- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel cautions that Heat fans should keep their expectations in check regarding the possibility of landing Russell Westbrook in free agency next summer, since Miami – and any other team besides Oklahoma City – is a long shot for the star point guard. Winderman suggests that it makes more sense for the Heat to focus on developing their young talent rather than to “build an entire season around an all-or-nothing run for Westbrook.”
- While Lance Stephenson may be a fit with the Heat if he were willing to come off the bench, the team’s roster crunch (18 players currently under contract) would likely prevent the swingman from viewing Miami as a desirable landing spot for next season if the team were interested in him, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel opines in his latest “Ask Ira” column.
Over the next several days, we’ll be breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this July.
These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.
Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.
With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Southeast division. Let’s dive in…
1. Washington Wizards
- Total money committed: $239,223,166
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $234,026,744
- Largest expenditure: Bradley Beal (five years, $127,171,313)
- Other notable signings:
- Ian Mahinmi (four years, $64,000,000)
- Andrew Nicholson (four years, $26,000,000)
- Jason Smith (three years, $15,675,000)
- Notes:
- Marcus Thornton will earn $1,315,448 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Wizards will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
2. Charlotte Hornets
- Total money committed: $197,549,753
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $187,517,567
- Largest expenditure: Nicolas Batum (five years, $120,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Marvin Williams (four years, $54,512,500)
- Ramon Sessions (two years, $12,270,000)
- Roy Hibbert (one year, $5,000,000)
- Notes:
- Brian Roberts will earn $1,050,961 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Hornets will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
- Sessions’ deal contributes significantly to the gap between the Hornets’ total money and guaranteed money committed, since his second year ($6.27MM) is a team option.
3. Orlando Magic
- Total money committed: $197,000,000
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $197,000,000
- Largest expenditure: Evan Fournier (five years, $85,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Bismack Biyombo (four years, $68,000,000)
- D.J. Augustin (four years, $29,000,000)
- Jeff Green (one year, $15,000,000)
- Notes:
- The Magic have yet to add any camp invitees or players on partially-guaranteed deals, so the four players listed above make up the team’s entire free agent haul so far.
4. Miami Heat
- Total money committed: $186,713,810
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $175,347,388
- Largest expenditure: Hassan Whiteside (four years, $98,419,537)
- Other notable signings:
- Tyler Johnson (four years, $50,000,000)
- Wayne Ellington (two years, $12,270,000)
- Dion Waiters (two years, $5,926,410)
- Derrick Williams (one year, $4,598,000)
- Udonis Haslem (one year, $4,000,000)
- James Johnson (one year, $4,000,000)
- Notes:
- Like Sessions for the Hornets, Ellington’s second-year salary of $6.27MM is not guaranteed, which contributes to the gap between the Heat’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
5. Atlanta Hawks
- Total money committed: $151,929,151
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $150,530,431
- Largest expenditure: Dwight Howard (three years, $70,500,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Kent Bazemore (four years, $70,000,000)
- Malcolm Delaney (two years, $5,000,000)
- Kris Humphries (one year, $4,000,000)
- Notes:
- Jarrett Jack will earn $1,551,659 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Hawks will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
Previously:
Southwest
As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details, Dwyane Wade‘s decision to leave the Heat this offseason essentially boiled down to eight words he said during a Sunday interview with ESPN: “They made a choice; I made a choice.”
“My time, the clock ticked out on me,” Wade said in the ESPN interview. “And whether they (the Heat) felt it, whether they wanted to do it, I did. And I respectfully walk away saying I tip my hat to their organization and to the city for embracing me and giving me the platform to be great. And I did that. I was great. It will always be there. But I’ve got more things to do.”
Here are a few more items from out of the Southeast, including more on the Heat:
- The Heat essentially have a “standing invitation” out to Beno Udrih for a minimum-salary contract if he can’t find a better deal than that elsewhere, writes Winderman. It’s not clear whether or not Miami’s standing offer to the veteran point guard would be fully guaranteed.
- While a player like Dion Waiters could help the Heat win more games this year, Winderman suggests that the Heat should prioritize the development of their core players like Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, and Tyler Johnson.
AUGUST 1, 8:50am: Stoudemire has officially signed a two-year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem, according to Pick (Twitter link). “I’m looking forward to help the team compete for titles,” Stoudemire said.
JULY 31, 10:01am: Amar’e Stoudemire, who announced his retirement on Tuesday, has signed to play in Israel next season, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Stoudemire officially ended his NBA career at age 33 by signing a ceremonial contract with the Knicks, but he isn’t ready to give up the game completely.
Stoudemire will play for Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he partially owns along with several other investors. Pick notes that he will become the most famous former NBA star ever to play in Israel.
Stoudemire spent 14 years in the NBA, playing for the Suns, Knicks, Mavericks and Heat. He appeared in 52 games for Miami last season, starting 36, and averaged 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in nearly 15 minutes per night.
Stoudemire’s links to Israel are based in his embrace of Judaism. When he joined the Heat in 2015, he told Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel that he considers himself “culturally Jewish” and was planning to obtain Israeli citizenship.
“When I traveled to Israel for the first time, the world took hold of that and [the media] made it a big deal, and … it just kind of blew up from there,” he said. “But I was always this way, even when I was in Phoenix or even in high school here in Florida. But it just happened to become more visible when I traveled to Israel.”
The Rockets will hold on to combo forward Michael Beasley, whose contract guarantee date is Monday, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Beasley’s salary for next season will be $1,403,611 if Houston does keep him on the roster.
Beasley became an impact player for the Rockets late in the season after signing with the team March 4th following the end of his season in China. Beasley appeared in 20 games for Houston, averaging 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per night.
The 27-year-old Beasley was the second player taken in the 2008 draft, but he admits that he damaged his career with a lack of effort and a series of off-court incidents. Beasley was part of the Rockets’ Las Vegas Summer League roster earlier this month and spent most of the time as a mentor, telling younger players not to make the same mistakes he did.
Other players with salary guarantee dates on Monday are the Heat’s Rodney McGruder [$150,000 of $543,471 salary becomes guaranteed] and Josh Richardson [full $874,636 salary] and the Pacers’ Glenn Robinson III [full $1,050,500 salary].
Josh Richardson‘s minimum salary deal doesn’t become guaranteed until August 1st, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports. It’s the maturity of the 2015 second round draft pick of the Heat which allowed him to play without thinking about the situation, the scribe relays. Richardson’s minimum-scale 2017/18 salary doesn’t become guaranteed until June 30th, Winderman adds.
Here’s more out of Miami:
- Rodney McGruder‘s guarantee will jump from $100,000 for the upcoming season to $150,000 on Aug. 1st, Winderman relays in the same post.
- If the Heat had offered more money up front or money for a third season then Dwyane Wade would have never bolted for the Bulls, Winderman contends in a mailbag response. It’s not like Wade had a falling out with one of the Heat’s veterans, so the star leaving for his hometown was very much a money issue, Winderman adds.
- The Heat recently added Heat Dion Waiters and the team is looking at him as a potential starter at shooting guard, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details. Last season, however, Waiters’ stats indicate that he was far better as a backup, as Jackson points out.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who lost DeAndre Jordan to a change of heart in free agency last summer, said he never tried to persuade Heat center Hassan Whiteside to reconsider before this year’s moratorium was lifted, relays Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Whiteside was Dallas’ top target in free agency, but he decided rather quickly to stay in Miami. “Never crossed our mind,” Cuban said in an interview with Dallas radio station 105.3-FM. “… We were happy with the direction we were going in and we had made our pitch to Hassan, but we didn’t really think he was going to leave and we didn’t go back to him and even bring it up.”
- Offseason signings have left the Heat with 11 players who are ineligible to be traded before December 15th, Winderman notes in the same piece. In addition to Whiteside, they are Wayne Ellington, Udonis Haslem, Stefan Jankovic, James Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Willie Reed, Dion Waiters, Okaro White and Derrick Williams.
Earlier today, the Pacers announced that they’d parted ways with Shayne Whittington, placing the big man on waivers. The timing of the move seemed odd at first glance, but it made sense when considering the language in Whittington’s contract — his full salary for the 2016/17 season would have become guaranteed if he’d remained on Indiana’s roster beyond August 1.
As our list of upcoming salary guarantee deadlines shows, Whittington isn’t the only player who will either make some money or lose his roster spot within the next few days. Six other players will have some or all of their ’16/17 salary guaranteed if they remain on their respective teams’ rosters beyond August 1.
Here’s a closer look:
- Jonathon Simmons (Spurs): Full $874,636 salary to become guaranteed
- Simmons’ guarantee date is actually on Saturday, rather than Monday, but it shouldn’t make much of a difference. After averaging about 15 minutes per game in 55 regular-season contests for the Spurs in his rookie season, Simmons may be in line for a bigger role in 2016/17, as we heard earlier this month.
- Michael Beasley (Rockets): Full $1,403,611 salary to become guaranteed
- Beasley, who played the role of mentor for the Rockets during Summer League action, will be kept beyond his guarantee date, according to a Houston Chronicle report from early July.
- Dahntay Jones (Cavaliers): Full $1,551,659 salary to become guaranteed
- Jones appeared in 15 playoff games for the NBA champions in the spring, but his most memorable moment may have involved earning a one-game suspension for hitting Bismack Biyombo in the groin. There has been no indication yet whether the Cavs, who will likely be back in tax territory in 2016/17, intend to keep Jones — he’s a candidate to be cut.
- Rodney McGruder (Heat): $150,000 of $543,471 salary to become guaranteed
- The Heat just signed McGruder about three weeks ago, so it seems unlikely they’d waive him already, especially since only a small portion of his 2016/17 salary will become guaranteed on Monday.
- Josh Richardson (Heat): Full $874,636 salary to become guaranteed
- In the wake of Dwyane Wade‘s departure, the Heat will be going younger this season, and Richardson figures to be a big part of that youth movement. He’s not going anywhere.
- Glenn Robinson III (Pacers): Full $1,050,500 salary to become guaranteed
- When the Pacers announced Whittington’s release without cutting Robinson as well, it was a sign that the former Wolverine should be safe. Assuming that’s the case, he’s a good bet to earn a regular-season roster spot for Indiana.
Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler told reporters that he had no influence on the roster moves the team made this offseason, ESPN.com relays. “That has nothing to do with me. I don’t move guys,” Butler said. “It’s like I always say: People are going to think what they want to think. That doesn’t bother me. I know where I stand. I know who I am.”
Butler also noted that he’s happy for former teammates Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, telling reporters, “I’m happy for (Rose). He’s happy for me,” Butler said. “I’m glad we get to go against each other whatever day that may be when the season rolls around. I talked to Jo. We texted a few messages. Nothing too serious, but we’re always going to have love for each other because we’re always going to be teammates. We were in those trenches together.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Aaron White, a 2015 second round pick of the Wizards, signed a two-year deal to play in Russia with Zenit St. Petersburg, J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic.com reports. The second year is a team option and the pact includes an NBA-out clause, Michael adds. White recently played for Washington’s squad in the Las Vegas summer league where he averaged 7.2 points and shot 29.4% from three-point range.
- The Warriors have hired former NBA player Willie Green as an assistant on coach Steve Kerr‘s staff, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter).
- The Heat‘s roster currently stands at 18 players, which is three over the regular season maximum. One player the team would like to move is Josh McRoberts, but thus far have found no takers this offseason despite trying to “give him away,” Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel noted in his recent “Ask Ira” column. Miami may consider waiving the forward, but his player option worth $6,021,175 for 2017/18 complicates matters because the team would be on the hook for that amount if it cut him, Winderman notes.