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Community Shootaround: Buyout Candidates

February 26th, 2018 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

As we noted earlier this afternoon, we could see a second wave of buyouts completed across the NBA this week, with a March 1 deadline looming. Players waived after Thursday won’t be playoff-eligible if they sign with another NBA team before the end of the season.

In our earlier story, we identified Jarrett Jack, Arron Afflalo, Shabazz Muhammad, Trevor Booker, and Joakim Noah as buyout candidates, but they’re not the only ones out there. Corey Brewer, Vince Carter, Brook Lopez, and Nerlens Noel are among the veterans on expiring contracts who may not fit into their respective teams’ future plans.

Players on expiring contracts make the strongest buyout candidates, since it’s much easier for a non-playoff team to eat some or all of a salary that doesn’t extend into 2018/19. A multiyear contract complicates matters — teams are sometimes willing to turn future cap hits into dead money by cutting a player with a long-term salary, but most clubs would prefer to wait to see if that player can eventually be traded.

As such, we shouldn’t necessarily expect to see veterans like Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley, Zach Randolph, Garrett Temple, or Justin Holiday released this week. Even though they may see their roles reduced in the final weeks of the 2017/18 season, ceding minutes to younger players, they’re all under contract through next year, so there’s no urgency for their teams to part ways with them yet.

With Ersan Ilyasova‘s release today kicking off this potential second wave of buyouts, we want to hear your thoughts on which players should follow Ilyasova to the free agent market. Which players should be pushing the hardest for buyouts, and which teams should be most willing to accommodate them? Which playoff teams do you think could use a specific player or two to provide a boost to their roster down the stretch?

Jump into the comment section below to weigh in!

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Five Candidates To Be Released This Week

February 26th, 2018 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Due to an early trade deadline this season, the buyout market was active sooner than usual, with a handful of players released by their respective teams before the All-Star break. Greg Monroe, Joe Johnson, Marco Belinelli, and Brandan Wright are among the veterans who were bought out and quickly caught on with new teams earlier in February, and Ersan Ilyasova appears set to join them on that list soon.

There are still several more candidates for buyouts around the NBA, but if those buyouts are going to happen, it will have to be soon. For a veteran player hoping to leave a lottery-bound team to play for a contender, March 1 is a key deadline. A player waived after that date won’t retain his playoff eligibility if he subsequently signs with a new club.

As such, we could see another small flurry of buyout activity happen this week — if those buyouts aren’t completed on or before Thursday, they probably won’t happen at all this season.

Here are five players who are candidates to be bought out or released outright in the coming days:Jarrett Jack vertical

  1. Jarrett Jack, PG (Knicks): A starter for 56 of the Knicks‘ first 59 games this season, Jack has yet to play a single minute since the All-Star break. Finding minutes for young point guards Frank Ntilikina and Emmanuel Mudiay will be a top priority for head coach Jeff Hornacek down the stretch, and Jack won’t even be third in line for minutes, with Trey Burke also in the mix. While the Knicks may value the veteran’s leadership abilities in the locker room, it would make sense to let him go if there’s a playoff-bound team out there with interest in signing him.
  2. Arron Afflalo, SG (Magic): Afflalo’s 12.8 MPG and 3.2 PPG are career-worsts, and his one-year minimum salary contract makes him very unlikely to be part of the long-term plans in Orlando. The veteran swingman has been just as effective as ever from three-point range this year though — his .386 3PT% is identical to his career rate. That should appeal to some teams in need of outside shooting, including perhaps the Raptors.
  3. Shabazz Muhammad, SF (Timberwolves): Muhammad was said earlier this month to be seeking a trade or a buyout, and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has said his team is willing to accommodate the forward’s departure. However, Muhammad’s second-year player option complicates matters. Minnesota would likely want him to give back that money as part of a buyout, and it’s not clear if the 25-year-old is willing to do that. Given how much he’s struggled this season (3.8 PPG, .388/.211/.710 shooting line), Muhammad isn’t necessarily a lock for a guaranteed contract in free agency this summer, so he may be reluctant to give up that guaranteed player-option salary.
  4. Trevor Booker, PF (Sixers): Booker’s name hasn’t really come up in buyout rumors this month, but his roster spot may be in jeopardy. Philadelphia is said to be Ersan Ilyasova‘s preferred landing spot for when he finalizes a buyout with the Hawks, and the Sixers have a full roster, meaning someone will have to go. Booker, one of the few players on the roster with an expiring contract, has averaged just 15.0 minutes per game since joining the 76ers earlier this season and plays the same position as Ilyasova. There’s no guarantee that Booker will be the odd man out if and when the Sixers sign Ilyasova, but he’s definitely a candidate.
  5. Joakim Noah, C (Knicks): If Muhammad’s $1.8MM guarantee for next season qualifies as a roadblock in his potential buyout with the Timberwolves, what does that make Noah’s $37.8MM in future guarantees? We’ve written at length about Noah’s situation since he left the club last month, so we won’t go into extensive detail again. But it’s clear there’s no real win-win solution for the Knicks and Noah, who would welcome a fresh start but doesn’t want to give up a significant chunk of money. Even if their relationship is all but over, it would still be somewhat surprising to see the Knicks and Noah get a buyout done this week — both sides can probably afford to wait out the situation in the hopes of eventually gaining more leverage.
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Fantasy Hoops: Crawford, Collins, Pacers, Millsap

February 26th, 2018 at 10:13am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Timberwolves will try to maintain a playoff position without the aid of Jimmy Butler. The All-Star’s knee injury means other players are going to have to step up offensively, and Jamal Crawford appears to ready for the task at hand. The 37-year-old guard scored 19 points off the bench in Minnesota’s victory over Chicago on Saturday. NBA: Chicago Bulls at Minnesota Timberwolves

“He’s still playing like he’s 22 years old,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said of Crawford. “He was playing by himself out there for a while. When he gets rolling, he’s a hard guy to stop.”

Crawford, who joined the Wolves on a two-year deal worth approximately $8.87MM prior to the season, is averaging 19.7 points and 4.3 assists per game in three contests without Butler this season. He’s available in slightly over 94% of ESPN leagues.

Here are a few more fantasy notes from around the league:

  • With the Hawks set to finalize a buyout for Ersan Ilyasova, rookie center John Collins needs to be owned in all leagues. Collins posted nine points, nine rebounds, and two blocks over 30 minutes of action against the Pacers on Friday night and if he can stay out of foul trouble, the big man should see even more run on a nightly basis.
  • Keep an eye on the status of Darren Collison. The Pacers point guard isn’t expected to come back until early March — while he’s out, Lance Stephenson (available in slightly over 89% of ESPN leagues) and Cory Joseph (available in nearly 98%) will continue to be streaming options. Going forward, I prefer Stephenson of the two, though once Collison returns, both players belong on waivers.
  • Check your waiver wire to see if Paul Millsap is available, as he is in over 36% of ESPN leagues. The Nuggets‘ prized offseason acquisition went through a full practice last week and although he’ll likely be on a minutes restriction upon returning, he’s worth adding in all leagues.
  • The Kings are the only team with five games this week. The Spurs only play two. Every other team plays three or four contests.

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.

Statistics are current through Monday morning. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Trade Deadline Day At Pro Hockey Rumors

February 26th, 2018 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

The 2018 NHL Trade Deadline is today at 2pm CT, and our sister site Pro Hockey Rumors will be busy bringing you breaking news and analysis. Make sure to jump into the conversation during their special live chat, or just follow along with all the trade talk throughout the day.

Will Erik Karlsson actually be traded today? Do the New York Rangers continue their fire sale and send Ryan McDonagh to a contender? Is Evander Kane going to land a big package for the Buffalo Sabres?

Visit Pro Hockey Rumors and be sure to follow on Twitter @prohockeyrumors.

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Weekly Mailbag: 2/19/18 – 2/25/18

February 25th, 2018 at 8:12pm 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.

What are your thoughts on the Lakers resigning Julius Randle this summer? He’s played great and I’d hate to lose him for nothing, but he will be costly, eat into cap space (2018 and 2019) and block the path for Kyle Kuzma. — Vijay Cruz, via Twitter

The Lakers’ dream scenario is having enough cap room to sign LeBron James and Paul George. As long as that’s possible, Randle will be expendable if he blocks the way with his cap hold of nearly $12.5MM. Randle will be a restricted free agent this summer, enabling the Lakers to match any offer he receives, and they should have a good idea of their chances to get James, George or any other prominent free agent before having to make that decision. Randle has developed into a reliable scorer and rebounder and he’s only 23, so the Lakers would prefer to keep him, but only if his contract doesn’t interfere with the bigger picture.

Do you think DeAndre Jordan will stay with the Clippers? He is selling his house in L.A. Could he be staying in Los Angeles, but playing for the Lakers? And Dallas, do they have any chance? How about DeMarcus Cousins, do you see any team besides the Pelicans trying to make a deal with him? — Raphael Brandao
All those scenarios you mentioned for Jordan are possible. There’s no guarantee he will top his $24.1MM salary for next season on the open market, so he may opt in and spend another season with the Clippers. He could also opt out and re-sign with the Clippers, enjoying the stability of the only franchise he has played for in a 10-year career. The Lakers may have him third on their list of free agent targets, and the Mavericks need a center badly enough to overlook his change of heart in 2015. However, teams will have more money to spend in 2019 as the big contracts from 2016 start to expire, so don’t be surprised if Jordan either opts in with the Clippers or signs a one-year deal somewhere with a player option. For Cousins, a lot of teams will be lined up if his Achilles injury makes the Pelicans hesitate to offer him a max deal. Even if they have to wait a while for him to be completely healed, teams will gamble on Cousins, who is a franchise-changing player at full strength.
If Stan Van Gundy fails to make the playoffs this year, will he be fired or brought back next season? And do you see the Pistons trying to trade Reggie Jackson during the offseason? — Barron Hudson
The Pistons aren’t having the kind of season ownership hoped for to accompany the move into a new arena. At 28-31, Detroit is two and a half games out of a playoff spot and in danger of falling into 10th place behind the Hornets. Any momentum from the Blake Griffin trade is gone, as the Pistons have dropped five of their last six games. Van Gundy only has one year left on his contract as coach and president of basketball operations, so the organization won’t hesitate to make a move if things don’t turn around. Van Gundy gambled on Griffin as a way to keep his job, saddling the team with a $141.6MM commitment over the next four years. One way to ease the salary crunch is to move Jackson, who has two seasons and more than $35MM left on his contract. The Pistons looked into trading him before and he will be surely back on the market this summer.
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Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors

February 25th, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors lets you keep up with your favorite teams as they plot their moves, and we also provide ways to easily follow the latest on all of your favorite players and trade candidates.

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

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

You can also set up an RSS feed for any of our player pages by adding /feed to the end of the page URL, like this: hoopsrumors.com/demarcus-cousins/feed. Entering that URL into the reader of your choice will enable you to get updates whenever we write about DeMarcus Cousins. It works for teams, too. If you’re a Pelicans fan, you can enter hoopsrumors.com/new-orleans-pelicans/feed into your reader and stay on top of all the latest from New Orleans.

In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags that we use at the bottom of posts. For example, you can keep tabs on our 2018 draft stories right here. Items about the NBA G League can be found on this page. You can simply scan our top stories here. Again, you can set up a feed with any of these pages by adding /feed to the end of the URL.

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Community Shootaround: Wolves Without Butler

February 24th, 2018 at 9:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves came out of the All-Star break looking for their first division title and first playoff appearance since the 2003/04 season. But both are in peril after star forward Jimmy Butler tore his right meniscus in Friday’s game at Houston.

Butler has become the team leader after being acquired in a trade with the Bulls last summer. He’s Minnesota’s top scorer at 22.2 points per night as well as its best defender. As Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated notes, the Wolves are the poorest defensive team among the Western Conference contenders even with Butler on the court. Without him, their defensive rating slips to 115.7, which is five points behind the league-worst Suns.

Minnesota entered tonight’s play still atop the Northwest Division with a 36-26 record, but with a very small cushion for a playoff spot. The contenders are tightly packed in the Western Conference, with just three games separating the third-place Spurs and the ninth-place Clippers.

Of course, the Wolves aren’t the only team dealing with a missing star. Last month, the Pelicans lost DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the season with a torn Achilles, and this week Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters he’ll be surprised if Kawhi Leonard returns this season because of a lingering quad injury.

Butler reportedly intends to have surgery as soon as possible, although that could change when he gets a second opinion. If he does go through with the operation, he hopes to be back in four to six weeks, and the Wolves’ playoff fate may be decided by then. They have 19 games remaining after tonight, with many against teams that they’ll be battling against for playoff spots.

We want your opinion on Minnesota’s chances. Will young stars like Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns step up their games while Butler is out? Or are the Wolves now a long shot to reach the postseason? Jump into the comments section below and tell us what you think.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 2/17/18 – 2/24/18

February 24th, 2018 at 2:37pm 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:

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2018 Free Agent Stock Watch: New Orleans Pelicans

February 23rd, 2018 at 6:08pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pelicans opted to zig while the rest of the NBA zagged, effectively doubling down on big men in the throes of the Small Ball Era. Unfortunately, before anybody could see whether the unconventional approach would bear any fruit, it all came crashing down in the form of DeMarcus Cousins‘ torn Achilles.

The Pels rolled the dice when they acquired Cousins at the trade deadline last season and will now finally get the opportunity to find out whether they can lock him up long term.

Since Cousins’ unrestricted free agency impacts the course of the franchise in both the short- and long-term, the fact that he’ll be sidelined, perhaps even into the 2018/19 campaign, is the biggest Pels storyline heading into the offseason.

Ian Clark, SG, 27 (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $1.6MM deal in 2018
The Pels landed an intriguing depth piece with winning experience when they inked the ex-Warriors guard last offseason. But while he’s shown the occasional glimpse of promise on the wings, Clark hasn’t exactly put himself in position for a big payout this summer. On a frontcourt-heavy roster, there isn’t much need for a wing player who shoots 29.1% from beyond the arc, but he could be a cheap rotation piece for the soon-to-be cash-strapped franchise.

DeMarcus Cousins, C, 27 (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $63.5MM deal in 2013DeMarcus Cousins vertical
Cousins’ value has changed in a few ways over the course of the past 12 months. While he was once perceived as a fickle star putting up lofty but hollow numbers for a perennial loser, he’s now a major part of an intriguing organization with enormous ambitions. The catastrophic Achilles injury that cut his 2017/18 season short will have but a little impact on his stock heading forward. Given that the relationship between Cousins and the franchise appears to be on good terms, it seems well within reason that the club would offer the max allowable and then find a way to make the numbers work. Sure, the Pelicans could take the opportunity to pull the plug on the experiment before seriously hamstringing their payroll, but it could be years, if not decades, before they have as high a ceiling as they do with Cousins and Anthony Davis on the same roster. Don’t expect the injury to impact much, except, perhaps, the list of other franchises tripping over themselves trying to poach Cousins’ services.

Rajon Rondo, PG, 32 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $3.3MM deal in 2018
It’s not often that a 12-year-veteran on a minimum contract with his fifth team in four seasons would be considered a must-add, but that’s exactly what Rondo is heading into the summer. After three seasons bouncing around the league, Rondo performed admirably alongside Cousins, a former teammate and fellow Kentucky product. The Pelicans need all the affordable help they can get and a motivated Rondo, who dropped two points and 25 assists in one of the most fascinating NBA statlines of all time earlier this season, is a bargain worth chasing. Given that the surly vet hasn’t exactly been a good fit in Dallas, Sacramento or Chicago, there may not be much of a market for the Pels to compete with.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Luxury Tax Penalties

February 23rd, 2018 at 12:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Although some NBA teams can become hard-capped during a given league year if they use certain exceptions or make certain transactions, the NBA doesn’t have a set hard cap for all teams. In addition to its soft cap though, the league does have a luxury tax threshold, which serves to discourage excessive spending. When a team’s total salary ends up over that tax line at season’s end, the NBA charges a tax for every extra dollar the club spends.

The formula to determine the luxury tax line is a complicated one, related to the NBA’s projected basketball related income (BRI) and projected benefits. Generally though, it comes in around 20-22% above the salary cap line. For instance, in 2017/18, the league’s salary cap was set at $99.093MM, while the luxury tax threshold is at $119.266MM. So any team whose total ’17/18 salary exceeds $119.266MM on the last day of the regular season is subject to a tax bill.

The NBA’s luxury tax system is set up so that the penalties become more punitive if teams go further beyond the tax line. Here’s what those penalties look like:

  • $0-5MM above tax line: $1.50 per dollar (up to $7.5MM).
  • $5-10MM above tax line: $1.75 per dollar (up to $8.75MM).
  • $10-15MM above tax line: $2.50 per dollar (up to $12.5MM).
  • $15-20MM above tax line: $3.25 per dollar (up to $16.25MM).
  • For every additional $5MM above tax line beyond $20MM, rates increase by $0.50 per dollar (ie. $3.75 for $20-25MM, $4.25 for $25-30MM, etc.).

For instance, if a team is over the tax by $14MM, its tax bill would be $26.25MM — $7.5MM for the first $5MM over the tax, $8.75MM for the $5-10MM bracket, then $10MM for the final $10-14MM increment.

While those are the rates that apply to most taxpayers, including the Warriors, Thunder, and Wizards this season, a team can become subject to a “repeater” penalty if it paid the tax in three of the previous four seasons. This scenario currently applies to Cleveland — the Cavaliers were a taxpaying club in 2015, 2016, and 2017, which means they’ll be a repeat offender this season. Here are the penalties that apply to repeat taxpayers:

  • $0-5MM above tax line: $2.50 per dollar (up to $12.5MM).
  • $5-10MM above tax line: $2.75 per dollar (up to $13.75MM).
  • $10-15MM above tax line: $3.50 per dollar (up to $17.5MM).
  • $15-20MM above tax line: $4.25 per dollar (up to $21.25MM).
  • For every additional $5MM above tax line beyond $20MM, rates increase by $0.50 per dollar (ie. $4.75 for $20-25MM, $5.25 for $25-30MM, etc.).

If the team described above, over the tax by $14MM, was a repeat taxpayer, its bill would increase to $40.25MM.

Generally speaking, luxury tax penalties are calculated by determining a team’s total cap hits at the end of the regular season. So a team that starts the year above the tax line could get under it before the end of the season by completing trades or buyouts. The Trail Blazers did just that when they sent Noah Vonleh and his $3.5MM salary to Chicago in a deadline deal earlier this month, slipping below the luxury tax threshold.

However, team salary for tax purposes is calculated slightly differently than it is for cap purposes. Here are a few of the adjustments made at season’s end before a team’s tax bill is calculated:

  • Cap holds and exceptions are ignored.
  • “Likely” bonuses that weren’t earned are removed from team salary; “unlikely” bonuses that were earned are added to team salary.
  • If a player with 0-1 years of NBA experience signed a minimum-salary free agent contract, the minimum-salary cap charge for a two-year veteran is used in place of that player’s cap charge.
  • If a player with a trade bonus is acquired after the final regular season game, that trade bonus is added to team salary.

So let’s say that five teams finish the season owing a total of $50MM in taxes. Where does that money go? Currently, the NBA splits it 50/50 — half of it is used for “league purposes,” while the other half is distributed to non-taxpaying teams in equal shares. In that scenario, the 25 non-taxpaying teams would receive $1MM apiece.

As cap expert Larry Coon explains in his CBA FAQ, “league purposes” essentially covers any purpose the NBA deems appropriate, including giving the money back to teams. In recent years, the NBA has used that money as a funding source for its revenue sharing program. Coon also notes that the CBA technically allows up to 50% of tax money to be distributed to non-taxpaying teams, but there’s no obligation for that to happen — in other words, the NBA could decide to use 100% of the tax money for “league purposes.”

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 versions of this post was published in 2012 by Luke Adams.

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