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NBA Teams That Still Have 2017/18 Cap Room

August 18th, 2017 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

During the 2016 NBA offseason, when the salary camp jumped from $70MM to $94MM, 27 teams had cap room available, with only three clubs operating over the cap all year. A more modest cap increase this year to $99MM meant that fewer teams had cap space to use. So far, 14 teams – less than half the league – have used cap room to sign players.

Of those 14 teams, several have since used up all their cap room, including the Celtics, Knicks, Jazz, Lakers, and Timberwolves. However, there are still several teams around the NBA that have room available, or could create it without waiving and stretching any players on guaranteed salaries.

With the help of data from HeatHoops and Basketball Insiders, here’s a quick breakdown of teams that still have cap room available, along with their estimated space:

Atlanta Hawks: $4.6MM. The Hawks could gain slightly more space by waiving Luke Babbitt, whose salary is only partially guaranteed, but Atlanta just signed Babbitt, so that’s not a likely move.
Brooklyn Nets: $6.6MM. The Nets could gain slightly more space by waiving Spencer Dinwiddie, whose minimum salary contract is mostly non-guaranteed. However, I expect Brooklyn to keep Dinwiddie on its roster.
Denver Nuggets: $2.8MM. With Mason Plumlee‘s cap hold still on their books, the Nuggets’ cap room is fairly negligible. Denver could get up to about $8.6MM by renouncing Plumlee, but there’s no indication that’s in the plans.
Indiana Pacers: $7.6MM.
Philadelphia 76ers: $15.1MM. The Sixers could create even more space by waiving a player on a non-guaranteed contract, but the team isn’t about to part with Robert Covington, Richaun Holmes, or T.J. McConnell.
Phoenix Suns: $6.3MM. Alex Len‘s cap hold is taking up $12MM right now, and Phoenix is carrying a pair of non-guaranteed contracts (Elijah Millsap and Derrick Jones), so in theory the Suns could get all the way up to $21.2MM in space by renouncing Len and cutting those non-guaranteed players.
Sacramento Kings: $4.3MM.

The following two teams are essentially capped-out, but could create a very small amount of room if necessary:

Miami Heat: The Heat could create close to $1MM in space by waiving Rodney McGruder and Okaro White, whose salaries aren’t fully guaranteed. That almost certainly won’t happen.
Orlando Magic: The Magic are currently under the cap by about $550K, and could create up to about $1.34MM in space by waiving Khem Birch, whose salary is mostly non-guaranteed. Again, that’s not likely.

The following two teams are technically operating over the cap at the moment, with various trade and mid-level exceptions pushing them over the threshold, but they could create room if they choose to go under the cap:

Chicago Bulls: The Bulls could immediately create about $13.5MM in room by renouncing the rest of their MLE and the $15MM trade exception generated in the Jimmy Butler deal. If the team chose to waive David Nwaba, who is on a non-guaranteed deal, and renounced its free agent cap holds, including Nikola Mirotic‘s, that figure would increase to about $25.8MM.
Dallas Mavericks: Even without renouncing Nerlens Noel‘s cap hold, the Mavericks could get to $11.6MM in cap room by waiving their non-guaranteed players and dipping below the cap. Removing Noel’s cap hold on top of that could get the Mavs up over $22MM in room, but there’s been no indication that Dallas plans to go that route.

Pacers Sign Damien Wilkins

August 15th, 2017 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 15: The Pacers have officially signed Wilkins, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 20: Veteran swingman Damien Wilkins is making an NBA comeback, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders, who reports (via Twitter) that Wilkins and the Pacers have agreed to a one-year deal. It will be a veteran’s minimum contract, per Scotto.

Wilkins, 37, has 563 career regular season games on his NBA résumé, but hasn’t played in the league since he spent the 2012/13 campaign with the Sixers. Since then, Wilkins has bounced around various international and G League clubs, most recently spending the 2016/17 campaign with the Greensboro Swarm.

In 48 games last season for Charlotte’s G League affiliate, Wilkins averaged 14.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 3.8 APG, with a shooting line of .486/.358/.844.

While I wouldn’t expect Wilkins to have a substantial role for the Pacers in 2017/18, he’ll provide some veteran stability on a roster that has undergone significant changes this offseason, assuming he earns a spot on the 15-man regular season roster. However, Wilkins’ deal will be non-guaranteed, tweets Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star — that suggests the 37-year-old won’t be assured of a regular season roster spot.

Having lost Paul George, Jeff Teague, and C.J. Miles, Indiana has added Darren Collison, Victor Oladipo, Cory Joseph, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Domantas Sabonis this summer.

Pacers Sign Ben Moore To Camp Deal

August 15th, 2017 at 12:12pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 15: Nearly two full months after Moore’s agreement with the Pacers was initially reported, the team has announced the deal, making it official. According to the Pacers, Moore isn’t expected to break camp with the club — he’ll be an affiliate player for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate.

JUNE 23: The Pacers have reached an agreement on a free agent deal with former SMU power forward Ben Moore, according to Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter). Woo reports that Moore’s contract with Indiana will feature a partial guarantee.

International basketball journalist David Pick had initially reported that Moore would be joining the Grizzlies on a partially guaranteed deal, but later tweeted an update, confirming that the 22-year-old had opted for Indiana over Memphis.

Moore, ranked as 2017’s No. 38 senior prospect by DraftExpress, averaged 11.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 1.1 BPG during his final year at SMU. When he finalizes his partially guaranteed deal with the Pacers, he figures to be part of the team’s 20-man roster in training camp, and could have a chance to compete for a regular season roster spot.

Moore is the third SMU prospect to find a new NBA home this week, joining teammates Semi Ojeleye and Sterling Brown, who were both second-round picks on Thursday.

Central Notes: Jackson, Turner, Pacers, Bucks

August 13th, 2017 at 3:17pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Pistons have postseason aspirations in 2017/18 and those plans will significantly hinge on the performance of Reggie Jackson. Jackson is coming off an injury-riddled 2016/17 season in which he was limited to 52 games and averaged just 14.5 PPG and 5.2 APG, both totals being his lowest in a single season since his 2013/14 season with the Thunder.

With Jackson a liability last year, head coach Stan Van Gundy trotted out Ish Smith in favor of Jackson. Entering this season, Smith remains the backup to Jackson at point guard; despite their standings, Smith tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that Jackson has been working hard this summer and is showing glimpses of the player who averaged just under 19 PPG two seasons earlier.

“He’s out there in California enjoying himself, but he’s getting better,” Smith said. “He’s getting back to the Reggie Jackson everybody knows and loves.

Jackson’s coach echoed Smith’s sentiments, boasting about his point guard having a renewed confidence.

“He’s doing well and feeling good, and I think feeling confident too,” Van Gundy said. “Things are going in the right way so I’m going to go out there sometime in the next couple weeks and spend some time with him.”

Read additional stories around the NBA’s Central Division:

The Bucks announced a sponsorship deal with Harley-Davidson which will allow the motorcycle company’s logo to appear on the team’s jerseys next season, ESPN’s Darren Rovell writes. With the deal, the Bucks become the 12th NBA franchise to reach a sponsorship deal that will feature a company logo on its jerseys.
The Pacers are a weakened team without longtime star Paul George, who was traded to the Thunder, but third-year big man Myles Turner, still believes Indiana will be in the playoffs, Matthew VanTryon of the Indianapolis Star writes. We recently examined the team’s playoff aspirations in a Community Shootaround but making the postseason — despite the players’ optimism — remains a challenging task.

Community Shootaround: Pacers’ Playoff Chances

August 12th, 2017 at 7:16pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pacers are entering year one without Paul George, but that doesn’t mean the team will slide out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference, according to the franchise’s longest tenured player.

“I feel like we’re definitely going to be overlooked this year,” Myles Turner said (via Matthew VanTyron of the Indianapolis Star). “A lot of people look at us as young team that’s going to rebuild, but we’re a young team that’s trying to compete. We’ve got a lot of guys who can come in and make an impact right away. I expect to make the playoffs this year.”

Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com projects Indiana to finish 11th in the conference and earn a lottery appearance, something that’s only happened once since the team drafted George back in 2010.

Pelton foresees the team struggling on offense and it’s easy to see why. Scour the roster for a No. 1 scorer. Will Victor Oladipo expand his game? How about Darren Collison? Should either Lance Stephenson or Bojan Bogdanovic lead a team in shots?

The questions on offense will likely persist all season, though that alone doesn’t mean a playoff birth is inconceivable. The Eastern Conference appears weaker than it has in several years and somewhere between 35 and 40 games could be enough to lock in a lower seed. Pelton projects the team to get 32 wins this season, a total that’s slightly behind his projections for the Magic, Sixers, and Pistons—the team that the statistician has in the conference’s eighth seed with just 35.1 wins in his simulations.

If the Pacers see just a few players outperform their expected output this season, the team could end up playing games that matter in April.

That leads us to tonight’s topic: Will the Pacers make the playoffs this season? If not, what moves can they make before the trade deadline to improve their chances? Please take to the comment section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say!

Poll: Which Central Team Had Best Offseason?

August 7th, 2017 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

When we asked last week which Atlantic and Northwest teams have enjoyed the best offseasons of 2017, there were a handful of teams deserving of consideration. Several of the 10 teams from those divisions landed star players or deftly maneuvered the salary cap to upgrade their rosters in other ways.

In the Central division, the candidates are a little less impressive.

The Bulls and Pacers were on the other end of two of those trades that sent All-Star players to Northwest teams, with the clubs trading away Jimmy Butler and Paul George, respectively. In both cases, the return left something to be desired — Chicago received Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Lauri Markkanen, while the Pacers landed Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.

Indiana has at least has made some savvy moves in the weeks since the George trade, picking up Cory Joseph, Darren Collison, and Bojan Bogdanovic on affordable contracts, while the Bulls have only re-signed Cristiano Felicio and added Justin Holiday.

The defending Central – and Eastern – champions may join those two teams soon in having traded away an All-Star player, but for now Kyrie Irving remains with the Cavaliers. Cleveland’s offseason grade is probably incomplete until we see what the team does with Irving, but so far the Cavs’ summer moves have been somewhat underwhelming. The additions of players like Derrick Rose, Jeff Green, Jose Calderon, and Cedi Osman were solid, but they were hardly the sort of transformative moves the clubs envisioned heading into the offseason.

The up-and-coming Bucks showed signs last season suggesting they could be an Eastern Conference force within the next year or two, but with Greg Monroe and Spencer Hawes opting into their respective contracts, Milwaukee’s flexibility to make additions has been limited. Outside of re-signing Tony Snell, the Bucks have essentially been quiet in free agency — the team’s most notable additions came in the draft, when D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown joined the roster.

Of the five Central teams, the Pistons have perhaps been the most active in adding roster reinforcements, though your view of their offseason may hinge on how you feel about Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Detroit let its top restricted free agent walk, opting to replace him by signing Langston Galloway and trading Marcus Morris for Avery Bradley. Other minor moves for the Pistons included re-signing Reggie Bullock and adding Anthony Tolliver.

What do you think? Which of the Central division teams had the best offseason? Did any of these teams take positive steps forward with their summer moves? Vote below in our poll and then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Previously:

Pritchard Making Pacers Better; Seraphin Let Go For Cap Reasons

August 4th, 2017 at 7:32pm CST by Austin Kent

When the Pacers let Kevin Seraphin go, they freed up more cap space, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. His contract would have become guaranteed on August 1.
Although it’s hard to truly gauge the Paul George trade, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has had a successful offseason since, Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star writes. Unfortunately, he suggests, the franchise may have been better off temporarily bottoming out.

Pacers Waive Center Kevin Seraphin

July 31st, 2017 at 4:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers have waived center Kevin Seraphin, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. Seraphin’s salary of $1,974,159 for next season would have been guaranteed if he remained on the roster Tuesday.

Indiana has three other centers – Myles Turner, Al Jefferson and second-round pick Ike Anigbogu – on the roster. The Pacers have 13 players under guaranteed contracts.

Seraphin appeared in 49 games with the Pacers last season, including three starts, and averaged 4.7 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 11.4 MPG. He also played in four postseason games, averaging 7.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG.

Seraphin, 27, played his first five seasons with the Wizards and also toiled for the Knicks for a season before joining the Pacers last summer.

There’s a good chance he will wind up playing in Europe next season. FC Barcelona is reportedly interested in signing him. Seraphin is currently in France, where he’s training for the EuroBasket tournament with his national team.

At Least Six Teams Have Made Kyrie Trade Offers

July 28th, 2017 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

10:37am: The Heat have made no offer to the Cavs for Irving, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Wojnarowski is as reliable as NBA reporters come, so this may simply be a question of semantics — perhaps the Heat conveyed to Cleveland what they’d be willing to give up for Kyrie without officially putting an offer on the table. Either way, Miami looks like a long shot.

8:37am: The Spurs, Clippers, Heat, Knicks, Suns, and Timberwolves are among the teams that have made trade offers to the Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Wojnarowski, about 20 teams have inquired with the Cavs about Irving, but far fewer have made legit proposals — some clubs are just monitoring the proceedings, while others don’t have the assets necessary to make a deal happen.

As Wojnarowski explains, there’s a discrepancy between the sort of package the Cavaliers are seeking and what Irving’s potential suitors are currently willing to offer. New GM Koby Altman is looking at the package Denver received in 2011 for Carmelo Anthony as a point of reference. The Nuggets acquired young players, win-now veterans, and draft picks in that swap. However, Cleveland’s potential trade partners prefer a “scaled-down” version of that structure, with fewer players and picks, like what the Bulls received for Jimmy Butler.

Here’s more from Woj:

According to Wojnarowski, the Cavaliers haven’t ruled out the possibility of bringing Irving to training camp, or even extending the process beyond December 15, when most free agent signees become trade-eligible. However, other clubs are skeptical that the Cavs will let the Irving saga continue well into the fall.
Teams around the league view the Suns and Celtics as the teams best equipped to make a deal for Irving. However, Phoenix hasn’t been willing to include Josh Jackson, and it’s not clear how aggressive Boston would be with its assets.
The Heat are open to parting with Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow in an offer for Irving, sources tell Wojnarowski. Still, Miami would likely have to make an “overwhelming” offer to get something done, given the history between the two franchises, Woj adds.
The Pacers had Irving as the No. 1 target on their trade board when they were shopping Paul George, and would have done a one-for-one deal, but the Cavaliers declined that option multiple times, sources tell Woj. The ESPN scribe also notes that a separate deal for George – involving Kevin Love instead of Irving – fell apart when the Cavs insisted on including lottery protection on a first-round pick they’d send to the Pacers. Indiana wanted the pick unprotected.
Team executives around the NBA are doing a ton of homework on Irving, and have been encouraged by what they’ve found — there’s a consensus that Irving has a history of late nights and partying, but it never affected his play and he has curbed those tendencies into his mid-20s, says Wojnarowski.

Cavs Owner: Pacers ‘Could Have Done Better’ In Paul George Trade

July 26th, 2017 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is perhaps most known among NBA fans for an angry farewell letter printed in Comic Sans that he published in the wake of LeBron James‘ departure from Cleveland in 2010. Seven years later, Gilbert and James are on much better terms, but Gilbert was still showing a penchant for saying things other team owners wouldn’t during a press conference today.

Asked about the Cavaliers’ pursuit of Paul George, Gilbert told reporters that the Pacers “could have done better than they did,” per Sam Amico of AmicoHoops (Twitter link). While that’s a view widely held by NBA observers, it’s still surprising to hear it coming in a public forum from a rival team’s owner. The Cavs were reportedly close to acquiring George last month before the Pacers opted to go in another direction, so perhaps Gilbert was conveying some lingering frustration from those discussions.

Here’s more from today’s presser in Ohio:

When pressed directly, Gilbert said he expects Kyrie Irving to be in camp with the Cavs this fall, but neither Gilbert nor GM Koby Altman would confirm that Irving won’t be traded, or even that he’s asked to be dealt. The duo referred to the situation as “fluid,” as Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com details.
Altman called the idea that there’s animosity between Irving and James “overblown,” and added that the Cavs still believe they’re in great shape as a franchise, despite the offseason narrative of turmoil and drama.
James remains “deeply committed” to the Cavaliers, Altman said today, according to Vardon. Gilbert added that the four-time MVP has been “as helpful as he’s even been” this offseason, having helped recruit Derrick Rose and Jeff Green.