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Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 20)

September 9th, 2016 at 6:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.

We’ve arrived at the No. 20 overall pick, which was held by the Bobcats/Hornets. Charlotte had acquired the pick from Denver in exchange for a future first rounder. In the “real world” draft, the Hornets used the selection to take Alexis Ajinca. Cast your vote for whom Charlotte selects and check back on Saturday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Nets should have taken with the No. 21 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

  1. Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
  2. Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
  3. Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
  4. Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
  5. Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
  6. Knicks — Serge Ibaka  [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
  7. Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
  8. Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
  9. Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
  10. Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
  11. Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
  12. Kings — George Hill  [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
  13. Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
  14. Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
  15. Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
  16. Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick  — Marreese Speights]
  17. Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
  18. Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
  19. Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick  — J.J. Hickson]
  20. Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — ?? [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.

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Community Shootaround: Western Conference Playoffs

September 8th, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Normally filled with 50-win teams, the Western Conference had a few “haves” and way more “have nots” last season. The Warriors and Spurs separated themselves from the pack quickly, while the Thunder and Clippers cruised to the third and fourth spots. No other team won more than 44 regular-season games and spots 5-9 were separated by a mere four games.

That suggests we could see some upheaval in terms of the playoff picture this season. The Thunder will struggle to match, or even come close, to the 55 wins they collected last season with Kevin Durant now wearing a Golden State uniform. The teams in the bottom half of last season’s playoff bracket could be in danger of falling into the lottery, as most of the non-playoff teams appear to be on the upswing.

The Jazz just missed out on the playoffs and have fortified their young core with playoff-tested veterans, including George Hill, Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw. The Nuggets have a deep team led by point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who could be poised for a breakout season after getting a trial by fire in his rookie season.

The Pelicans were a colossal disappointment a year ago after making the 2014/15 playoffs but any team anchored by Anthony Davis has to be respected. If rookie guard Buddy Hield makes an immediate impact as a scorer, New Orleans could be poised for a turnaround.

Perhaps no team in the league has more young talent than the Timberwolves. Led by franchise player Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, the club could take a big jump with defensive-minded coach Tom Thibodeau at the helm.

The Suns added power forwards Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss in the draft and with better health for guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, they should be much more dangerous.

The Kings made some curious off-season moves but they still have arguably the league’s top center in DeMarcus Cousins. The Lakers did some roster tinkering, including the addition of veteran forward Luol Deng, but their biggest hope is that lottery pick Brandon Ingram develops into a franchise player.

This leads us to our question of the day: Which Western Conference team that missed last season’s playoffs will make the postseason in the upcoming season and what will put that team over the top?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

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Poll: Ben Gordon’s Future

September 8th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Ben Gordon‘s first preference is to return to the NBA for the upcoming season, but if he can’t find an NBA team willing to give him a shot, the veteran guard is open to opportunities overseas. An August report suggested as much, and Gordon himself confirmed this week that he wouldn’t mind landing with a Euroleague team.

“I’m open to any contract offers. Obviously the NBA is my main goal but if the offer in the Euroleague is good, it will be a great opportunity for me,” Gordon told John Hobbs of TalkBasket.net. “End of the day though, I’m just going to look at my options and evaluate what’s best for me and if it falls in the NBA or the Euroleague or elsewhere, then I’ll head there.”

Although he was waived by the Warriors during the 2015 preseason and averaged just 14.1 minutes per contest during his most recent NBA season, with the Magic in 2014/15, Gordon could still be a productive bench player. He’s only 33 years old, and while he’s not the prolific scorer that he once was, he has made more than 40% of his three-point attempts throughout his career, including 36.1% in ’14/15.

Of course, even if an NBA team had interest in Gordon as an 11th or 12th man who could come off the bench and make some threes, that role may not strongly appeal to the former third overall pick. With a Euroleague club, he could potentially earn more minutes and a more significant role.

What do you think? Will Gordon find an NBA job this year, or in a future season, or are his NBA playing days behind him? Vote in our poll and weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts!

Trade Rumors App users, click here to vote.

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NBA Teams With Full Rosters

September 8th, 2016 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

While NBA teams are limited to carrying 15 players on their regular-season rosters (with a few exceptions), roster limits expand to 20 players during the offseason. The five extra roster slots allow clubs to bring in veterans hopeful of earning a place on the regular-season roster, or young players who may eventually be ticketed for D-League assignments.

Most teams will fill up their 20-man rosters for training camp, but at this point in the NBA offseason, it can be difficult to determine which clubs still have room on their rosters. Many potential camp invitees have reportedly reached agreements with teams, but those signings haven’t yet been officially announced.

By our count, there are currently just two team at the 20-man offseason roster limit. One is the 76ers, who were at the 20-man limit for much of the offseason before waiving Carl Landry and Tibor Pleiss. Since then, they’ve added Elton Brand and Cat Barber, though it appears only 11 of the club’s 20 players have fully guaranteed salaries for 2016/17.

Meanwhile, on their official website, the Nuggets list 14 players who have guaranteed contracts, plus Axel Toupane, JaKarr Sampson, and D.J. Kennedy, who are on non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed deals. In addition to those 17 players, the team has also reportedly reached agreements with Nate Wolters, Robbie Hummel, and Jarnell Stokes, bringing Denver’s total roster count to 20.

Still, not all of Denver’s signings are official, and even once they are, the Nuggets could easily make room for another player by cutting a non-guaranteed salary from their books. The same can be said for Philadelphia. While their rosters may technically be “full,” it’s not as if the Nuggets and the Sixers don’t have the flexibility to replace a camp invitee with a veteran free agent, if they so choose.

A more productive way of determining which teams’ rosters are “full” at this point in the offseason might be to examine the number of guaranteed salaries on their books. The deadline for teams to stretch the 2016/17 salary of a waived player is now behind us, so any team that cuts a player with a guaranteed salary won’t be able to reduce that cap hit unless the player agrees to a buyout. Most teams are reluctant to add much dead money to their cap with such a move, so if a club has 15 guaranteed contracts on its cap, we can assume its regular-season roster is fairly set, barring a trade or a surprise cut.

Here are the NBA teams that currently have 15 (or more) guaranteed salaries on their roster:

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Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 19)

September 7th, 2016 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.

We’ve arrived at the No. 19 overall pick, which was held by the Cavaliers. In the “real world” draft, Cleveland selected J.J. Hickson, a 6’9″ freshman center/power forward out of North Carolina State.  Hickson had three promising years with the Cavaliers before being traded to Sacramento in a deal that brought back Omri Casspi and a future first-rounder.

Cast your vote for whom the Cavaliers select and check back on Thursday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Charlotte Bobcats should have taken with the No. 20 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

  1. Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
  2. Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
  3. Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
  4. Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
  5. Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
  6. Knicks — Serge Ibaka  [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
  7. Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
  8. Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
  9. Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
  10. Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
  11. Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
  12. Kings — George Hill  [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
  13. Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
  14. Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
  15. Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
  16. Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick  — Marreese Speights]
  17. Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
  18. Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
  19. Cavaliers — ?? [Actual Pick  — J.J. Hickson]

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.

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Community Shootaround: Paul Pierce

September 7th, 2016 at 7:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

No matter when he decides to retire, Paul Pierce will probably be five years away from the Hall of Fame. However, that day may come sooner than anyone anticipated. At age 38 and with training camp less than three weeks away, Pierce is reportedly still deciding whether to return for his 19th NBA season.

That bit of insider information comes from Pierce’s coach with the Clippers, Doc Rivers, who also coached Pierce during some of his best seasons with the Celtics. Although it was reported last month that Pierce was definitely returning, Rivers said he hasn’t decided for sure.

“Depends on the day I talk to him,” Rivers said during an appearance Tuesday in Boston. “Paul has had the summer, he’s gone back and forth. … Paul didn’t have the best year last year. I don’t think he wants to go out that way. So I think that’s why he’s working to try to come back. But he still may change his mind next week. So we just have to wait. I told him if I see him at training camp, I’m assuming he’s playing.”

Rivers added that Pierce needs to retire as a Celtic, presumably with a one-day ceremonial contract. And although Pierce will always be associated with Boston, he hasn’t worn kelly green since the 2012/13 season, playing one year each for the Nets, Wizards and Clippers since then.

Pierce has been slipping for a while, as can be expected of any player in his late 30s, but the dropoff last season was sharp. He played in 68 games, but averaged just 6.1 points in 18.1 minutes, both career lows. In addition, his shooting percentages were way down — 36% from the field and 31% from 3-point range. He played less than 11 minutes per game in the playoff loss to the Blazers.

Pierce still has two seasons and $7.2MM left on the contract he signed with the Clippers last summer, but he made it clear at the time that he didn’t intend to play out the entire deal. As the clock ticks toward training camp, the question seems to be whether he wants to put his body through the rigors of one more NBA season.

That brings us to tonight’s question: Should Pierce try to play in 2016/17 or should he join all-time greats Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan in what is shaping up to be a legendary 2021 hall of fame class? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

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NBA Teams Below Salary Floor For 2016/17

September 7th, 2016 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

On Tuesday, we examined the teams in – or near – luxury tax territory. Due to the size of those teams’ payrolls, they could face penalties at year’s end, paying a few extra tax dollars in addition to the salaries they’ll pay their players.

On the other end of the spectrum are six clubs whose team salaries continue to sit below the minimum salary floor, which is set at 90% of the cap. For the 2016/17 league year, that salary floor works out to $84.729MM. Every franchise will have to spend at least that much on players for the year, so if any team payrolls remain below that figure at season’s end, those teams have to make up the difference by paying a little extra to their own players.

Often, clubs sitting below the salary floor at this point in the year will get over that threshold at some point during the season. Taking on salary in a trade is one possibility — in the past, when cap room has been a rarer and more valuable commodity, teams like the Sixers have agreed to take on other clubs’ bad salaries as long as they can get something out of the deal themselves, such as second-round picks. That could still happen this year, but that sort of trade may be rarer now that the cap is at an all-time high and teams have more flexibility to maneuver.

Renegotiating a player’s contract and signing him to an extension is another way teams can use up their remaining salary cap space at this point in the season. As we saw with Russell Westbrook and the Thunder, and James Harden and the Rockets, clubs with room under the cap can rework a player’s contract to increase their current-year salary up to the max, while tacking on additional years — but only certain players are eligible.

Of course, signing free agents is another way a team can quickly add salary and reach the floor, but at this point in the offseason, most of the players still available are minimum-salary guys, and most teams’ rosters are fairly set anyway.

Here are the six teams currently below the salary floor:

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Total team salary: $82,752,308
  • Guaranteed team salary: $80,791,446
  • Eligible for renegotiation/extension: Nikola Pekovic

Utah Jazz

  • Total team salary: $81,817,624
  • Guaranteed team salary: $79,332,496
  • Eligible for renegotiation/extension: Derrick Favors (eligible as of October 19), George Hill

Phoenix Suns

  • Total team salary: $80,900,983
  • Guaranteed team salary: $79,850,022
  • Eligible for renegotiation/extension: None

Brooklyn Nets

  • Total team salary: $76,948,637
  • Guaranteed team salary: $75,563,224
  • Eligible for renegotiation/extension: None

Denver Nuggets

  • Total team salary: $76,719,065
  • Guaranteed team salary: $74,039,362
  • Eligible for renegotiation/extension: None

Philadelphia 76ers

  • Total team salary: $70,341,137
  • Guaranteed team salary: $65,159,265
  • Eligible for renegotiation/extension: Hollis Thompson (eligible as of September 24)

Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Salary Cap Snapshot: Philadelphia 76ers

September 6th, 2016 at 9:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s a breakdown of where the Sixers currently stand financially:

Guaranteed Salary

Total Guaranteed Salary= $85,143,679

Cash Sent Out Via Trade:  $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]

Cash Received Via Trade: $1,800,000 received from Cavs in Sasha Kaun trade; $1,600,000 received from Jazz in Tibor Pleiss trade [Amount Remaining $100K]

Payroll Exceptions Available

  • Room Exception — $2,898,000

Total Projected Payroll: $85,143,679

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: $8,999,321

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $28,143,321

Salary Cap Floor: $84,729,000

Amount Above Salary Cap Floor: $414,679

Latest Update: 4/15/17

The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.

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Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 18)

September 6th, 2016 at 6:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.

We’ve arrived at the No. 18 overall pick, which was held by the Wizards. In the “real world” draft, Washington selected center JaVale McGee. The big man out of the University of Nevada had a wealth of physical tools and it’s difficult to fault the organization for gambling on the seven-footer, especially in the middle of the first round. Unfortunately for the Wizards, McGee’s maturity level never fell in line with his physical tools, which ultimately led to him being traded to Denver in 2012 in exchange for Nene.

Cast your vote for who the Wizards select and check back on Wednesday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Cavaliers should have taken with the No. 19 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

  1. Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
  2. Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
  3. Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
  4. Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
  5. Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
  6. Knicks — Serge Ibaka  [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
  7. Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
  8. Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
  9. Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
  10. Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
  11. Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
  12. Kings — George Hill  [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
  13. Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
  14. Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
  15. Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
  16. Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick  — Marreese Speights]
  17. Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
  18. Wizards — ?? [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.

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NBA Teams In Or Near Tax Territory For 2016/17

September 6th, 2016 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap’s enormous, unprecedented jump from $70MM in 2015/16 to $94.143MM in 2016/17 has received a ton of attention this summer, as free agents signed massive contracts that reflected the league’s new financial reality. In addition to allowing teams extra flexibility to sign and acquire players, that cap jump also significantly increased the luxury tax threshold for NBA franchises.

A year ago, clubs exceeding $84.74MM in total team salary were subject to tax penalties, but this year, that threshold has increased by nearly $30MM, to $113.287MM. The result? It has become a little more difficult for teams to spend so much that they surpass that threshold and get into tax territory. Still, a few clubs have managed to do it so far, and several others are getting close.

Those teams over or near the luxury tax line will surely keep a careful eye on their spending going forward, since tax penalties under the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement can be severe, particularly for repeat offenders. Our glossary entry on the subject features details on the specifics.

Here’s the full breakdown on teams over the tax threshold, or close to it:

Teams currently in the tax:

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Total team salary: $116,494,181
  • Total guaranteed salary: $114,628,849
  • There are avenues for the Cavaliers to get out of tax territory if they really want to, but the team doesn’t yet have a full roster and still expects to re-sign J.R. Smith, so odds are Cleveland’s tax bills will only get larger as the club’s payroll gets even higher.

Los Angeles Clippers

  • Total team salary: $114,740,032
  • Total guaranteed salary: $114,740,032
  • The Clippers have a full 15-man roster, so they shouldn’t have to add much more salary before the season — perhaps just modest partial guarantees for a few camp invitees. Assuming they stay within $2MM or so of the tax line, it will be interesting to see how the Clips approach the 2017 trade deadline. A cost-cutting deal or two could could the club out of the tax, but if L.A. is competing for a top spot in the West, it may be necessary to add a little salary to acquire another impact player.

Portland Trail Blazers

  • Total team salary: $114,678,517
  • Total guaranteed salary: $112,354,979
  • No team has more money committed to its 2017/18 cap than Portland, which is on the hook for nearly $124MM in guaranteed money already. Since there’s a good chance the Trail Blazers will be over the tax threshold next year, the team may want to avoid that fate this year. The Blazers’ close proximity to the tax might be good news for someone like Tim Quarterman, who already has a partial guarantee on his contract and would be owed a very small rookie salary if he makes the team. Other back-of-the-roster players like Luis Montero and Grant Jerrett would have slightly larger cap hits and aren’t currently owed any guaranteed money, so those factors may improve Quarterman’s odds of earning Portland’s final roster spot.
  • Note: The Blazers would sneak below the tax line by cutting Jerrett and Quarterman, or Jerrett and Montero. The team would remain in the tax if Montero and Quarterman are cut.

Teams currently near the tax line:

Memphis Grizzlies

  • Total team salary: $112,909,960
  • Total guaranteed salary: $107,062,933

Dallas Mavericks

  • Total team salary: $111,447,750
  • Total guaranteed salary: $109,563,866

Detroit Pistons

  • Total team salary: $108,850,684
  • Total guaranteed salary: $106,854,557

San Antonio Spurs

  • Total team salary: $108,677,758
  • Total guaranteed salary: $107,347,345

Toronto Raptors

  • Total team salary: $108,151,883
  • Total guaranteed salary: $106,077,999

For most of the teams in this group, there will be little chance of sneaking into tax territory with in-season free agent signings, so they should be safe unless they take on salary in a trade. However, clubs the Grizzlies and Mavericks – who are inching closer to that tax line – will have to be careful about in-season signings. If those franchises have to waive multiple players on guaranteed salaries due to injuries and then sign replacements for those players, their team salaries could start to approach the tax threshold.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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