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Community Shootaround: Pelicans’ Ceiling

August 29th, 2022 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Perhaps the most significant addition any team has made this offseason didn’t involve the draft, free agency or a trade.

Zion Williamson didn’t play a single minute for the Pelicans last season due to his lingering foot issues. Williamson was signed to a max extension in early July, ending any speculation about his commitment to the organization and vice versa.

When the top pick of the 2019 draft appeared in 61 games the previous season, he put up giant numbers: 27 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 3.7 APG. From all appearances, Williamson should be ready to go when camps open late next month.

Adjustments will have to be made with Williamson returning to action but the Pelicans have the potential to lead the NBA in scoring. They have two other prolific scorers in CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram and an offensively-gifted center in Jonas Valanciunas.

Add in defensive ace Herbert Jones and some solid second unit pieces in Larry Nance Jr., Devonte’ Graham, Trey Murphy, Jaxson Hayes and lottery pick Dyson Daniels and there’s plenty of reasons for optimism among New Orleans fans. They also have a fine young coach in Willie Green, who stayed calm through a rough start last season and guided the team into the postseason.

New Orleans had only 36 victories during the regular season but fought through the play-in tournament and into the first round against Phoenix, where it put up a good fight before falling 4-2. That experience should serve the Pelicans well in future trips to the playoffs.

Certainly, the organization is on the upswing three years removed from the Anthony Davis trade.

That brings us to our question of the day: With the return of Zion Williamson this upcoming season, what is a realistic goal for the Pelicans? Do they need to upgrade in any area or do they already have the look of a serious contender?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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Super-Max Candidates To Watch In 2022/23

August 29th, 2022 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Designated Veteran extension, as we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, is a relatively new addition to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. It allows players with seven, eight, or nine years of NBA service, who would normally be eligible for a maximum starting salary of 30% of the cap, to qualify for a “super-max” contract that starts at 35% of the cap, a level normally reserved players with 10+ years of experience.

A player who has seven or eight years of NBA service with one or two years left on his contract becomes eligible for a Designated Veteran extension if he meets the required performance criteria and hasn’t been traded since his first four years in the league. A Designated Veteran contract can also be signed by a player who is technically a free agent if he has eight or nine years of service and meets the required criteria.

The performance criteria is as follows (only one of the following must be true):

  • The player was named to an All-NBA team and/or was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
  • The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.

Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker, and Karl-Anthony Towns have all signed super-max extensions this offseason. Jokic qualified for his Designated Veteran extension when he earned his first MVP award in 2021, while Booker and Towns became eligible when they made All-NBA teams in 2022.

There aren’t as many obvious candidates to meet the Designated Veteran criteria in 2022/23, but there are still a handful of players worth keeping an eye on. Here’s a look at some super-max candidates to watch during the ’22/23 season:

Jaylen Brown / Jayson Tatum (Celtics)

Brown has never made an All-NBA team, but he was an All-Star in 2021 and received All-NBA votes in 2022, so he could very well be in the mix in 2023.

Brown’s situation is an interesting one — he’s unlikely to sign a standard contract extension before reaching free agency because the maximum raise (20%) on his 2023/24 salary ($30,723,214) would fall well short of his projected maximum salary for the 2024/25 season as a free agent.

Meeting the super-max criteria would change that equation, making Brown eligible for a far more substantial raise on a DVE. But would the Celtics be willing to commit to a five-year super-max contract for their second-best player? The NBA hasn’t issued a cap projection for ’24/25 yet, but if we assume a $143MM cap (a $10MM bump on the projected $133MM cap for ’23/24), a five-year DVE that begins in 2024 would be worth $290MM+.

Tatum, meanwhile, made the All-NBA First Team in 2022, putting him in a very good position to maximize his earnings.

Because he’ll only have six years of NBA service under his belt at the end of the 2022/23 season, Tatum won’t have enough experience to sign a super-max extension next offseason. But if he makes another All-NBA team, he will have met the performance criteria, having earned All-NBA honors in two of the three years before he gains the necessary service time for a DVE.

That’s what happened with Jokic — he met the performance criteria in 2021, but couldn’t sign his super-max extension until he met the service time criteria in 2022. Another strong season from Tatum could put the Celtics forward in the same boat.

Pascal Siakam / Fred VanVleet (Raptors)

Siakam and VanVleet aren’t among the NBA’s top tier of superstars, but they’re certainly in the second or third tier. Siakam has actually already earned two All-NBA nods, making the Second Team in 2020 and the Third Team in 2022, while VanVleet made his first All-Star team earlier this year. An All-NBA spot for either of them in 2023 would make them super-max eligible next offseason.

Of course, even if one or the other qualifies for a DVE, I’m somewhat skeptical that the Raptors would offer Siakam or VanVleet a full super-max deal. Those contracts are typically reserved for franchise players, and Scottie Barnes may be on track to become that guy in Toronto.

It still makes sense for Siakam and VanVleet to wait to see if they become super-max eligible before they sign extensions. Meeting the performance criteria would give them a ton of extra leverage when they negotiate their next contracts, even if the Raptors aren’t willing to go the DVE route.

Both Siakam and VanVleet have two years left on their respective contracts, though VanVleet could reach unrestricted free agency in 2023, since his final year is a player option.

Brandon Ingram (Pelicans)

An All-Star in 2020, Ingram would need to take another big step forward to become a legitimate All-NBA candidate. And that won’t be easy if Zion Williamson‘s return and a full season of CJ McCollum cut into his scoring numbers.

As is the case with the Raptors and Siakam/VanVleet and the Celtics and Brown, it’s also unclear whether the Pelicans would be eager to put a super-max offer on the table for Ingram even if he qualifies, since he may not be the player the team is building around.

Still, Ingram – who has averaged at least 22.7 points per game in each of the last three seasons – is worth mentioning because he’d be eligible for a four-year super-max contract extension that begins in 2025/26 if he were to make an All-NBA team in 2023.

The rookie scale extension recipients

Ja Morant, Darius Garland, and Zion Williamson have all signed five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extensions this offseason that project to start at 25% of the 2023/24 cap. Based on an estimated $133MM cap, those deals would be worth $192.85MM.

However, all three extensions include Rose Rule language. This is another form of the super-max — unlike the Designated Veteran contracts, which start at 35% of the cap instead of 30%, a player who meets the Rose Rule criteria receives a starting salary worth 30% of the cap rather than 25%.

The performance criteria for a Rose Rule salary increase are essentially the exact same as for a Designated Veteran bump, but must be achieved by the end of the player’s four-year rookie contract. That means Morant, Garland, and Williamson would have to make the All-NBA team in 2023 in order to increase the projected value of their respective extensions to $231.42MM over five years — an All-NBA berth in 2024 or 2025 would be too late.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) writes, while Morant and Garland will earn the Rose Rule bump if they make any of the three All-NBA teams, it’s unclear if that’s the case for Zion as well or if he needs to make the First Team to qualify for the 30% max.

Of these three players, Morant – who was an All-NBA Second Teamer in 2022 – is the best bet to be part of that group of 15 again next season.

The rest

While there are other veteran players who could technically qualify for the super-max this season, none are particularly compelling candidates. Jamal Murray would meet the performance criteria with an All-NBA nod, but that’s a lot to expect from the Nuggets guard, who missed the entire 2021/22 season due to a torn ACL.

Pacers big man Myles Turner is an intriguing dark horse candidate, since he’s capable of entering the Defensive Player of the Year discussion, and winning that award would make him super-max eligible. But the odds of him staying with the Pacers all season, earning DPOY honors, and then signing a super-max deal with Indiana as a free agent are… slim, to say the least.

Ben Simmons, Dejounte Murray, and Domantas Sabonis are among the players who can no longer qualify for a DVE because they’ve been traded while on their second contracts. Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo are among those who don’t have enough service time under their belts yet and would need to earn an All-NBA spot in 2024 to qualify — and again, that would hinge on them remaining with their current teams, which appears increasingly unlikely for Mitchell.

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Pre-Camp Roster Snapshot: Central Division

August 29th, 2022 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is in the process of taking a closer look at each NBA team’s current roster situation, evaluating which clubs still have some moves to make and which ones seem most prepared for training camp to begin.

This series is meant to provide a snapshot of each team’s roster at this time, so these articles won’t be updated in the coming weeks as more signings, trades, and cuts are made. You can follow our roster counts page to keep tabs on teams’ open spots as opening night nears.

We’re continuing our pre-camp Roster Snapshot series today with the Central Division. Let’s dive in…

Chicago Bulls

The roster situation in Chicago looks pretty straightforward. The 15 players on guaranteed contracts are all good bets to open the season on the 15-man roster, and Hill is probably the frontrunner to fill the second two-way spot.

Barring a surprise, the main lingering question is whether the Bulls will remain committed to having Lewis fill one of their two-way slots after he suffered an ACL injury.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Sexton’s restricted free agency is the only major issue the Cavaliers have yet to resolve. They reportedly have a three-year, $40MM offer out to Sexton, who is seeking a larger payday — the Cavs seem unlikely to increase that offer, since they’re only about $13MM below the luxury tax line and are committed to staying out of tax territory.

If Sexton returns, either on that three-year offer or on his qualifying offer, the Cavs will have 16 players on standard contracts and could trade or release a player with a guaranteed salary in order to carry both Stevens and Wade. Osman and Windler are among the candidates to be the odd man out in that scenario.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons have to trade or waive two players on guaranteed contracts before opening night. Walker is the most obvious candidate to be one of them — a report nearly two months ago indicated he and the team were close to finalizing a buyout agreement, but Detroit may be hanging onto him to see if his expiring contract can be used in a trade.

Lee and McGruder are among the candidates to be the other roster casualty, with Lee perhaps more at risk — it would be an unusual move for the Pistons to sign McGruder to a fully guaranteed contract in free agency only to release him a couple months later.

Indiana Pacers

After having their offer sheet for Deandre Ayton matched, the Pacers have a ton of cap room available and continue to explore various ways to use it. There’s also still a possibility Indiana will make a trade involving Hield and/or Turner, so the roster is far from set.

If no trades are forthcoming, the Pacers would have three roster spots to fill — one on their projected 15-man squad, along with a pair of two-way deals. Brown – one of this year’s last remaining unsigned draftees – seems more likely to end up on a two-way contract than a standard deal, but Indiana could go either way with him, depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out.

Milwaukee Bucks

If a rival suitor were interested in making a serious play for Nwora, it probably would’ve happened by now, so a return to Milwaukee is the likeliest outcome for his restricted free agency. If he re-signs, he’d fill the final open spot on the Bucks’ 15-man roster — and with both two-way slots filled, the team’s roster would look pretty set.

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NBA Free Agents Who Have Joined International Teams

August 29th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

With a new crop of rookies entering the NBA this fall, there won’t be enough room for all of the free agents who finished the 2021/22 season on NBA teams to find new jobs in the league.

Some of those players who are left on the outside looking in will retire. Many others will find work around the world, in one of the many professional basketball leagues in Europe, Asia, Australia, or South America.

As our free agent tracker shows, there have been 15 players so far who were on an NBA roster when the season ended in April and have since joined an international team.

That list of 15 doesn’t include players like Semi Ojeleye or James Ennis, who played in the NBA in 2021/22 but weren’t under contract with a team at the end of the season. We’ve been keeping tabs on many of those players and their new teams throughout the offseason, but the players listed below were all NBA free agents this spring.

Here are the details on where those players are headed:

Australia

China

France

Germany

Greece

Italy

Lithuania

Philippines

  • Bay Area Dragons: Myles Powell, Sixers (story)
    • Note: The Dragons normally play in Hong Kong, but are temporarily based in Manila in the Philippines due to COVID-19 restrictions in Hong Kong.

Spain

Turkey

With dozens of veterans still unsigned just four weeks before NBA training camps begin, it’s a safe bet that we’ll be adding a few more names to the above list before the season tips off in October.

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Community Shootaround: Nets’ Title Hopes

August 27th, 2022 at 8:31am CST by Dana Gauruder

All that drama surrounding the Nets this offseason can be filed under “Much ado about nothing.”

Kyrie Irving remains on the roster. So does Kevin Durant, who has rescinded his trade demand after potential suitors couldn’t meet the Nets’ astronomical asking price. Steve Nash is still the head coach and Sean Marks is still running the front office, even though Durant wanted them both fired a few weeks ago.

While the franchise appeared foolish and dysfunctional throughout the process, there’s one caveat: The Nets, on paper, have a really good team. In fact, they may be even better than they looked at the start of last season, when Durant, Irving and James Harden were expected to carry them to the Finals.

Irving won’t have to miss home games due to his vaccination status. Durant, who missed a chunk of last season due to a knee injury, will enter camp healthy and presumably motivated by all the drama he created.

Then, of course, there’s Ben Simmons, who never suited up last season due to mental health issues and a back injury that required surgery. From all indications, he’ll be ready to go by training camp. His passing skills and defensive versatility could make him a better fit alongside Durant and Irving than Harden was.

Joe Harris, the team’s highly-paid floor spacer, should be ready to stretch defenses again after rehabbing from an ankle injury that wrecked his 2021/22 campaign. Royce O’Neale was acquired from Utah to fill a “dirty work” role at forward and the front office took a flyer on T.J. Warren, who could provide an offensive boost off the bench if he’s finally recovered from his foot ailments.

Though they lost some role players (Bruce Brown, Goran Dragic), the Nets still have rotation pieces Seth Curry, Nic Claxton, Patty Mills, Cam Thomas and Kessler Edwards, plus some roster openings to add more depth.

That brings us to our question of the day: Now that the Nets and Durant have decided to continue their partnership, is Brooklyn once again a serious contender for the championship? Do you foresee them being a major factor in the postseason or will more turmoil and drama bring them down?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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Pre-Camp Roster Snapshot: Southwest Division

August 26th, 2022 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is in the process of taking a closer look at each NBA team’s current roster situation, evaluating which clubs still have some moves to make and which ones seem most prepared for training camp to begin.

This series is meant to provide a snapshot of each team’s roster at this time, so these articles won’t be updated in the coming weeks as more signings, trades, and cuts are made. You can follow our roster counts page to keep tabs on teams’ open spots as opening night nears.

We’re continuing our pre-camp Roster Snapshot series today with the Southwest Division. Let’s dive in…

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are carrying some role players on eight-figure contracts whose names will likely come up in trade rumors in the coming months, but there’s no need for the team to make any major moves before the regular season begins.

Given that team salary is well over the luxury tax line, Dallas could either add a 15th man or leave the spot empty for now — the club is more likely to fill its open two-way slot, with camp invitees like Gueye, Hall, and Wright perhaps vying for consideration.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets will have to trade or release at least three players before the regular season begins, but seem to be in no rush to make those moves quite yet.

Brown, Burke, and Chriss – all acquired from Dallas in the Christian Wood trade – are among the players whose roster spots are in jeopardy. If Houston wants Fernando and/or Cauley-Stein on its regular season roster, more than three players with guaranteed contracts will need to be let go.

Once the Rockets start parting ways with players on guaranteed salaries, they could fill out their 20-man offseason roster with camp invitees and perhaps one more two-way player.

Memphis Grizzlies

Green, who is recovering from a torn ACL and may not return until the spring, is the most obvious odd man out for the 15-man regular season roster, but it’s possible the Grizzlies have other plans. Green, whose $10MM expiring contract is already guaranteed for $6.96MM, could be useful as a trade chip or even as a rotation player in the playoffs if he’s able to make it back.

If they want to retain Green, the Grizzlies could look to make a minor trade involving a player like Santi Aldama, Killian Tillie, or Xavier Tillman to create room on the roster.

New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans made their big 2022 addition at the February trade deadline when they acquired McCollum, so it’s no surprise they’ve had a quiet offseason. Still, it’s almost been eerily quiet in New Orleans, with their second-round pick (Liddell) still unsigned, and a reported two-way agreement for Seabron still not finalized.

The Pelicans’ 15-man regular season roster, at least, looks pretty set — most of Alvarado’s minimum salary is guaranteed and he’d be a lock to make the team even if it wasn’t. So it’s mostly a matter of determining who will fill the two-way slots.

It’s possible those spots are simply earmarked for Liddell and Seabron, but Liddell tore his ACL during the Las Vegas Summer League, so the team may prefer he signs a G League contract and spends the season rehabilitating in Birmingham, while reserving a two-way slot for a player who can actually contribute on the court.

San Antonio Spurs

With approximately $30MM in cap room still available, it’s possible the Spurs still have another move or two up their sleeves before the season begins.

For now, there’s a bit of a roster crunch, but if San Antonio were to trade, say, McDermott and Richardson to Los Angeles for Russell Westbrook and draft picks, then bought out Westbrook, that would create the roster flexibility necessary to carry Bates-Diop, Jones, and one more player (perhaps Johnson) in addition to the 12 others on guaranteed deals.

If the Spurs don’t make any trades and want to keep Bates-Diop and Jones, they’ll have to cut at least one player with a guaranteed salary.

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The Complications Of Protecting Far-Off Traded Picks

August 26th, 2022 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

Much has been made this offseason of the Lakers‘ ability to trade only their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. That limitation is the result of two NBA restrictions related to draft-pick trades — the “Stepien” rule and the “seven-year” rule.

As we explain in our glossary entry, the Stepien rule prevents teams from leaving themselves without a first-round pick in two consecutive future drafts, while the seven-year rule prohibits teams from trading draft picks more than seven years in the future.

The Lakers traded their 2024 first-round pick to the Pelicans in the Anthony Davis blockbuster and gave New Orleans the option to defer that pick to 2025. Because New Orleans may receive that pick in ’24, the Stepien rule prohibits the Lakers from leaving themselves without a first-rounder in 2023. And because New Orleans may defer the pick to ’25, L.A. also can’t trade its ’26 first-rounder.

That leaves the Lakers’ 2027, 2028, and 2029 first-round picks as tradable — their picks in 2030 and beyond are currently off-limits because they’re eight or more drafts away. But moving the 2028 pick would render the ’27 and ’29 first-rounders unmovable due to the Stepien rule, which is why we haven’t heard that ’28 selection mentioned in any rumors this summer.

As the Lakers mull the possibility of attaching their 2027 first-round pick and/or their 2029 selection to Russell Westbrook‘s contract in order to acquire multiple rotation players, the potential protection on those first-rounders will be a major consideration.

NBA clubs are generally hesitant to move unprotected first-round picks, especially when they’re so far down the road — after all, it’s entirely possible that neither LeBron James nor Davis will be a Laker by 2027. Los Angeles will want to give itself some protection – even if it’s light protection – in the event that the club bottoms out and that ’27 pick ends up at No. 1.

However, pick protections become complicated when discussing draft assets that are five, six, or seven years down the road due to the seven-year rule. Not only can a team not trade a 2030 pick right now, but it also can’t push the protections on a pick beyond 2029.

As a reference point, let’s consider the first-round pick that the Pistons sent the Rockets in the Isaiah Stewart/Trevor Ariza/Christian Wood trade during the 2020 offseason. At the time of that deal, the protections on the Pistons’ traded first-rounder were as follows:

  • 2021: Top-16 protected
  • 2022: Top-16 protected
  • 2023: Top-18 protected
  • 2024: Top-18 protected
  • 2025: Top-13 protected
  • 2026: Top-11 protected
  • 2027: Top-9 protected

The Pistons pushed the seven-year rule to the limit with that traded first-rounder, applying protections to all seven years in which the pick might change hands.

The selection, which has since been rerouted from Houston to Oklahoma City to New York, has yet to convey, but there’s a very good chance it will do so eventually, unless the Pistons’ rebuild really crashes and burns. If the first-rounder remains protected through 2027, the Knicks would instead receive the Pistons’ 2027 second-round pick, since Detroit wasn’t able to push the protections into 2028 due to the seven-year rule.

With that in mind, it’s worth considering what the Lakers can realistically do with protections on their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks.

Let’s suppose they want to put top-10 protection on their 2027 first-rounder, then push that first-rounder to 2028 if it lands in the top 10 in ’27. Due to the Stepien rule, taking that approach would jeopardize their ability to trade their 2029 pick, since they wouldn’t be able to trade both their 2028 and 2029 first-rounders.

To work around that issue, the Lakers might suggest leaving those top-10 protections on the 2027 pick and sending their trade partner second-round picks in 2027 and 2028 if the first-rounder lands in its protected range. That would leave the 2028 first-round pick untouched and would preserve L.A.’s ability to trade its 2029 first-rounder.

However, the Lakers’ trade partner would likely be reluctant to sign off on those terms, since that team would only have one shot at the 2027 first-round pick before it turns into a pair of far less valuable second-rounders. Any team discussing a deal with the Lakers would presumably push for that 2027 pick to be unprotected or extremely lightly protected in order to avoid that risk.

So let’s say the Lakers agree to make the 2027 pick unprotected. Could they then add protections to the 2029 pick instead? Well, due to the seven-year rule, there are even fewer options in establishing a backup plan for a protected 2029 first-rounder, since the Lakers wouldn’t have the ability to push that pick to 2030.

Realistically, if the Lakers wanted to add protections to their 2029 first-round pick, they could only agree to send their 2029 second-round pick in its place if the first-rounder landed in its protected range. That’s an even greater risk for a potential trade partner.

The ability to protect traded draft picks gives teams the ability to drastically influence the value of those traded picks. For example, if a lottery-bound team agrees to trade its 2023 first-round pick, but insists on adding top-20 protection and sending a 2026 second-round pick in its place if the first-rounder lands in its protected range, that’s not a very valuable trade asset. On the other hand, if that lottery team agrees to reduce the protections on that traded 2023 first-round pick for each year it doesn’t convey and eventually makes it unprotected, it suddenly becomes far more valuable as a trade chip.

Because the Lakers aren’t really able to take the latter approach with their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks at this point, it will be extremely difficult for them to add meaningful protections to those picks without significantly decreasing their value.

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Community Shootaround: NBA Head Coaches On Hot Seat?

August 25th, 2022 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Nets head coach Steve Nash participated in the recent meeting between Kevin Durant and team leadership that ended with all parties agreeing to “move forward” with their partnership and focus on basketball. Nash also received a vote of confidence from team owner Joe Tsai earlier this month when word first broke that Durant had asked Tsai to trade him or to fire Nash and general manager Sean Marks.

Still, while Nash’s job may be safe for now, it’s hard to imagine he feels fully secure heading into a season in which the Nets are under pressure to finally deliver on their tantalizing potential and make a deep playoff run. Tsai wasn’t going to give in to Durant’s public request to fire Nash this summer, but it’s not as if Nash’s résumé in his two years coaching the club is spotless — if Brooklyn gets off to a slow start this season, his seat could start to get very hot.

Of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, Nash might be the one whose hold on his job is most tenuous, but there are others who will be worth keeping an eye on over the course of the 2022/23 season.

There was some chatter about Tom Thibodeau‘s job security during a disappointing Knicks season in ’21/22, and while it didn’t amount to anything at the time, that chatter will likely pick up again if New York underachieves for a second straight year after signing Jalen Brunson in free agency.

The Sixers are also under some pressure to take a major step forward this season, and while I’d be a little surprised if Doc Rivers is fired, it’s worth noting that he joined the team before president of basketball operations Daryl Morey did, so he wasn’t a Morey hire. If the 76ers fall short of their expectations and exit the postseason early, I could envision Rivers and the team agreeing to “mutually” part ways.

Chauncey Billups only has one year under his belt as the Trail Blazers‘ head coach, so he shouldn’t be in any immediate danger, but expectations will be significantly higher for Portland this year than they were at the end of last season. The same goes for the Hawks and head coach Nate McMillan, as well as Wizards and head coach Wes Unseld Jr.

Dwane Casey of the Pistons and Stephen Silas of the Rockets have been tasked with overseeing rebuilding projects, so it’s difficult to assess their job performances based on win-loss records. As those teams’ rebuilds begin to move into a new stage, it will be interesting to see if Detroit and Houston remain happy with the jobs that Casey and Silas are doing.

We want to know what you think. Are there any head coaches you believe are already on the hot seat, or ones whose jobs might be in danger if they get off to poor starts this season? Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions!

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Teams Have One More Week To Stretch 2022/23 Salaries

August 24th, 2022 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

Wednesday, August 31 is the last day that an NBA team will be able to waive a player who has a guaranteed salary for 2022/23 and stretch that player’s ’22/23 salary across three seasons.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Stretch Provision]

A player who is waived between September 1 and the end of the 2022/23 season can still have his cap hit(s) for 2023/24 and future years stretched across multiple years, assuming he’s owed guaranteed money beyond this season. But his ’22/23 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 that want to either lower their tax bill (or duck out of tax territory entirely) or by teams that want to create a little extra cap room to accommodate a specific roster move.

Teams haven’t employed the stretch provision very frequently over the last couple years, but we saw it utilized in a couple instances last month. The Pacers waived three players with modest 2022/23 salary guarantees and stretched their cap hits across three seasons in order to help make room for their offer sheet to Deandre Ayton.

In that case, Nik Stauskas had his $2,106,932 partial guarantee turned into annual cap hits of $702,311 through 2024/25; Juwan Morgan‘s $1,728,689 partial guarantee was stretched to become three annual cap hits of $576,230; and Malik Fitts‘ $1,665,650 partial guarantee turned into three annual cap hits of $555,217.

The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, stretched Eric Bledsoe‘s $3.9MM partial guarantee across three seasons for equal cap hits of $1.3MM through 2024/25, which allowed Portland to narrowly sneak below this season’s luxury tax line.

Conversely, when the Spurs waived Danilo Gallinari, they simply applied his $13MM partial guarantee to their 2022/23 cap rather than stretching it across three seasons. Stretching that $13MM would’ve created an extra $8.67MM in cap room for San Antonio, but the team had no immediate use for that extra room this season, and opted to keep Gallinari’s dead money off its books for 2023/24 and ’24/25.

There aren’t many remaining candidates to have their 2022/23 salaries stretched, but the deadline is still worth keeping in mind for the possibilities it will take off the table.

For example, while multiple reports have indicated that the Lakers have no plans to waive-and-stretch Russell Westbrook and his $47MM+ cap hit, it’s still technically an option for the club up until next Wednesday. Once the calendar flips to September 1, stretching Westbrook’s salary is no longer a possibility for L.A., and the only way for the club to reduce his ’22/23 cap hit would be to agree to a buyout.

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Community Shootaround: Minnesota Timberwolves

August 23rd, 2022 at 8:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A big reason why Kevin Durant wasn’t traded and Donovan Mitchell remains on Utah’s roster is that the Timberwolves gave up multiple rotation pieces and first-round picks for a player who’s averaged 12.4 points in his career.

The haul that the Jazz received for Rudy Gobert included Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler, and four future first-rounders. All but one of those picks are unprotected.

Of course, Minnesota didn’t acquire Gobert for his offensive skills. Minnesota led the NBA last season with a 115.9 point average but ranked 24th in points allowed (113.3) and 16th in defensive field goal percentage (46.0%).

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year will provide an imposing presence it has lacked at that end of the floor. Gobert is also a prolific rebounder — he led the league in that category last season — and one of the NBA’s top shot-blockers.

By surrendering so many assets, Minnesota essentially took an “all-in” approach, viewing Gobert as the missing piece to a title contender. The Timberwolves now have their own Big Three in Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and Gobert.

Towns is one of the league’s most prolific scorers, as he displayed in his 60-point game in March. He has finished as a top-20 scorer in five of his seven NBA seasons.

There were doubts about Edwards when he was chosen with the first overall pick in 2020 but he has been an offensive force since the second half of his rookie campaign. Edwards averaged 21.3 PPG in his second season and was even more dangerous in six playoff games (25.2 PPG).

The starting lineup is rounded out by point guard D’Angelo Russell and Jaden McDaniels. Russell has been a trade candidate after some poor playoff performances (33.3% shooting, 12 PPG) but he’s averaged nearly 18 points in his career. Last season, he also averaged a career high in assists (7.1 APG) with low turnover numbers (2.5 per game).

Minnesota insisted on keeping McDaniels in trade talks with Utah. A late 2020 pick, McDaniels is viewed by the franchise as one of the top young defensive wings in the league.

The trade sapped the Timberwolves’ depth and they tried to fortify it by using a chunk of their mid-level exception on forward Kyle Anderson. They also added sharpshooter Bryn Forbes and veteran guard Austin Rivers on one-year deals. They still have Jordan McLaughlin to back up Russell and Naz Reid as the primary reserve big man.

The Timberwolves led the league in 3-pointers made (14.8 per game) last season, though percentage-wise they’re just average in that category. Towns is the only member of the lineup who’s an above-average shooter from deep.

Another concern, especially in the postseason, is whether they can keep Towns and Gobert on the floor at the same time when opponents go with small-ball units.

That brings us to our question of the day: Did the acquisition of Gobert make the Timberwolves a serious contender for the NBA championship? If not, what else do they need to reach that level?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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