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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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Offseason In Review: Milwaukee Bucks

October 11th, 2016 at 6:17pm 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 Milwaukee Bucks.

Free agent signings:

Camp invitees:

Extensions:

Trades:

Draft picks:

  • 1-10: Thon Maker. Signed to rookie contract.
  • 2-36: Malcolm Brogdon. Signed for three years, $2.99MM. Third year non-guaranteed.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Milwaukee Bucks right here.

Olympics: Basketball-Men's Team-Bronze medal match -AUS vs ESPAfter taking two huge steps forward in 2014/15, going from 15 wins to 41 and a surprising playoff berth, the Bucks took a step back last season, dropping to 33 wins and the draft lottery. After an offseason that saw the team add a number of veterans to its youthful core, Milwaukee hopes to return to the playoffs and continue to progress as a franchise.

It’s certainly debatable whether or not the team did enough to ensure that result, with the Bucks’ largest external signing being former Cavs backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova, who received a four-year, $38.43MM pact via a sign-and-trade deal with Cleveland. I’m not knocking Dellavedova, whose grit and hustle are a valuable commodity. But I’m not sold that he’s a significant upgrade over Jerryd Bayless, who signed with the Sixers as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The duo’s stat lines were similar in 2015/16, with Bayless posting averages of 10.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG and 3.1 APG to accompany a shooting line of .423/.437/.778 and Dellavedova putting up 7.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 4.4 APG to go along with a slash line of .405/.410/.864. The Australian is more of a spark provider than Bayless, but his addition doesn’t quite move the needle enough for Milwaukee for him to be considered a true game-changer this season.

The offseason signing that may help the Bucks the most was the addition of forward Mirza Teletovic, whose outside shooting will be a major benefit to the team, given its weakness from beyond the arc last season. While I think that a three-year deal worth $10.5MM per season is a huge risk given Teletovic’s injury history and age, he provides coach Jason Kidd with a true stretch-four to deploy on a nightly basis. The 31-year-old has averaged just 61 contests per campaign since arriving in the NBA, though he did manage 79 appearances a season ago, averaging 12.2 PPG and draining 39.3% of this three-pointers.

Milwaukee also added veterans Jason Terry ans Steve Novak on one-year, minimum salary deals to provide leadership and bench production. At this point in his career, the 39-year-old Terry is more valuable as a leader and locker room presence than on the court. Though, the Jet still likely has a few big shots left in him before calling it a career. As for Novak, he’s still one of the deadliest three-point shooters in the game (43.1% for his career), but his extremely limited skillset makes him difficult to keep on the court for significant stretches.

The Bucks made a significant financial commitment to restricted free agent Miles Plumlee, re-signing him to a four-year, $50MM pact. This move was a bit puzzling to me given Plumlee’s extremely modest career numbers of 5.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 0.9 BPG. With the addition of Teletovic and Thon Maker (No. 10 overall pick), plus the continued presence of Greg Monroe (more on him in a bit) and John Henson, I don’t quite get GM John Hammond‘s reasoning at re-signing Plumlee. He’s more of a traditional big man in a league that is moving further away from that model with each passing season. All told, the Bucks committed a total of $119.53MM in guaranteed salary to Teletovic, Dellavedova and Plumlee — none of whom are considered franchise players. This is an offseason that may come back to haunt the franchise in the coming seasons.

In addition to gambling in free agency, the Bucks did so on draft night as well by selecting Maker in the top-10. The team hopes that Maker will turn out to be a steal at that spot given his potential and upside, but the rail-thin big man is a major project and there were questions leading up to the draft as to whether or not he misrepresented his age. If Maker is truly 19, and not 21-23 years old as some scouts and executives speculated, he may end up being worth the risk. But with the team’s needs in the backcourt and on the wing, there were a number of prospects available at that slot who I believe could have helped the Bucks far more than Maker will in the near future.

As for Monroe, who has a player option for 2017/18 worth $17,884,176, the Bucks are still reportedly trying to find a taker for the big man’s services. Contrary to popular opinion, Monroe didn’t have a bad 2015/16 season, his first in Milwaukee, averaging 15.3 PPG and 8.8 RPG and shooting 52.2% from the field overall. But he was a bad fit for the Bucks’ roster, with his defense not being up to par and his lack of athleticism not meshing well with the style of play Kidd desires. The best thing for all parties involved would be for the team to find a taker for Monroe sooner, rather than later. The 26-year-old has been mentioned in trade rumors connected with the Hornets and Kings recently, as well as with the Pelicans earlier in the offseason.

Another player who appears to be a poor fit and is also reportedly on the trading block is point guard Michael Carter-Williams. Despite a recent endorsement from Kidd, the former Rookie of the Year was reportedly offered to the Kings in exchange for Ben McLemore, as Milwaukee struggles to fill the major void left by the devastating injury to Khris Middleton, who is expected to miss at least six months of action. Hammond’s September trade with the Rockets to land Michael Beasley isn’t likely the answer to mitigate the loss of Middleton, so Monroe and MCW remain the team’s two likeliest assets to be moved in any future swaps to address its hole at the wing.

While I’ve been critical of a number of the Bucks’ offseason moves, there is no way I can find any fault with the team inking superstar-in-waiting, Giannis Antetokounmpo to a four year, $100MM rookie scale extension. The Greek Freak is indeed the future of the franchise and locking him up through 2020/2021 at less than the projected maximum is a coup on Hammond’s part. The only worry I have regarding Antetokounpo is that his tremendous positional versatility will stunt his development. If Milwaukee continually shifts him around, it will make it difficult to focus and perfect his skills as he continually has to adjust to new challenges and position requirements. But it is a good problem to have, as the team will be able to structure its roster around him without worrying if he’ll still be a member of the team for the next four plus seasons.

Despite making some questionable expenditures this offseason, the Bucks have a number of solid building blocks along with a bona fide star in Antetokounmpo as they head into the future. The franchise would be best served to swing deals for MCW and Monroe in order to remove the distraction that near-constant trade rumors regarding the duo will bring. Plus, it would hopefully provide better balance to the roster. The injury to Middleton likely squashed any chance the Bucks had to make some noise in the Eastern Conference this season, which is unfortunate for all involved. If a number of the team’s younger players can step-up, playing .500 ball is a possibility in 2016/17.

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

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How 2016’s NBA Restricted Free Agents Fared

October 11th, 2016 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

As we noted earlier today when we passed along an item about Boban Marjanovic‘s departure from the Spurs this summer, the new Pistons big man was the only restricted free agent to technically sign an offer sheet with another club this offseason and not have that offer matched by his previous team. In past years, teams with talented restricted free agents have often faced salary cap restrictions that made it difficult – or impossible – to retain that player, but due to this summer’s cap spike, those situations became much rarer.

Still, Marjanovic wasn’t the only restricted free agent to leave his previous franchise. In multiple cases, a team worked out a sign-and-trade deal to send an RFA to another club. Some teams also eventually decided they didn’t want to bring back an RFA, and withdrew their qualifying offers to those players.

Below, we break down 2016’s restricted free agent movement, with the help of our free agent tracker. Here’s how and where this year’s RFA’s signed:

Signed a new contract with their previous team:

Signed an offer sheet from rival team, which was matched by previous team:

  • Allen Crabbe (Trail Blazers): Four years, $74.833MM (offer sheet from Nets).
  • Tyler Johnson (Heat): Four years, $50MM (offer sheet from Nets).

Joined new team via offer sheet:

Joined new team via sign-and-trade:

Had qualifying offer withdrawn, then re-signed with previous team as UFA:

Had qualifying offer withdrawn, then signed with new team as UFA:

  • Harrison Barnes (Mavericks): Four years, max salary (QO withdrawn by Warriors).
  • Festus Ezeli (Trail Blazers): Two years, $15.133MM (QO withdrawn by Warriors).
  • Langston Galloway (Pelicans): Two years, $10.634MM (QO withdrawn by Knicks).
  • Seth Curry (Mavericks): Two years, $5.926MM (QO withdrawn by Kings).
  • Dewayne Dedmon (Spurs): Two years, $5.926MM (QO withdrawn by Magic).
  • Dion Waiters (Heat): Two years, $5.926MM (QO withdrawn by Thunder).
  • Jared Sullinger (Raptors): One year, $5.628MM (QO withdrawn by Celtics).
  • Markel Brown (Cavaliers): One year, non-guaranteed minimum salary (QO withdrawn by Nets).

Still unsigned (qualifying offer expired):

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Offseason In Review: Portland Trail Blazers

October 10th, 2016 at 6:04pm 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 Portland Trail Blazers.

Free agent signings:

Camp invitees:

Extensions:

  • C.J. McCollum: Four years, $106.633MM. Rookie scale extension. Goes into effect in 2017/18.

Trades:

  • Acquired the draft rights to Jake Layman (No. 47 pick) from the Magic in exchange for the Blazers’ own 2019 second-round pick and cash ($1.2MM).
  • Acquired Shabazz Napier from the Magic in exchange for cash ($75K).

Draft picks:

  • 2-47: Jake Layman. Signed for three years, $2.556MM. Third year non-guaranteed.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Portland Trail Blazers right here.

"<strongThe Trail Blazers entered the summer with plans to throw big money at free agents. And that’s what they did, even though it didn’t get them any of their top choices.

Portland offered a max contract to Chandler Parsons and pursued both Hassan Whiteside and Pau Gasol before they all signed elsewhere. Spurned by their first targets, the Blazers used their ample cap space to give Evan Turner $70MM over four years and Festus Ezeli more than $15MM for two years. They also matched Brooklyn’s shocking four-year, $74.833MM offer to Allen Crabbe and handed out nice raises to Meyers Leonard and Maurice Harkless.

All those players should be part of this season’s rotation for Portland, which was one of the surprise teams of 2015/16. After losing 80% of their starting roster from the previous year, the Blazers scratched out 44 regular season wins, finished fifth in the West and surprised the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.

Portland’s most significant move of the summer may have been the four-year rookie scale extension the team gave to C.J. McCollum, who was the NBA’s Most Improved Player last season. After Wesley Matthews left for Dallas, McCollum took full advantage of the chance to become a starter in his third NBA season, raising his scoring average from 6.8 to 20.8 points per game.

McCollum teams with Damian Lillard to form a young, dynamic backcourt that is the foundation of Portland’s continued success. The addition of Turner, who averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 assists during his two years in Boston, gives the Blazers another guard who can handle the ball, which allows Lillard more leeway to be used as a spot-up shooter.

On the wing, Crabbe will face pressure to justify his gigantic new contract. He emerged as a key reserve for the Blazers in his third NBA season, averaging 10.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 81 games, but he must guard against letting the high salary influence the way he plays. Crabbe and Turner will compete for minutes with Maurice Harkless, who became a starter late last season and into the playoffs. The Blazers thought enough of Harkless’ contributions to re-sign him for $40MM over four years.

The battle for playing time is even more muddled up front as Ezeli was brought in to join a crowded group that includes Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu and Mason Plumlee, along with Leonard, who re-signed for four years at $41MM. However, Ezeli may not be available for a while because of soreness in his left knee. He received an injection of bone marrow aspirate concentrate on August 23rd and was projected to be out of action for six weeks. But that time frame has passed and he still hasn’t been able to take the court. The Blazers won’t take a major financial hit if he’s out for a long time because of his low signing price and because they own a team option on the second season of his deal, but the team could use his skills as a rim protector.

For now, that job falls solely to Plumlee, who averaged a block per game last season. The Blazers are facing a major decision on the fourth-year center, who is eligible for a rookie contract extension through the end of the month. Plumlee started all 82 games last year and averaged 9.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per night in his first season in Portland after being acquired in a trade with Brooklyn.

The Blazers would like to see more offensive production out of Plumlee, who says he spent all summer working on his shot. It may give him the confidence to shoot more than the 6.3 times per game he averaged last season. “He was important to us last year,” said head coach Terry Stotts. “His ability to be a playmaker will not be diminished. You can’t have too many playmakers on the court. The more guys that can dribble, pass and shoot, it just makes you a better team offensively.”

It seems a good bet that the Portland front office will work out an extension with Plumlee, whether it happens this month or next summer.

The Blazers were relatively quiet on draft night, with their first-rounder going to Denver as part of the 2015 Arron Afflalo trade. Portland swung a deal with the Magic, acquiring No. 47 pick Jake Layman in exchange for a 2019 second-round pick and cash. The former Maryland small forward may see a lot of time in the D-League this season. In addition, point guard Shabazz Napier was acquired from Orlando in July in exchange for cash considerations.

Portland enters 2016/17 with a lot more roster certainty than it had a year ago. All the elements that made the Blazers successful last season are still in place, and the addition of Turner will give Stotts much more flexibility in devising lineup combinations. Portland may have missed out on its primary targets this offseason, but it still has enough talent in place to be a major player in the West for years to come.

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

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Eastern Conference Salary Rankings: Shooting Guards

October 10th, 2016 at 2:57pm 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. Next up — the shooting guards.

All told, the teams in the east have committed a total of $315,686,809 in cap hits this season to the men who man the two spot. The average conference salary for shooting guards this season is currently $4,324,477, with DeMar DeRozan topping the list with $26,540,100 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 shooting guard this season, as some will likely see some time at point guard and others at small forward. 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 two guard for his team this season listed below, that’s why.

The Eastern Conference’s shooting guards are listed below, in descending order of salary:

  1. DeMar DeRozan [Raptors] —$26,540,100
  2. Dwyane Wade [Bulls] — $23,200,000
  3. Bradley Beal [Wizards] —$22,116,750
  4. Nicolas Batum [Hornets] — $20,869,566
  5. Jimmy Butler [Bulls] — $17,552,209
  6. Evan Fournier [Magic] —$17,000,000
  7. Kent Bazemore [Hawks] — $15,730,338
  8. Khris Middleton [Bucks] —$15,200,000
  9. Courtney Lee [Knicks] —$11,242,000
  10. Monta Ellis [Pacers] — $10,763,500
  11. Iman Shumpert [Cavs] —$9,662,922
  12. Gerald Henderson [Sixers] —$9,000,000
  13. Avery Bradley [Celtics] —$8,269,663
  14. Jodie Meeks [Magic] —$6,540,000
  15. Jeremy Lamb [Hornets] — $6,511,628
  16. Marco Belinelli [Hornets] — $6,333,333
  17. Wayne Ellington [Heat] —$6,000,000
  18. Tyler Johnson [Heat] —$5,628,000
  19. Kyle Korver [Hawks] — $5,239,437
  20. Mario Hezonja [Magic] —$3,909,840
  21. Thabo Sefolosha [Hawks] — $3,850,000
  22. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope [Pistons] — $3,678,319
  23. Bojan Bogdanovic [Nets] — $3,573,020
  24. Nik Stauskas [Sixers] —$2,993,040
  25. Dion Waiters [Heat] —$2,898,000
  26. Tomas Satoransky [Wizards] —$2,870,813
  27. Randy Foye [Nets] — $2,500,000
  28. Tim Hardaway Jr.  [Hawks] — $2,281,605
  29. Denzel Valentine [Bulls] — $2,092,200
  30. James Young [Celtics] —$1,825,200
  31. Rashad Vaughn [Bucks] —$1,811,040
  32. Caris LeVert [Nets] — $1,562,280
  33. Dahntay Jones [Cavs] — $1,551,659
  34. Jason Terry [Bucks] — $1,551,659
  35. DeAndre’ Bembry [Hawks] — $1,499,760
  36. Sasha Vujacic [Knicks] —$1,410,598
  37. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot [Sixers] —$1,326,960
  38. C.J. Wilcox [Magic] —$1,209,600
  39. R.J. Hunter [Celtics] —$1,200,240
  40. Isaiah Whitehead [Nets] — $1,074,145
  41. Glenn Robinson III [Pacers] — $1,050,500
  42. Justin Holiday [Knicks] —$1,015,696
  43. DeAndre Liggins [Cavs] —$1,015,696
  44. Hollis Thompson [Sixers] —$1,015,696
  45. Markel Brown [Cavs] — $980,431
  46. Jarell Eddie [Wizards] —$980,431
  47. Joe Harris [Nets] — $980,431
  48. Orlando Johnson [Bucks] — $980,431
  49. Sean Kilpatrick [Nets] — $980,431
  50. Marcus Thornton [Wizards] —$980,431
  51. Malcolm Brogdon [Bucks] —$925,000
  52. Darrun Hilliard [Pistons] — $874,636
  53. John Holland [Cavs] —$874,636
  54. Nick Johnson [Magic] — $874,636
  55. Jordan McRae [Cavs] —$874,636
  56. Kevin Murphy [Magic] — $874,636
  57. Norman Powell [Raptors] —$874,636
  58. Josh Richardson [Heat] —$874,636
  59. Aaron Harrison [Hornets] — $874,636
  60. Michael Gbinije [Pistons] — $650,000
  61. Beau Beech [Nets] — $543,471
  62. Ron Baker [Knicks] —$543,471
  63. Drew Crawford [Raptors] —$543,471
  64. Treveon Graham [Hornets] — $543,471
  65. Brady Heslip [Raptors] — $543,471
  66. Damion Lee [Celtics] — $543,471
  67. Sheldon McClellan [Wizards] —$543,471
  68. Rodney McGruder [Heat] —$543,471
  69. Brandon Paul [Sixers]—$543,471
  70. Rasheed Sulaimon [Hornets] — $543,471
  71. J.P. Tokoto [Knicks] —$543,471
  72. Thomas Walkup [Bulls] — $543,471
  73. Nick Zeisloft [Pacers] — $543,471
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Commenting Policy

October 10th, 2016 at 12:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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Offseason In Review: Minnesota Timberwolves

October 9th, 2016 at 7:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

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 Minnesota Timberwolves.

Free agent signings:

Camp invitees:

Trades:

  • None

Draft picks:

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Minnesota Timberwolves right here.

The Timberwolves haven’t made the playoffs since 2004, but newly appointed president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau isn’t looking to cut corners to get back to the postseason. This team is full of young, promising players and the coach/executive decided not to speed up the process by sacrificing valuable assets in order to acquire veterans whom can help him win now. Instead, he’s going to take some time to evaluate the team’s talent and let the core grow together. NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves at Miami Heat

The Wolves flirted with acquiring Jimmy Butler this summer. The Bulls were reportedly asking for the No. 5 pick and young prospects, such as Andrew Wiggins or Zach LaVine, for their All-Star forward. Butler would dramatically help the Wolves in the win column this season, but Wiggins has the potential to be a perennial All-Star and trading him at such a young age could lead to regrets down the road.

The predicament of whether or not to trade Wiggins is reminiscent of Golden State’s decision to hang onto Klay Thompson back in 2014. While many NBA fans, observers and experts believed the Warriors should move the shooting guard for Kevin Love, the organization was split on the decision and ended up keeping Thompson. Having won 140 regular-season games and a world championship in the two years since, the Warriors are thrilled they decided against going with the sure thing at the time. Thibodeau, who spent part of his year off shadowing Steve Kerr and the Warriors, surely took notice.

Upon arrival in Minnesota, Thibodeau’s mission was to familiarize himself with the roster, so that he wouldn’t make a major mistake as a first-time executive. “I liked the core of the team. I want to get to know them better,” Thibs said recently. “I’m going to focus on the players we have. That gives me a better idea of what our needs are. It’s like building a house. We’re still working on the foundation.” Instead of dealing for Butler, Thibodeau used the No. 5 overall pick to draft Kris Dunn, a player with four years of college experience under his belt.

Dunn impressed during summer league and was voted the player most likely to win the Rookie Of The Year award by his peers. That poll was conducted prior to Ben Simmons‘ foot injury, which threatens to keep the No. 1 pick sidelined for the year, so Dunn has an even clearer path to winning the award than originally believed. If he takes home the hardware, it would be Minnesota’s third consecutive Rookie of the Year recipient, which is a feat no other NBA franchise has achieved.

Dunn’s development will surely factor into Ricky Rubio‘s future with the team. Rubio is the starter here, but Thibs will likely play both point guards in the backcourt together for stretches. That may work initially, but as LaVine and Dunn progress, they’re going to demand a larger share of the minutes, leaving Rubio with less playing time than he’s accustomed to seeing.

Rubio is only 25 years old — he’s just entering his prime and he’ll undoubtedly want to remain a starter throughout it. Although Rubio’s defensive skills fit nicely in Thibodeau’s scheme, Dunn projects to be a better all-around player and will likely take that starting spot should he reach his potential. With three years remaining on Rubio’s deal, the Wolves had no real urgency to move the Spanish point guard this offseason. Still, it would be very surprising if he finishes out his contract in Minnesota.

The team said goodbye to Kevin Garnett this offseason after reaching a buyout agreement with the future Hall of Famer. Minnesota will certainly miss his presence in the locker room, but the club did add a few veterans during the 2016 free agent period. The additions of Jordan Hill and Cole Aldrich will give the T-Wolves depth in the paint. With Nikola Pekovic out for the season, both players should see playing time.

Brandon Rush could be the team’s most important free agent acquisition. Minnesota was 29th in the league in three-pointers made and attempted last season. Rush has made 40.3% of his long-distance shots during his career and will help the team improve on those figures. Having viable three-point shooters is key to floor spacing, and Rush’s presence on the court will help open up lanes for Wiggins and the rest of the team’s slashers.

The Wolves didn’t hit any home runs this offseason. When you have a transcendent talent like Karl-Anthony Towns, it’s natural to try to take massive steps toward winning games. Just look at what the Pelicans did upon landed Anthony Davis — New Orleans traded three of its first-round selections for veterans in the ensuing years, hoping those moves would translate to perennial playoff appearances as Davis developed. The franchise has earned a postseason spot just once — and hasn’t made it to the second round — since drafting The Brow.

Conversely, the Wolves remain patient. They’re not necessarily aiming for playoff appearances in the short term; they recognize that they’re destined for Finals appearances. Short-term thinking brings short-term results and with a core of Towns, Wiggins and Dunn, it’s clear Minnesota had the future in mind this offseason.

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

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Weekly Mailbag: 10/3/16-10/9/16

October 9th, 2016 at 6:37pm 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. Here are this week’s inquiries:

Depending on Russell Westbrook‘s player option decision, who out of Russ and DeMarcus Cousins will the Spurs likely target in 2018 ? My thinking is Russ as Tony Parker is on the home stretch of his career, but if Boogie is there you have to take a long look at his talents. — Chris Hawkins
Parker will be 36 in the summer of 2018 and will be a free agent himself. He may decide to retire then, or if he returns to the Spurs it will be in a reduced role. Backup Patty Mills is headed for free agency next summer, so unless rookie Dejounte Murray makes a huge leap, San Antonio will definitely be in the market for a point guard. And who better than Westbrook, who will have two more seasons to judge whether the Thunder can remain title contenders without Kevin Durant. Cousins seems like a shaky fit with a tough coach like Gregg Popovich, and it seems  likely that the Kings will trade him before he reaches free agency. If you’re going to bet on either of those players one day joining the Spurs, put your money on Westbrook.
Will any of the head coaches immediately be on the “hot seat” as the NBA season tips off? Could any of the 11 new hires be on a “short leash”? Can you foresee another mid-season axing, such as the David Blatt firing last season? — Matt Trapp
The first name that springs to mind is Fred Hoiberg in Chicago. Jimmy Butler called him out in a much-publicized incident last season, and Hoiberg didn’t help his case by missing the playoffs. Chicago’s management is expecting big things after signing Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, even though they aren’t the type of shooters that stretch defenses the way Hoiberg wants to. Another surprising name to watch might be Brett Brown. He just received a two-year extension last December, but that was before Bryan Colangelo joined the front office. Philadelphia expects to start winning after three dreadful seasons, and Brown won’t have Ben Simmons for at least the first month. If the Sixers get off to another horrible start, the front office may decide to make a change.
I’ve yet to hear a strong rationale for the Bucks signing Miles Plumlee to that huge deal. It was late in the FA season, they still had John Henson and Greg Monroe on the books and they seemed to be bidding against themselves. Can you shed any light on why they might have done it and at such a seemingly ludicrous price tag? — Daren Hill
Plumlee signed in early August for four years at $49.6MM. It’s a huge jump for a player who barely topped $2MM last season and who played for three teams in his first three years in the league. Plumlee averaged just 5.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 61 games last season, but the Bucks like what he brings defensively and didn’t want to lose any frontcourt depth, so they were willing to take on the extra money during a summer in which salaries jumped dramatically across the league. Henson is under contract through the 2019/20 season, but Monroe can opt out next summer and may be traded away before then, so Plumlee could be given an expanded role to match his new contract.
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Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag

October 8th, 2016 at 3:58pm 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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Offseason In Review: Oklahoma City Thunder

October 8th, 2016 at 2:41pm 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 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Free agent signings:

Draft-and-stash signings:

  • Alex Abrines: Three years, $17.175MM.
  • Semaj Christon: Three years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed.

Camp invitees:

Contract extensions:

  • Russell Westbrook: Three years, $85.741MM. Third year player option. Extension gave him a raise to the maximum salary for 2016/17, added an extra guaranteed season to his contract, and pushed his player option back by one year.

Trades:

Draft picks:

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Oklahoma City Thunder right here.

NBA: Playoffs-Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City ThunderIt is difficult to argue that any team in the NBA had a worse start to its offseason that the Thunder, who lost future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant to a conference rival via free agency. While KD’s defection to the Warriors is likely to sting for a number of years, things are not as bleak as they may seem for fans of the team. A number of moves by GM Sam Presti over the summer have made the team younger and set up the franchise for a solid future and interesting campaign ahead.

The biggest external move by the Thunder this offseason was made with the intent to make OKC’s roster more desirable for Durant to re-sign with the team. I’m referring to the draft day trade that shipped out power forward Serge Ibaka to Orlando in exchange for combo guard Victor Oladipo, big man Ersan Ilyasova and the draft rights to No. 11 overall pick Domantas Sabonis. Despite not having the desired effect of keeping Durant in the fold, the swap should pay strong dividends for the franchise.

In Oladipo, the Thunder may have finally found a long-term answer for who they will pair in the backcourt alongside superstar Russell Westbrook. Since the ill-advised trade of James Harden back in 2012, one which I believe cost the franchise an NBA title, the team has struggled to find a suitable partner for Westbrook. The 24-year-old Oladipo, whose three-and-D game appears to be a perfect fit with the Thunder’s roster, has the opportunity to blossom into a star with Oklahoma City. His solid perimeter defense will be a boon with the plethora of mad-bombers out West, and his outside shooting should take pressure off of Westbrook and the team’s up-and-coming big men.

I won’t pretend that Ibaka won’t be missed, but the team should be able to weather his loss in aggregate with the solid depth it has in the frontcourt. The addition of Ilyasova will help, though he’s not close to being the defender that Ibaka is/was. Ilyasova can provide an offensive spark from deep, with the 29-year-old owning a 37% mark from beyond the three-point arc for his career. He’s in the last year of his current deal, so his addition is a low-risk, high-reward prospect for the Thunder. The Turkish big man will likely open the season as the starter at the four spot for OKC. The other benefit of shipping out Ibaka, who is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, is that it will make the task of retaining Oladipo and center Steven Adams, both of whom are headed for restricted free agency next summer, a much easier task.

Landing Sabonis in the trade is icing on the cake for Presti. The rookie out of Gonzaga is one of the more polished players in this year’s draft class and while he may not make a noticeable impact on the court this season, Sabonis is a solid building block for the franchise moving forward. The 20-year-old averaged 17.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 61.1% from the field, including a mark of 35.7% from three-point range during the 2015/16 campaign. He is also an excellent passer, a strong rebounder and looks to be a prototypical stretch-four in the NBA. His defense will need work before he is to log significant minutes, but he’s a smart player who should figure it out sooner rather than later.

The Thunder obviously have an enormous hole to fill at small forward, and while Kyle Singler or Andre Roberson, are certainly not the long-term answers, draft-and-stash signee Alex Abrines, who inked a three-year, $17.175MM pact this summer, just might be. The 2013 second-rounder is off to a solid start to the preseason, connecting on four of his five three-point attempts. If he can continue to provide a scoring punch from deep, the Spaniard could become a vital player for the team, who badly need to step up their outside shooting from a season ago. Like any young player, he’ll be a liability on defense, which is another reason why the addition of Oladipo, not to mention the continued development of Adams, is vital to any potential success OKC hopes to have in 2016/17.

The most important move that the Thunder made over the summer was in signing Westbrook to a contract extension. The point guard would have been able to opt out of his deal after the 2016/17 campaign, but he’ll now be in the fold for at least through 2017/18. After the departure of Durant, losing Westbrook would have been beyond devastating for the franchise and its fanbase. Not only does it signal Westbrook’s commitment to the team, it also removes the potential season-long distraction that always accompanies a superstar headed for free agency from the locker room. The 27-year-old should be at the top of the MVP candidate list now that Durant is elsewhere and he’ll likely play this season with an enormous chip on his shoulder as he attempts to demonstrate that he, and the franchise, don’t need Durant around in order to be successful. Western Conference guards had better watch out for Russell this season! Another benefit to extending Westbrook is that the team will have a clearer picture of what it has to work with next offseason, which will help shape the front office’s plans more definitively.

While it would be rash not to classify 2016/17 as a rebuilding/transition season for the franchise, Oklahoma City should be a dangerous team to play on most nights. Health will play a major factor in determining whether or not the Thunder make the playoffs. The loss of Cameron Payne for an extended period of time doesn’t help matters, but as long as Westbrook and Oladipo can remain out of street clothes during games and produce, the team should give its fans plenty to root for. It will take some time to get over the loss of Durant, not just for the fans, but for the franchise as a whole. While I don’t necessarily expect OKC to contend for an NBA title this season, the franchise’s offseason re-tooling has it headed in the right direction.

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

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