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Salary Cap Snapshot: Orlando Magic

September 5th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Magic’s team page accessible here.

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

Guaranteed Salary

Total Guaranteed Salary= $104,110,256

Cash Sent Out Via Trade:  $0 [Amount Remaining $3.2MM]

Cash Received Via Trade: $75,000 from Trail Blazers as part of Shabazz Napier trade; $230,000 from Clippers as part of C.J. Wilcox trade [Amount Remaining $3,195,000]

Payroll Exceptions Available

  • Room Exception — $2,898,000
  • Trade Exception — $2,250,000 (Serge Ibaka trade) — Expires on 2/14/18

Total Projected Payroll: $104,110,256

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: –$9,967,256

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $9,176,744

Last Updated: 4/7/17

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. 17)

September 5th, 2016 at 6:31pm 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. 17 overall pick, which was originally held by the Raptors. In the “real world” draft, Toronto dealt the pick (which was used to select big man Roy Hibbert) along with T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Maceo Baston to the Pacers in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and the rights to Nathan Jawai (No. 41 overall). Since Hibbert is already off the board, having been snagged by the Suns at No. 15, we’ll nix this trade and Toronto will be selecting for itself.

Cast your vote for who the Raptors select and check back on Tuesday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Wizards should have taken with the No. 18 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 — ?? [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]

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

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Community Shootaround: 2017 NBA Free Agents

September 5th, 2016 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

With nearly all of 2016’s most notable free agents off the board, it’s time to take an early look ahead to what next summer’s free agent period may look like. Our lists of 2017 free agents by position and by team are up to date, and are packed with interesting names.

We’ll publish the first installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings later this week, but before we reveal our list, we want to get your thoughts on next year’s potential free agent class.

Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap, Danilo Gallinari, Kyle Lowry, Gordon Hayward, Rudy Gay, and Greg Monroe are some of the players who could hit the open market, and those are just the guys with player options.

Stephen Curry, Zach Randolph, Serge Ibaka, Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose, George Hill, Jrue Holiday, and Andre Iguodala will highlight the unrestricted free agent group, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert, Victor Oladipo, Nerlens Noel, and several others will be RFAs if they’re not extended this offseason.

Which free agents will be the most coveted next offseason? Which of those premier FAs may actually change teams, like Durant and Al Horford did this summer? Which below-the-radar free agents intrigue you the most? And which potential RFAs do you expect to come off the market within the next couple months, as they sign extensions with their own teams?

Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the NBA’s free agent class of 2017. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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2017 NBA Free Agents By Team

September 5th, 2016 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2017 free agents by team is below. These are players who are eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency after the 2016/17 season.

Players with team or player options for the 2017/18 season are listed, unless they’re still on their rookie scale contracts. Restricted free agents are marked with (RFA).

This list will continue to be updated throughout the 2017 offseason, so be sure to use it and our list of 2017 free agents by position as points of reference throughout the year. Both lists can be found anytime under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our right-hand sidebar. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.

Updated 10-11-17 (10:06am CT)

Atlanta Hawks

  1. None

Boston Celtics

  1. None

Brooklyn Nets

  1. Randy Foye

Read more

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Weekly Mailbag: 8/29/16-9/4/16

September 4th, 2016 at 8:53pm 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:

Do you think there’s a chance that Stephen Curry will join the Lakers after his contact expires next season, since one of his former coaches, Luke Walton, is the Lakers’ coach now? — Greg Dizon

It may be fun for Lakers fans to dream about the possibility of Golden State players following their former coach to L.A., but we can’t envision any scenario where Curry leaves the Warriors. He’s criminally underpaid at about $12.1MM for the upcoming season, but that’s a result of signing his current deal four years ago when there were still concerns about his ankles. The Warriors aren’t in a position to renegotiate right now, especially after signing Kevin Durant, but they will take care of Curry next summer. The Lakers will have to look elsewhere for stars.

If J.R. Smith doesn’t re-sign with the Cavs, what is the most logical destination for him? Boston, Brooklyn, Denver, Miami, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Utah all seem to have cap space to sign him.–Matt Trapp

While it’s true that all those teams have the cap room to add Smith, it’s also true that none of them has made an offer since he became a free agent more than two months ago. At age 30 and with a somewhat checkered NBA past, it’s understandable why teams didn’t line up to throw money at him. Plus, there have been reports that J.R. and the Cavs aren’t that far apart on money, with the team offering $10MM to $12MM a year and Smith wanting $15MM. Our best guess is that this gets wrapped up before the season starts and at terms closer to the Cavaliers’ offer, much like the Tristan Thompson standoff did last year. But back to your question, if Smith does go somewhere else, Minnesota is intriguing. With all the young talent on their roster, the Wolves might want a veteran shooting guard with championship experience.

What is the likelihood that:

  • Greg Monroe is traded before the season?
  • Monroe finds a productive/effective role with the Bucks this year?
  • Monroe is traded before the deadline?
  • Monroe does not opt out next summer because no one will pay him more than what his third year is worth? — Nick Sawyer

Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported this week that Milwaukee doesn’t want to make a major deal before camp opens, so the likelihood of the first question appears very low. Monroe was an awkward fit last season and there haven’t been enough roster changes to see how that improves, so the second question also seems like a long shot. Questions three and four are related, as any team that considers a midseason trade for Monroe is going to want an assurance that he won’t opt out of a $17.9MM salary next summer. His decision may come down to how soon he wants to leave Milwaukee.

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Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 16)

September 4th, 2016 at 7:31pm 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. 16 overall pick, which was held by the Sixers. In the “real world” draft, Philadelphia selected Marreese Speights out of Florida. Speights is still on the board, but so are some interesting alternatives, so it’s up to you to decide if the Sixers still want “Mo’ Buckets.”

Cast your vote for who the Sixers select and check back on Monday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Raptors should have taken with the No. 17 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— ?? [Actual Pick  — Marreese Speights]

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

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Community Shootaround: Shaq vs. Big Three

September 3rd, 2016 at 8:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

If anyone is qualified to rate the most important transaction in Miami Heat history, it’s Pat Riley. As team president, Riley has overseen everything the franchise has done since he accepted the position in 1995.

Riley has been responsible for dozens of moves each season, some large and some small, but there were two that shook the foundation of the NBA. In 2004, with the Lakers coming off a loss in the NBA Finals and the feud between Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant simmering out of control, Riley made a bold offer to bring the big man to Miami. He sent Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and two draft picks to Los Angeles in exchange for the most dominant force in the game at the time.

Six years later, Riley again reached out to the NBA’s top player. After seven seasons in Cleveland and on the heels of a bitter playoff loss, LeBron James was concerned about his place in NBA history. With some help from Dwyane Wade, Riley recruited James and fellow free agent Chris Bosh to come to South Beach and form a Big Three that made four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and won two titles.

For the fanfare that surrounded Shaq and LeBron, neither stayed in Miami all that long. O’Neal helped the Heat win a title in 2006, but played just 40 games the following season and was traded to Phoenix in February of 2008. James and Bosh brought a rock-star aura to the Heat, who drew comparisons with the greatest teams in history, but LeBron decided to return to Cleveland with his two rings in 2014, leaving Miami to rebuild around Bosh and Wade.

That brings us to tonight’s question: Riley says the trade for O’Neal was the most important move the franchise ever made, ahead of LeBron and the formation of the Big Three. Do you agree? 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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Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors

September 3rd, 2016 at 3:59pm 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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Salary Cap Snapshot: Oklahoma City Thunder

September 3rd, 2016 at 2:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Thunder’s team page accessible here.

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

Guaranteed Salary

Total Guaranteed Salary= $91,339,949

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

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

Payroll Exceptions Available

  • Trade Exception — $4,936,529 (Ersan Ilyasova trade; used portion to acquire Doug McDermott) — Expires on 11/1/17
  • Room Exception — $2,898,000

Total Projected Payroll: $91,339,949

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: $2,803,051
(Note: team would have to renounce trade exception to use cap space)

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $21,947,051

Last Updated: 3/1/17

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. 15)

September 3rd, 2016 at 1:31pm 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. 15 overall pick, which was held by the Suns. Phoenix had acquired the pick via a 2005 trade with the Hawks. The details of that swap were: Phoenix nabbed Atlanta’s first round picks in 2006 and 2008, plus Boris Diaw, in exchange for Joe Johnson.  In the “real world” draft, the Suns nabbed center Robin Lopez. With Lopez off the board already to Indiana at pick 13, the team will have to go in a different direction in our draft.

So cast your vote for who the Suns select and check back on Sunday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Sixers should have taken with the No. 16 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 — ?? [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]

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

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