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Poll: Northwest Division Winner

October 16th, 2016 at 11:46am CST by ChrisCrouse

The TrailBlazers are the favorites to win the Northwest division this season, but it’s far from a certain outcome. Just a year ago, Portland was expected to be a lottery team after losing four starters, but the team overachieved, winning 44 games and beating an injury-riddled Clippers squad in the playoffs en route to a second round playoff series loss to the Warriors. Portland aggressively pursued high-priced, impact players in free agency and ended up adding Evan Turner on an expensive, four year, $70MM deal. Turner is a perplexing addition for a team that already had wing depth, but his presence should provide insurance of sorts in case of an injury. Turner will also give the team more flexibility with its line-up decisions, as Arthur Hill of Hoops Rumors writes in the team’s Offseason In Review. The Blazers’ depth should keep them from sliding too far down the standings, but they remain a strong candidate to regress.

The Thunder had the worst offseason of any team, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors details in the team’s Offseason In Review. Losing Kevin Durant hurts, but Oklahoma City’s roster is not barren. This team can easily go 10-12 players deep on most nights and Russell Westbrook shifting from running-mate to Commander In Chief with a solid supporting cast should be not only fun to watch, but also enough to keep the team in contention for the division crown.

The Wolves arguably have the best young core in all of basketball. They appear to be a year or two away from making major noise in the conference, as I discussed in the team’s Offseason In Review. However, coach/executive Tom Thibodeau is going to get the most out of this roster and if Kris Dunn is able to hit the ground running, Minnesota could exceed expectations.

Denver lurks as a potential playoff team this season. The Nuggets’ success hinges on Emmanuel Mudiay taking the next step and proving he can be a franchise point guard. The franchise is likely a season away from reaching its playoff goal, as Scarito writes in the team’s Offseason In Review. Nevertheless, this team will be frisky on a nightly basis with its depth giving opposing teams trouble.

The Jazz are in position to take a major step forward. The addition of George Hill is an underrated move and his presence, along with 35-year-old Joe Johnson and 34-year-old Boris Diaw, will provide this team with veteran leadership, as Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors notes in the team’s Offseason in Review.  The Jazz have the talent to compete with any team in the league and they are my personal pick to win this division. Despite the injury to Gordon Hayward, I envision this team winning over 50 games and earning a top-4 seed in the Western Conference.

Do you think the Jazz will be atop this division at the end of the season or will another team take home the crown? Don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say!

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Eastern Conference Salary Rankings: Small Forwards

October 15th, 2016 at 3:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the salaries, separated by conference, for each NBA player by position. We’ve already looked at the point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards and centers of the Western Conference and we’ve now turned our attention toward the East, by running down the conference’s point guards and shooting guards. Next up — the small forwards.

All told, the teams in the east have committed a total of $233,723,311 in cap hits this season to the men who man the three spot. The average conference salary for small forwards this season is currently $4,674,466, with LeBron James topping the list with $30,963,450 to account for on his year-end W-2 form.

It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players won’t make it out of the preseason, while others will be sweating it out until January 10th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.

I should also add that not every player listed below will play at small forward this season, as some will likely see some time at power forward or shooting guard. To maintain uniformity, I used their positions listed on the teams’ official rosters to determine which list to include them on. So if you see a player who isn’t expected to play the three for his team this season listed below, that’s why.

The Eastern Conference’s small forwards are listed below, in descending order of salary:

  1. LeBron James [Cavs] —$30,963,450
  2. Carmelo Anthony [Knicks] —$24,559,380
  3. Paul George [Pacers] — $18,314,532
  4. Tobias Harris [Pistons] — $17,200,000
  5. Jeff Green [Magic] —$15,000,000
  6. DeMarre Carroll [Raptors] —$14,200,000
  7. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist [Hornets] — $13,000,000
  8. Terrence Ross [Raptors] —$10,000,000
  9. Jae Crowder [Celtics] —$6,286,408
  10. Lance Thomas [Knicks] —$6,191,000
  11. Ben Simmons [Sixers] —$5,903,160
  12. Otto Porter [Wizards] —$5,893,981
  13. Kyle Korver [Hawks] — $5,239,437
  14. Mike Dunleavy [Cavs] —$4,837,500
  15. Jaylen Brown [Celtics] — $4,743,000
  16. C.J. Miles [Pacers] — $4,583,450
  17. Giannis Antetokounmpo [Bucks] —$2,995,421
  18. Stanley Johnson [Pistons] — $2,969,880
  19. Justise Winslow [Heat] —$2,593,440
  20. Richard Jefferson [Cavs] —$2,500,000
  21. Doug McDermott [Bulls] — $2,483,040
  22. Taurean Prince [Hawks] — $2,318,280
  23. Dario Saric [Sixers] —$2,318,280
  24. Reggie Bullock [Pistons]— $2,255,644
  25. Kelly Oubre [Wizards] —$2,006,640
  26. Bruno Caboclo [Raptors] —$1,589,640
  27. Steve Novak [Bucks] — $1,551,659
  28. DeAndre’ Bembry [Hawks] — $1,499,760
  29. Michael Beasley [Bucks] —$1,403,611
  30. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson [Nets] — $1,395,600
  31. Chase Budinger [Nets] — $1,315,448
  32. Luke Babbitt [Heat] —$1,227,286
  33. Jeremy Evans [Pacers] — $1,227,286
  34. Pascal Siakam [Raptors] —$1,196,040
  35. Glenn Robinson III [Pacers] — $1,050,500
  36. Robert Covington [Sixers] —$1,015,696
  37. Jarell Eddie [Wizards] —$980,431
  38. Jerami Grant [Sixers] —$980,431
  39. Damjan Rudez [Magic] — $980,431
  40. Branden Dawson [Magic] — $874,636
  41. J.J. O’Brien [Bucks] — $874,636
  42. Paul Zipser [Bulls] — $750,000
  43. Georges Niang [Pacers] — $650,000
  44. Beau Beech [Nets] — $543,471
  45. Danuel House [Wizards] —$543,471
  46. Jalen Jones [Celtics] — $543,471
  47. Maurice Ndour [Knicks] —$543,471
  48. E.J. Singler [Raptors] —$543,471
  49. James Webb [Sixers] —$543,471
  50. Okaro White [Heat] —$543,471
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Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag

October 15th, 2016 at 2:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

We at Hoops Rumors love interacting with our readers. This is why we provide an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted each Sunday.

Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.

If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 10/9/16-10/15/16

October 15th, 2016 at 10:30am CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.

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Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors

October 14th, 2016 at 9:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find any player by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); 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, Kevin Durant’s page is hoopsrumors.com/kevin-durant.

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/j-r-smith/feed. Entering that URL into the reader of your choice should enable you to get updates whenever we write about J.R. Smith. It works for teams, too. If you’re a Cavs fan, you can enter hoopsrumors.com/cleveland-cavaliers/feed into your reader and stay on top of all the latest from Cleveland.

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. You can keep tabs on news related to the draft right here. Items about the salary cap 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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Offseason In Review: Indiana Pacers

October 14th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Indiana Pacers.

Free agent signings:

Camp invitees:

Trades:

Draft picks:

  • 2-50: Georges Niang. Signed for three years, $2.606MM. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Indiana Pacers right here.

NBA: Indiana Pacers-Media DayFew teams in the Eastern Conference did more to to alter their makeup than the Pacers this past offseason. Not only did the franchise change head coaches, it also shuffled nearly half of its roster from the 2015/16 campaign. Indiana should be more competitive this season, but the team still has a number of roster needs and it remains to be seen just how well and how quickly all the new faces can gel on the court.

Team president Larry Bird dismissed former head coach Frank Vogel after the team lost its first round playoff series against the Raptors. The Pacers went 250-181 in parts of six seasons under Vogel, who inherited the head coaching job when the Pacers parted ways with Jim O’Brien in January of 2011. That record doesn’t include his postseason mark of 31-30, with Indiana making back-to-back conference finals under Vogel in 2013 and 2014. Bird’s reasoning for the move was that he wanted more scoring and that his expectations for the Pacers this past season were higher than most. It appeared that a philosophical difference had emerged in 2015/16 when Bird spoke of his desire for more of an up-tempo attack versus Vogel’s fondness for a traditional lineup with two big men.

If Bird thought it was time to make a change and that Vogel wasn’t the coach to take the team to the next level, then not signing him to a new contract makes sense. What doesn’t necessarily make sense to me is replacing him with assistant coach Nate McMillan. I’m not knocking McMillan as a coach, his career regular season record of 478-452 is solid, though he hasn’t enjoyed much postseason success, owning a career playoff record of 14-20. But McMillan doesn’t fit the bill as the up-tempo offensive coach that Bird stated he desired.

McMillan’s squads when he was leading Seattle and Portland were solid offensively, but never averaged over 99 points per game. Plus, his teams didn’t necessarily kill it on the defense side either. In four out of the ten seasons he was head coach, his teams were ranked 25th or lower in the league defensively. Under Vogel, Indiana never finished worse than ninth in defensive efficiency, while topping the NBA twice. While promoting McMillan fosters some sense of continuity, it appears to be change merely for the sake of change, instead of taking the team in a new, and potentially more exciting, direction.

The team’s biggest roster move, and perhaps the riskiest, was the three-way trade that sent George Hill to Utah in exchange for Jeff Teague. Hill is a solid defender and rebounder as well as an excellent three-point shooter, which is an area the team was already weak in. Teague is two-years younger than Hill and a better passer and shot-creator, but he’s not a tremendous upgrade at the point guard spot. He’d be a more effective addition if the Pacers had better three-point shooters who could benefit from Teague’s skillset. The pair’s stat lines from last season were similar, with Hill averaging 12.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 3.5APG to go along with a shooting line of .441/.408/.760 versus Teague’s numbers of 15.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG and 5.9APG with a slash line of .439/.400/.837. Teague said back in June that he played the 2015/16 season with a torn patellar tendon in his knee, so an increase in his numbers this year may be in order. He’s also in the final year of his deal, so he may also boost his performance playing for his next payday.

Bird swung another trade on draft night, landing Thaddeus Young from the Nets in exchange for the No. 20 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, which Brooklyn used to select Caris LeVert. While I have mixed feelings about the Teague/Hill swap, I think this deal was a wise one for Indiana. With the team hoping to contend immediately, there wasn’t a player who was going to be available at its draft slot who who be able to contribute anything significant this season. Young enjoyed a solid campaign for Brooklyn last year, averaging 15.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 1.9 APG while connecting on 51.4% of his shots overall. However, Young’s 23.3% shooting from beyond the arc was well below his career average of 31.9%. With the Pacers desperately in need of floor-spacers who can connect from deep, the 28-year-old isn’t the answer in that area. He’s under contract for two more seasons after this one, including a player option for 2018/19, so Bird and company better hope Young can provide a spark in other ways. Regardless, I still believe it was a solid move overall.

Indiana also did some significant offseason shuffling at the center position. Gone is Ian Mahinmi and Jordan Hill, with Bird replacing them with Al Jefferson and Kevin Seraphin. It’s hard to knock adding a veteran of Jefferson’s caliber to the bench, but both he and Seraphin are injury risks. Jefferson only managed 47 games for the Hornets a season ago and 65 the previous campaign, while Seraphin notched just 48 appearances for the Knicks in 2015/16, plus, has managed to stay healthy for just two out of his six seasons in the league. Coupled with intended starter Myles Turner, who missed 22 games during his rookie campaign, things could get ugly in the middle real quick for the Pacers this season, barring each player bucking the odds and their injury track records. Plus, I firmly believe that Mahinmi’s defense and spark will be sorely missed in Indiana this season.

If Turner can remain healthy, the franchise has a budding star and solid building block for the future. I’m a big fan of the 20-year-old’s game, which fits in perfectly with the direction the league is headed. The rookie really came on strong las the 2015/16 season progressed, averaging 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in just 22.8 minutes per outing. I expect Turner to improve upon his 21.4% shooting from three-point range this season, which is something the team desperately needs from him. The addition of Jefferson will also be huge for Turner’s development, and hopefully the veteran’s work ethic and professionalism will rub off on the younger player.

Of course, the Pacers’ chances this season rest firmly on the shoulders of swingman Paul George, who is eligible to sign a contract extension prior to this month’s deadline. Bird has gone on record stating that he is ready to give George a a max extension if the player is interested. “I know he don’t want to talk about it all year and I don’t either,” Bird said in September. “We want Paul here and we know what it’s going to cost and what it’s going to take. If Paul wants to get a deal done, we will. It’s a max deal. There’s no others, so there’s no use talking about it. If he wants it, he’s got it.”

While an extension on its own might not appeal to George given the free agent money available thanks to the rise in the salary cap, the Pacers should have the cap room necessary to renegotiate his deal in addition to extending it. That means Indiana could increase George’s salaries to the maximum for the next three years, and then tack another max-salary year on for the 2019/20 league year. On the other hand, signing an extension this year would prevent George from potentially exploring the free agent market in 2018, when he can opt out of his current contract. It would also lock him into a max salary for players with six years of NBA experience or less — if he waits one more year, he would get the max for players with seven to nine years of experience, which is worth 30% of the salary cap instead of 25%. Teague is also eligible to sign an extension, but my guess is that the team will wait to see how he gels in Indiana before it commits major dollars to him.

The Pacers will certainly have a different look when they take the court this season, though, I’m not sold that they will be a significantly better squad than a season ago. My gut tells me that the team will struggle out of the gate as the new players attempt to get comfortable with one another on the court. Injuries could also play a huge factor, especially among the big men, which could sink the franchise’s campaign if it is hit hard in that area. Bird needs to be active on the trade market prior to February’s deadline, as the team still needs shooters and depth at point guard and center. I still believe the Pacers have enough talent to make the playoffs as currently constituted, but not enough to make much noise when they get there.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Offseason In Review: Detroit Pistons

October 13th, 2016 at 9:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Detroit Pistons.

Free agent signings:

Camp invitees:

Trades:

Draft picks:

  • 1-18: Henry Ellenson. Signed to rookie contract.
  • 2-49: Michael Gbinije. Signed for three years, $2.606MM. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Detroit Pistons right here.

NBA: Detroit Pistons-Media Day

When Stan Van Gundy evaluated the Pistons organization after becoming their head coach and president of basketball operations, one of his first orders of business was to beef up the scouting staff. That wasn’t limited to college and international scouting. He wanted scouts closely monitoring every NBA game and identifying players who could fill a need on his club.

That decision has led to a nearly complete overhaul of the roster, with only two players — center Andre Drummond and starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — surviving the purge. They added two starters during the last two trade deadlines, acquiring point guard Reggie Jackson from the Thunder and combo forward Tobias Harris from the Magic.

Armed with the evaluations from their scouts, Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower drew up a shopping list this offseason that included three major items. They wanted a bigger power forward, a backup point guard and a third center who could eventually play a larger role.

Ideally, they would have checked off boxes 1 and 3 with the same player. They were one of a handful of clubs who landed a meeting with coveted free agent Al Horford. The Pistons felt Horford’s defensive versatility and shooting range would complement Drummond’s interior prowess. Alas, Horford opted to go to a club he felt was closer to championship contender and signed with the Celtics.

In the meantime, the Pistons quickly landed one of the point men they coveted in Ish Smith. He was one of three point guards, along with former Piston D.J. Augustin and Ramon Sessions, on the wish list. Detroit’s offense stalled the second half of last season when aging Steve Blake entered the game for Jackson. The Pistons included Brandon Jennings in the Harris deal, leaving them thin at point guard.

According to the Pistons’ analytics, Smith is one of the top pick-and-roll point guards in the league. Detroit relies heavily on pick-and-rolls, making him an ideal backup to Jackson. Smith will have an even bigger role at the start of the season, replacing Jackson in the lineup while Jackson recovers from knee tendinitis and a thumb injury.

“What you want with all of your backups, one of the things you ask is can those guys start,” Van Gundy said. “You can’t look at somebody and say he’s OK as a 16-, 18-minute a game guy because it can quickly become more than that. The fact he has that experience and did well (with the Sixers last season), yeah, that’s a big thing.”

The Pistons surprised some people by handing journeymen Jon Leuer a rich four-year, $41MM deal but they view him as a rotation player who can back up Harris and also play center in smaller lineups. Leuer not only provides more size that last year’s backup, Anthony Tolliver, he’s also more brings more offensive versatility than Tolliver, who was mainly a 3-point shooter.

When Horford struck the Pistons off his list, the deal with Leuer was finalized.

“Once Al made his decision, it was, ‘OK, let’s figure out how we can get this done,’ ” Leuer said. “We actually came to an agreement before he even landed, so it was more of a celebratory lunch than a meeting.”

Detroit went big, really big, to secure the final item on their shopping list. They structured a three-year offer sheet to restricted free agent Boban Marjanovic that they knew the Spurs would almost certainly not match. The 7’3” Marjanovic doesn’t have the agility defensively to play heavy minutes but can be a matchup nightmare for opponents because of his low-post skills. He also provides insurance in case second-string center Aron Baynes opts out of his contract after this season.

Another under-the-radar signing that could pay some dividends was handing Ray McCallum a non-guaranteed contract. McCallum could back up Smith the first month of the season if he wins a preseason battle with fellow point man Lorenzo Brown for a roster spot.

Prior to all those moves, the Pistons were pleased how the draft unfolded. Outside the lottery for a change, the Pistons weren’t expecting to get an immediate contributor at pick No. 18. They did get a pleasant surprise when power forward Henry Ellenson fell into their lap.

Van Gundy was so sure that Ellenson wouldn’t be available at their pick that he barely watched any film on the Marquette University product. The Big East Rookie of the Year will spend this season developing but could push for a rotation spot as early as next season.

The only other order of business this preseason is whether to sign Caldwell-Pope to a rookie-scale extension. There has been no signs in camp thus far that they’re close to an agreement.

If the Pistons had somehow convinced Horford to come their way, they could have been lumped among the next tier of Eastern Conference teams behind the Cavaliers. With the help of those scouts, the Pistons did add much-needed depth by signing some unheralded free agents. Whether that’s enough to get them past the first round of the playoffs this season remains a big question mark.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of Raj Mehta (USA Today Sports Images).

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Community Shootaround: 2016/17 NBA MVP

October 13th, 2016 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Stephen Curry has won each of the last two NBA Most Valuable Player awards, but his path to a third straight trophy is complicated by the arrival of another former MVP, Kevin Durant. With Durant now a Warrior, both he and Curry could see their scoring averages take a slight hit, and without a clear-cut top star leading the way in Golden State, the duo may split votes during award season.

Both players, of course, are still strong MVP candidates. Offshore betting site Bovada.lv views Curry as a top-three contender for the award, and puts Durant in the next tier behind him. Still, as the site’s odds show, there’s some uncertainty surrounding the MVP race heading into the 2016/17 season.

Russell Westbrook is Bovada’s favorite for the award, and the idea that the point guard will put up massive numbers without Durant has been a popular narrative throughout the offseason. Still, the Thunder are widely expected to take a step back in the standings. Would Westbrook’s candidacy lose steam if Oklahoma City is battling to even make the playoffs in the West?

Along with Curry, LeBron James rounds out Bovada’s top three, but there’s a belief that LeBron will play fewer minutes than ever this season after carrying the team to a title in the spring. James has racked up a ton of miles over the course of his NBA career, and with the Cavaliers clearly atop the pecking order in the East, the team may not need him to play every game, or even to play 30 minutes per game, to snag a top seed.

Bovada’s other top contenders? Anthony Davis, who is already battling an ankle issue; Kawhi Leonard, who has never ranked among the NBA’s top 10 scorers; and James Harden, whose Rockets are coming off a disappointing season. Further down the list, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Carmelo Anthony, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Chris Paul are among the other top candidates, per Bovada.

What do you think? Who will be the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2016/17? Will it be a repeat winner like Curry, Durant, or LeBron, or will a new name be added to the league’s list of MVPs? Is there a long-shot candidate you think has a realistic chance to take home the hardware? Take to the comments section below to weigh in!

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Offseason In Review: Chicago Bulls

October 12th, 2016 at 8:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.

Free agent signings:

  • Dwyane Wade: Two years, $47MM. Second year player option.
  • Rajon Rondo: Two years, $27.397MM. Second year partially guaranteed.
  • Isaiah Canaan: Two years, minimum salary. Second year partially guaranteed.

Camp invitees:

Trades:

Draft picks:

  • 1-14: Denzel Valentine. Signed to rookie contract.
  • 2-48: Paul Zipser. Signed for four years, $3.832MM. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth year team option.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Chicago Bulls right here.

"OctThe Bulls shook up the league several times this summer. Now we’ll see if they can do it once the season begins.

The most shocking move, of course, was the one that brought Dwyane Wade home to Chicago. A legend in Miami and an indispensable part of that city’s sports foundation, Wade found his relationship with the Heat front office souring for financial reasons. For years, Wade played for less than his market value to give the team enough cap room to add LeBron James and Chris Bosh. But he grew increasingly frustrated with a franchise that was willing to give a maximum contract to Hassan Whiteside, but not to him.

So Wade began shopping his services around the league. The move was widely dismissed as a negotiating ploy — until July 6th, when the 13-year veteran announced that he was taking his talents to Chicago. Wade, whose cousin was killed in August by stray gunfire in the city, said basketball was only part of his motivation for wanting to return to his childhood home.

“Now I’m back in the city of Chicago — I’m back for a reason,” he said. “I played 13 years in Miami. Now I’m back in the city, let me see what I can do as one person to help lend my voice and help shed light on the tragedy that’s going on and find a solution to start the process of making change.”

Before Wade was in their plans, the Bulls made headlines with a blockbuster deal in June, sending former MVP Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday to the Knicks in a trade that brought back Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon. Many factors led to the decision to part with Rose, but among them were an injury-plagued past, his impending free agency next summer and an uncomfortable fit with backcourt partner Jimmy Butler.

The Bulls filled the void at point guard by signing free agent Rajon Rondo, last season’s league leader in assists, to a two-year contract worth $28MM. After agreeing to the deal, Rondo called the Bulls a “great organization with pieces around me that I’m excited about.”

Nearly as significant were the moves that the Bulls didn’t make. They held onto Butler despite aggressive attempts by the Timberwolves and Celtics to swing a deal on draft night. The franchise also kept coach Fred Hoiberg, who many thought was on the hot seat after missing the playoffs and being the target of a much-discussed locker room rant by Butler.

But Hoiberg can’t feel too safe as he tries to reconstruct a team that was hit hard by free agent losses. Starting center Joakim Noah, whose season was cut short by a separated shoulder in January, accepted a four-year, $72MM offer to join Rose in New York. Fellow big man Pau Gasol headed to San Antonio for $30MM over two seasons.

Lopez will take over at center, with Nikola Mirotic as the likely starter at power forward because of his 3-point range. Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio will all be in the mix for playing time. Gibson represents the Bulls’ next major roster decision, as he is eligible to receive a veteran’s extension. He averaged 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 73 games last season, but enters the final year of his contract making just $8.95MM. He could be looking at a substantial raise in free agency if the Bulls don’t re-sign him. Fourth-year swingman Tony Snell, who averaged 5.3 points in 64 games a year ago, is eligible for a rookie-scale extension through the end of October.

Chicago passed up a chance to move up in the draft in a potential Butler deal and settled for its own 14th pick, which it used on Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine. The 6’6″ shooting guard will help make up for the loss of Mike Dunleavy Jr., who was traded to Cleveland to help clear cap space for the Wade signing. With their second-round selection, the Bulls took 6’8″ German swingman Paul Zipser, who seems like a good bet to make the team after getting two guaranteed seasons on his rookie contract.

With just seven players in camp who were on the roster when last season ended, continuity will be a major issue for Chicago. Another will be outside shooting, which neither Butler, Wade or Rondo particularly excels at. Hoiberg promised that floor spacing would be an important part of his coaching philosophy when he accepted the job in June of 2015, but he didn’t have the shooters to make that work last season and this year’s group might be even worse.

It’s up to Chicago’s new version of a Big Three to prove that their unique skills can be effective against defenses that don’t have to worry much about guarding the 3-point line. If they can, it will be a happy homecoming for Wade and a return to the playoffs for the Bulls. If not, it could mean another shakeup in midseason and an early exit for Hoiberg.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Only Seven TPEs Currently Available Around NBA

October 12th, 2016 at 4:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s huge salary cap spike this summer impacted the free agent market most significantly and most obviously, with second- and third-tier free agents landing larger contracts than they ever otherwise would have. But the cap increase has also had some under-the-radar side effects, including having a significant impact on our list of traded player exceptions.

Traded player exceptions allow over-the-cap teams to acquire a player whose salary is equal than or less to the TPE amount, without sending out any salaries of their own in the deal. However, in order to create a trade exception in the first place, a team must be over the cap. All but three of the league’s 30 teams went under the cap this summer, meaning they renounced their previous TPEs and were unable to create new ones until they went back over the cap.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Traded Player Exception]

Now that the majority of the NBA teams have used up their cap room, we should see things normalize — there’s a good chance many clubs will create new TPEs with in-season deals, and perhaps they’ll be able to make use of those exceptions before or during next year’s draft, before contracts come off their books in July. For now though, there are only seven TPEs available around the NBA, and only one of those seven has a real chance to make an impact before the 2017 trade deadline.

As our list of outstanding TPEs shows, the Hornets, Clippers, and Bucks each hold a trade exception, but they range in value from $1.2MM to $1.75MM — it’s possible those teams will find a way to use their exceptions, but many of the players whose salaries would fit within those constraints are on minimum salaries, and the minimum salary exception allows over-the-cap teams to acquire those players in trades anyway.

The Cavaliers are the only other team with any TPEs on their books, and Cleveland holds four of them. Three of those exceptions will likely go unused — they’re worth $845K, $947K, and $1.33MM. However, the fourth TPE, created in last year’s Anderson Varejao deadline swap with the Blazers, could come in handy for the Cavs this season. It’s worth $9.64MM.

Of course, given the rising NBA salary cap, more players than ever are earning more than $9.64MM, and wouldn’t fit into Cleveland’s trade exception. By our count, there are 105 NBA players – not including the Cavs’ own players – whose 2016/17 cap hit is too pricey for the Cavs to acquire them using that TPE. Still, while that number may sound high, it works out to just three or four players per squad, which leaves a long shopping list of potential targets for the Cavs, including everyone who is still on a rookie contract.

Will the Cavs end up using that Varejao TPE before it expires on February 18? That remains to be seen, and there are reasons why the team may let it go unused — bringing on additional salary is pricier than it appears on the surface for the Cavs, who will pay a premium as their cap number increases due to the luxury tax. But having that exception gives Cleveland options, and perhaps gives the team a leg up on its competition, since no other over-the-cap club has that sort of potential flexibility in trades.

What do you think? Will the Cavs make use of that trade exception? Which players whose salaries would fit into that TPE do you think Cleveland could target prior to 2017’s trade deadline?

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