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Details On Nene’s Contract Incentives

September 12th, 2019 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

As we first relayed on Wednesday, the Rockets‘ new deal with Nene is an unusual one, structured to maximize his trade value. The two-year, $20MM contract has a $10MM cap hit for 2019/20, but only has a base value of approximately $2.56MM, an amount equivalent to the minimum salary for a 10-year veteran. The remaining $7.44MM on the deal is made up of “likely” incentives.

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement dubs an incentive likely to be earned if the player met the criteria the year before, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the player will actually meet the criteria again in the following season.

In fact, in Nene’s case, the Rockets will probably try to ensure he doesn’t meet that criteria, since the more guaranteed money the veteran center earns, the less trade value his contract has.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks has the full details on Nene’s incentives, which are as follows:

  • Base salary: $2,564,753
  • If Nene appears in at least 10 games and his team wins 52+ games: $2,435,247 bonus (cap hit increases to $5MM).
  • If Nene appears in at least 25 games and his team wins 52+ games: $2,500,000 bonus (cap hit increases to $7.5MM).
  • If Nene appears in at least 40 games and his team wins 52+ games: $2,500,000 bonus (cap hit increases to $10MM).

As Marks points out, all those incentives are considered likely because Nene played in 42 games last season and the Rockets had 53 wins. It seems safe to assume the 37-year-old won’t appear in as many games this season as Houston attempts to limit his earnings.

However, there’s another important detail worth noting here, as Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights outlines: If Nene were to be traded to a team that didn’t win 52+ games in 2018/19 (ie. any team besides the Warriors, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Bucks, or Raptors), his contract incentives would change to “unlikely” and would no longer count against his cap hit.

While it may seem as if that discrepancy would complicate Nene’s trade market, it’s actually a good thing for both the Rockets and their potential trade partners, as Siegel explains. In that trade scenario, the Rockets would still get to count Nene as $10MM in outgoing salary, while the other team would only consider him a $2.56MM incoming piece.

In other words, let’s say the Rockets swapped Nene for another player with a $10MM cap hit. That’d be an even match for Houston, but the team acquiring the big man would technically be sending out a $10MM player for a $2.56MM player and could create a traded player exception worth $7.44MM.

The second year of Nene’s contract is fully non-guaranteed, but would become partially guaranteed if he’s kept under contract beyond February 15, 2020, just over a week after this season’s trade deadline. So, whether or not the Rockets trade him, Nene may hit the buyout market in February.

For more details on how Nene’s contract works, be sure to check out Marks’ report and Siegel’s analysis in full. If you still have questions, leave them in the comment section below.

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Rockets Notes: Nene, Westbrook, Harden, Clemons

September 11th, 2019 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets got creative with Nene‘s new contract, according to Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal spans two years, with a non-guaranteed second season. Although Nene is only owed a minimum base salary in each of those two seasons, likely incentives increase the annual value of the contract to $10MM per year, per Siegel.

The criteria for Nene’s incentives will be fascinating, since it’s hard to imagine he’ll actually earn all $7MM+ in bonus money. The Rockets may be artificially inflating his cap hit using incentives that will be tricky to earn (even though they’re technically considered “likely”). A $10MM cap hit – made possible because Houston held Nene’s Bird rights – will make the veteran center one of Houston’s most valuable salary-matching pieces leading up to the February trade deadline.

According to Siegel, the trigger date for Nene’s 2020/21 salary is February 15, 2020 rather than next summer, which suggests there’s a real chance the big man could be released during the season, perhaps being traded and then bought out in early February.

As we wait for more specifics on Nene’s contract, let’s round up a few more items out of Houston…

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Potential Iguodala Suitors Content To Wait Out Grizzlies?

September 10th, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

News that the Grizzlies are currently uninterested in negotiating a buyout with Andre Iguodala is unlikely to push the veteran’s potential trade suitors into action, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, who hears from league sources that those teams are more likely to “wait out” the Grizzlies.

As Deveney notes – and as has been previously reported – Memphis would like to get a first-round pick in exchange for Iguodala, but teams with interest in the former Warrior don’t believe it will ultimately take more than a second-rounder. Even that price may be too high for some interested teams, who are hoping Iguodala will eventually become available via buyout.

One league executive who spoke to Deveney suggested that an impasse at this point shouldn’t be a surprise.

“What the Grizzlies are doing, it is to be expected,” the exec said. “They’re looking at him as an asset and they want to get something in return for him. He’s under contract, so they hold all the cards. The worst he can do is not show up and it is not like Memphis is going to be playing for a playoff spot. Him not showing up wouldn’t help anything. But if you’re on the outside, those teams, they’re just waiting it out.”

The Clippers are viewed around the NBA as the most likely landing spot for Iguodala, per Deveney, but they don’t necessarily have a simple path to a trade, given all the draft picks they’ve traded away and their proximity to the tax line. The Rockets, Lakers, Nuggets, and Mavericks have been linked to Iguodala, but all face potential roadblocks on the trade market too.

According to Deveney, the Grizzlies’ ideal scenario would be to have Iguodala start the season on the roster to mentor the team’s young players, then trade him at some point before the deadline in exchange for a first-round pick — or at least a second-rounder or two. But it’s unclear how enthusiastic the 35-year-old would be about spending much of the 2019/20 season on a non-contending team.

“It is going to be a matter of whether the Grizzlies blink on this one or not,” the league executive told Deveney. “You have a guy who does not want to be there but has some value. He does not have a ton of value, though. He’s 35, 36 years old. So what do you do, hold him hostage? If you want him to be a guy to help your young players but he does not want to do that, does that really help your young players? Most teams figure they can wait (the Grizzlies) out on this.”

Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian took a Grizzlies-centric look at the Iguodala situation on Monday, writing that “one way or another” the former Finals MVP figures to be on a new team after the February trade deadline.

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Examining Key Details In Eric Gordon's Extension

September 8th, 2019 at 8:41pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Eric Gordon will have four seasons’ worth of chances to guarantee the $20MM+ in the final year of his extension with the Rockets, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Gordon’s extension also contains a minutes criteria that he will likely reach in order to guarantee the final season, which only happens if he makes the All-Star team or the Rockets win an NBA championship, Marks notes. Gordon has this season, the 2020/21 season, 2021/22, and 2022/23 to reach the criteria needed for the final year.
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Nene Returns For 18th NBA Season, Re-Signs With Rockets

September 6th, 2019 at 6:07pm CST by ChrisCrouse

SEPTEMBER 6: The Rockets have officially announced the signing, according to a team press release.

SEPTEMBER 3: Free agent big man Nene plans on returning to the Rockets, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Nene opted out of the final year of his most recent contract back in June, which led many to believe he would retire. He has spent 17 years in the NBA so far, with the past three seasons coming in Houston.

The Rockets inked veteran center Tyson Chandler this offseason, so with Chandler and Nene in the frontcourt, the team has solid depth at the five. Houston shouldn’t need to rely heavily on either veteran big man to spell starter Clint Capela, which should allow the team to give their elder centers nights off when needed.

Nene was selected by New York with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2002 draft and he was subsequently traded to Denver on draft night along with Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson in a package for Antonio McDyess. Nene is the only member of the 2002 draft class still in the league.

In addition to the Rockets and Nuggets, the Sao Carlos native has also played for the Wizards. Only nine active players have appeared in more NBA games than Nene.

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12 NBA Salary Guarantees To Watch In October

September 6th, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

The majority of the NBA players who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts won’t have their salaries for 2019/20 become fully guaranteed until January 10. That’s the league-wide salary guarantee date and the default deadline that applies to players who haven’t negotiated an earlier salary guarantee date.

Still, some players did negotiate an earlier trigger date, and the majority of those deadlines will arrive in October. At least a dozen players around the NBA are believed to have partial or full guarantees that will go into effect in October.

Now, it’s worth noting that salary guarantee dates are somewhat malleable. If the player’s camp agrees, a team can quietly move that deadline back, giving the club more time to make a decision on whether or not to fully invest in its player for the 2019/20 season. The player doesn’t necessarily have to agree, but he may be on board with postponing that deadline if the alternative is being waived and receiving none of his salary.

Most of our information related to salary guarantee dates is coming from the salary database at Basketball Insiders, and BI hasn’t published all the details on the latest signings from around the NBA yet. In other words, there could be a few more recently-signed players who have October salary guarantee dates.

For now though, these are the 12 players believed to have salary guarantee dates coming up next month:

Full guarantees:

  1. Ivan Rabb (Grizzlies): Partial guarantee of $371,758 increases to full guarantee of $1,618,520 salary if not waived by October 19.
  2. Chris Boucher (Raptors): Partial guarantee of $125,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,588,231 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
  3. Malcolm Miller (Raptors): Partial guarantee of $150,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,588,231 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
  4. Duncan Robinson (Heat): Partial guarantee of $1,000,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,416,852 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
  5. Kenrich Williams (Pelicans): Partial guarantee of $200,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,416,852 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.

Partial guarantees:

  1. Christian Wood (Pistons): $1,645,357 salary becomes partially guaranteed ($822,679) if not waived before first day of regular season.
  2. Trey Burke (Sixers): Partial guarantee of $405,000 increases to $810,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $2,028,594).
  3. Jordan McRae (Wizards): Partial guarantee of $400,000 increases to $600,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,645,357).
  4. Dragan Bender (Bucks): Partial guarantee of $300,000 increases to $600,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,678,854).
  5. Ben McLemore (Rockets): Partial guarantee of $50,000 increases to $500,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $2,028,594).
  6. Kendrick Nunn (Heat): Partial guarantee of $150,000 increases to $450,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,416,852).
  7. William Howard (Jazz): Partial guarantee of $50,000 increases to $250,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $898,310).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Gordon Discusses Extension; Siegel Evalutes Deal

September 5th, 2019 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

After up-and-down stints in L.A. and New Orleans earlier in his career, Eric Gordon has found a long-term NBA home he likes in Houston. Speaking to Kelly Iko of The Athletic after signing a new four-year extension with the Rockets, Gordon explained why things have worked so well with his current team.

“There’s no perfect organization. But Houston has a good following, great fans — great city to play in,” Gordon said of the Rockets. “It makes it much easier, being on a winning team. I think since I’ve been here, we’ve never gone less than 54 wins. You definitely want to be a part of something like that, and it makes everything smoother. We’ve always had great coaches and good trainers; it makes the decision easier. Everyone wants to make the most money, but it makes it even better playing for a solid organization.”

Since arriving in Houston in 2016, Gordon has knocked down 36.4% of his three-point attempts, never topping 37.2% in a single season. However, he tells Iko that his goal for the 2019/20 season is to “shoot at a very high clip” from beyond the arc. Noting that scoring efficiently will be a priority for the Rockets this year, the veteran shooting guard said he’d love to see his three-point percentage “in the 40s.”

  • Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights breaks down Gordon’s extension, suggesting that it should provide the Rockets with good value unless the veteran’s injury woes resurface or his game ages unexpectedly poorly. Siegel also explores the idea of a new extension for another Rocket, P.J. Tucker.
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Rockets Adjust Contracts For Ponds, McDowell-White

September 5th, 2019 at 7:42am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 5: After converting Ponds and McDowell-White to two-way contracts, the Rockets have converted them back to standard deals, according to RealGM’s official transactions log and ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The two players appear to be back on essentially the same contracts they were before, but with one key difference, as Marks explains: The initial Exhibit 10 deals for Ponds and McDowell-White didn’t feature Exhibit 9 language, which limits a team’s liability if a player is injured in training camp or the preseason. Teams must have at least 14 players under contract to add Exhibit 9 language to an agreement, which the Rockets didn’t when they signed the duo in early July.

Without the Exhibit 9 clause, the Rockets would have had to pay either player’s salary if he suffered an injury in the preseason, up until he got healthy. As such, a season-ending injury would have forced Houston to pay the player’s entire salary, which would have compromised the team’s ability to limit its tax bill (or avoid the tax altogether). With Exhibit 9 language in place, Houston will now only be on the hook for $6K in the event of an injury.

The upshot is that Ponds and McDowell-White are back on non-guaranteed salaries and Houston’s two-way slots are once again open.

SEPTEMBER 4: The Rockets have converted the Exhibit 10 contracts for rookies Shamorie Ponds and William McDowell-White into two-way deals, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Previously, Houston had been one of just three NBA teams without a two-way player under contract.

Ponds and McDowell-White were two of the first players signed in July, as the Rockets locked them up to contracts even before the July moratorium ended. Both players suited up for Houston’s Las Vegas Summer League roster.

Ponds, a 6’1″ guard out of St. John’s, averaged 19.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 4.1 RPG, and an impressive 2.6 SPG in 33 games during his junior year in 2018/19 before declaring for the draft as an early entrant.

McDowell-White spent the last several years playing for teams in Australia and Germany. Having started his career with the Sydney Kings in 2016, the 6’5″ Australian combo guard spent a season and a half with German club Brose Bamberg, leaving the team earlier this year to prepare for the 2019 draft.

As we explained on Tuesday, converting an Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal is one of a handful of options that teams have for a player on an E10 pact. I noted within that story that I expected the Rockets to have a few players compete in camp for their two-way slots, but it appears the team has made its two-way decisions well in advance of the preseason.

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Rockets Sign Eric Gordon To Four-Year Extension

September 4th, 2019 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 4: Gordon’s extension with the Rockets is now official, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 30: The Rockets and shooting guard Eric Gordon have reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, who reports that the deal will be worth approximately $75.6MM.

Gordon had been entering the final year of his current contract and will earn a $14,057,730 salary in 2019/20. His new deal will lock him up through the 2023/24 season and brings the total value of his next five years to nearly $90MM.

However, Gordon isn’t assured of receiving that full amount, as the final year of his new contract is non-guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). It would become guaranteed if he makes an All-Star team or the Rockets win a championship, a league source tells Woj.

The starting salary of a veteran contract extension can only be worth up to 120% of the player’s previous salary, so Gordon’s new deal will technically be worth his maximum extension value. A 120% bump on this year’s salary will bring him to $16.87MM in 2020/21. Annual 8% raises going forward will give him salaries of $18.21MM (2021/22), $19.57MM (2022/23), and $20.92MM (2023/24) over the rest of the contract.

Although Gordon could have potentially landed a larger payday on the open market as a free agent next summer, agreeing to a deal now gives him long-term security into his mid-30s and takes off some pressure in what would have been a contract year. It will also remove another talented unrestricted free agent from a 2020 free agent market that was already considered weak.

Gordon, 30, has spent the last three seasons with the Rockets, serving as one of the team’s go-to scoring options behind perennial MVP candidate James Harden. In 2018/19, the former No. 7 overall pick averaged 16.2 PPG on .409/.360/.783 shooting in 68 games (31.7 MPG). Gordon has also been Houston’s most consistent outside threat besides Harden, averaging exactly 8.8 three-point attempts per game in each of the last three years.

The Rockets now have virtually their entire core locked up for several years. Harden and Russell Westbrook are each under contract through at least 2022, with player options for the 2022/23 season. Clint Capela‘s fully guaranteed deal runs through ’22/23. P.J. Tucker, who is reportedly seeking an extension as well, has two more years left on his current pact.

As Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights observes (via Twitter), Gordon can’t be traded during the 2019/20 season as a result of the extension, since it exceeds the extend-and-trade restrictions and makes him ineligible to be dealt for six months. That restriction won’t lift until after the 2020 deadline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Remaining Offseason Questions: Southwest Division

September 2nd, 2019 at 6:01pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have now completed the brunt of their offseason work, with the draft and free agency practically distant memories. Still, with training camps nearly a month away, many clubs around the league have at least one or two outstanding issues they’ve yet to address.

We’re in the midst of looking at all 30 NBA teams, separating them by division and checking in on a key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2019/20 regular season begins.

After focusing on the Atlantic, Southeast, and Central last week, we headed West and tackled the Northwest on Sunday. Today, we’re moving on to the Southwest. Let’s dive in…

Dallas Mavericks
Will the Mavericks move Courtney Lee‘s expiring contract?

Although the Mavericks had a solid summer, they didn’t make the sort of splash in free agency or on the trade market they might have hoped for. At this point in the offseason, a major roster addition is unlikely, but Dallas could still look to upgrade the squad with a trade involving Lee’s expiring contract.

Lee is earning $12,759,670 in 2019/20. The NBA’s trade rules would allow the Mavs to take back a player making up to $17,759,670 in a straight-up deal for the veteran swingman. Andre Iguodala is said to be one potential target on Dallas’ radar, but the Mavs and Grizzlies haven’t been able to agree on the draft compensation that would be involved in a Lee/Iguodala swap.

There are other players on expiring deals who might make sense as targets for Dallas, including a handful of veterans in Charlotte and Cleveland. The Mavs could also go after a player on a longer-term contract if they find a trade partner looking to create some extra 2020 cap flexibility.

If the Mavs don’t move Lee before the season begins, he’ll likely be involved in trade rumors again before the deadline.

Houston Rockets
How will the Rockets fill out their regular season roster?

No NBA team is currently carrying fewer players on non-guaranteed contracts than the Rockets. Only nine players on Houston’s roster have fully guaranteed salaries for the 2019/20 season. The team is required to carry at least 14 players in the regular season, so that leaves five potential openings on the roster.

Gary Clark and Isaiah Hartenstein are in good position to claim two of those spots. The Rockets have spent some time and energy developing both players, and they each have a partial guarantee worth north of $700K.

Even if we assume Clark and Hartenstein are locks to make the team though, that leaves at least three openings available for the likes of Ben McLemore, Anthony Bennett, Chris Clemons, Michael Frazier, Shamorie Ponds, William McDowell-White, and perhaps Terrence Jones.

It will be interesting to see whether Houston leans toward keeping veterans like McLemore and Jones or youngsters like Ponds and Clemons. I think the former scenario is more likely, but it also wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the team add a couple more players to the mix to compete for the regular season roster.

Memphis Grizzlies
What will the Grizzlies do with Andre Iguodala?

When the Grizzlies acquired Iguodala from the Warriors two months ago, he was essentially treated as a negative asset due to Golden State’s cap situation — the Dubs had to attach a future first-round pick and cash in order to move him. However, the Grizzlies reportedly believe Iguodala can be moved for positive value.

It would be extremely impressive if Memphis’ new management group could get a second first-round pick by flipping Iguodala, but that doesn’t seem all that realistic unless the team is willing to take on some unfavorable multiyear money.

If the Grizzlies have an offer on the table that would net them a second-round pick and a cheaper expiring contract (Iguodala is on the books for about $17.2MM), they should probably jump on it. It’s hard to imagine them getting better value at this time of year, and if Iguodala doesn’t want to be there, hanging onto him into the season could create some friction.

A buyout remains possible if Memphis doesn’t get any favorable trade offers and the former Finals MVP is willing to give up a chunk of his ’19/20 salary, but it seems as if the club would like to avoid that outcome.

New Orleans Pelicans
How will the Pelicans respond to a potential season-ending injury for Darius Miller?

Less than two months after signing a lucrative new contract to remain in New Orleans, Miller suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon that will likely sideline him for the entire 2019/20 season. It’s a tough blow for both the veteran forward and the Pelicans, who will have to lean even more heavily on newly-acquired J.J. Redick as the club’s primary outside threat.

Now that they’ll be without an important three-point shooter, we’ll see if the Pelicans’ approach to building the back of their roster is affected at all. Kenrich Williams may be more likely to earn one of the final two slots on the 15-man roster, given his potential to stretch the floor (he was a 39.5% three-point shooter in his final college season in 2017/18).

There are still some solid shooters on the free agent market too, if the Pelicans want to go in that direction. A veteran like Jodie Meeks or John Jenkins could be a fit, and it’s worth noting that new head of basketball operations David Griffin has a history with former Cavs guard J.R. Smith, who remains unsigned.

San Antonio Spurs
Will Dejounte Murray or DeMar DeRozan sign contract extensions?

Currently, no one on the Spurs‘ roster has a guaranteed contract beyond 2020/21. That could change this offseason though if the team locks up Murray to a rookie scale extension or DeRozan to a new veteran deal.

Murray looks to me like the stronger candidate for an extension, but an August report indicated that San Antonio hasn’t ruled out the possibility of offering DeRozan a maximum contract extension. The shooting guard would be eligible for a starting salary of up to about $33.3MM for the 2020/21 season, with annual raises increasing the value of the deal from there.

A new contract for Murray wouldn’t be nearly that expensive, and could be an intriguing gamble for the Spurs if the young guard is open to signing at a relatively team-friendly rate. Before he tore his ACL last fall, Murray was viewed as one of the NBA’s prime breakout candidates — San Antonio will be hoping that breakout season was just delayed by a year.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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