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Stretch Provision Deadline For 2016/17 Salary

August 31st, 2016 at 9:35am CST by Luke Adams

August 31 represents an important date on the NBA calendar, since it’s the last day of the year that teams can waive a player and stretch his 2016/17 cap hit across multiple seasons. Teams waiving players after August 31 can still employ the stretch provision to cap hits, but it can only be applied to future-year salaries, rather than to a player’s current-year salary.

Here’s how the rule works, per Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ:

  • If a team waives a player between July 1 and August 31, it can stretch the cap hit for that player’s remaining salary over twice the number of years remaining on his contract, plus one. For instance, if a player is under contract for this year and next year at a rate of $15MM per season, his remaining salary can be stretched over the next five years with cap hits of $6MM annually.
  • If a team waives a player between September 1 and June 30, the current-year cap hit remains the same, while future-year cap hits can be stretched out over twice the number of years remaining on the contract, plus one. In this scenario, the hypothetical contract from the previous example would count for $15MM against the cap this year, with subsequent $5MM annual cap hits for the next three years.

Today’s deadline doesn’t mean we’ll see a flurry of cuts happen within the next several hours. Most teams aren’t in a position where they’d need to clear extra cap flexibility for an incoming player, so there’s likely not much urgency to open up cap space this season.

For example, the Lakers have a release candidate in Nick Young, who doesn’t appear to be in the team’s future plans. However, Los Angeles is already more than $5MM over the cap, so stretching Young’s 2016/17 salary ($5,443,918) and reducing the current cap hit by about $3MM wouldn’t really help the club gain any spending flexibility in the short term. If the team intends to cut him at some point, keeping Young on the roster through today and perhaps stretching him later would allow the team to minimize future cap hits and get him off the books sooner. Here’s the breakdown:

Nick Young salary

A handful of other teams around the NBA currently employing players who aren’t in that franchise’s plans will face similar decisions today. However, considering most of those clubs have already done the majority of their cap work for 2016/17 and could benefit down the road by waiting until after today’s stretch provision deadline to waive certain players, we aren’t expecting many big names to hit the waiver wire today.

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Salary Cap Snapshot: New York Knicks

August 30th, 2016 at 10:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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

Guaranteed Salary

Total Guaranteed Salary= $102,613,251

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

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

Payroll Exceptions Available

Total Projected Payroll: $102,613,251

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: –$8,470,251

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $10,673,749

Last Update: 3/3/17

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. 11)

August 30th, 2016 at 7:05pm 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’ll continue on with the Blazers, who acquired the No. 11 pick from Indiana in a draft day trade. The details of the swap were: Portland acquired the draft rights to Jerryd Bayless (No. 11) and Ike Diogu from the Pacers in exchange for the draft rights to Brandon Rush (No. 13), Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts. Since everyone involved in trade is still on the board, we’ll have the swap go through in our draft as well.

So cast your vote for who the Blazers should have selected and check back on Wednesday to see the results, as well as to vote on who the Kings should have taken with the No. 12 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) — ?? [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]

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

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Poll: Trail Blazers’ Future

August 30th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

While most teams with significant cap room this summer pursued outside free agents, the Trail Blazers focused most of their efforts on securing their own players. Portland did bring in Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli on pricey, multiyear deals, but the team’s other major investments were players who were already Blazers. Here’s a breakdown of the in-house players who got lucrative, long-term contracts from the team:

Throw in the fact that Damian Lillard‘s new five-year, maximum-salary contract extension goes into effect for the 2016/17 season, and it’s no surprise that Portland has more guaranteed money on its cap in future years than any other NBA team.

As Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders details, the Blazers were able to do what some other teams haven’t been able to, ensuring that their top players will remain under contract for the long haul. But the club may have also painted itself into a corner to some extent, since its flexibility to make future additions will be limited. The Blazers’ long-term outlook may come down to how far Lillard and McCollum are capable of taking the team, writes Kennedy.

The Blazers are coming off an excellent season, in which they finished fifth in the West and won a playoff series before being knocked off by the 73-win Warriors in the second round. With at least one of the teams ahead of them in the West – the Thunder – expected to take a significant step back this season, the Blazers will be gunning for a top-four seed with a roster packed with young players on the rise.

Still, a skeptic could point to the fact that the Clippers squad beaten by Portland in the first round was decimated by injuries. It’s also fair to question whether or not the Blazers have enough frontcourt talent to complement their star guards.

That brings us to this morning’s poll question: Is the Blazers’ roster strong enough for the team to improve upon last year’s results? Barring a major trade or two, Portland’s core appears to be locked in for at least the next two or three years. Will the team take another step forward and become a championship contender during that time?

Weigh in with your vote, and feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts on the Blazers.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 10)

August 29th, 2016 at 8:45pm 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’ll continue on with the Nets, who still resided in New Jersey and who held the No. 10 overall pick that year. In the “real world” draft, the Nets selected Lopez, but will have to go in a different direction in this draft since the Grizzlies nabbed the center with pick number five.

So cast your vote for who the Nets should have selected and check back on Tuesday to see the results, as well as to vote on who the Pacers should have taken with the No. 11 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 — ?? [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]

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

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Teams Not Projected To Have 2017 Cap Room

August 29th, 2016 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

During the first few years of the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, many teams had virtually no chance to open up cap room. The salary cap remained in the $58MM range for three straight seasons, making it tricky for teams to get under the cap unless they were in rebuilding mode and shed high-priced players. However, with the cap now up to $94MM+, and projected to blow past $100MM next summer, that’s no longer the case.

This year, 27 of 30 teams used cap room at some point to acquire players, leaving just three teams that never went under the cap. Plenty of those 27 teams have since used up all their space and gone well over the cap, but not many currently project to be over the cap in future seasons.

The NBA’s most recent estimate for the 2017/18 salary cap, released last month, was $102MM. At this point in the league year, cap estimates are usually on the conservative side, so we can probably expect a slightly higher figure next year, but that’s no lock — particularly since the NBA and the players’ union may make changes to the CBA by next July.

Still, even if we assume that the $102MM projection is accurate, there are currently only two teams whose guaranteed salaries for 2017/18 exceed that figure. Here are those teams:

Projected to be over the 2017/18 cap:

  • Portland Trail Blazers: Incredibly, no NBA team has more guaranteed money on its 2017/18 books than the Blazers, whose $123.71MM blows away the competition. That total doesn’t include team options for Noah Vonleh and Shabazz Napier, a qualifying offer for Mason Plumlee, or Festus Ezeli‘s non-guaranteed salary. Throw in those figures, plus a few more non-guaranteed salaries, and Portland’s commitments total $140MM+. Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Allen Crabbe, and Evan Turner combine to make $86.58MM in ’17/18.
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: Even without a new contract for J.R. Smith, the Cavs already have more than $113MM in guaranteed salaries on their books for ’17/18. LeBron James‘ $33.29MM salary is the biggest number, but the team has four more eight-digit cap hits, ranging from about $10.34MM for Iman Shumpert to $22.64MM for Kevin Love.

While the Blazers and Cavs are the only two teams whose guaranteed salaries for next year exceed $102MM, there are a few more clubs joining them above that threshold when taking into account non-guaranteed salaries, options, and/or qualifying offers. Here are those teams:

Projected to potentially be over the 2017/18 cap:

  • Washington Wizards: After locking up Bradley Beal and Ian Mahinmi to expensive long-term deals this summer, the Wizards have $94MM+ in guaranteed salaries on their books for 2017/18. The team will have to add another $2MM+ to that total for Kelly Oubre, and then may need to commit more than $12MM in total to qualifying offers for Otto Porter and Trey Burke, potential restricted free agents.
  • Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers have less than $60MM in guaranteed money on their ’17/18 cap, but that figure doesn’t include either Chris Paul or Blake Griffin, who have early termination options on their contracts. If both players stay in L.A. – either on their current deals or new ones – the Clippers will remain well over the cap.
  • Detroit Pistons: This summer, the Pistons maxed out their cap room, then went over the cap to sign Andre Drummond to a max deal. Once the club exercises its 2017/18 option on Stanley Johnson, it will have about $95MM on the cap for next year. Detroit must also account for qualifying offers for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock, along with Aron Baynes‘ $6.5MM player option, taking the team over the projected cap.
  • Toronto Raptors: The Raptors’ current guaranteed and non-guaranteed commitments for 2017/18 total about $104MM, and the team figures to pare down that figure to below $102MM before the season begins. Still, if the club intends to keep Kyle Lowry beyond next season, he’ll likely require a big raise on his current $12MM player option, meaning Toronto’s remaining cap space will be chewed up quickly.

There are some other NBA teams that may not be involved in free agency because they’ll need any cap room they may have to re-sign their own players. Despite only currently having $37.3MM in guarantees on their 2017/18 cap, the Warriors may very well fit into this category, since Stephen Curry will be getting a huge raise, and the team will want to retain Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala as well.

Of course, these outlooks could change between now and next July, depending on in-season trades, draft-day deals, and potential CBA changes. For now though, the teams listed above appear to be the least likely candidates to go below the cap next offseason.

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

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Hoops Rumors 2016 Free Agent Tracker

August 29th, 2016 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

It has been nearly two months since the NBA’s 2016 free agent period got underway, and while a few notable names – such as Ty Lawson – are still coming off the board, the majority of deals these days are for lower-profile camp invitees.

With training camps fast approaching, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players have landed with which teams this offseason. To this end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.

A few notes on the tracker:

  • Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect reported contract agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed. A few rumored back-of-the-roster signings that have not yet been confirmed aren’t included in our tracker, for now.
  • When the years and dollars for a contract haven’t yet been confirmed, our data will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in some cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
  • A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet will be listed under the team that extended the offer sheet, but note that those signings won’t be official unless the player’s original team declines to match within the three-day period to do so. If the original team matches, we’ll update the tracker to show that the player is back with that team.

Our 2016 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. It will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

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Weekly Mailbag: 8/22/16-8/28/16

August 28th, 2016 at 8:51pm 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:

What exactly is going on with the Magic? Do they have a plan? — Yancy Yeater

Orlando’s plan for the summer seemed to involve acquiring as much talent as possible, then worrying later about how it all fits together. They got two of the best shot blockers in the league by signing Bismack Biyombo and trading for Serge Ibaka. How they’ll mesh with holdover center Nikola Vucevic remains to be seen, and Vucevic may not be easy to move with three seasons and $36.75MM left on his contract. New coach Frank Vogel faces a big challenge in putting all the pieces together, but Orlando probably raised its talent level enough to challenge for a playoff spot.

Why didn’t the Knicks pursue Lance Stephenson? He’s only 25 and  brings a strong resume playing in playoff competition. He’s a big guard, can defend well, rebounds great, passes well, shoots 48% from field and 39% from 3. He’s a New York City product and has the state high school all-time scoring record. Why no interest? — Harvey Ludwin

It’s not just the Knicks. A lot of teams that could have used Stephenson’s talent decided to pass on his personality. A series of incidents both large and small have resulted in him playing on three teams in the last two seasons. A rumor that the Nets might have a spot for Stephenson was seemingly debunked today, and Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe recently reported that the sixth-year swingman might have to play overseas for a while and work his way back to the NBA.

What do you think will become of Greg Monroe? It was only a year ago he was one of the hottest UFAs on the market, with no less than three active suitors. He’s coming off another efficient, productive season, yet I get the sense the Bucks are struggling to find value in the trade market. What’s the story here? Are seven-footers with his offensive skills suddenly obsolete? — Daren Hill
Monroe put up decent numbers last season, averaging 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 79 games, but he wasn’t the rim protector or overall defender that the Bucks needed. There have been reports that Milwaukee has been trying to find a taker for him, but his contract doesn’t make him easy to deal. Monroe will make $17.1MM next season and has a player option for 2017/18, which means any team trading for him may get his services for just one year. Milwaukee may have to decide whether it’s worth taking a discounted offer just to move on from Monroe.
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Community Shootaround: Wall vs. Beal

August 28th, 2016 at 7:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Stories of bickering in Washington, D.C., are commonplace, but when it happens in the Wizards’ backcourt, that’s a cause for concern.

Point guard John Wall and shooting guard Bradley Beal have started airing their disagreements in public, with Wall saying they have “a tendency to dislike each other on the court” and Beal responding that he and Wall “lose sight of the fact that we need each other.”

That’s not how you want your starting backcourt to talk about each other, especially when they are the cornerstones of your rebuilding effort after a disappointing 41-41 season that left you out of the playoffs and prompted a coaching change. Scott Brooks had to be hoping that his time on the Wizards’ bench would start with more team unity.

Star players failing to get along is nothing new in the NBA, but the situation frequently leads to a breakup. The most recent case was in Chicago, where rumors kept floating last season of unhappiness between Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler. That was resolved in June when Rose was traded to the Knicks.

Wall, who turns 26 next month, has been an All-Star the past three years. He is coming off career-high averages of 19.9 points and 10.2 assists last season. He has three seasons and more than $54MM left on a maximum extension he agreed to in 2013. Beal averaged a career-high 17.4 points per game last season and shot a career-best 45% from the field. However, he played in a career-low 55 games and was placed on a minutes restriction in December after doctors discovered “the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula.” Beal re-signed with the Wizards last month for $127MM over the next five seasons.

That brings us to tonight’s question: If the Wizards decide to break up their backcourt, should they trade Wall or Beal? 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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Community Shootaround: Utah Jazz

August 27th, 2016 at 6:50pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Jazz acquired then waived Kendall Marshall on Friday in a cap saving move that presumably allow the team to renegotiate and extend Derrick Favors‘ contract. Favors will make $11.05MM this upcoming season and $12MM during the 2017/18 campaign. Favors would likely want to complete an extension this summer given how team-friendly his current deal, as Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors explained in his Extension Candidate piece.

Utah will also look to lock up Rudy Gobert long-term and the center is likely to garner a max contract or extension, as Gauruder writes in a separate piece. If the team is able to come to terms with both players, it will have its starting frontcourt set for years to come.

However, in the modern day NBA, it’s fair to wonder whether having two traditional big men as the foundation of a team is the best way to build a championship roster. So that leads us to tonight’s topic: How far can the Jazz go as a franchise with Favors and Gobert as their starting frontcourt? They have played well together, but can the duo overcome their limitations to elevate the Jazz to contenders in the near future?

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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