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Hoops Rumors’ Lists, Trackers, Features

August 31st, 2024 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to passing along news, rumors, and analysis on a daily basis, Hoops Rumors provides a number of additional features and resources that can be found anytime on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu.

Since those links are easy to overlook and aren’t readily accessible to our app users, we want to periodically highlight a number of our lists, trackers, and other features.

For instance, our lists of current free agents by position/type and by team are constantly updated, as are our lists of 2025 free agents by position/type and by team and our list of 2026 free agents.

We have a number of features related to NBA trades, including a roundup of this offseason’s deals, a recap of the trade exceptions currently available to teams, lists of the players who can’t be traded until December 15 or January 15, and details on which players can veto trades in 2024/25 and which players have trade kickers.

We have info on how teams are using mid-level and bi-annual exceptions in 2024/25, as well as which clubs are hard-capped and which have open roster spots. Our free agent tracker, two-way contract tracker and contract extension tracker provide information on most of the deals signed this summer, while our list of non-guaranteed contracts by team helps provide a more complete picture of each team’s roster.

We’ve got details on how much this season’s maximum salaries, minimum salaries, and mid-level/bi-annual exceptions are worth, as well as more details on the key cap figures for the 2024/25 season. We’ve also shared early projections for maximum salaries, minimum salaries, and mid-level/bi-annual figures for 2025/26.

The Hoops Rumors Glossary provides in-depth explanations on many concepts related to the salary cap and Collective Bargaining Agreement, presented in the simplest possible terms. We’ve updated the majority of our entries to reflect the changes made in the most recent CBA.

Finally, we’re in the process of breaking down all 30 teams’ summer moves in our Offseason Check-In series.

Many of our features and trackers are cyclical and will be reintroduced as the year goes on. For example, during draft season next spring, we’ll be keeping tabs on all the early entrants for the 2025 NBA draft.

Be sure to check out the sidebar on our desktop site or our Features page for all of our current resources.

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NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Milwaukee Bucks

August 30th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Milwaukee Bucks.

Free agent signings

  • Taurean Prince: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Gary Trent Jr.: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Delon Wright: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • James Akinjo: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Liam Robbins: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

  • None

Draft picks

  • 1-23: AJ Johnson
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $14,616,287).
  • 2-33: Tyler Smith
    • Signed to four-year, minimum-salary contract ($7,895,796). First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year non-guaranteed team option.

Two-way signings

Departed/unsigned free agents

Other moves

Salary cap situation

  • Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and above the second tax apron ($188.9MM).
  • Carrying approximately $191.9MM in salary.
  • No hard cap.
  • No form of mid-level or bi-annual exception available.
  • Two traded player exceptions frozen/unavailable (both worth $2,019,706).

The offseason so far

While the Bucks’ season ended with a disappointing first-round playoff exit for a second straight year in 2024, their ability to meaningfully upgrade their roster this offseason was restricted by their proximity to the second tax apron, which hindered their ability to aggregate salaries in trades or to sign free agents to more than the veteran’s minimum.

Milwaukee could have shaken up its roster by trading one of its six highest-paid players – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, or Pat Connaughton – and reportedly at least considered the idea of moving Lopez. But that was never a practical path to upgrading the roster, since those players are generally more valuable to the Bucks on their current contracts and in their current roles than they would be as trade chips.

Instead, the Bucks added talent this summer via the draft and by shopping in the minimum-salary aisle in free agency. Faced with the departures of veterans like Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, and Jae Crowder, Milwaukee arguably upgraded each of those spots by signing Gary Trent Jr., Delon Wright, and Taurean Prince.

Like Beasley, Trent is a high-volume three-point shooter who doesn’t provide much in the way of play-making or defense. But Trent has a more well-rounded offensive game and more defensive upside than Beasley, having shown the ability to generate turnovers during his time in Toronto.

Beverley certainly talks a bigger game than Wright, but his fiery playing style isn’t always a plus, as he showed when he earned himself a suspension by firing a basketball at fans in Indiana during the last game of the Bucks’ season this spring. There’s little risk of that sort of temper tantrum from Wright, a consummate pro whose length and versatility on defense has long made him an underrated asset.

Crowder, meanwhile, isn’t the three-and-D dynamo he once was, and contributed next to nothing during his two playoff runs with the Bucks, making 6-of-25 shots (24.0%), including 1-of-13 three-pointers (7.7%), as the team was outscored by 43 points during his 83 playoff minutes. It’s no surprise he wasn’t re-signed. His replacement, Prince, was probably asked to do too much as a frequent starter for the Lakers last season, but as a reserve on a minimum-salary contract, the 37.6% career three-point shooter looks like a bargain.

Although the Bucks did a great job in free agency adding rotation-caliber veterans on team-friendly deals, their approach to the draft drew mixed reviews. They used the 23rd and 33rd overall picks, respectively, to select a pair of 19-year-olds, AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith. Both players will be developmental projects for the coaching staff, with neither one considered ready to earn regular minutes at the NBA level as rookies.

That’s a defensible strategy in a vacuum, but it’s a somewhat questionable approach for a team that’s looking to capitalize on a championship window and is already carrying several little-used young players on its roster (MarJon Beauchamp, A.J. Green, Andre Jackson, and Chris Livingston each averaged fewer than 13 minutes per game last season).

It may not be fair to expect the Bucks’ front office to draft this year’s Jaime Jaquez or Brandin Podziemski, but there were players in that 23-33 range who will have a better chance of contributing right away. Presumably, the club is counting on some of those returning prospects – starting with Beauchamp – to take a step forward, reducing the need for Johnson and Smith to play much until year two or three.

Financial considerations may also have factored into Milwaukee’s draft decisions — Johnson is one of the only first-round picks in recent years to accept a salary worth less than 120% of his rookie scale amount, while Smith was the lone draft pick in the top 37 who agreed to a minimum salary for 2024/25. It’s a safe bet the Bucks knew prior to drafting them that Johnson and Smith would sign those contracts, which will save ownership some tax dollars.

Up next

I’d be surprised if the Bucks make any major trades prior to opening night, but there are several contract situations to watch on this roster. Lopez is on an expiring deal, while Middleton, Portis, and Connaughton all have the ability to join him in unrestricted free agency next summer by turning down 2025/26 player options.

Lopez and Middleton won’t be extension-eligible in 2024/25, but Portis and Connaughton can both sign new deals anytime between now and June 30, 2025. They’re two of the Bucks’ best potential in-season trade chips, so it will be interesting to see whether the team decides to hold off on extensions, since signing them could make the duo ineligible to be dealt this season, depending on the terms.

Barring trades, the Bucks shouldn’t have any challenging roster decisions to make this fall. A two-way shake-up is a possibility – Stanley Umude, Anzejs Pasecniks, and Ryan Rollins occupy those spots for now – but Milwaukee’s standard roster looks pretty set, with 14 players on fully guaranteed salaries and Jackson on a partially guaranteed deal.

If the club isn’t encouraged by the progress Jackson is making, perhaps he’ll be waived to open up that 15th roster spot down the road, but there’s no point in doing it before opening night. His $946K partial guarantee ensures the Bucks will essentially get a free look at him during the first half, since that cap hit would be the same whether he’s waived on October 20 or January 7.

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NBA’s Top 50 Highest-Paid Players For 2024/25

August 30th, 2024 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Many of the NBA’s highest-paid players are on contracts considered maximum-salary deals, but the 2024/25 salaries for those players vary significantly depending on when the player signed his contract and how much NBA experience he has. That’s why a player like Stephen Curry will earn nearly $22MM more than Deandre Ayton in ’24/25 despite both players technically being on max deals.

When a player signs a maximum-salary contract, he doesn’t necessarily earn the NBA max for each season of that contract — he earns the max in year one, then gets a series of identical annual raises. In Curry’s case, his 2024/25 salary actually exceeds this year’s maximum, since the annual cap increases since he began earning the max haven’t kept pace with his annual 8% raises.

Listed below, with some help from Spotrac‘s salary data, are the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2024/25 season. The players on this list don’t necessarily have the contracts with the largest overall value. This top 50 only considers the current league year, with the player’s ’24/25 base salary listed.

Additionally, we’ve noted players who could potentially increase their earnings via incentives or trade bonuses. We didn’t add those notes for players like Curry or Jaylen Brown, who have trade bonuses but are already earning the maximum — their salaries for this season can’t increase beyond their max.

Here are the NBA’s 50 highest-paid players for the 2024/25 season:

  1. Stephen Curry, Warriors: $55,761,216
  2. Joel Embiid, Sixers: $51,415,938
    Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: $51,415,938
  3. Bradley Beal, Suns: $50,203,930
  4. Kevin Durant, Suns: $49,856,021
    • Durant can earn another $1,323,000 in likely incentives.
  5. Devin Booker, Suns: $49,205,800
    Jaylen Brown, Celtics: $49,205,800
    Paul George, Sixers: $49,205,800
    Kawhi Leonard, Clippers: $49,205,800
    Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves: $49,205,800
  6. Jimmy Butler, Heat: $48,798,677 (15% trade kicker)
  7. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $48,787,676 (15% trade kicker)
    Damian Lillard, Bucks: $48,787,676
  8. LeBron James, Lakers: $48,728,845 (15% trade kicker)
  9. Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves: $43,827,586
  10. Anthony Davis, Lakers: $43,219,440 (15% trade kicker)
  11. Zach LaVine, Bulls: $43,031,940 (15% trade kicker)
    Luka Doncic, Mavericks: $43,031,940
    Trae Young, Hawks: $43,031,940
  12. Fred VanVleet, Rockets: $42,846,615
  13. Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves: $42,176,400
    Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers: $42,176,400
    Lauri Markkanen, Jazz: $42,176,400
    Pascal Siakam, Pacers: $42,176,400
  14. Ben Simmons, Nets: $40,338,144
  15. Kyrie Irving, Mavericks: $40,000,000 (15% trade kicker)
    • Irving can earn another $1,000,000 in likely incentives and $1,000,000 in unlikely incentives.
  16. Domantas Sabonis, Kings: $39,200,000
    • Sabonis can earn another $1,300,000 in likely incentives and $1,300,000 in unlikely incentives.
  17. Darius Garland, Cavaliers: $36,725,670
    Ja Morant, Grizzlies: $36,725,670
    Zion Williamson, Pelicans: $36,725,670
  18. OG Anunoby, Knicks: $36,637,932 (15% trade kicker)
  19. Brandon Ingram, Pelicans: $36,016,200 (15% trade kicker)
    Jamal Murray, Nuggets: $36,016,200
  20. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder: $35,859,950
    Michael Porter Jr., Nuggets: $35,859,950
  21. Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers: $35,410,310
  22. LaMelo Ball, Hornets: $35,147,000
    Tyrese Maxey, Sixers: $35,147,000
  23. Jayson Tatum, Celtics: $34,848,340 (15% trade kicker)
    Bam Adebayo, Heat: $34,848,340
    De’Aaron Fox, Kings: $34,848,340
  24. Desmond Bane, Grizzlies: $34,005,250 (15% trade kicker)
    • Bane can earn another $1,141,750 in unlikely incentives.
  25. Deandre Ayton, Trail Blazers: $34,005,126
  26. James Harden, Clippers: $33,653,846 (15% trade kicker)
  27. CJ McCollum, Pelicans: $33,333,333
  28. Immanuel Quickley, Raptors: $32,500,000
    • Quickley can earn another $2,500,000 in unlikely incentives.
  29. Khris Middleton, Bucks: $31,000,000
    • Middleton can earn another $666,667 in likely incentives and $2,333,334 in unlikely incentives.
  30. Isaiah Hartenstein, Thunder: $30,000,000
    Jrue Holiday, Celtics: $30,000,000
  31. Jerami Grant, Trail Blazers: $29,793,104

The cutoff point for this year’s top-50 list very nearly reached $30MM for the first time in NBA history. And it’s actually possible that cutoff will exceed $30MM by the time the season concludes.

A handful of players who just missed the top 50 have the ability to earn more than Grant’s $29.8MM base salary if they achieve certain performance incentives during the coming season.

Here are the players who could break into the top 50 by season’s end:

  • Jordan Poole, Wizards: $29,651,786
    • Poole can earn another $3,750,000 in unlikely incentives.
  • Devin Vassell, Spurs: $29,347,826
    • Vassell can earn another $2,391,303 in unlikely incentives.
  • Tyler Herro, Heat: $29,000,000
    • Herro can earn another $2,500,000 in unlikely incentives.
  • Julius Randle, Knicks: $27,561,600 (15% trade kicker)
    • Randle can earn another $1,378,080 in likely incentives and $1,378,080 in unlikely incentives.
  • Dejounte Murray, Pelicans: $24,799,600
    • Murray earned an additional $4,017,535 via a trade bonus on top of his base salary; he can also earn another $699,999 in likely incentives and $1,399,998 in unlikely incentives.
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Longest-Tenured NBA GMs/Presidents

August 29th, 2024 at 8:36pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams don’t replace their top front office decision-makers as often as they swap out their head coaches, but it’s still an achievement to spend more than five seasons as a team’s head of basketball operations. Currently, only a third of the league’s top executives (10 of 30) can make that claim, with another four set to enter their sixth season in 2024/25.

Although only one person holds a team’s head coaching job, that same team might carry a variety of front office executives with titles like general manager, president of basketball operations, or executive VP of basketball operations. In some cases, it’s not always which clear which executive should be considered the club’s head of basketball operations, or which one has the ultimate final say on roster decisions. That distinction becomes even more nebulous when taking into account team ownership.

For our list of the longest-tenured GMs/presidents in the NBA, we’ve done our best to identify the top exec in each front office, but if a situation isn’t entirely clear-cut, we’ve made a note below.

One team whose exact hierarchy is unclear is the Spurs. Head coach Gregg Popovich has long held the title of president of basketball operations, though it’s a safe bet he isn’t overly involved in day-to-day front office operations. While general manager Brian Wright and CEO RC Buford are also believed to have significant voices in personnel decisions, we’re considering Popovich to be the head of basketball operations in San Antonio based on his title, meaning he tops the list, narrowly edging out Heat president Pat Riley.

Here’s the list of the NBA’s longest-tenured heads of basketball operations, along with their respective titles and the dates they were hired or promoted:

  1. Gregg Popovich, Spurs (president): May 31, 1994
    • Brian Wright has been the Spurs’ general manager since July 2019 and is believed to lead most front office business, but Popovich’s title indicates he’s above Wright in the basketball operations hierarchy.
  2. Pat Riley, Heat (president): September 2, 1995
  3. Sam Presti, Thunder (GM/executive VP): June 7, 2007
  4. Masai Ujiri, Raptors (president): May 31, 2013
  5. Sean Marks, Nets (GM): February 18, 2016
  6. Kevin Pritchard, Pacers (president): May 1, 2017
  7. Jeff Weltman, Magic (president): May 22, 2017
  8. Jon Horst, Bucks (GM): June 16, 2017
  9. Koby Altman, Cavaliers (president): June 19, 2017
  10. Lawrence Frank, Clippers (president): August 4, 2017
  11. Rob Pelinka, Lakers (GM/VP): April 9, 2019
    • Pelinka has been the Lakers’ GM since February 2017, but was below Magic Johnson in the front office hierarchy until Johnson resigned on April 9, 2019.
  12. James Jones, Suns (president): April 11, 2019
    • Jones began serving as the Suns’ co-interim GM alongside Trevor Bukstein in October 2018, but was named the lone, permanent head of basketball operations on April 11, 2019.
  13. Zach Kleiman, Grizzlies (executive VP): April 11, 2019
  14. David Griffin, Pelicans (executive VP): April 17, 2019
  15. Leon Rose, Knicks (president): March 2, 2020
  16. Arturas Karnisovas, Bulls (executive VP): April 13, 2020
  17. Monte McNair, Kings (GM): September 17, 2020
  18. Rafael Stone, Rockets (GM): October 15, 2020
  19. Daryl Morey, Sixers (president): November 2, 2020
  20. Brad Stevens, Celtics (president): June 2, 2021
  21. Nico Harrison, Mavericks (GM/president): June 28, 2021
  22. Joe Cronin, Trail Blazers (GM): December 3, 2021
    • Cronin assumed the job on an interim basis on December 3, 2021. He was named the permanent GM on May 10, 2022.
  23. Danny Ainge, Jazz (CEO/alternate governor): December 15, 2021
  24. Tim Connelly, Timberwolves (president): May 23, 2022
  25. Calvin Booth, Nuggets (GM): May 23, 2022
  26. Landry Fields, Hawks (GM): December 21, 2022
  27. Michael Winger, Wizards (president): May 25, 2023
  28. Mike Dunleavy Jr., Warriors (GM): June 16, 2023
  29. Jeff Peterson, Hornets (executive VP): March 5, 2024
  30. Trajan Langdon, Pistons (president): May 31, 2024

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

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NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: New Orleans Pelicans

August 29th, 2024 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the New Orleans Pelicans.

Free agent signings

  • Javonte Green: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Daniel Theis: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Matt Ryan: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

  • Acquired the draft rights to Antonio Reeves (No. 47 pick) from the Magic in exchange for the right to swap second-round picks in 2030 and 2031.
  • Acquired the Bulls’ 2027 second-round pick (top-50 protected) from the Wizards in exchange for Jonas Valanciunas (sign-and-trade).
  • Acquired Dejounte Murray from the Hawks in exchange for Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, E.J. Liddell, Cody Zeller (sign-and-trade), the Lakers’ 2025 first-round pick, and either the Pelicans’ or Bucks’ 2027 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable; top-four protected).

Draft picks

  • 1-21: Yves Missi
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $15,654,827).
  • 2-47: Antonio Reeves
    • Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract ($5,408,801). First year guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed team option.

Two-way signings

Departed/unsigned free agents

Other moves

  • Exercised Jeremiah Robinson-Earl‘s 2024/25 team option ($2,196,970).
  • Exercised Jose Alvarado‘s 2024/25 team option ($1,988,598).
  • Signed draft-and-stash prospect Karlo Matkovic to a three-year, $5,658,801 contract. First two years guaranteed. Third-year team option.
  • Claimed Trey Jemison (two-way) off waivers.

Salary cap situation

  • Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and below the first tax apron ($178.1MM).
  • Carrying approximately $172.4MM in salary.
  • Hard-capped at $178,132,000.
  • Full mid-level, bi-annual exceptions available.
  • Two traded player exceptions available (largest worth $9,900,000).

The offseason so far

The Pelicans entered the summer with three key items on their to-do list — upgrading at point guard, finding a starting center, and resolving the Brandon Ingram situation.

Of those three goals, the Pelicans clearly achieved one of them, striking a deal with the Hawks to acquire Dejounte Murray to fortify their backcourt. The cost – including a rotation big man (Larry Nance Jr.), a former lottery pick with untapped potential (Dyson Daniels), and two future first-round picks – wasn’t cheap, but Murray should bring an intriguing new element to a Pelicans team that has relied on CJ McCollum to run the point in recent years.

While McCollum did OK in that role, Murray is more of a natural play-maker whose presence will allow McCollum to operate more off the ball, or perhaps even to run the second unit. And while Murray’s defensive numbers dropped off in Atlanta, he has an All-Defensive nod on his résumé and has the tools to bounce back on that side of the ball, upgrading the Pelicans’ perimeter defense.

The other two top items on the Pelicans’ offseason checklist remain a work in progress.

New Orleans is unwilling to offer Ingram a long-term, maximum-salary extension as he enters a contract year, and has rising sharpshooter Trey Murphy in the wings waiting to step into Ingram’s starting role. The team also lost its top two centers – Nance and Jonas Valanciunas – this offseason, with Valanciunas leaving for Washington in free agency.

The two-in-one solution to those issues would be to trade Ingram for a starting-caliber center, but New Orleans has explored that path with no success so far, as targets like Jarrett Allen, Nic Claxton, and Wendell Carter remained with their respective teams this summer. As a result, the cap-strapped Pelicans had to turn to free agency for a temporary solution at the five, bringing in veteran big man Daniel Theis on a minimum-salary deal.

Theis is better suited to be a backup, but he’s the best option the Pelicans have at center in the short term, with newly added rookies Yves Missi and Karlo Matkovic unlikely to play major roles right away and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl seemingly lacking starter upside. In a perfect world, Missi would enjoy a Dereck Lively-esque debut season and pair with Theis to form a reliable platoon in the middle. But it’s more likely that center will remain an area of need for New Orleans into the season.

As for Ingram, the Pelicans are said to be open to discussing an extension below the maximum, but with Zion Williamson occupying one forward spot and Murphy and Herbert Jones having earned significant roles, investing heavily in Ingram may not be the preferred path for the organization. As talented a scorer as he is, the former No. 2 overall pick isn’t an elite three-point shooter or defender, making him a somewhat awkward fit next to Williamson, who shares those traits.

Of course, those are the same reasons why another team might be reluctant to trade for Ingram and commit to paying his next contract, which hurts the Pelicans’ ability to extract a ton of value for him on the trade market. Ingram’s presence also gives New Orleans some high-level insurance in the event of a Williamson injury, which hasn’t exactly been a rare occurrence in recent years. It’ll be fascinating to see whether a trade or a new contract with New Orleans is the next step for the 2020 All-Star.

Up next

As detailed above, Ingram’s future with the franchise remains up in the air, but it’s possible no resolution comes before opening night. The forward will remain extension-eligible throughout the season, all the way up until June 30, 2025, and the Pelicans could trade him at anytime up until February’s deadline — or even in a sign-and-trade deal next summer. So while it would be nice to have an answer sooner rather than later, the two sides can afford to enter the regular season without an extension or trade.

The Pelicans have two more extension candidates with whom they’ll likely explore new deals before the season begins. Like Ingram, Jose Alvarado will be extension-eligible all year, but the team faces an October 21 deadline in its talks with Murphy. If Murphy hasn’t signed a rookie scale extension by that time, he’ll become a restricted free agent next July.

Murphy, 24, hasn’t made fewer than 38.0% of his three-point attempts in any of his three NBA seasons and has increased his shot volume every year, from 3.0 attempts per game as a rookie to 7.8 last season.

A player who can shoot like that and hold his own on defense is an extremely valuable asset and that will be reflected in his next contract. RJ Barrett, Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro, Jaden McDaniels, and Devin Vassell all received four- or five-year rookie scale extensions ranging from $107-135MM during the 2022 and 2023 offseasons. I expect Murphy to seek a deal at least in that neighborhood.

The cost for Alvarado shouldn’t be as high, but he’ll certainly be due a raise on his current minimum-salary contract after having established himself as a reliable rotation player for the Pelicans. The 26-year-old would be an unrestricted free agent next summer, so I expect New Orleans will make an effort to stop him from reaching the open market, but it remains to be seen how high the front office will be comfortable going for a reserve like Alvarado.

The Pelicans are currently carrying 15 players on standard contracts on three on two-way deals, so barring a preseason trade involving Ingram and/or a center, the roster looks pretty close to being set for the regular season.

We’ll see whether 15th man Matt Ryan opens the season on the roster or is waived for financial reasons. It’s also possible New Orleans will make a change or two to its two-way players — Malcolm Hill, whose two-way deal carried over from 2023/24, didn’t appear in a single game for the Pelicans last season, so it’s unclear whether he’s in their plans going forward. For what it’s worth, he had a strong year in the G League.

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26 NBA Teams Have Made At Least One Offseason Trade

August 29th, 2024 at 9:31am CST by Luke Adams

Since the NBA’s 2024 offseason began, 29 trades have been completed, as our tracker shows. A total of 26 teams have been involved in those 29 deals, with 20 clubs (two-thirds of the league) making multiple trades.

The defending champion Celtics are one of the four teams not to have made a trade this offseason, having been content to essentially run it back with the same group that went 16-3 in the postseason this past spring. The Bucks, Cavaliers, and Lakers also haven’t completed any deals since the season ended.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Knicks have been the most active team on the trade market, completing an eye-popping seven deals, two more than any other team.

Most of those trades were minor moves made during the draft — New York entered day one holding the 24th, 25th, and 38th overall picks, but ended up trading down in (or out of) the draft multiple times using the Nos. 24 and 38 selections, then acquired the No. 34 pick in a separate deal. Of course, the Knicks’ one non-draft trade was a big one, as they acquired Mikal Bridges from their cross-town rivals in Brooklyn.

Besides the Knicks, the Thunder were the most active team on the trade market this summer. They kicked off trade season by completing the first of this offseason’s 29 deals (acquiring Alex Caruso from Chicago) and then made four more, for a total of five. The Spurs and Trail Blazers made four trades apiece.

Here are some more details on this offseason’s deals:

  • The Nets, Hawks, Wizards, Mavericks, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Suns, and Warriors have each made three offseason trades, while the Raptors, Bulls, Pistons, Hornets, Grizzlies, Rockets, Nuggets, and Kings completed two apiece. That leaves the Sixers, Pacers, Heat, Magic, Jazz, and Clippers as the teams that have made just one trade.
  • A total of six 2024 first-round picks were traded this offseason, with one of those picks (No. 26) changing hands twice. The highest 2024 picks traded this summer were No. 8 (Rob Dillingham; Spurs to Timberwolves) and No. 14 (Carlton Carrington; Trail Blazers to Wizards).
  • Predictably, this year’s second-rounders were involved in far more trades than the first-rounders. Sixteen of the 28 second-round picks in the draft changed hands at least once since the offseason began, with four of those selections having been included in multiple deals — the No. 40 (Oso Ighodaro) and No. 52 (Quinten Post) picks were dealt three times, while Nos. 51 (Melvin Ajinca) and 56 (Kevin McCullar) were each moved twice.
  • A total of 12 future first-round picks and 30 future second-round picks changed hands in trades this offseason, along with six future first-round pick swaps and four future second-round swaps.
  • While some of those future traded picks included most/least favorable language, nearly all of them should convey as planned — only two traded first-rounders (and one swap) included any form of protection, and that protection was light (no more than top-four protected). Additionally, just three of the 30 traded second-rounders were protected.
  • Of the 29 trades made this offseason, 25 were straightforward two-team agreements. A pair of deals were three-teamers, one involved four teams, and one was the first six-team trade in NBA history.
  • A total of 29 veteran players on existing NBA contracts were traded this offseason, with two of those 29 players – Mamadi Diakite and E.J. Liddell – on the move twice and one of them – RaiQuan Gray – on a two-way deal. Another eight players were signed-and-traded, while an additional four players who were selected in a draft prior to 2024 draft had their NBA rights sent to new teams.
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NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Miami Heat

August 28th, 2024 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Miami Heat.

Free agent signings

  • Haywood Highsmith: Two years, $10,816,000. Re-signed using Bird rights.
  • Kevin Love: Two years, $8,000,000. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
  • Thomas Bryant: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception. Waived right to veto trade.
  • Alec Burks: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Zyon Pullin: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Isaiah Stevens: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

  • Acquired the draft rights to Pelle Larsson (No. 44 pick; from Rockets) and cash (from Hawks) in a three-team trade in exchange for the draft rights to Nikola Djurisic (No. 43 pick; to Hawks).

Draft picks

  • 1-15: Kel’el Ware
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $20,466,072).
  • 2-44: Pelle Larsson
    • Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract ($5,408,801). First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed. Third-year team option.

Two-way signings

Departed/unsigned free agents

Other moves

  • Signed Bam Adebayo to a three-year, maximum-salary veteran extension that begins in 2026/27. Projected value of $165,348,864. Includes third-year player option.
  • Waived Orlando Robinson.

Salary cap situation

  • Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and between the first tax apron ($178.1MM) and second tax apron ($188.9MM).
  • Carrying approximately $184.8MM in salary.
  • No hard cap.
  • Taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.2MM) available, but can’t be used due to proximity to second apron.
  • One traded player exception frozen/unavailable (worth $6,477,319).

The offseason so far

For a second consecutive summer, the Heat entered the offseason facing the possibility of losing two key rotation players. After watching Gabe Vincent sign with the Lakers and Max Strus head to Cleveland in 2023, Miami saw Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith reach unrestricted free agency last month.

Technically, there were no cap restrictions preventing Miami from making aggressive bids to retain both players, but the Heat’s front office made it clear – based on its actions and via media reports – that it had no intention of hamstringing itself by surpassing the second tax apron, which would significantly limit the team’s ability to make moves on the trade market. As a result, the club had to hope that the market for Martin and Highsmith wasn’t robust and that the two wings might be inclined to return at a team-friendly price.

While neither Martin nor Highsmith landed as lucrative a contract as we might’ve expected at the start of the summer, Martin still exited Miami, signing with the conference rival Sixers. But the Heat were able to bring Highsmith back into the fold, agreeing to a two-year contract worth a little more than the taxpayer mid-level exception. It’s a good price for a talented defender whose offensive game has grown in the past couple years as he earned a spot in the team’s regular rotation.

After accounting for Highsmith’s deal, a new two-year, $8MM agreement with Kevin Love, and a rookie scale contract for No. 15 overall pick Kel’el Ware, the Heat had little flexibility to fill out the rest of their roster while operating under the second apron.

Using the taxpayer mid-level exception would’ve pushed Miami’s salary over the second apron, so the club had to settle for filling its remaining openings with minimum-salary signings. That included a new deal for returning big man Thomas Bryant, plus minimum-salary commitments to veteran guard Alec Burks and second-round pick Pelle Larsson. The team is currently carrying 14 players on standard contracts and is unable to add a 15th man without surpassing the second apron.

Burks is a solid value on a minimum deal, and based on the Heat’s recent track record in the draft, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ware and/or Larrson develop into reliable contributors sooner or later. I wasn’t as high on the deals with Love and Bryant, however.

Love’s first-year salary is $3.85MM, whereas if he had signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract, he would’ve earned about $3.3MM with a cap hit of $2.1MM. Clearly, the Heat felt they needed to go above the minimum and add a second year to bring one of their veteran leaders back in the fold, but it’s a bit of a tough pill to swallow when they have so little financial flexibility — a one-year minimum deal for Love would’ve provided more room to operate below the second apron, allowing for the addition of a 15th man.

Bryant, meanwhile, was in and out of the Heat’s rotation last season and looked like a player whose days in Miami were numbered. When he declined his minimum-salary player option in order to test the market, it appeared the Heat had lucked out, but perhaps he knew he’d have an offer from his former team waiting for him as a fallback option if he didn’t find a more favorable opportunity elsewhere. I was surprised the Heat re-signed Bryant, but it’s possible they expect to get more from the veteran center now that he has a year with the organization under his belt.

The one big-money move the Heat made this summer was to lock up defensive anchor Bam Adebayo to a three-year, maximum-salary extension. The deal doesn’t go into effect until 2026/27, so Adebayo is now under contract for at least the next four seasons, with a player option for 2028/29.

It’s not out of the question that Adebayo, who has finished in the top five of Defensive Player of the Year voting for five seasons in a row, could win the award in 2025. If he did – or if he made an All-NBA team – he would’ve become super-max eligible, so it made sense for the Heat to extend one of the league’s best big men sooner rather than later in order to eliminate the possibility of Adebayo increasing his maximum salary.

Up next

Things didn’t go as smoothly with the Heat’s other extension-eligible star this offseason as they did with Adebayo. Reports in the spring indicated that Jimmy Butler would be seeking a new maximum-salary deal; asked about those reports, Heat president Pat Riley expressed reluctance to put such an offer on the table for the 34-year-old, who has battled injuries in recent years.

Despite some trade speculation involving Butler, the situation didn’t come to a head this summer. The six-time All-Star remains committed to the Heat, but has indicated he’ll wait until next offseason – when he could become a free agent by turning down his 2025/26 player option – to sign a new contract. There’s nothing to resolve before the season begins, in other words, but this is a situation worth monitoring into the season in case things take a turn for the worse.

The Heat’s other extension-eligible veteran, Terry Rozier, seems unlikely to sign a new contract before the season begins. He’s still under contract for two more years and has only played 31 games with Miami since being acquired from Charlotte in a mid-season trade. The team will probably want to take a longer look at Rozier’s fit with the rest of the roster in before deciding whether to make a longer-term commitment to him.

The Heat’s 14-man standard roster looks good to go for the regular season, but it’s possible more changes will come to their two-way slots before opening night. Miami already made one offseason swap, signing Zyon Pullin to a two-way deal, then waiving him in favor of Summer League standout Josh Christopher. Christopher, Dru Smith, and Keshad Johnson currently occupy those two-way slots, but a strong preseason from Pullin, Isaiah Stevens, or another camp invitee could lead to another change.

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NBA Teams With Fewest Players On Guaranteed Contracts

August 28th, 2024 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

As of Wednesday, eight of the NBA’s 30 teams are carrying at least 15 players on guaranteed contracts and are unlikely to have many additional offseason acquisitions in store. Another 17 teams are carrying either 13 or 14 players on guaranteed deals.

As our roster counts page shows, that leaves five clubs carrying 12 or fewer players on fully guaranteed deals. That doesn’t necessarily mean all five of those teams will sign free agents to guaranteed contracts before the regular season begins, but it’s worth checking in on them to take a closer look at their roster situations.

[RELATED: 2024/25 Non-Guaranteed Contracts By Team]

Cleveland Cavaliers

No NBA team has fewer players on fully guaranteed salaries than the Cavaliers, who are carrying just 10 of them. However, we can probably pencil in two more players for their standard regular season roster — Craig Porter played rotation minutes last season and has a $1MM partial guarantee, while Sam Merrill proved to be a bargain on his non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal.

If we assume those 12 players will be on the Cavs’ opening night roster, that leaves three openings. Cleveland reportedly plans to leave one open, and one may be earmarked for restricted free agent Isaac Okoro, but even if Okoro returns, the club will still need to add one more player to its roster as a 14th man. It will be interesting to see if the Cavs target a specific free agent and offer him a guaranteed contract or if they’ll bring multiple non-guaranteed players to camp to compete for that 14th spot.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors have 12 players on fully guaranteed salaries, with Lindy Waters and Gui Santos also in the mix on non-guaranteed salaries. Golden State doesn’t currently have the flexibility to sign a veteran free agent as a 15th man due to the team’s close proximity to its hard cap of $178.1MM, but either Waters or Santos could be waived to make room for a replacement.

The Warriors gave up a second-round pick in June to acquire Waters, so I doubt the plan is to waive him. Santos’ future is less certain. He barely played in the NBA last season as a rookie, and his G League numbers (including a .437 FG% and 3.1 turnovers per game) weren’t exceptional. If the Dubs want to bring in another player to fill out their regular season roster (they’re reportedly working out Bruno Caboclo this week), Santos looks like the best bet to be the odd man out.

Indiana Pacers

Although the Pacers have just 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, they have at least four players in the mix for the final three spots on their roster, including two with partial guarantees (James Johnson and James Wiseman) and two on non-guaranteed deals (Kendall Brown and Cole Swider).

I expect Johnson and Wiseman to have the upper hand for spots on the 15-man roster, with Brown and Swider potentially fighting for the 15th spot — assuming Indiana even carries a full 15-man squad to open the regular season.

For what it’s worth, the Pacers have shown a willingness in the past to move Johnson on and off their roster. Last season, he signed four separate contracts with the club, including two 10-day deals. But the fact that Indiana gave him a $750K guarantee on his newest contract is an indication the team doesn’t plan on cutting the veteran forward before opening night.

Philadelphia 76ers

While the Sixers technically only have 12 players on guaranteed salaries for the time being, that number will increase to 13 once Guerschon Yabusele officially signs with the team. He’s likely still working out the logistics of the move, including his buyout with Real Madrid and clearance from FIBA.

Once Yabusele has signed, Philadelphia will have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Ricky Council on a non-guaranteed deal. I can’t imagine Council is going anywhere after his promising rookie season, so the only question for the Sixers will be whether or not they want to carry a 15th man to open the year. They’re well into tax territory already, so they may hold that spot open unless there’s a specific player they like and don’t want to get away.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings currently have 14 players on standard contracts — 12 on guaranteed deals, plus Orlando Robinson with a partial guarantee ($500K) and Keon Ellis on a non-guaranteed salary.

Ellis was a rotation player for much of last season and should be a lock for the regular season roster. On the surface, Robinson may not look like a sure thing, but the Kings’ cap situation works in his favor. The club is currently only below the tax line by about $1MM, so eating Robinson’s $500K partial guarantee in order to replace him with a newcomer before the season starts wouldn’t be the most financially prudent move.

I’d expect the Kings to keep their 15th roster spot open to start the season. If they carry someone in that spot, it might be another player on a non-guaranteed deal for the sake of flexibility.

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Deadline Looms For Teams To Stretch 2024/25 Salaries

August 28th, 2024 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Thursday, August 29 is the last day that an NBA team will be able to waive a player who has a fully or partially guaranteed salary for 2024/25 and stretch that player’s ’24/25 salary across multiple seasons.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Stretch Provision]

The stretch provision deadline has historically been August 31, and while that’s technically still the case, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement tweaked the wording of the rule. As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), in order to apply the stretch provision to a player’s current-season salary, a team must now ensure the player clears waivers on or before August 31 rather than simply requesting waivers on him by August 31.

The adjusted wording is similar to the CBA language related to the league-wide salary guarantee date in January. In that case, a team must place a player on waivers on or before January 7 in order to have him clear waivers ahead of the league-wide Jan. 10 guarantee date. In the case of the stretch provision rule, a player whose salary is being stretched now must be waived by August 29 at 4:00 pm Central time to ensure he has cleared waivers prior to September 1.

A player who clears waivers between September 1 and the end of the 2024/25 season can still have his cap hit(s) for 2025/26 and future seasons stretched across multiple years, assuming he’s owed guaranteed money beyond this season. But his ’24/25 cap charge would remain unchanged in that scenario, unless he reaches a buyout agreement with his team.

The stretch provision allows teams to gain some short-term relief at the cost of reduced long-term flexibility. It’s used most frequently by teams in the luxury tax who want to lower their projected tax bill (or duck out of tax territory entirely) or by teams who want to create a little extra cap room to accommodate a specific roster move.

Teams haven’t employed the stretch provision all that frequently in recent years, but three players waived this week will have their guaranteed money stretched across multiple seasons. The Suns are stretching the $21.75MM owed to Nassir Little for the next three years, as well as the $2,120,693 owed to E.J. Liddell for 2024/25, while the Grizzlies are stretching Mamadi Diakite‘s $1,392,150 partial guarantee for ’24/25.

Since the stretch provision allows a team to spread the player’s remaining salary across twice the remaining years on his contract, plus one additional year, the new cap hits for those players will be as follows:

  • Little (Suns): $3,107,143 for seven seasons (through 2030/31)
  • Liddell (Suns): $706,898 for three seasons (through 2026/27)
  • Diakite (Grizzlies): $464,050 for three seasons (through 2026/27)

The Suns’ moves reduce their projected tax bill, while the Grizzlies’ move creates a little additional breathing room below the tax line.

We likely won’t see a flurry of cuts today and tomorrow in order to take advantage of this rule, but the deadline is still worth keeping in mind for the possibilities it will take off the table. Any player on a guaranteed expiring contract who is waived after August 29 will have his remaining salary count entirely against his team’s ’24/25 books.

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Longest-Tenured NBA Head Coaches

August 28th, 2024 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

It has been another eventful year on the NBA’s head coaching carousel, with eight teams making coaching changes since the calendar flipped to 2024.

That group includes the Cavaliers, whose previous head coach – J.B. Bickerstaff – ranked sixth on the list of the NBA’s longest-tenured coaches prior to his dismissal this spring. Bickerstaff ultimately found a new job in Detroit, so he’s back on the list below — but he now ranks 30th, since he’s the head coach who was most recently hired.

Improbably, after Bucks coach Adrian Griffin and Suns coach Frank Vogel placed 28th and 29th on this list last year as two of the league’s most recent hires, Milwaukee and Phoenix have moved up to 24th and 27th on this year’s iteration despite each making coaching changes in 2024.

Six new head coaches have been hired since the Bucks named Doc Rivers as Griffin’s replacement in January, while three head coaches were hired this summer after the Suns tabbed Mike Budenholzer to replace Vogel in May.

Here’s the current breakdown of the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches by team:

  1. Gregg Popovich, Spurs: December 1996
  2. Erik Spoelstra, Heat: April 2008
  3. Steve Kerr, Warriors: May 2014
  4. Michael Malone, Nuggets: June 2015
  5. Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies: June 2019
  6. Tom Thibodeau, Knicks: July 2020
  7. Billy Donovan, Bulls: September 2020
  8. Tyronn Lue, Clippers: October 2020
  9. Mark Daigneault, Thunder: November 2020
  10. Chris Finch, Timberwolves: February 2021
  11. Rick Carlisle, Pacers: June 24, 2021
  12. Chauncey Billups, Trail Blazers: June 27, 2021
  13. Jason Kidd, Mavericks: June 28, 2021
  14. Jamahl Mosley, Magic: July 11, 2021
  15. Willie Green, Pelicans: July 22, 2021
  16. Mike Brown, Kings: May 2022
  17. Will Hardy, Jazz: June 2022
  18. Joe Mazzulla, Celtics: September 2022
    • Note: Mazzulla became the Celtics’ interim head coach in September 2022 and was named the permanent head coach in February 2023.
  19. Quin Snyder, Hawks: February 2023
  20. Ime Udoka, Rockets: April 2023
  21. Nick Nurse, Sixers: June 1, 2023
  22. Darko Rajakovic, Raptors: June 13, 2023
  23. Brian Keefe, Wizards: January 25, 2024
    • Note: Keefe became the Wizards’ interim head coach in January 2024 and was named the permanent head coach in May 2024.
  24. Doc Rivers, Bucks: January 26, 2024
  25. Jordi Fernandez, Nets: April 2024
  26. Charles Lee, Hornets: May 9, 2024
  27. Mike Budenholzer, Suns: May 11, 2024
  28. J.J. Redick, Lakers: June 24, 2024
  29. Kenny Atkinson, Cavaliers: June 28, 2024
  30. J.B. Bickerstaff, Pistons: July 2024

There was above-average stability among the top half of the league’s longest-tenured coaches in the past year — Bickerstaff was the only one in the top 15 to be replaced.

Still, this list reflects how difficult it is for an NBA head coach to stick in one place. Only five active coaches have more than four seasons under their belts with their current clubs, while exactly half of the league’s current coaches have been with their teams for no more than two seasons.

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