- William Guillory and Danny Leroux of The Athletic examine the futures of Derrick Favors and Jrue Holiday, with Favors on track to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end and Holiday set to turn 30 next month. Despite Favors entering free agency, the Pelicans‘ top priority is still re-signing Brandon Ingram in restricted free agency.
- Pelicans All-Star Brandon Ingram, a restricted free agent in the offseason this year, has earned a maximum contract with his growth during 2019-20, according to William Guillory and Danny Leroux of The Athletic. The actual amount of that contract remains up in the air, due to a salary cap that will be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
As we relayed earlier today, the Pelicans have joined the growing list of NBA teams that have reopened their practice facilities.
Addressing that subject on a call with reporters this afternoon, head of basketball operations David Griffin said that only seven of the club’s players are still in the area and will use the facility — the rest of the Pelicans are finding other ways to work out (Twitter link via Andrew Lopez of ESPN).
Griffin added that he’s not asking players who are out of market to travel back to New Orleans at this time, since he would rather wait until it’s safer and more necessary, according to Lopez.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Alvin Gentry, 65, falls in an age bracket at risk of being seriously affected by COVID-19. However, the Pelicans’ head coach tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links) that that increased vulnerability will “not stop me from doing my job one bit” when play resumes. “I’m going to approach it with caution,” Gentry said. “But I will be immersed in it totally from a competitive standpoint and everything else.”
- Speaking today to reporters, Griffin admitted he’d embrace the idea of starting the NBA season later, since it would help the Pelicans gain more of a foothold in their market (Twitter link via Lopez). The NFL’s Saints are New Orleans’ most popular professional sports team, so reducing the NBA’s overlap with the football season could be good news for the Pels.
- Even before the Pelicans reopened their facility today for individual workouts, a couple of players had been permitted in the building for rehab purposes. According to Griffin, Zion Williamson and Kenrich Williams were getting regular treatment there over the last several weeks (Twitter links via William Guillory of The Athletic). Williams, sidelined since January 6 due to a back injury, will be ready to practice in full when teams reconvene, says Griffin.
- Guillory and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic examine what the Pelicans got right – and wrong – in the 2019 draft, which saw the team select three players besides Williamson.
The Clippers are among the teams reopening their practice facilities on Monday, as first reported by Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. The Pelicans, reported last week to be targeting May 18 as their reopening date, are also moving forward with that plan, as Christian Clark of The New Orleans Times-Picayune writes.
As has been the case for teams around the league, the Clippers and Pelicans will face strict regulations from the NBA as players return to their facilities for voluntary individual workouts. No more than four players can be in the building at a time, and their workouts are limited to one hour. They also have to undergo temperature checks before entering the facility and wear masks when they’re not engaged in physical activity.
More than half of the NBA’s teams are now known to have reopened their respective facilities. We count 16 clubs so far, though it’s possible that number is even higher if some teams have reopened their buildings without publicizing it.
The Bucks, Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Heat, Jazz, Kings, Lakers, Magic, Nuggets, Pacers, Raptors, Rockets, and Trail Blazers have also reopened their practice facilities.
[UPDATE: The Thunder have reopened their practice facility as well.]
- The legal battle between Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and his former marketing representative – Prime Sports Marketing president Gina Ford – took another interesting step forward this week, as Ford’s attorneys are pushing to get Williamson to admit he accepted unauthorized benefits at Duke. Dana O’Neil and Diamond Leung of The Athletic and Michael McCann of SI.com have shared informative breakdowns explaining what to make of the latest developments in the case.
A pair of early entrants out of Duke have signed with agents who aren’t NCAA-certified, officially signaling that they’ll go pro and remain in the 2020 NBA draft. Tre Jones has signed with BDA Sports, according to the agency’s Instagram account, while Cassius Stanley has joined ISE Basketball (Twitter link).
Both Blue Devils prospects had been expected to keep their names in the draft, so their moves to secure representation don’t come as a surprise. Both players are ranked in the top 50 on ESPN’s big board for 2020, with Jones coming in at No. 33 and Stanley at No. 50.
Here’s more on the 2020 draft:
- A couple more players on this year’s early entrants list have signed with agents and will remain in the draft. Minnesota big man Daniel Oturu has joined BDA Sports, per the agency (Instagram link). Meanwhile, DePaul’s Paul Reed has opted for Ron Shade of Octagon, tweets Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com. Oturu and Reed place 36th and 51st respectively on ESPN’s list of 2020’s top prospects.
- Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji has had virtual meetings with the Pelicans, Wizards, and Hornets so far, and has one lined up with the Jazz later this week, says Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). A possible first-round pick, Nnaji is ranked 34th overall on ESPN’s big board.
- The NBA has sent teams ballots to vote on prospects they’d like to see participate in the 2020 draft combine, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The combine, originally scheduled to take place next week, has been postponed indefinitely, but the league still hopes to hold it in some revamped form, either in-person or virtually.
The Pistons will hold Christian Wood‘s Early Bird rights this offseason and will have the opportunity to dip into cap room if those Early Bird rights (which would allow the team to offer about $10MM per year) aren’t enough to re-sign him. That should put Detroit in the driver’s seat to bring back the promising young big man, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2019/20.
However, as James L. Edwards III of The Athletic details, the Pistons figure to face some competition for Wood’s services on the open market.
Edwards points to New York and Boston as two teams that could pursue the free-agent-to-be. A March report identified the Knicks as a potential Wood suitor — they could have plenty of cap room and a positional need if they decide not to bring back Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson. As for the Celtics, they’ll only have the mid-level exception available, but expressed interest in Wood at the trade deadline.
Edwards goes on to speculate that the Hornets and Pelicans may also be among the teams that keep an eye on Wood in free agency. Charlotte, in particular, will have a good chunk of cap room available and will likely be in the market for a big man with Bismack Biyombo and Willy Hernangomez set to reach the open market.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Given the volatile nature of both the draft lottery and the draft itself, launching a full-fledged rebuild doesn’t come with any guarantees, and the Pistons’ decision to do so wasn’t as obvious as some believed, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. However, shifting into rebuilding mode was still the right call for the franchise, Langlois contends.
- The Pistons likely won’t be reopening their practice facility until at least May 28, since Michigan’s stay-at-home order runs through that date, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News details. “We’re adhering to that,” head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski told Beard. “When the governor of Michigan will let us open the facility and the league is going to allow the players to come back if they want to, to get workouts. We have plenty of protocols to set in place already, and we’ll be ready when they’re allowed.”
- In case you missed it on Monday, Blake Griffin shared a positive update on his recovery from knee surgery, suggesting he has “basically been cleared for a while now.”
- The Pelicans plan to reopen their practice facility in Metairie, La. next Monday, March 18, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune reports. Louisiana’s stay-at-home order prohibits the team from using the facility through Friday, when that order is set to expire. At least five teams are known to have reopened their facilities since the NBA gave the go-ahead to conduct individual workouts under supervision and safeguards.
- Meyers Leonard, JaMychal Green and Alex Len are some of the free agent targets the Pelicans could explore to fortify their frontcourt, William Guillory of The Athletic opines. New Orleans could also pursue a deal for the Nets’ Jarrett Allen if Brooklyn decides to make DeAndre Jordan its starting center, Guillory adds.
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.
The Pelicans were considered a playoff sleeper prior to the 2019/20 season and again by the time the season went on hiatus. In between, things were a little up and down — the team got off to a dismal 6-22 start in the fall while No. 1 pick Zion Williamson recovered from a knee injury. However, New Orleans bounced back nicely and showed some tantalizing potential in the 19 games Williamson played, as he meshed nicely with young building blocks Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram.
The priority this offseason for the Pelicans will be re-signing Ingram, who will be in line for either a maximum-salary contract or something close to it. The franchise has enough cap flexibility to accommodate that deal without approaching tax territory.
Here’s where things stand for the Pelicans financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:
Guaranteed Salary
- Jrue Holiday ($26,231,111)
- J.J. Redick ($13,013,700)
- Lonzo Ball ($11,003,782)
- Zion Williamson ($10,245,480)
- Jaxson Hayes ($5,105,160)
- Nicolo Melli ($3,897,436)
- Josh Hart ($3,491,159)
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($3,113,160)
- Total: $76,100,988
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Darius Miller ($7,000,000) 1
- Total: $7,000,000
Restricted Free Agents
- Brandon Ingram ($9,481,458 qualifying offer / $21,796,456 cap hold): Bird rights
- Frank Jackson ($2,023,150 qualifying offer / $2,023,150 cap hold): Bird rights
- Kenrich Williams ($1,820,524 qualifying offer / $1,820,524 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Zylan Cheatham (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Josh Gray (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $28,531,524
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Derrick Favors ($26,475,000): Bird rights
- E’Twaun Moore ($16,463,363): Bird rights
- No. 13 overall pick ($3,640,200)
- Jahlil Okafor ($1,620,564): Early Bird rights
- Total: $48,199,127
Offseason Cap Outlook
With just $76MM in guaranteed money on their books for next season so far, the Pelicans could theoretically create cap room. However, there would be no better way to use that room than by re-signing Ingram. He’ll be a restricted free agent, giving New Orleans the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs, and his new deal figures to erase any cap space the Pelicans could carve out.
Fortunately, even with a max deal for Ingram on their books and without a cap increase, the Pelicans would have plenty of room to maneuver below the tax threshold. That should give the team the option of re-signing Favors and/or Moore, or potentially using its full mid-level exception.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 2
- Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 2
Footnotes
- Miller’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
- These are projected values. If team salary gets high enough, it’s possible the Pelicans would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000). If they want to use cap room, they’d have to renounce these exceptions and would gain access to the room exception ($4,767,000).
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.