Hoops Rumors Originals

Checking In On Unsigned 2022 NBA Draft Picks

July 12th, 2022 at 9:58am CST by Luke Adams

As of Tuesday morning, 39 of the players drafted in 2022 have signed their first NBA contracts. That list includes all 30 first-rounders, along with nine second-rounders, as our tracker shows.

A total of 39 signed draftees would typically leave 21 unsigned. However, since two teams forfeited their second-round picks in 2022, only 58 players were drafted. And while Thunder second-rounder Jaylin Williams hasn’t officially signed his contract yet, he has reached an agreement with Oklahoma City, so it should be done soon.

On top of that, the following second-rounders are all considered highly likely to play in international leagues in 2022/23 rather than coming immediately to the NBA:

Detroit Pistons: Gabriele Procida, G
Cleveland Cavaliers: Khalifa Diop, C
Denver Nuggets: Ismael Kamagate, C
Minnesota Timberwolves: Matteo Spagnolo, G
New Orleans Pelicans: Karlo Matkovic, F
Washington Wizards: Yannick Nzosa, C
Cleveland Cavaliers: Luke Travers, G/F
Milwaukee Bucks: Hugo Besson, G

With Williams, the eight draft-and-stash prospects, and two forfeited picks accounted for, we’re down to 10 draftees whose contract situations for 2022/23 remain up in the air.

Those players are as follows:

Indiana Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, G
Toronto Raptors: Christian Koloko, F/C
New Orleans Pelicans: E.J. Liddell, F
Los Angeles Clippers: Moussa Diabate, F
Golden State Warriors: Ryan Rollins, G
Minnesota Timberwolves: Josh Minott, F
Indiana Pacers: Kendall Brown, F
Atlanta Hawks: Tyrese Martin, F
Golden State Warriors: Gui Santos, F
Portland Trail Blazers: Jabari Walker, F

Players selected at the very top of the second round typically receive three- or four-year contracts and a spot on the team’s standard 15-man roster, so we should expect that for Nembhard and Koloko.

The Pacers currently have 17 players on standard deals, but Nik Stauskas, Juwan Morgan, and Malik Fitts were salary filler in the Malcolm Brogdon trade and aren’t locks to stick around. The team may wait until after it has made a decision on how to use its cap room before formally signing Nembhard.

As for the Raptors, they have 15 players on standard contracts, but Armoni Brooks and D.J. Wilson don’t have fully guaranteed contracts and neither is guaranteed a regular season roster spot, so there should be room for Koloko.

Once we get into the 40s, the roster situations start getting a little cloudier. The Pelicans, for instance, already have a full 15-man roster and would have to waive or trade someone to clear a spot for Liddell. They may try to sign him to a two-way contract instead — so far, they’ve only committed one two-way slot to Dereon Seabron.

Diabate is reportedly expected to sign a two-way deal with the Clippers, while Rollins is viewed as a good bet to claim a 15-man roster spot in Golden State, where the Warriors still have four openings — there has been no indication that Rollins’ leg injury changed that plan.

The Timberwolves still have three open 15-man slots and a pair of two-way openings, so they could go either way with Minott. The same is true of the Hawks and Martin. Both clubs have some of their mid-level exception available to go up to three or four years on NBA contracts for their respective second-rounders.

Brown, unlike Nembhard, may not have a clear path to a 15-man roster spot unless the Pacers make some significant moves, but Indiana has both of its two-way slots available.

Santos, the Warriors’ second pick in the second round, is considered likely to be stashed overseas, but that decision reportedly hasn’t been finalized yet.

Finally, the Trail Blazers have one opening on their 15-man roster and one available two-way slot. Given that Portland’s team salary is right around the luxury tax line, I’d expect the team to try to lock up Walker to a two-way deal and leave that final 15-man spot open to start the season.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

2022/23 NBA Roster Counts

July 11th, 2022 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Although NBA rosters are limited to 15 players during the regular season, teams are allowed to carry up to 20 players during the offseason. Expanded offseason rosters allow clubs to bring in players on contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed, giving those players a chance to earn a regular season roster spot or getting a closer look at them before sending them to their G League affiliate.

In addition to the usual 15-man rosters, NBA teams are permitted to carry two players on two-way contracts. Two-way deals essentially give clubs the NBA rights to two extra players, though they often spend much of the season in the G League rather than with the NBA team. While two-way players don’t count toward the 15-man regular season roster limit, they do count toward the 20-man offseason limit.

Over the course of the 2022/23 season, we’ll keep tabs on how many players are on each NBA team’s roster, breaking them down into a few groups. Here are the various categories you’ll find in our list:

Official: These players are officially under contract with a given team. The total number of players under contract is listed, with the number of players on fully guaranteed contracts noted in parentheses. So a team with 12 guaranteed contracts, one partially guaranteed contract, and two non-guaranteed deals will be listed as “15 (12).”
10-day: These players are signed to 10-day contracts. The expiry dates of those contracts are noted in parentheses.
Two-way: These are players signed to two-way contracts. Unless otherwise noted, these deals are official. You can find a specific team’s two-way players right here.
Reported: These are players whose contract agreements have been reported but haven’t been made official. We’re expecting them to be finalized at some point, though it’s possible that some will fall through or were reported erroneously.
Total: A team’s total roster count, taking into account all of the above. In some cases, this number will exceed 17, since not all of the players in the categories above are officially under contract.

Here are the NBA’s roster counts for 2022/23, which we’ll continue to update through the rest of the offseason and regular season:

Updated 4-11-23 (11:35am CT)

Atlanta Hawks

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Boston Celtics

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Brooklyn Nets

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Charlotte Hornets

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Chicago Bulls

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Cleveland Cavaliers

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Dallas Mavericks

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Denver Nuggets

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Detroit Pistons

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Golden State Warriors

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Houston Rockets

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Indiana Pacers

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Los Angeles Clippers

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Los Angeles Lakers

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Memphis Grizzlies

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Miami Heat

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Milwaukee Bucks

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Minnesota Timberwolves

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

New Orleans Pelicans

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

New York Knicks

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Oklahoma City Thunder

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Orlando Magic

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Philadelphia 76ers

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Phoenix Suns

Official: 15
Two-way: 1
Total: 16

Portland Trail Blazers

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Sacramento Kings

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

San Antonio Spurs

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Toronto Raptors

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Utah Jazz

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Washington Wizards

Official: 15
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

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Hoops Rumors Originals

Trade Breakdown: Christian Wood To Mavericks

July 11th, 2022 at 12:21pm CST by Rory Maher

This is the first in our series breaking down the major trades of the 2022 offseason. As opposed to giving out grades, this series will explore why the teams were motivated to make the moves. We’re starting with a pre-draft deal between the Mavericks and Rockets…

Most of the immediate reaction to the Rockets sending Christian Wood to the Mavericks in exchange for the 26^th pick, Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss was surprise at Wood’s relatively low value, resulting a general sense that the Mavericks got a steal.

So why did the Rockets move Wood for a late first-rounder (the Rockets later flipped the pick for the 29^th selection – used on TyTy Washington — and a couple of second-rounders from the Wolves) and four expiring contracts? After all, the talented big man averaged 19.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 block in 109 games (31.4 minutes) for Houston the past two seasons, posting a shooting line of .507/.384/.626.

The first part of the answer is easy: After finishing with the worst record in the league for the second straight season, Houston landed the third overall pick in the draft. The Rockets knew that one of Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren or Jabari Smith (whom they ultimately selected) would be available at that spot, so they needed to move Wood to clear a minutes logjam in the frontcourt for the incoming rookie and second-year big man Alperen Sengun.

Wood is too good to not play, and having him come off the bench in place of rookie and a second-year player doesn’t make sense for either side – Wood would be unhappy, and you don’t get optimal value by not showcasing a player you’re looking to deal. Wood is also on expiring contract of his own ($14.3MM), turns 27 before the season, and wasn’t in the team’s long-term plans, so all of those things hurt Houston’s negotiating leverage.

It’s also fair to question, to some extent, how much impact Wood actually had on winning in his tenure with the Rockets, considering the team finished with the worst record in the league two years in a row. Obviously, not all of that is on him, yet last season the team had a better net rating when he was off the court (-8.4) than on it (-9.6).

Rockets GM Rafael Stone is smart. All NBA front offices are led by intelligent people. The rest of the league knew that Houston needed to clear minutes in the frontcourt, and considering Wood has outperformed his three-year, $41MM deal, whichever team acquired him also knew it would have to pay him handsomely to keep him around – Wood will be eligible to sign a contract extension worth up to $77MM over four years at the end of December, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported at the time of the trade.

Thus, his market value turned out to be the 26^th pick and four expiring contracts that range between $2.2MM and $3.5MM. The expiring deals were key for the Rockets, because they project to have a ton of cap space in 2023, and Houston is a large market that could feasibly attract free agents with its young, talented core (the fact that Texas has no state income tax also helps a selling point).

I’m skeptical that any of Marjanovic, Burke, Brown or Chriss have positive value on the trade market, and there’s a good chance most of them won’t be on Houston’s roster before the regular season begins, which is why I refer to them collectively as expiring contracts. The team currently has 18 players on standard deals and that number needs to be cut to 15 by October. If any of those players remain on the roster, it will probably be due to their off-court impact as much as what they can do on the court, because the Rockets are in the midst of a rebuild and won’t be prioritizing minutes for veterans.

Still, clearing frontcourt playing time, not having to worry about paying Wood in the future, and acquiring a young player with the potential to be under team control for up to nine years (four years of rookie scale contract plus up to five more via extension or as a restricted free agent) were all appealing reasons to trade Wood, despite how productive he was for Houston.

The Mavericks’ motivation to make the deal was relatively straightforward. Dallas reached the Western Conference Finals last season and entered the offseason with a clear goal in mind of improving the frontcourt, and Wood instantly becomes the most dynamic pick-and-roll partner Luka Doncic has ever been paired with.

There’s no denying Wood is a talented player. Only nine players averaged at least 17 points and 10 rebounds last season: Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Domantas Sabonis, Jonas Valanciunas, Nikola Vucevic, Deandre Ayton, Bam Adebayo and Wood.

Out of all those MVP winners and All-Stars, Wood had the highest three-point percentage at 39%. He also shot 67% at the rim, which was in the 79^th percentile of all players last season, per DunksAndThrees.com.

The Mavs struggled mightily with rebounding the ball last season. They finished 24^th in the league in rebounding during the regular season and were significantly outrebounded in each postseason series they played: -7.1 rebounds per game vs. Utah, -7.7 vs. Phoenix and -11.4 vs. Golden State. Wood was in the 97^th percentile for defensive rebounding percentage (30%) last season, per DunksAndThrees.

There are also multiple counterarguments that show the Rockets were a much better team when Wood was on the court than off during his tenure.

Despite the aforementioned net rating differential, Houston was 19-49 when he played last season and 1-13 when he didn’t, and 12-29 when he played in ‘20/21 vs. 5-24 when he didn’t. The Rockets were also substantially better when he was on the court (-4.0) in ’20/21 compared to off it (-10.5).

The four players the Mavs sent to the Rockets had minimal on-court value last season, and none were in the rotation in the playoffs. In addition to clearing four roster spots (five-for-one including the first-rounder), Dallas is essentially betting that Wood will outperform a player entering his rookie season, which is a pretty safe gamble.

The risks for the Mavericks stem from the fact that Wood is a poor defensive player, primarily played center with Houston and will reportedly be sliding down to power forward to accommodate new frontcourt partner JaVale McGee, and is on an expiring deal. Dallas will hold Wood’s Bird rights if the two sides are unable to reach an in-season extension, but he won’t come cheap. That factor shouldn’t be overlooked for a team that could face the repeater tax in ’23/24.

It’s unclear how pairing Wood and McGee together in the starting lineup will impact the team’s spacing, but it does seem like it might mitigate Wood’s effectiveness in the pick-and-roll to some extent. McGee figures to be a primary roll man considering Wood’s ability to shoot from distance, but Wood is capable of much more than being just a spot-up shooter.

That’s not to say they’ll always share the court together, and the Mavs will certainly be an improved rebounding team and have more rim protection, but Wood is a major downgrade compared to Maxi Kleber defensively, even if he’s a hugely more impactful offensive player.

Since he’s entering his age-27 season, Wood is theoretically entering his prime, which is a better fit for the Mavericks’ timeline, as they’re trying to be as competitive as possible for the foreseeable future. The fact that they lost a cost-controlled asset in the 26^th pick does hurt from a long-term financial perspective, but Wood is virtually certain to make a bigger impact right now, making it a worthwhile risk.

2022/23 NBA Contract Extension Tracker

July 11th, 2022 at 9:17am CST by Luke Adams

A number of 2022 free agents, such as Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine, did extremely well for themselves on the open market this summer. However, many of the most lucrative contracts signed since the new league year began weren’t free agent deals at all — they were contract extensions.

Extensions, of course, don’t involve adding a new player to the roster. By extending a contract, a team ensures that a current player will remain locked up for multiple years to come. Although a contract extension may not change the club’s outlook on the court, it can have a major impact on that team’s salary cap situation for the next several seasons.

Rookie scale extensions are one form of contract extension. Former first-round picks who are entering the fourth and final year of their rookie deals are eligible to sign those up until the day before the 2022/23 regular season begins. It’s common for at least four or five players eligible for rookie scale extensions to sign them, and that number can be much higher — in 2021, there were 11 rookie scale extensions.

While they used to be less common than rookie scale extensions, veteran extensions are happening more frequently these days. The league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement expanded the rules for eligibility and created some additional incentives for star players to sign new deals before they reach free agency. During the 2021/22 league year, a total of 21 veteran extensions were signed, nearly doubling the amount of rookie scale extensions completed during that same window.

The deadline for a veteran extension for a player who isn’t in the final year of his current contract is the day before the regular season tips off. However, a player eligible for a veteran extension who is on an expiring deal can sign a new contract throughout the league year, all the way up to June 30, the day before he becomes a free agent.

Listed below are the players who have finalized contract extensions so far in 2022/23. This list, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site (or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu), will be kept up to date throughout the ’22/23 league year, with more extension details added as we learn them.

Rookie scale contract extensions:

Ja Morant (Grizzlies): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $194,300,000. Projected value can increase to $233,160,000 if Morant meets Rose Rule criteria. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2023/24.
Darius Garland (Cavaliers): Five year, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $194,300,000. Projected value can increase to $233,160,000 if Garland meets Rose Rule criteria. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2023/24.
Zion Williamson (Pelicans): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $194,300,000. Projected value can increase to $233,160,000 if Williamson meets Rose Rule criteria. Starts in 2023/24.
- Note: Williamson’s salary guarantees in the final four years of the extension could be adjusted downward if he doesn’t meet certain games-played thresholds.
Jordan Poole (Warriors): Four years, $123,000,000 (base value) (story). Includes $17MM in incentives. Starts in 2023/24.
Tyler Herro (Heat): Four years, $120,000,000 (base value) (story). Includes $10MM in incentives. Starts in 2023/24.
RJ Barrett (Knicks): Four years, $107,000,000 (base value) (story). Includes $13MM in incentives. Starts in 2023/24.
De’Andre Hunter (Hawks): Four years, $90,000,000 (base value) (story). Includes $5MM in incentives. Starts in 2023/24.
Keldon Johnson (Spurs): Four years, $74,000,000 (base value) (story). Includes $6MM in incentives. Starts in 2023/24.
Kevin Porter Jr. (Rockets): Four years, $63,440,000 (base value) (story). Only first year is fully guaranteed. Includes fourth-year team option and $19,032,000 in incentives. Starts in 2023/24.
Brandon Clarke (Grizzlies): Four years, $50,000,000 (base value) (story). Includes $2MM in incentives. Starts in 2023/24.
Nassir Little (Trail Blazers): Four years, $28,000,000 (story). Starts in 2023/24.

Veteran contract extensions:

Nikola Jokic (Nuggets): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $272,020,000. Includes fifth-year player option and 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2023/24.
Devin Booker (Suns): Four years, maximum salary (story). Includes 10% trade kicker. Starts in 2024/25.
- Note: Booker’s starting salary in 2024/25 will be 35% of the ’24/25 salary cap.
Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves): Four years, maximum salary (story). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2024/25.
- Note: Towns’ starting salary in 2024/25 will be 35% of the ’24/25 salary cap.
Andrew Wiggins (Warriors): Four years, $109,000,002 (story). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2023/24.
Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers): Two years, maximum salary (story). Worth at least $106,552,285 and as much as $121,774,039, depending on ’25/26 salary cap figure. Starts in 2025/26.
LeBron James (Lakers): Two years, maximum salary (story). Worth at least $97,133,373 and as much as $111,009,571, depending on ’23/24 salary cap figure. Includes second-year player option. Starts in 2023/24.
Bogdan Bogdanovic (Hawks): Four years, $68,000,000 (story). Includes fourth-year team option. Starts in 2023/24.
CJ McCollum (Pelicans): Two years, $64,000,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
Nikola Vucevic (Bulls): Three years, $60,000,000 (story). Starts in 2023/24.
Harrison Barnes (Kings): Three years, $54,000,000 (story). Starts in 2023/24. Includes 10% trade kicker.
Naz Reid (Timberwolves): Three years, $41,959,296 (story). Includes third-year player option. Starts in 2023/24.
Myles Turner (Pacers): Two years, $40,903,500 (story). Includes renegotiation ($17,096,500 added to 2022/23 salary; $58,000,000 in total new money). Includes $3MM in incentives. Extension starts in 2023/24.
Bojan Bogdanovic (Pistons): Two years, $39,032,850 (story). Second year partially guaranteed. Starts in 2023/24.
Maxi Kleber (Mavericks): Three years, $33,000,000 (story). Starts in 2023/24.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Nuggets): Two years, $30,145,123 (story). Includes second-year player option. Starts in 2023/24.
Pat Connaughton (Bucks): Three years, $28,271,607 (story). Includes third-year player option. Starts in 2023/24.
Kenrich Williams (Thunder): Four years, $27,170,000 (story). Includes fourth-year team option. Starts in 2023/24.
Steven Adams (Grizzlies): Two years, $25,200,000 (story). Starts in 2023/24.
Larry Nance Jr. (Pelicans): Two years, $21,580,000 (story). Starts in 2023/24.
Al Horford (Celtics): Two years, $19,500,000 (story). Includes trade kicker (15% or $500K, whichever is lesser). Starts in 2023/24.
Dean Wade (Cavaliers): Three years, $18,500,000 (story). Third year partially guaranteed. Starts in 2023/24.
John Konchar (Grizzlies): Three years, $18,495,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
Nick Richards (Hornets): Three years, $15,000,000 (story). Third year non-guaranteed. Starts in 2023/24.

Note: Multiple veterans, including Thaddeus Young (Raptors) and Gary Harris (Magic), signed extensions less than a week before the 2022/23 league year began. Those deals are listed in our 2021/22 extension tracker.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

Hoops Rumors’ 2022 NBA Free Agent Tracker

July 7th, 2022 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

With the July moratorium over, many free agent signings becoming official, and news of contract agreements still coming in frequently, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to 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 tentative agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
Similarly, contract years and dollars 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.
Players who have reportedly agreed to training camp/Exhibit 10 deals won’t be added to the tracker until those deals are official.
A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet won’t be included in the tracker right away. We’ll wait to hear whether the player’s original team will match or pass on that offer sheet before we update our tracker, in order to avoid any confusion.
If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.

Our 2022 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. On our mobile site, it can be found in our menu under “Free Agent Lists.”

The tracker 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.

Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

Community Shootaround: Donovan Mitchell

July 4th, 2022 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have made all kinds of noise over the past week.

They got a huge haul for All-Star center Rudy Gobert from the Timberwolves, as they will receive Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler, four future first-rounders, and a pick swap once the deal becomes official. Three of those first-round picks are unprotected.

They also acquired a first-round pick from the Nets in exchange for wing starter Royce O’Neale,

Utah’s front office now has to answer one lingering question — should it trade All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell and go into full rebuild mode, or quickly retool around Mitchell?

Several NBA experts, including ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, say the Jazz are taking the latter approach and have resisted inquiries regarding Mitchell. Other NBA insiders and executives believe Mitchell is available for the right price.

Things can change in a hurry regarding front office approaches or player trade requests, as we’ve seen in the Kevin Durant saga. The Jazz’s long-range future is certainly brighter with those extra picks at their disposal, along with Gobert’s contract coming off their books.

If they choose to deal Mitchell, they can expect a similar – and perhaps even bigger – package from the highest bidder. Mitchell is locked up contractually through the 2025/26 season and there aren’t many players out there who consistently produce 25 points and five assists a game.

On the flip side, those additional assets now provide the ammo for other bold moves designed to get more quality players around Mitchell, who never seemed to truly mesh with Gobert on or off the court.

That brings us to our question of the day: Should the Jazz trade Donovan Mitchell and enter a total rebuild? Or should they focus on retooling quickly around Mitchell?

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

Hoops Rumors Glossary: July Moratorium

July 4th, 2022 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA free agents begin coming off the board in rapid succession as soon as the negotiating period opens on June 30 at 6:00 pm Eastern time. However, most of those deals can’t become official right away, due to what’s known in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement as the “moratorium period.” We know it colloquially as the July moratorium.

The July moratorium – which lasts from 12:01 am Eastern time on July 1 until 12:00 pm on July 6 – essentially puts a freeze on most transactions for several days at the start of the new league year. NBA free agents are allowed to negotiate with clubs during the moratorium, and they can agree to terms on new contracts, but they are unable to officially sign new deals until the moratorium ends. The same goes for trades — two teams can agree to terms on a deal, but can’t formally put it through until at least July 6.

While nearly every agreement reached during the July moratorium eventually gets finalized, the unofficial nature of those initial deals can occasionally wreak havoc on the league’s free agent market.

DeAndre Jordan‘s 2015 free agency isn’t the only example of this, but it’s certainly the most memorable one from the last decade. Jordan initially agreed to terms with the Mavericks during the July moratorium, but before the moratorium ended and the two sides could make it official, the Clippers changed Jordan’s mind and convinced him to re-sign with L.A.

Because Jordan and the Mavs had only reached an informal verbal agreement, there was nothing Dallas could do to stop him from reversing course during the moratorium. Still, this sort of about-face is rare, as it can result in fractured relationships between players, agents, and teams.

While most NBA transactions can’t be completed during the moratorium, there are a handful of exceptions to that rule. The following moves are permitted between July 1 and July 6:

A team can sign a first-round pick to his rookie scale contract.
A team can sign a player to a one- or two-year minimum salary contract.
A restricted free agent can sign a qualifying offer from his current team.
A restricted free agent can sign a five-year, fully guaranteed maximum-salary contract with his current team.
A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with a new team; the 48-hour matching period would begin once the moratorium ends.
A team can sign a player to a two-way contract, convert a two-way contract into a standard NBA deal, or convert an Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract.
A team can waive a player or claim a player off waivers.
A second-round pick can accept a required tender (a one-year contract offer) from his current team.

Under the old Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NBA finalized the salary cap at some point during the July moratorium, and the new cap would take effect once the moratorium ended. However, the current CBA calls for the salary cap for the new league year to be set before the start of July, with the new figure going into effect immediately on July 1. This gives teams more clarity on exactly how much room they have available as they negotiate with free agents during the moratorium.

In recent years, the NBA moved the start of its free agency negotiating period forward by six hours, opening that window at 6:00 pm ET on June 30 instead of at 12:01 am ET on July 1. Although the July moratorium still doesn’t technically begin until July 1, free agents who reach agreements quickly can’t officially sign on June 30, since their old contracts haven’t technically expired yet.

However, if an extension-eligible veteran agrees to a new deal with his former team, he can officially complete that extension on the evening of June 30, before the moratorium goes into effect — Thaddeus Young (Raptors) and Gary Harris (Magic) took this route this year, formally finalizing their new contracts last Thursday before the moratorium period began.

Finally, it’s worth noting that while we refer to this period at the start of free agency as the “July” moratorium, it doesn’t always take place in July. In recent years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the moratorium period has instead occurred in November (2020) and August (2021).

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post. Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years.

13 Trade Exceptions Set To Expire In July

July 4th, 2022 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

A total of 13 traded player exceptions created during the 2021 NBA offseason are set to expire this month if they go unused.

A trade exception is an NBA salary cap exception that can be generated when a team trades a player away. It allows that team to acquire a certain amount of salary without sending out any in return for one year after the exception was created. The club is permitted to trade for a player earning the amount of the exception, plus $100K.

For instance, the Trail Blazers are set to use their $20,864,198 trade exception, created in February’s CJ McCollum trade, to acquire Jerami Grant, who is earning $20,955,000 in 2022/23. Grant narrowly fits into that TPE after accounting for the $100K in wiggle room.

Most trade exceptions expire without being used, but teams can sometimes find a use for them — especially the bigger ones like Portland’s. So it’s worth keeping tabs on which ones are still available.

Here are the 13 exceptions set to expire this month:

Boston Celtics: $17,142,857 (expires 7/18)
Los Angeles Clippers: $8,250,000 (expires 7/18)
Indiana Pacers: $7,333,333 (expires 7/7)
New Orleans Pelicans: $6,382,262 (expires 7/7)
Chicago Bulls: $5,000,000 (expires 7/7)
Memphis Grizzlies: $4,054,695 (expires 7/7)
Brooklyn Nets: $3,246,530 (expires 7/6)
Toronto Raptors: $3,070,052 (expires 7/6)
Atlanta Hawks: $1,782,621 (expires 7/7)
Golden State Warriors: $1,782,621 (expires 7/7)
Milwaukee Bucks: $1,517,981 (expires 7/7)
Boston Celtics: $1,440,549 (expires 7/7)
Brooklyn Nets: $118,342 (expires 7/6)

The Celtics’ $17MM exception, created in last year’s Evan Fournier sign-and-trade, is the most noteworthy one here, but it appears unlikely to be used. Boston reached a deal last week to acquire Malcolm Brogdon without having to use the exception, and now appears to be a long shot to strike another major trade agreement.

The third exception on this list, the Pacers’ $7.3MM TPE, will disappear if Indiana decides to operate under the cap. The team would have to renounce the exception in order to actually make use of its cap room.

While it’s possible some of the other exceptions on this list will be used before they expire, they won’t accommodate any of the deals that have been agreed upon to date.

The full list of outstanding trade exceptions can be found right here.

Spurs, Pacers, Pistons Still Have Cap Room Available

July 4th, 2022 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

While many free agent agreements have been reported since last Thursday evening, few will become official until the NBA’s moratorium period ends this Wednesday. That means the terms that have been reported – and the cap space or cap exceptions teams will use to complete those signings – haven’t yet been locked in.

Still, we have a pretty good sense of what the cap room situation looks like for teams around the league. Here’s a snapshot, as of the morning of July 4, of which clubs still have the most spending power:

Teams with cap room:

By our count, the Spurs project to have about $38MM in remaining cap room, and could push that number even higher by stretching Danilo Gallinari‘s partial guarantee across three years when they officially waive him. However, it’s very unlikely they’d do so unless they have a specific need for that extra room. San Antonio could also create some extra space by waiving Keita Bates-Diop or Tre Jones, who have non-guaranteed salaries for 2022/23, though there has been no indication that will happen.

The Pacers, meanwhile, should have a little over $26MM in cap room once the Malcolm Brogdon trade is finalized, based on our projections. Like San Antonio, Indiana has a couple players without full guarantees (Duane Washington and Terry Taylor) and could create more cap space by waiving one or both.

The Pistons have already committed a chunk of their cap room to taking on Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, and Kemba Walker from New York, but haven’t used it all yet. If Walker gives back his minimum salary in a reported buyout agreement and Detroit uses its room exception to sign Kevin Knox to his two-year, $6MM deal, the team could have $14MM+ in space — or even more, if Walker’s dead money is stretched across three seasons.

It remains unclear what the Spurs, Pacers, and Pistons will do with their remaining cap room. All three teams have been linked to restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton at some point during the offseason and could theoretically still make a run at him, with Indiana and Detroit perhaps sending back players in a sign-and-trade deal to fit a max deal for the big man under the cap. Still, there’s a sense the Pistons have backed off Ayton after landing Jalen Duren on draft night, and it’s unclear whether the Spurs or Pacers have serious interest.

Accommodating salary-dump trades to acquire more assets could be an option for all three teams, either in the offseason or close to the trade deadline.

The Knicks are the other team expected to use cap room this summer, but after signing Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein, they won’t have much left over. Even if they waive Taj Gibson and sign Brunson and Hartenstein to the lowest starting salaries possible based on their reported contract terms, New York projects to have less than $5MM in remaining room.

Mid-level exception teams:

The Hornets, Grizzlies, Thunder, Magic, and Jazz all still have their full non-taxpayer mid-level exceptions available, giving them the ability to offer up to about $10.5MM to a free agent. It’s worth noting though that Utah’s cap situation remains in flux as we wait to see what other moves the team has up its sleeve after trading Royce O’Neale and then agreeing to a blockbuster deal involving Rudy Gobert.

The Hawks, Nets, Heat, Pelicans, and Suns haven’t committed any mid-level money to free agents yet, but unless they shed salary, they’ll probably be limited to the taxpayer MLE (worth about $6.5MM) due to their proximity to the tax line.

The Bulls have used a small portion of their mid-level exception and should still have $7MMish available to spend, but doing so would push them into luxury tax territory, which ownership may be against.

There are some teams that could theoretically open up part or all of their mid-level exception if they’re able to turn reported free agent agreements into sign-and-trades. For example, Ricky Rubio agreed to a three-year, $18.4MM deal with the Cavaliers that will presumably use the MLE, but if Cleveland and Indiana were able to work out a sign-and trade deal involving Rubio, it would free up the Cavs’ mid-level to use on another move.

2022/23 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker

July 3rd, 2022 at 7:26am CST by Luke Adams

Two-way contracts allow NBA teams to carry two extra players in addition to the 15 on their regular season roster. These players generally bounce back and forth between the NBA and G League, but remain under team control and can’t be poached by rival franchises.

The NBA has carried over some rule changes for two-way deals that were first introduced during the 2020/21 season. Rather than being limited to 45 days with their NBA teams, two-way players are eligible to be active for up to 50 of their team’s 82 regular season games. And instead of having their salaries determined by how many days they spend in the NBA, they’ll receive flat salaries of $508,891, half of the rookie minimum.

NBA teams have begun to fill in their two-way slots for the 2022/23 league year, so we’ll track all those deals in the space below. Some two-way players from 2021/22 inked two-year contracts and remain under contract for this season, while others have been newly signed.

If a two-way signing has been reported but isn’t yet official, we’ll list it in italics and link to the report, updating the info as necessary. Players who are in the first year of two-way contracts that cover two years (the maximum length), will be noted with an asterisk (*) once that info is confirmed.

This tracker will continue to be updated throughout the 2022/23 league year, and can be found anytime in the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” menu on our mobile site.

Here are 2022/23’s two-way players:

Updated 6-27-23