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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:

Ivan Rabb (Grizzlies): Partial guarantee of $371,758 increases to full guarantee of $1,618,520 salary if not waived by October 19.
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.
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.
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.
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:

Christian Wood (Pistons): $1,645,357 salary becomes partially guaranteed ($822,679) if not waived before first day of regular season.
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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.

And-Ones: Melo, Howard, NBA Owners

September 5th, 2019 at 9:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Carmelo Anthony is still searching for a team and one Western Conference executive tells David Aldridge of The Athletic that the Heat may be the best team for the small forward while cautioning that Melo’s game may need to adjust.

“Miami, if he is willing to work with [Pat Riley] hard on conditioning. He can replace D-Wade’s scoring,” the exec said. “Or, Portland. They play a lot of isolation basketball and they need another scorer. Carmelo is a dinosaur in today’s NBA. Everyone wants ball movement and three-point shooting; not ‘Melo’s forte.”

Aldridges spoke to numerous executives, scouts and coaches and there weren’t many optimistic responses. One Eastern Conference executive did say that if Anthony can accept a role off the bench and be a positive influence in the locker room, the 10-time All-Star could land a $5-7MM deal.

Here’s more from around the league:

Anthony isn’t the only veteran left on the market, as Zach Harper of The Athletic details in his look at which players are available. J.R. Smith, Ryan Anderson, and Kenneth Faried are among the notable players who remain free agents.
The Lakers made a mistake by signing Howard over Joakim Noah, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com contends on The Jump. Friedell believes adding Noah would have carried less risk, as the former Bulls center has shown he can accept a backup role.
The league is exploring a pathway that would allow would-be owners to buy a minority, passive stake in NBA franchises, as Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg relays. The structure and terms have not yet been finalized and the idea will be discussed at an owners’ meeting later this month.

Heat Sign Davon Reed To Camp Deal

September 4th, 2019 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 4: The Heat have officially signed Reed, the team announced today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 3: The Heat are expected to sign former Hurricanes guard Davon Reed to a training camp contract, reports Shandel Richardson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald confirms the agreement, tweeting that Reed will join the group of Heat players on Exhibit 10 contracts competing for a two-way deal.

Reed, 24, was the 32nd overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Suns, but lasted just one season in Phoenix before being cut last October. He quickly caught on with the Pacers on a two-way contract and spent most of the 2018/19 campaign playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate.

Reed has put up modest numbers (2.4 PPG, 1.5 RPG) in limited playing time (9.3 MPG) in 31 NBA career games for the Suns and Pacers. He was a little more effective in 34 NBAGL contests last season, posting 13.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.0 APG, but he struggled to score efficiently, with a shooting line of .398/.326/.753.

The Heat have 12 players on guaranteed salaries, with Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn in position to claim the final two regular season roster spots. Jeremiah Martin, Kyle Alexander, Chris Silva, and Reed will be among the non-guaranteed camp invitees vying for the club’s two-way contracts. Miami could bring up to two more players to camp on Exhibit 10 deals.

Heat Notes: Leonard, Butler, Rotation

September 3rd, 2019 at 6:02pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Heat have been quiet about their plans for Meyers Leonard, though Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes that if the big man remains on the roster through the start of the season, he’ll likely be the team’s backup center.

Miami acquired Leonard in a four-way trade over the summer that allowed the team to net Jimmy Butler as well. The Heat cannot aggregate Leonard’s salary in a trade until September 6 — two months after the acquisition date. It’s possible that the team hasn’t been vocal about Leonard’s role because they are planning to flip him. However, at this point, any Leonard trade talk is strictly speculation.

Here’s more from Miami:

Leonard has privately made it known that he would like to make it work with the Heat, Winderman relays in the same piece. The big man has come off the bench for nearly the entirety of his career, so backing up Bam Adebayo at the five shouldn’t be a major issue.
Don’t expect the Heat to take a load management approach with Butler, Winderman explains in a separate piece. That could change if Miami is able to clinch a playoff berth early. Yet, with the team making the postseason just once over the past three years, the club may not have the luxury of resting players this season.
Assuming the team doesn’t make any major moves, Winderman (same piece) anticipates coach Erik Spoelstra will stagger the minutes of Butler, Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters. Winderman expects the Heat to have at least two of the three on the court the majority of the time.

Nets Notes: Carmelo, LeVert, Prince, LiAngelo

September 2nd, 2019 at 9:17am CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview with TMZ (video link), Carmelo Anthony offers little insight into a report last week that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are campaigning for the Nets to sign him. Anthony is close with the two stars and played with them, as well as new Brooklyn center DeAndre Jordan, on the 2016 Olympic team.

“That’s family,” Anthony said. “So, that’s bigger than basketball. If something happens, something’s gonna happen.”

A source told Frank Isola of The Athletic that Nets GM Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson have watched Anthony this summer and are considering adding him to the team. Brooklyn has a full roster, but will be able to sign a player once Wilson Chandler serves five games of his 25-game PED suspension. Anthony’s representatives have spoken to the Sixers as well, according to Isola.

There’s more this morning from Brooklyn:

Fresh off signing a three-year, $52.5MM extension, Caris LeVert tells Bill Bender of The Sporting News that his next goal is to become one of the NBA’s best players. He also believes the Nets are ready to join the league’s elite teams after their success in free agency. “When you get guys like KD, Kyrie and DeAndre, expectations rise,” he said. “We’re looking forward to that. We’ve been working for that. I think everybody loves playing on a big stage. We’re definitely looking forward to this year and the challenges it’s going to bring.”
Taurean Prince was a less celebrated addition for the Nets, but he could play an important role in making the team a contender, writes David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders. Brooklyn agreed to acquire Prince from the Hawks before the start of free agency, so he got to enjoy watching the team’s success in free agency. He called being traded “bittersweet,” but said he’s eager to be part of a rising power in Brooklyn. “I’m someone who wants to win more than they want to score,” Prince said. “My big thing is getting to the playoffs and being able to play in those type of opportunities and environment.”
LiAngelo Ball claims the Nets were one of three teams that talked to him about a possible Summer League role, relays Ralph Orense of ClutchPoints. On an episode of “Ball in the Family,” Ball says the Thunder and Heat also expressed interest.

NBA Teams In The Tax For 2019/20

September 1st, 2019 at 7:48pm CST by Luke Adams

While 2019’s salary cap increase wasn’t as substantial as 2016’s, the jump from last season’s $101,869,000 cap to this year’s $109,140,000 represents the second-biggest increase in NBA history.

The luxury tax line increased along with the salary cap, getting a bump all the way from $123,733,000 to $132,627,000 and creating some breathing room for many cap-strapped teams around the league. Still, despite the extra financial flexibility in 2019/20, a handful of teams find themselves above that tax threshold as opening night nears.

Clubs have until the end of the 2019/20 regular season to adjust team salary in an effort to get back under the tax line, and at least one of the teams listed below – the Thunder – figures to push hard to get out of tax territory. But most of the other clubs on the current list of projected taxpayers will have little leverage if they try to dump salary, so it won’t be easy to cut costs.

With the help of salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights, here are the teams projected to be in the tax for ’19/20 as of September 1, 2019:

Portland Trail Blazers
Approximately $12.4MM over tax line

All of the big long-term contracts the Trail Blazers signed in 2016 – for Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless, and Meyers Leonard – are now off the team’s books. However, three of those deals had to be swapped for lucrative contracts belonging to Hassan Whiteside and Kent Bazemore. Throw in huge cap hits for stars Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, plus an eight-figure salary for Jusuf Nurkic, and Portland projects to have the NBA’s highest team salary for the 2019/20 season.

Since last season was the only recent instance the Blazers have paid the tax, they don’t have repeater concerns yet. As it stands, they have a projected tax bill just over $22MM.

Golden State Warriors
Approximately $5.9MM over tax line

The Warriors‘ team salary falls in between the tax line ($132,627,000) and the tax apron ($138,928,000), which acts as a hard cap for the team this season. Golden State is much closer to the latter than the former, with only about $407K in breathing room below the apron.

That figure assumes Alfonzo McKinnie – who has a non-guaranteed contract – holds the 14th roster spot. The Warriors don’t currently have enough room below the hard cap to start the season with a 15th man.

The Warriors project to have a tax bill in the $15MM range, since they’re subject to repeater penalties after finishing in tax territory in 2016, 2018, and 2019. If not for the repeater penalties, that projection would only be in the neighborhood of $9MM.

Miami Heat
Approximately $3.8MM over tax line

Like the Warriors, the Heat are in the territory between the tax line and the apron. Some bonuses push Miami’s total team salary to within approximately $855K of the hard cap (per ESPN’s Bobby Marks), but those incentives won’t count against the team’s cap or tax bill if they go unearned.

Our projection for Miami assumes the team will retain Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn, who don’t yet have fully guaranteed salaries. With those two players and their other 12 guaranteed deals, the Heat would have a projected tax bill a little shy of $6MM.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Approximately $921K over tax line

The Thunder have managed to cut costs significantly so far this summer as they’ve retooled their roster, most notably sending Jerami Grant to Denver in a salary-dump deal for a first-round pick.

Oklahoma City briefly inched below the tax line, but only had 13 players under contract at the time. Signing a mandatory 14th (Justin Patton) pushed the club back into tax territory for the time being. Even after accounting for repeater penalties, the Thunder’s tax bill would be pretty modest (about $2.3MM) if they don’t add any more salary, but I expect the team to do all it can to make a cost-cutting trade to get out of the tax altogether.

Although only four teams project to be taxpayers for now, several other clubs – including the Cavaliers, Nuggets, Pistons, and Magic – are within spitting distance of that threshold.

A rebuilding team like Cleveland will likely be extra careful not to finish the season in the tax –particularly since the Cavs would be subject to repeater penalties. Would-be contenders like Denver may be more inclined to pay a small tax bill if it means acquiring one more impact player for a postseason run.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Southeast Notes: Washington, Butler, Beal, Heat

August 29th, 2019 at 6:32pm CST by clarkcrum

Hornets‘ rookie forward PJ Washington, the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is ready for training camp after a nagging foot injury that kept him out of summer league, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.

“I’m pretty much cleared to do everything,” Washington said. “After summer league, it was about two weeks.”

As Bonnell notes, head coach James Borrego relayed back in July, the day before leaving for Las Vegas, that the Hornets were taking the precaution of shutting down Washington for summer league after pain in Washington’s left foot which caused him to miss two NCAA tournament games with Kentucky lingered upon his entry into the NBA.

Washington, who is expected to line up mostly at power forward this upcoming season, may see some time in the G League with both Marvin Williams and Miles Bridges already set to see a plethora of playing time at the four.

There’s more from the Southeast Division this evening:

Per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, it’s very important for new Heat superstar Jimmy Butler to come into training camp ready to be the team leader, a role he struggled with in his previous NBA stops.
According to Rachel Hopmayer of NBC Sports Washington, Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal refused to sit out last season when playoff hope was lost because – as he told head coach Scott Brooks – he signed up to be the leader of the Wizards and do it every night.
Winderman adds in a separate piece that the Heat, because they are not in contention mode, should focus on developing players based on where their potential lies, not on current talent level.

NBA Teams With Open Two-Way Contract Slots

August 28th, 2019 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Only a small handful of two-way players from 2018/19 had their contracts carried over to the 2019/20 season. A couple more of last year’s two-way players have signed new two-way deals. For the most part though, NBA teams have filled their two-way contract slots for the coming season with new faces, including several rookies who went undrafted in 2019.

At the moment, 44 of 60 league-wide two-way contract slots are occupied. A 45th appears set to be filled if and when the Knicks finalize their reported agreement with Kris Wilkes. That leaves just 15 two-way deals available across the NBA as training camps approach.

Some clubs may not fill these slots before camps get underway, preferring to sign players to non-guaranteed NBA contracts and then convert those deals to two-way pacts later, depending on how players perform in camp and in the preseason. By the time the 2019/20 regular season begins though, I don’t expect many two-way slots to still be open.

With the help of our two-way contract tracker, which lists all the players currently on two-way deals, here are the teams who can still offer two-way contracts without waiving anyone:

Two open slots:

Houston Rockets
Miami Heat
Toronto Raptors

One open slot:

Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
New York Knicks
- Note: The Knicks only have a slot available if their reported deal with Wilkes isn’t finalized.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Washington Wizards

Remaining Offseason Questions: Southeast Division

August 27th, 2019 at 4:06pm 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, 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 on Monday, we’re moving onto the Southeast today. Let’s dive in…

Atlanta Hawks
How will the Hawks use their remaining cap room?

The Hawks are the only NBA team that has any real cap room remaining. Currently, the team is sitting on about $6.95MM in space, per Early Bird Rights. That’s not a ton of room, particularly when there are probably no free agents left on the market worth more than the minimum. But it could come in handy.

It’s not clear if Atlanta has any plans in mind for that cap room, but the club is likely holding off on making Vince Carter‘s new deal official in order to maximize its options. Once Carter signs his minimum-salary contract, the Hawks’ cap space will dip to approximately $5.33MM.

The most likely scenario for the Hawks is probably holding onto their cap room into the season and then seeing if it helps create any trade opportunities later in the year. Still, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the team using that space to accommodate a deal before the season begins.

Charlotte Hornets
What are the Hornets’ plans for second-round pick Jalen McDaniels?

McDaniels is one of four 2019 draft picks who has yet to sign an NBA contract or commit to playing overseas.

While it remains to be seen what the Hornets‘ plans are for McDaniels, a two-way contract is an outcome that would make sense for both sides. The three players selected before McDaniels (from Nos. 49-51) and after him (Nos. 53-55) in the draft all signed two-way deals, and Charlotte currently has a slot open.

Of course, the Hornets also project to have an opening or two on their 15-man regular season roster, so it’s possible McDaniels and his reps have their eye on one of those spots. The club currently has 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Thomas Welsh, Caleb Martin, Joe Chealey, and Josh Perkins among the non-guaranteed players possibly in the running for the 14th and/or 15th spot(s). We’ll have to wait to see if McDaniels gets a chance to compete with them or if he gets Charlotte’s second two-way deal.

Miami Heat
How will the Heat’s hard cap affect their remaining roster decisions?

After signing Udonis Haslem earlier this month, the Heat are about $855K below their hard cap for the 2019/20 league year, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The minimum rookie salary for this season is $898K, so Miami can’t add any more guaranteed salaries to its books without making a corresponding roster move to clear guaranteed money.

In other words, barring a trade or a last-minute use of the stretch provision, the Heat’s roster is mostly set for the regular season. The team just needs to make a pair of roster decisions: Will Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn fill out the 14-man roster?

Robinson’s $1,416,852 salary is already guaranteed for $1MM, so waiving him would create little flexibility for Miami. Nunn’s partial guarantee is only worth $150K though. If the club has any doubts about his ability to contribute in 2019/20, his roster spot could be in jeopardy. Waiving Nunn would open up enough room for the Heat to bring in another veteran on a minimum-salary deal.

Orlando Magic
When will the Magic sign Chuma Okeke?

As noted above, there are four 2019 draft picks who remain unsigned. Of those four, Okeke is the only unsigned first-round pick. Because the rookie scale for first-rounders is fairly inflexible, those players typically sign within the first week or two of the league year, so the delay on Okeke is unusual.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Okeke is the only first-round pick who is unlikely to see the court much – if at all – during his rookie season. He tore his ACL in March and is still recovering from that injury.

While virtually every first-round pick signs for 120% of his rookie scale amount, the Cavaliers were able to get Kevin Porter for lower than that earlier in the offseason — it seems likely at this point that the Magic – who don’t have much breathing room below the luxury tax line – are exploring something similar with Okeke.

Washington Wizards
Will Bradley Beal sign a contract extension?

Beal is eligible for a veteran extension, and the Wizards offered as many years and as much money as NBA rules allowed. They also did so as soon as league rules allowed. However, Beal didn’t immediately accept that offer.

It’s easy to point to the Wizards’ 2018/19 record (32-50) and unfavorable cap situation and surmise that Beal is eager to leave D.C., but that’s not necessarily the case. He has said he wants to assess the team’s new management group, led by general manager Tommy Sheppard, before making any decisions. Plus, it would be financially advantageous for him to wait at least a year before signing a new extension, as we explained in-depth last month.

Beal has until October 21 to sign an extension. Otherwise, he won’t be eligible again until next July. John Wall thinks his backcourt mate will accept Washington’s offer and he might be right, but if I had to place a bet, I’d guess that Beal will enter the 2019/20 season without a new deal in place.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Notes: Free Agency, Leonard, Okpala, Mooney

August 22nd, 2019 at 10:33am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat won’t be in the market for any of the remaining free agents unless they trade someone from their current roster, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The hard cap that the team has been operating under since the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade has put a severe limit on its flexibility. Miami is already uncomfortably close to its $138.9MM limit.

That means potential additions such as Jamal Crawford, J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony are off the table unless the Heat make another move to open space. They could release Kendrick Nunn, whose contract isn’t fully guaranteed, but Winderman considers that unlikely. If they decide to trade someone in exchange for a lesser salary, Winderman identifies Meyers Leonard, who will earn $11.3MM this season, as a possibility. He adds that they may try to move Goran Dragic by the deadline or save their next significant moves for next summer.

There’s more this morning from Miami:

Second-round pick KZ Okpala wouldn’t object to spending time in the G League if it’s necessary to get consistent playing time, relays Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jackson notes that a similar path worked for Josh Richardson, who played four games for Sioux Falls as a second-round pick in 2015. “I trust the staff and whatever they say is best,” Okpala said. “I believe in that and will go into it with a good foot forward.”
Free agent guard Matt Mooney, who agreed to sign an Exhibit 10 deal with the Grizzlies last week, received the same offer from the Heat, Jackson notes in the same story. It’s a similar situation to Rayjon Tucker, who recently joined the Bucks, as both players worked out for Miami and were interested in two-way contracts. However, the Heat have decided to let players in training camp compete for two-way deals.
Jackson rates the Heat’s potential interest in six players recently identified by former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox as among the most likely to be traded: Chris Paul, Kevin Love, Bradley Beal, Andrew Wiggins, Andre Iguodala and Devin Booker. Miami’s interest in Beal is well known, and he would be at the top of the list if he becomes available. The Heat had discussions about Paul, but won’t make a deal unless they get their two first-round picks back from Oklahoma City. Jackson doesn’t believe Miami would want Love because of his age, contract and injury history, while Iguodala fits better on an immediate contender. However, Jackson sees Booker and Wiggins as possible targets in the future if the Heat can’t land another star in free agency.