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Remaining Offseason Questions: Pacific Division

August 21st, 2018 at 4:00pm 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 more than a month away, most 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 the key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2018/19 regular season begins.

After focusing on the Atlantic, Central, and Southeast last week, we’ve moved to the Western Conference this week, starting with the Southwest. Today, we’re focusing on the Pacific…

Golden State Warriors
When – and how – will Patrick McCaw‘s contract situation be resolved?

One of two restricted free agents on the market, McCaw doesn’t appear to have drawn a whole lot of outside interest this offseason. The Warriors kept his qualifying offer on the table through July’s withdrawal deadline and seem prepared for the possibility of McCaw accepting that offer, which is worth a modest $1.71MM.

If McCaw signs his one-year qualifying offer, he’d fill the 14th spot on Golden State’s roster and would likely get another chance to prove his worth before returning to the free agent market in 2019.

The Warriors entered the offseason focused on adding wings, but DeMarcus Cousins‘ unexpected availability changed the team’s plans, resulting in first-rounder Jacob Evans being the only true swingman added to the roster. As such, there should be a spot for McCaw in the rotation if he returns and is healthy to start the season.

Los Angeles Clippers
Who will be traded or released in order to finalize the 15-man roster?

The Clippers sent Sam Dekker to the Cavaliers in an early-August trade that saved the team a little money and began the process of cutting down the roster to 15 players for the regular season. Still, even with Dekker gone, the Clips have 15 players on guaranteed salaries, with Patrick Beverley and his non-guaranteed salary still very much in the mix as well.

Beverley is unlikely to be cut, so unless the Clippers can reduce their roster count via another trade, someone on a guaranteed deal figures to be waived. While Jawun Evans and Sindarius Thornwell have the smallest salaries on the team’s books, both players – particularly Thornwell – showed some promise in their rookie years.

Veteran wing Wesley Johnson, who is entering a contract year, could also be a release candidate, though he’s a Doc Rivers favorite. For now, Evans looks like the odd man out in Los Angeles, but the club has a number of paths to choose from as it sets its roster for opening night.

Los Angeles Lakers
How will the new-look Lakers mesh?

The Lakers‘ roster doesn’t seem likely to undergo any real changes before the regular season starts. The team has 15 players on guaranteed contracts and two on two-way deals, plus three camp invitees who appear to be eventually ticketed for the South Bay Lakers. It’s not entirely impossible that we get a surprise cut or a Luol Deng trade in the next couple months, but that looks like a long shot.

So for the Lakers, the most pressing question is simply this: How will the new-look roster mesh during training camp and the preseason? LeBron James is the NBA’s best player, but it can be a challenge to play alongside him. And many of the Lakers’ other newly-acquired players – including Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, and Michael Beasley – have had some bumpy periods during their respective NBA careers.

Throw in a young core led by Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Kyle Kuzma, and the Lakers will be one of the NBA’s most fascinating clubs to watch this fall, even with no further tweaks to the roster.

Phoenix Suns
Are any buyouts coming before the season begins?

It has been a fairly quiet offseason for the Suns since July 1, when they struck a deal with Trevor Ariza. However, the team made one notable trade since then, sending Jared Dudley to Brooklyn in exchange for Darrell Arthur, who is on an expiring contract.

At the time, reports suggested that Arthur would likely be bought out by Phoenix, but that hasn’t happened yet. For now, he’s one of 14 players on the Suns’ roster with a guaranteed contract. Tyson Chandler – also entering a contract year – is another one of those 14 players, and a few buyout rumors have swirled around him too.

Of the two veteran big men, Arthur is the more likely buyout candidate, but it’s not a lock that either player will start the season with Phoenix. With Deandre Ayton, Richaun Holmes, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Ariza, and Josh Jackson all potentially vying for minutes at the four or five, Arthur and Chandler could be expendable.

Ultimately, I expect the Suns to waive Arthur and retain Chandler for now, perhaps dangling the veteran center as a trade chip during the season.

Sacramento Kings
Who will be traded or released in order to finalize the 15-man roster?

Like the Clippers, the Kings have more than 15 candidates to make their regular season roster, and will have to trade or release a player with a guaranteed contract by mid-October.

It will be interesting to see which direction the Kings go here. The team has several veterans on expiring contracts who probably don’t have long-term futures in Sacramento, including Zach Randolph, Kosta Koufos, Iman Shumpert, and Ben McLemore. There may not be much trade interest for those players though, and it’s not clear if the Kings are willing to waive any of them and eat their remaining salaries, which range from $5.46MM (McLemore) to $11.69MM (Randolph).

Players like Skal Labissiere, Deyonta Davis, Frank Mason, and Justin Jackson are on cheaper salaries and have no guarantees beyond this season, but the Kings will be wary of giving up too early on any of their young prospects.

With upwards of $11MM in cap room still available, the Kings aren’t exactly strapped for cash, so I think one of their veterans will be the odd man out, though I don’t yet have a feel for which one it might be.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavaliers’ Trade Exception Set To Expire

August 21st, 2018 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

A Cavaliers traded player exception created in last August’s Kyrie Irving trade with the Celtics is set to expire if it’s not used by the end of the day on Wednesday. The exception, which is worth $3,051,019, was created last August 22.

As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, traded player exceptions can be used to acquire one or more players whose salaries fits within the amount of the exception (plus $100K). Using their TPE, the over-the-cap Cavaliers wouldn’t have to send out any salary if they were to acquire a player earning $3MM.

The Cavs have actually already made use of their Irving trade exception, which was initially worth over $5.8MM. When Cleveland acquired Sam Dekker from the Clippers earlier this offseason, the club didn’t send any salary to L.A. in the deal, taking on Dekker’s $2.76MM salary using a part of that TPE. So even if the Cavs let the rest of the exception expire, they’ve already been able to take advantage of it.

The Cavaliers’ traded player exception is the first of a handful of modest TPEs around the NBA which are set to expire before the 2018/19 regular season gets underway. Here are the rest:

September 3: New Orleans Pelicans ($3,853,931)
September 24: Memphis Grizzlies ($2,077,360)
September 25: Los Angeles Clippers ($1,577,230)
September 25: New York Knicks ($2,381,964)
October 15: Cleveland Cavaliers ($2,500,000)
October 15: Cleveland Cavaliers ($1,312,611)

The complete list of available traded player exceptions can be found right here.

Latest On Kawhi Leonard

August 21st, 2018 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors are making an addition to their coaching staff, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports and Ian Begley of ESPN.com, who both report that former Spurs staffer Jeremy Castleberry will join the club.

As Begley details, Castleberry is a close friend of new Raptor Kawhi Leonard, having played with the star forward in high school and at San Diego State. An assistant video coordinator with the Spurs, Castleberry will serve as a player development coach in Toronto, per Charania.

While it’s unlikely that the Raptors would be making the hire if they hadn’t previously acquired Leonard, Castleberry is – by all accounts – “more than qualified” for his new position, tweets Begley. According to Begley, the Spurs didn’t want to lose him from their staff.

With Leonard heading into a contract year, the Raptors figure to pull out all the stops in an effort to convince him that re-signing with the club and remaining in Toronto long-term is the right move. The addition of Castleberry will likely play at least a small part in the Raps’ season-long recruiting efforts.

Still, as has been reported since his trade request first went public earlier this year, Leonard’s preference is to eventually sign in Los Angeles, either with the Lakers or Clippers, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

NBA Teams With Most, Fewest Guaranteed Salaries

August 19th, 2018 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

At this point in the NBA offseason, most teams are carrying 14 and 15 players on guaranteed salaries. The clubs with 14 guaranteed contracts on their books will likely either enter the season with an open roster spot or allow camp invitees to compete for that 15th-man role. Teams with 15 players already on guaranteed deals have their regular-season rosters all but set already.

Still, several teams around the NBA have more than 15 or fewer than 14 fully guaranteed salaries on their cap for now. Using our roster counts tool, here’s a look at those teams, with details on what they might be thinking as the 2018/19 season nears:

Fewer than 14 guaranteed contracts:

Houston Rockets (11 guaranteed contracts): In addition to their 11 fully guaranteed contracts, the Rockets also figure to hang onto Michael Carter-Williams, who has a significant partial guarantee. Second-round pick De’Anthony Melton is a good bet to sign a guaranteed contract at some point too. That would increase the Rockets’ roster count to 13, with Zhou Qi the most likely candidate for the 14th spot.
Cleveland Cavaliers (12): While they only have 12 guaranteed salaries on their books for now, the Cavaliers figure to increase that count by two once they officially sign David Nwaba and bring back Rodney Hood.
Miami Heat (12): The Heat continue to wait on Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem to make decisions on whether or not they’ll continue their respective careers. They’ll be penciled in to the 13th and 14th spots if they elect to return.
Minnesota Timberwolves (12): Although he only has a partial guarantee, James Nunnally is a safe bet to make the Timberwolves’ roster as the 13th man. It’s not clear what the team intends to do with its last opening or two.
New Orleans Pelicans (12): Only 12 Pelicans have fully guaranteed salaries, but there are several legit NBA players – Emeka Okafor, DeAndre Liggins, Jahlil Okafor, and Troy Williams – vying for roster spots on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. At least two of them figure to make the team.
Atlanta Hawks (13): The Hawks will increase their roster count to 15 guaranteed salaries once Vince Carter and Daniel Hamilton make their deals with Atlanta official.
Golden State Warriors (13): The Warriors plan to enter the season with 14 players under contract, leaving a spot open for flexibility. Their 14th man will likely be Patrick McCaw, who is still a restricted free agent for now.
Toronto Raptors (13): The Raptors may enter the season with a 14-man roster. Lorenzo Brown is currently the top candidate for that 14th spot, though Chris Boucher and others could provide competition.

More than 15 guaranteed contracts:

Sacramento Kings (16): When the Kings took advantage of their leftover cap room to sign Nemanja Bjelica and Yogi Ferrell, it created a roster crunch. If the club doesn’t trade a player before the season begins, Iman Shumpert, Kosta Koufos, Ben McLemore, and Deyonta Davis are among the release candidates on the roster — all four are on expiring contracts.
Los Angeles Clippers (15 + Patrick Beverley): The Clippers technically only have 15 players on guaranteed salaries, but Beverley, who is on a non-guaranteed deal, will probably make the team. Assuming he does, that will mean trading or releasing another player, perhaps Wesley Johnson or Jawun Evans.
Memphis Grizzlies (15 + Andrew Harrison): Like Beverley in L.A., Harrison is on a non-guaranteed salary, but may not be expendable. If he remains on Memphis’ roster, the Grizzlies may end up releasing Dakari Johnson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Steve Ballmer Talks Team Strategy, Moving The Clippers

August 16th, 2018 at 5:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The past year for the Clippers has been about reconstruction, with the team having traded both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin since the end of the 2016/17 season, and letting DeAndre Jordan walk in free agency. The team’s brass finally has salary-cap flexibility and the franchise is eager to take that flexibility into the summer of 2019, when many stars – such as Kawhi Leonard – are expected to be available.

“You’ve got to take the payroll down to take it up. We’re going to recruit our asses off, whatever it takes to give you the best team that we can give you year in and year out,” owner Steve Ballmer said (via Helene Elliot of The Los Angeles Times).

While this season is expected to be a down year for the club, don’t expect Ballmer and company to tank.

“That ain’t us. Nuh-uh, no way,” Ballmer told Clippers’ season ticket holders and fans. “People can do it their way. We’re going to be good our way. We’re not going to show up and suck for a year, two years. I think we got higher expectations on us than the long, hard five, six years of absolute crap like the 76ers put in. How could we look you guys in the eye if we did that to you?”

Ballmer also spoke about his plans to take the Clippers out of the Staples Center.

“We’re moving to Inglewood come hell or high water,” he said of a proposed arena near the site of the stadium being constructed for the NFL’s Rams and Chargers. “We gotta have a house. So we’re working on a plan to get our own house. We want to get our own house. It turns out the way this works in L.A., which is much beloved to me, that if you start now you might be done in six years.”

Ballmer’s wife, Connie, has remained in the Pacific Northwest, an area where Ballmer served as the CEO of Microsoft for 14 years. That has resulted in speculation that the Clippers could potentially be relocated to Seattle. However, the former CEO shot down those rumors.

“I love L.A. I also love my wife, by the way, but I love L.A. and I don’t want there to be any mistake about it. We want to be part of the fabric of this community,” Ballmer exclaimed.

Lawsuit Filed Regarding Proposed New Arena

August 13th, 2018 at 9:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A new lawsuit targeting the proposed Clippers arena in Inglewood alleges that two city-linked boards violated state laws governing open meetings, Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times reports. The suit also claims those boards also violated the environmental impact of construction projects in June when they approved the disposal of land to clear space for the arena, Fenno continues. The Clippers signed an exclusive negotiating agreement with Inglewood last year for a new arena but the team’s lease at Staples Center runs through 2024, Fenno adds.

Clippers Not Retaining Bruce Bowen As TV Analyst Following Kawhi Criticism

August 13th, 2018 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers television analyst Bruce Bowen won’t be returning for the 2018/19 season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, the decision is believed to be related to Bowen’s comments criticizing Kawhi Leonard during Leonard’s standoff with the Spurs earlier in the offseason.

As Wojnarowski explains, even though Bowen was under contract with Fox Sports West and not the Clippers, the club has “significant input” in the hiring of its TV broadcast team, and “withheld approval” on a contract extension for Bowen. The two sides had been expected to move forward on a new deal before Bowen made those critical comments about Leonard, per Wojnarowski.

During an appearance on Sirius XM Radio in June (link via ESPN.com), Bowen suggested there was “nothing but excuses” coming from Leonard’s camp, adding that he felt Kawhi was getting “bad advice.”

“First, it was, ‘Well I was misdiagnosed,'” Bowen said of Leonard at the time. “Look here: You got $18MM this year, and you think that they’re trying to rush you? You didn’t play for the most part a full season this year. And you’re the go-to guy, you’re the franchise and you want to say that they didn’t have your best interest at heart? Are you kidding me?”

While personnel decisions related to television broadcasts typically don’t fall within Hoops Rumors’ purview, the Clippers’ apparent motivations here are of particular interest. As Wojnarowski observes, eliminating Bowen from their broadcast seems to be a “clear message” from the Clips about how they plan to “protect star players” within the organization.

The Clippers are poised to have a ton of cap room available during the summer of 2019, and will likely pursue Leonard – who reportedly wants to play in Los Angeles – along with other star free agents. Bowen’s dismissal from the club’s broadcast “speaks to the high-stakes repercussions” surrounding next year’s free agent class, Wojnarowski notes.

Central Notes: Arcidiacono, Dekker, Walton, Clarkson

August 12th, 2018 at 5:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The way that Ryan Arcidiacono‘s contract with the Bulls is structured to keep him eligible for the G League, Basketball Insiders’ Eric Pincus tweets. Arcidiacano has a $50K guarantee, which will allow him to play with the Windy City Bulls. He signed a minimum one-year deal worth $1,349,383. The 6’3” guard out of Villanova appeared in 24 NBA games last season as a two-way player, averaging 2.0 points in nearly 13 minutes of action. He posted a 13.8/4.5/8.6 line in 37 G League games.

In other news around the Central Division:

The Clippers will send $1,247,494 to the Cavaliers as part of the Sam Dekker trade, which was made official on Tuesday, Pincus reveals in another tweet. That amount isn’t random — it’s the exact difference between Dekker’s salary and a veteran’s minimum salary, essentially allowing the Cavs to take a flier on the forward at the minimum.
Derrick Walton Jr. gives the Bulls another alternative, along with Arcidiacono, to Cameron Payne as Kris Dunn‘s backup, Michael Walton of NBC Sports Chicago notes. Walton is expected to sign with Chicago, according to his agent, after the Heat cut ties with the former University of Michigan floor leader last month. Walton is a better perimeter shooter than Payne, who is more comfortable having the ball in his hands and running pick-and-rolls, Michael Walton continues. The Bulls have a number of players who can create for themselves, so Walton might be a better fit behind Dunn, Michael Walton adds.
Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson is unlikely to play for Philippines in this month’s Asian Games, according to a Sportando report. Clarkson was a late addition to their national team but won’t be able to join them in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Clippers Invest In Development With Coaching Moves

August 9th, 2018 at 8:33pm CST by Austin Kent

A batch of coaching changes demonstrate the Clippers‘ franchise-wise commitment toward player development, Tomer Azarly of the team’s official site writes. The club will have Casey Hill join Doc Rivers’ staff after serving last year as the head coach of the team’s G League squad. Brian Adams will take his place with the Ontario affiliate and Natalie Nakase will move from the G League to big league squad’s development staff.
Clippers‘ forward Danilo Gallinari will ask the team to let him play for the Italian national club in September, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes. Gallinari was limited to just 21 games last season due to a fractured hand but appears to be healthy this summer.

NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2018/19

August 9th, 2018 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $101.869MM threshold once that room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit as well, with clubs like the Warriors, Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers, Raptors, and Wizards going well beyond that tax line this year.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows those clubs to build significant payrolls without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped.

When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion ($5.337MM) of the mid-level exception, that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron is set at a point approximately $6MM above the luxury tax line. For the 2018/19 league year, the tax apron – and hard cap for certain clubs – is set at $129.817MM.

So far this year, nine teams have imposed a hard cap on themselves by using the bi-annual exception, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, or acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. Listed below are those nine teams, along with how they created a hard cap.

Charlotte Hornets

Used approximately $6MM of mid-level exception to sign Tony Parker and Devonte’ Graham.

Detroit Pistons

Used approximately $5.75MM of mid-level exception to sign Glenn Robinson, Khyri Thomas, and Bruce Brown.

Los Angeles Clippers

Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Scott.

Memphis Grizzlies

Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Kyle Anderson.

Milwaukee Bucks

Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Ersan Ilyasova and Pat Connaughton.
Used bi-annual exception to sign Brook Lopez.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Used approximately $6.59MM of mid-level exception to sign Anthony Tolliver and Keita Bates-Diop.

New Orleans Pelicans

Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Julius Randle.
Used bi-annual exception to sign Elfrid Payton.

New York Knicks

Used approximately $8MM of mid-level exception to sign Mario Hezonja and Mitchell Robinson.

San Antonio Spurs

Used approximately $6.99MM of mid-level exception to sign Marco Belinelli and Chimezie Metu.
Used bi-annual exception to sign Dante Cunningham.

Currently, none of the hard-capped teams listed above have team salaries within $5MM of the tax apron, so that hard cap shouldn’t be a real issue for most of these clubs during the 2018/19 league year. However, that could change if any of these teams – particularly the Hornets or Pistons – makes additional free agent signings or takes on extra money in a trade at some point.