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NBA’s Top 50 Highest-Paid Players For 2018/19

August 30th, 2018 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

While many of the NBA’s highest-paid players are on contracts considered maximum-salary deals, the 2018/19 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 can earn $17MM+ more than Kyrie Irving in ’18/19 despite both star point guards 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 2018/19 salary actually exceeds this year’s maximum, since his deal started last summer and includes 8% annual raises, while the cap only rose by about 3% this season.

Listed below, with the help of salary data from Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, are the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2017/18 season. The players on this list don’t necessarily have the contracts with the largest overall value. Jabari Parker‘s $20MM salary, for instance, places him among the highest-paid players for this season, but the total value of his deal is modest, since it’s only guaranteed for one year, with a second-year option. The list below only considers salaries for 2018/19.

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, LeBron James, and others who have trade bonuses but are already earning the maximum — their salaries for this season can’t increase beyond their max.

Here are the NBA’s 50 highest-paid players for the 2018/19 season:

  1. Stephen Curry, Warriors: $37,457,154
  2. LeBron James, Lakers: $35,654,150
  3. Chris Paul, Rockets: $35,654,150
  4. Russell Westbrook, Thunder: $35,654,150
  5. Blake Griffin, Pistons: $32,088,932
  6. Gordon Hayward, Celtics: $31,214,295
  7. Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $31,200,000 (plus incentives)
  8. Paul George, Thunder: $30,560,700
  9. Mike Conley, Grizzlies: $30,521,116
  10. James Harden, Rockets: $30,421,854 (15% trade kicker)
  11. Kevin Durant, Warriors: $30,000,000 (15% trade kicker)
  12. Paul Millsap, Nuggets: $29,230,769 (plus incentives)
  13. Al Horford, Celtics: $28,928,710 (15% trade kicker)
  14. Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers: $27,977,689
  15. DeMar DeRozan, Spurs: $27,739,975
  16. Otto Porter, Wizards: $26,011,913
  17. Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $25,976,111 (plus incentives)
  18. C.J. McCollum, Trail Blazers: $25,759,766
  19. Joel Embiid, Sixers: $25,467,250
  20. Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves: $25,467,250
  21. Andre Drummond, Pistons: $25,434,263 (8% trade kicker)
  22. Hassan Whiteside, Heat: $25,434,263
  23. Bradley Beal, Wizards: $25,434,262
  24. Anthony Davis, Pelicans: $25,434,262
  25. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: $24,605,181 (plus incentives)
  26. Steven Adams, Thunder: $24,157,304 (7.5% trade kicker)
  27. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $24,157,304
  28. Marc Gasol, Grizzlies: $24,119,025 (15% trade kicker)
  29. Kevin Love, Cavaliers: $24,119,025
  30. Harrison Barnes, Mavericks: $24,107,258 (8% trade kicker)
  31. Chandler Parsons, Grizzlies: $24,107,258
  32. Nicolas Batum, Hornets: $24,000,000
  33. Rudy Gobert, Jazz: $23,241,573 (plus incentives)
  34. Kawhi Leonard, Raptors: $23,114,067
  35. DeAndre Jordan, Mavericks: $22,897,200
  36. LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs: $22,347,015 (15% trade kicker)
  37. Serge Ibaka, Raptors: $21,666,667
  38. Aaron Gordon, Magic: $21,590,909 (plus incentives)
  39. Danilo Gallinari, Clippers: $21,587,579
  40. Victor Oladipo, Pacers: $21,000,000
  41. Jimmy Butler, Timberwolves: $20,445,779
  42. Ryan Anderson, Suns: $20,421,546
  43. Kyrie Irving, Celtics: $20,099,189
  44. Jabari Parker, Bulls: $20,000,000
  45. Zach LaVine, Bulls: $19,500,000
  46. Tyler Johnson, Heat: $19,245,370
  47. John Wall, Wizards: $19,169,800
  48. George Hill, Cavaliers: $19,000,000
  49. Jeff Teague, Timberwolves: $19,000,000
  50. Klay Thompson, Warriors: $18,988,725

Note: Some outlets suggest Anthony Davis has a 15% trade kicker, but it’s not listed on Basketball Insiders.

Note: Carmelo Anthony is not included on this list because his $25,534,253 buyout with the Hawks will be paid over three seasons, even though Atlanta kept the entire cap hit on this year’s team salary. If included, he would come in at No. 15, since his Hawks buyout plus his Rockets salary totals $27,928,140.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Decisions On 2019/20 Rookie Scale Team Options

August 29th, 2018 at 3:59pm 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 2018/19 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 2019/20 campaign.

For players who signed their rookie scale contracts in 2016 and have been in the NBA for two years, teams must decide on fourth-year options for 2019/20. 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 ’19/20.

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 Jazz would ever consider turning down their option on Donovan Mitchell, 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 2019/20 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 2019/20 salaries:

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Community Shootaround: What’s Next For Popovich?

August 29th, 2018 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs‘ three longest-tenured players left the team this offseason, with Tony Parker departing in free agency, Kawhi Leonard getting traded to Toronto, and Manu Ginobili announces his retirement earlier this week.

San Antonio still has a pair of All-NBA players in DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, along with a handful of reliable veterans – Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay, Marco Belinelli – and a group of up-and-coming youngsters, such as Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker, and Jakob Poeltl. Even without Ginobili, the Spurs should be a strong playoff contender in the competitive Western Conference in 2018/19.

Nonetheless, with longtime Spurs like Parker and Ginobili leaving San Antonio just two years after Tim Duncan did, it’s fair to wonder how Gregg Popovich‘s mindset has been affected by the upheaval on the roster, not to mention to the impact his wife’s death in April might have had on his future plans.

Popovich is by far the NBA’s longest-tenured head coach, having taking over on the Spurs’ sidelines back in 1996 — no other head coach has been in his current role since before 2008. Popovich will also turn 70 years old during the 2018/19 season and has been working as a basketball coach in some capacity for the last four and a half decades. It’s possible that Popovich may not want to keep his job with the Spurs for a whole lot longer.

In a roundtable for NBA.com, a series of writers and reporters explored Popovich’s possible future, with Steve Aschburner and Shaun Powell of NBA.com speculating that the three-time Coach of the Year will coach for two more years, then treat the 2020 Olympics as his farewell to the game. However, Sekou Smith, who was impressed by Popovich’s energy at the Team USA minicamp last month, writes that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the longtime Spurs coach remain in his current role for another three or four years.

What do you think? Will the departures of Parker and Ginobili this offseason hasten Popovich’s own exit? Will the 2020 Olympics be his last hurrah? Or can we expect to see the five-time NBA champion stick with the Spurs for several more years to come?

Jump into the comment section below to weigh in!

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Extension Candidate: Kristaps Porzingis

August 29th, 2018 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Twenty-three players became eligible for rookie scale extensions when the 2018/19 NBA league year began in July. One of those 23, Devin Booker, quickly finalized a new deal with the Suns, leaving 22 other players who could sign rookie scale extensions before the October 15 deadline. In the weeks leading up to that deadline, we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the strongest candidates for new contracts.

Our examination of this year’s candidates for rookie scale extensions continues today with Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis. Let’s dive in…

Why the Knicks should give him an extension:

Porzingis’ unique skill-set, which helped earn him his Unicorn nickname, is also his strongest argument in favor of a lucrative long-term deal. There simply aren’t any other NBA players – now or in the history of the league – who stand 7’3″ but still possess the athleticism and outside shooting ability (.395 3PT%) of Porzingis.

In his first three NBA seasons, Porzingis just kept getting better, increasing his PPG from 14.3 to 18.1 to 22.7. He has also developed into one of the league’s best shot-blockers, establishing a new career high with 2.4 BPG in 2017/18.

While his play has yet to translate to much team success for the Knicks, Porzingis’ on/off-court numbers reveal his value to the team — New York was noticeably better both offensively and defensively when the Latvian big man was on the court (+0.1 net rating) in 2017/18 than when he sat (-7.0 net rating).

Porzingis is still just 23 years old and there’s a sense that he still has plenty of potential yet to be unlocked. New head coach David Fizdale could be the man for the job — reportedly, he and Porzingis have hit it off already, which is a positive sign for the franchise after the young star didn’t always see eye-to-eye with former head coach Jeff Hornacek.

Why the Knicks should avoid an extension:

The 2017/18 season was Porzingis’ best as a pro, but it was also his briefest — a torn ACL ended his year after just 48 games, and he’s not expected to be ready to play at the start of the 2018/19 campaign.

While it’s probably unfair to say Porzingis is injury-prone, he has never played more than 72 games in a season, and many players who stand 7’3″ or taller have battled leg injuries throughout their NBA careers. ACL tears are no joke, so even if New York expects Porzingis to make a full recovery, the team should be wary of making a massive investment in him while he’s still rehabbing the injury.

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Sixers, Hornets Have Made Most Offseason Trades

August 28th, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A total of 28 trades have been completed by NBA teams since the 2017/18 season ended, including a pair of three-way deals. The Sixers have been involved in a quarter of those swaps, completing seven deals during the 2018 offseason. While Philadelphia has been the most active team on the trade market, the Hornets aren’t far behind, having finalized five deals of their own.

[RELATED: 2018 NBA Offseason Trades]

It’s a little ironic that the Sixers have completed the most trades of any NBA team this summer, since Philadelphia is the only club without a permanent head of basketball operations in place. Head coach Brett Brown has served as the interim president of basketball ops since Bryan Colangelo was fired in June, but if there was any uncertainty about the structure of the team’s front office, it certainly didn’t impact the 76ers’ ability to make deals.

None of the Sixers’ trades was a blockbuster, but a few of them will have a noticeable impact on the team’s 2018/19 roster. Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala were acquired in separate deals, while Philadelphia’s most interesting move saw the club trade Mikal Bridges for Zhaire Smith and a future unprotected first-round pick.

As for the Hornets, they also fired their general manager earlier this season, replacing Rich Cho with Mitch Kupchak. Given the new-look front office and a team salary that was hovering close to the tax line, it’s not as surprising that the Hornets have been active on the trade market over the last couple months. Kupchak’s most noteworthy moves involved Timofey Mozgov — the Hornets sent Dwight Howard to Brooklyn for a package that included Mozgov, then flipped him to the Magic in a three-way trade involving Bismack Biyombo.

Here are a few other notable details related to this offseason’s trades so far:

Teams that have made the most trades:

  • Philadelphia 76ers: 7
  • Charlotte Hornets: 5
  • Atlanta Hawks: 4
  • Brooklyn Nets: 4
  • Dallas Mavericks: 4
  • Los Angeles Clippers: 4
  • Oklahoma City Thunder: 4
  • Orlando Magic: 4
  • Denver Nuggets: 3
  • Phoenix Suns: 3

Teams that haven’t made a trade:

  • Golden State Warriors
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Miami Heat
  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • New York Knicks

Players that have been traded multiple times:

Future first-round picks that have been traded:

  • Mavericks‘ 2019 first-round pick to Hawks (top-five protected).
  • Nuggets‘ 2019 first-round pick to Nets (top-12 protected).
  • Raptors‘ 2019 first-round pick to Spurs (top-20 protected).
  • Heat‘s 2021 first-round pick to Sixers (from Suns; unprotected).
  • Thunder‘s 2022 first-round pick to Hawks (top-14 protected).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2020 NBA Free Agents

August 28th, 2018 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2020 free agents is below. Each player’s 2020 age is in parentheses.

These are players who are eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency after the 2019/20 season. They either finished the ’19/20 season on an NBA roster or were unsigned at season’s end (but appeared in at least 10 games). A handful of noteworthy former players also appear in the list.

You’ll be able to access this list – and our list of 2020’s free agents sorted by team – anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.

Updated 5-17-21 (6:49am CT)
Note: This list is no longer being updated.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Point Guards

Shooting Guards

Small Forwards

Power Forwards

Centers

Restricted Free Agents

Note: No restricted free agents are still on the market. Details on their deals can be found here.

Player Options

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

Team Options

Note: 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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Poll: Best Offseason Among Western Teams?

August 28th, 2018 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

During the first couple days of NBA free agency this summer, two contract agreements dominated headlines — LeBron James deciding to join the Lakers and DeMarcus Cousins agreeing to terms with the Warriors.

James, who signed a maximum-salary contract, wasn’t necessarily a bargain, but his free agent decision was a franchise-altering move for the Lakers and a league-changing move for the NBA, which saw the balance of power shift further from the Eastern Conference to the West as one of its marquee franchises landed an all-time great. As for Cousins, he almost certainly won’t have the same on-court impact that James will in 2018/19, but his decision to accept a below-market deal to join the defending champions sent shockwaves across the league as well.

Given the magnitude of those two moves, it’s no surprise that the Lakers and Warriors received the highest grades in Kevin Pelton’s ESPN.com breakdown of the offseason moves by each Western team. In his Insider-only story, Pelton awards the Lakers and Warriors grades of A-minus. No other club received an A grade.

Still, Pelton did like a few other teams’ offseason roster changes. He awarded the Mavericks, who signed DeAndre Jordan and traded up for Luka Doncic, a B-plus. The Thunder, who re-signed Paul George and Jerami Grant before striking a deal for Dennis Schroder, got a B-plus grade from Pelton as well.

Pelton also had praise for the Nuggets, who re-signed Nikola Jokic and Will Barton while adding Isaiah Thomas at a bargain price. Denver received a B grade, as did the Pelicans, who managed to replace Cousins and Rajon Rondo with younger alternatives in Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton.

On the other end of the spectrum, Pelton didn’t love the offseason moves made by the Suns (D+), Rockets (D+), Spurs (D), and Kings (D).

What do you think? Which Western Conference team had the best offseason? Do you agree with Pelton that the choice comes down to the Lakers or Warriors, or was there another club whose summer moves you liked more?

Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to explain your pick!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Extension Candidate: Karl-Anthony Towns

August 27th, 2018 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Twenty-three players became eligible for rookie scale extensions when the 2018/19 NBA league year began in July. One of those 23, Devin Booker, quickly finalized a new deal with the Suns, leaving 22 other players who could sign rookie scale extensions before the October 15 deadline. In the weeks leading up to that deadline, we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the strongest candidates for new contracts.

Our examination of this year’s candidates for rookie scale extensions begins today with Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Let’s dive in…

Why the Timberwolves should give him an extension:

Towns’ case for a new deal is obvious. A former first overall pick, he’s already one of the NBA’s most talented big men, earning his first All-Star and All-NBA nods in 2017/18. He has averaged a double-double in each of his three NBA seasons, recording 21.6 PPG and 11.7 overall over the course of his young NBA career.

Unlike many other NBA bigs, Towns figures to have no problem adapting as the NBA continues to evolve — his .387 career 3PT% (.421 in 2017/18) reflects his ability to score from the outside as well as the inside, so he’s hardly a one-dimensional offensive player. He can also pass the ball effectively (2.4 career APG), and while he’s not an elite rim protector on defense, he’s capable of blocking shots (1.4 career BPG).

On top of all that, Towns has displayed a skill that’s over overlooked and undervalued — durability. He has yet to miss a game since entering the league, playing all 82 contests in three consecutive years.

At age 22, Towns still has plenty of room to develop into a more complete and effective player, a scary possibility for opposing teams to consider. He’d likely be one of the first few players named if NBA general managers were given the ability to lock up any current player for the next decade.

Why the Timberwolves should avoid an extension:

While Towns is already a monster on offense and on the glass, his play on defense leaves something to be desired. Tom Thibodeau brought in Taj Gibson a year ago in order to pair Towns with a tough, defensive-minded veteran in the frontcourt, and the young star may need to be complemented by similar frontcourt partners in the coming years.

Additionally, there may be some concern about how Towns meshes with his fellow stars in Minnesota. Reports of tension have followed around the Timberwolves’ three most important players – Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Jimmy Butler – and if there’s truth to those rumors, locking up Towns to a long-term deal may help push someone like Butler out of Minnesota.

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Community Shootaround: Nets’ Playoff Aspirations

August 26th, 2018 at 11:11am CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets GM Sean Marks raised a few eyebrows earlier this month when he stated the team’s goal this upcoming season was to make the playoffs. He told season-ticket holders that he thinks there’s enough talent on the roster to make that happen.

“I don’t see any reason why we can’t make a push for the playoffs,” he said. “Isn’t that the objective here? We’re not sitting here trying to win 20 games, so let’s put our best foot forward and push each other and see where it goes.”

It’s no secret that next summer is even more important to the franchise. Brooklyn will have gobs of salary-cap space and can make a strong push for two or even three top-flight free agents.

According to Basketball Insiders, the Nets have less than $17MM in guaranteed salaries on their books next summer. Even if Allen Crabbe exercises his $18.5MM player option and the team exercises its options on Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen, it will still be able to chase a couple of big-name free agents. Failing that, it could absorb the contract of an All-Star caliber player or two in trades.

As for the upcoming season, the Nets don’t have anything resembling an All-Star on the roster but they should have plenty of competition for minutes. If D’Angelo Russell can remain healthy and start playing at the level expected of a No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Marks’ goal would seem more realistic.

Brooklyn also has some other notable options at point guard, including Spencer Dinwiddie and free agent addition Shabazz Napier. LeVert and Joe Harris will likely see the most action at shooting guard, while holdover starter DeMarre Carroll and Allen Crabbe are a solid 1-2 punch at small forward.

Along with Allen, the Nets’ power rotation will include returnee Rondae Hollis-Jefferson; Kenneth Faried, acquired from the Nuggets in a salary dump; a prolific rebounder Ed Davis, another free agent signee.

Perhaps the biggest reason for Marks’ optimism is the general weakness of the East beyond the Celtics, Sixers and Raptors (assuming Kawhi Leonard is healthy).

That leads to our question of the day: Do the Nets have enough pieces to make the playoffs?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

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Community Shootaround: Two-Way Contracts

August 25th, 2018 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Twelve months ago, few NBA fans understood what two-way contracts were. After a year in place, it’s clear that teams have vastly different philosophies on how to utilize this new class of player.

Instituted under the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement, two-way contracts give the best G League prospects a chance to get some NBA exposure, while giving teams an easily accessible supply of reinforcements in case of injuries. Each team has a pair of two-way slots to use, and players with two-way contracts are limited to 45 days of NBA service, which counts practices and traveling as well as games.

A player who hits the 45-day limit cannot spend any more time with his NBA team until the G League season ends, unless his contract is converted to a standard NBA deal. Players with two-way contracts are also ineligible for the postseason, which is why the Warriors had to open a roster spot for Quinn Cook in April, which cost them Omri Casspi.

Cook was the most successful two-way player last season, appearing in 33 games, starting 18, and posting a 9.5/2.5/2.7 line. He was a valuable reserve for the Warriors all the way through their run to a championship.

While NBA service time is limited in two-way deals, so is compensation. The minimum salary ranges from $838,464 for a player with no experience to $1,621,415 for a player with four years of service, which is the maximum allowable for a two-way contract. Rules allow two-way players to collect up to $275K, but most make far less.

That salary structure is among the reasons the contracts aren’t universally popular. Even though they create 60 more NBA jobs, an unidentified agent recently told Justin Jett of DefPen that the league is taking advantage of the new system.

“Teams are explicitly violating two-way compensation rules,” the agent claimed. “There’s no good way to ‘police’ these deals. Agents get paid basically nothing on these deals and teams flat out lie to try to steal money from, and exploit, two-way contract players.”

We want to get your opinion. Have two-way contracts been good for the NBA and the players, or do changes need to be made? Please leave your responses in the space below.

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