams the opportunity to pick up a short-term injury replacement, or perhaps to get a brief look at a standout G League player.

We extensively outlined the details of 10-day contracts and explained how they work in our glossary entry on the subject.

More players become trade-eligible

A huge percentage of the NBA’s offseason signees became eligible to be traded back on December 15, but there are still many players who can’t be dealt. By the end of January, that list of players ineligible to be traded will shrink further, since there are 24 players currently on track to have those restrictions lift this month.

January 15 is the key date, with 20 players becoming trade-eligible as of that Tuesday. That group features a number of players who almost certainly aren’t going anywhere, such as Nikola Jokic and Paul George. However, there are a handful of players on that list who could be involved in trade rumors in 2019, including Rodney Hood and Derrick Favors.

A few other offseason signees have unique trade-eligible dates this month, since they were signed sometime after September 15 or inked an offseason extension. Those players are Alfonzo McKinnie (January 12), Jamal Crawford (January 16), Shaquille Harrison (January 21), and Kevin Love (January 24).

Two-way contract deadlines

NBA teams will face a pair of key deadlines relating to two-way contracts in January. The first of those dates arrives on January 15, which is the last day that a team can sign a player to a two-way contract this season.

Most teams have already filled both of their two-way slots. Still, it’s safe to assume that a number of clubs will make changes at those spots within the next couple weeks, while teams with two-way openings – the Celtics, Knicks, and Trail Blazers – figure to fill them.

On January 20, all players on two-way contracts will have their G League salaries for the season become fully guaranteed.

Other odds and ends

There are a few other dates in January that are worth mentioning, despite the fact that they’ll likely come and go without much fanfare.

On January 10, mid-level and room exceptions – along with other cap exceptions like the bi-annual exception – will start to prorate for the year, meaning a team with its full room exception available would no longer be able to offer the full $4.449MM amount to a free agent. Exceptions will decline in value by 1/177th per day, starting on January 10.

January 15 is the last day that teams can apply for a disabled player exception to replace an injured player who is deemed unlikely to return this season. A disabled player exception can give a club extra cap flexibility, though that team may still have to open up a roster spot to add a player using its DPE. Our glossary entry explaining the disabled player exception can be found right here.

On January 29, a series of trade exceptions created in last year’s Blake Griffin blockbuster will expire, including a Pistons TPE worth $7MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

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