- As Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes, as a result of all the multiyear contract commitments the Knicks made this offseason, the summer of 2022 projects to be the first offseason in a few years that the team won’t have maximum-salary cap space.
- Knicks forward Obi Toppin, a native New Yorker like Kemba Walker, grew up idolizing the point guard and can’t wait to play alongside him in 2021/22, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. “Having Kemba come to the team is amazing,” Toppin said. “Great player. I’ve watched him as long as he’s been playing since he left UConn. Having an opportunity to play with him is going to be amazing.”
- Nerlens Noel‘s three-year contract with the Knicks includes $4MM in total incentives. Among those potential incentives is a $750K bonus each time he makes First or Second Team All-Defense, Ian Begley of SNY.TV reports.
The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $112,414,000 threshold once their cap room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax line of $136,606,000 as well — the Nets and Warriors, for instance, project to have nine-figure tax bills this season as a result of their spending.
The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows clubs like Brooklyn and Golden State to build a significant payroll without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped, as we explain in a glossary entry.
When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception (three years, starting at $5,890,000), 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 for 2021/22 was set at $143,002,000.
So far, over a third of the teams in the NBA have been willing to hard-cap themselves this offseason. Some teams will have to be aware of that hard cap when they consider any roster move for the rest of the season, but for others it’s just a technicality that won’t affect their plans.
Listed below are the hard-capped teams for the 2021/22 league year, along with how they created a hard cap.
Chicago Bulls
- Acquired Lonzo Ball from Pelicans via sign-and-trade.
- Acquired DeMar DeRozan from Spurs via sign-and-trade.
- Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Alex Caruso.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Acquired Lauri Markkanen from Bulls via sign-and-trade.
Dallas Mavericks
- Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Reggie Bullock.
- Used bi-annual exception on Sterling Brown.
Houston Rockets
- Acquired Daniel Theis from Bulls via sign-and-trade.
Miami Heat
- Acquired Kyle Lowry from Raptors via sign-and-trade.
- Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on P.J. Tucker.
New Orleans Pelicans
- Acquired Devonte’ Graham from Hornets via sign-and-trade.
- Acquired Garrett Temple from Bulls via sign-and-trade.
New York Knicks
- Acquired Evan Fournier from Celtics via sign-and-trade.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.
San Antonio Spurs
- Acquired Doug McDermott from Pacers via sign-and-trade.
Toronto Raptors
- Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Khem Birch.
Washington Wizards
- Acquired Spencer Dinwiddie from Nets via sign-and-trade.
- Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Isaiah Todd.
This list, which could continue to grow, will continue to be updated throughout the 2021/22 league year as necessary. It can be found anytime in the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” menu on our mobile site.
The Knicks have renounced their free agent rights to former lottery pick Frank Ntilikina, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
The move, which was necessary in order for New York to maximize its cap space, doesn’t preclude the team from re-signing Ntilikina. The Knicks no longer have his Bird rights, but could still re-sign him using cap space or an exception (such as the minimum-salary exception). There has been no indication that’s in the cards, however.
- Kemba Walker‘s new two-year, $18MM contract with the Knicks is fully guaranteed with no options, tweets Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Keith Smith of Spotrac, providing the year-by-year breakdown, notes (via Twitter) that the two-year value technically comes in at about $17.89MM.
10:55am: Walker’s new deal is worth $18MM over two years, sources tell Mike Vorkunov and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
9:40am: The Knicks have officially signed free agent point guard Kemba Walker, the team announced today in a press release. It’s a homecoming for Walker, who was born and raised in the Bronx.
“We are beyond thrilled to bring native New Yorker Kemba Walker back to the city he’s proud to call home. He’s a tremendous talent whose skill and leadership will be a huge addition to our organization,” Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose said in a statement. “We’ve already seen how well he performs on The Garden stage and can’t wait to witness it on a nightly basis in front of his family, friends, and the best fans in the league.”
Word first broke last Wednesday that Walker had agreed to a buyout with the Thunder and was planning to sign with the Knicks. Oklahoma City officially placed the Walker on waivers on Friday after the two sides finalized a buyout agreement that saw the 31-year-old give up $20MM of the $73MM+ left on his contract.
Walker’s new deal with the Knicks is expected to cover two seasons and be worth about $8-9MM annually, as reported last week by Ryan McDonough of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).
Walker, who was traded from Boston to Oklahoma City in June, was limited to 43 games for the Celtics in 2020/21 due to knee issues, but put up strong numbers in the games he played, averaging 19.3 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 4.0 RPG on .420/.360/.899 shooting in 31.8 minutes per contest.
The four-time All-Star will join a Knicks backcourt that also features Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks, and second-round pick Miles McBride.
New York has been a little slower than some teams in finalizing the free agent deals it agreed to during the moratorium — the order of operations is crucial for the Knicks, who are completing most of their signings using cap space. The team officially completed Nerlens Noel‘s deal on Tuesday and have now finalized Walker’s too. The others – including Rose, Burks, and Evan Fournier – will likely be announced soon.
Nerlens Noel‘s three-year deal with the Knicks – reported last week to be worth $32MM – actually has a lower base value than expected, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who said in an Instagram video that the deal starts at $8.8MM.
Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets the year-by-year breakdown of Noel’s contract, which has a third-year team option and is worth $27.72MM in total. The agreement includes $4MM in total unlikely incentives, says Smith. If the Knicks center doesn’t earn any of those incentives and doesn’t have his third-year option picked up, he’d end up earning a little over $18MM for two seasons.
The Pelicans, Mavericks, Celtics, and Timberwolves are among the teams that have shown interest in Bulls restricted free agent Lauri Markkanen, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who hears from sources that the price tag on the power forward would be about $15MM per year.
Landing Markkanen would be a challenge for any of those teams, however, as they’re all over the cap and would have to acquire the RFA forward via sign-and-trade. New Orleans has a traded player exception big enough to fit Markkanen, but the other teams would likely to have rely on salary-matching or offer him a lower salary (Dallas has a TPE worth $10.872MM, while Boston has one worth $9.72MM). Acquiring a player via sign-and-trade also results in a hard cap, which the Celtics are reportedly resisting.
On top of all that, Fischer confirms a previous report that the Bulls are seeking a first-round pick to accommodate a Markkanen sign-and-trade and don’t want to take on any salary, preferring any contracts to be rerouted to a third team. If they maintain that stance, the Bulls would make it very difficult for Markkanen to do anything but accept his $9MM qualifying offer.
“Chicago is playing this masterfully from no other perspective than a contract management standpoint,” a team capologist told Fischer. “It won’t do any favors relationship-wise, but they’re bleeding his market based on their tax situation, and nobody else can offer him any kind of money without them.”
As we wait to see what happens with Markkanen, it’s worth noting that the Hornets – previously rumored to be eyeing the forward – weren’t listed by Fischer as one of the teams in the hunt, and president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak told reporters today that the team is likely done with its “heavy lifting” this offseason (Twitter link via Rod Boone of SI.com).
Here’s more from Fischer:
- The Sixers, Suns, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Celtics, and Knicks were among the teams that expressed interest in DeMar DeRozan before he reached a deal with the Bulls, per Fischer. However, New York agreed to sign Evan Fournier and most of the other teams would’ve had to figure out complicated sign-and-trade arrangements to accommodate DeRozan, who never really entertained the idea of signing for the mid-level exception, sources tell Fischer.
- The Pelicans and Kings discussed the possibility of swapping Buddy Hield and Josh Hart (via sign-and-trade) as part of New Orleans’ trade with Memphis, Fischer writes. It’s unclear if anything along those lines is still being considered now that the Pelicans’ deal with the Grizzlies has been completed — base year compensation rules would complicate a one-for-one swap.
- The Suns are weighing their options for their final open roster spot and have gauged the trade value of 2020 lottery pick Jalen Smith, sources tell Fischer.
- The Raptors will meet with Goran Dragic‘s camp at Summer League in Las Vegas to further discuss the point guard’s situation, according to Fischer.
- Zach LaVine has told Bulls staffers he’s committed to improving defensively next season, Fischer says.
The contract that rookie point guard Miles McBride signed with the Knicks covers three years, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Instagram video link). Marks reports that the first two seasons in the deal are guaranteed, while the third is a team option. The team used cap room to complete the signing.
McBride, 20, was selected with the No. 36 pick out of West Virginia. The 6’2″ guard was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team for the 2020/21 season, his sophomore year. During his final collegiate season, McBridge averaged 15.9 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.9 RPG, on a .431/.414/.813 shooting line.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Do-everything Nets guard Bruce Brown drew outside interest as a free agent but said that he always knew he wanted to remain in Brooklyn, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter link). Brown, 24, opted to accept a one-year, $4.7MM qualifying offer from the Nets, and will be an unrestricted free agent next season. “I really didn’t pay it any mind, honestly,” Brown said of the decision to remain in Brooklyn, per Tom Dowd of BrooklynNets.com. “I thought everything would take care of itself. I really was just working out the whole time, and then when free agency started, I actually was on the plane back to New York. So I didn’t really talk to anybody until I landed. I’m just happy to be back. It’s a great fit. I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
- Appearing on Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster downplayed ongoing rumblings about a potential impending Pascal Siakam trade. “Teams call on our players and we call on other teams’ players,” Webster said, per Steven Loung of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
- New Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa, acquired as part of the sign-and-trade that sent point guard Kyle Lowry to the Heat, is excited to contribute however he can to a winning culture with Toronto, writes Neil Davidson of The Toronto Star. “Rebounding,” Achiuwa said, explaining what he brings to the team. “Guarding multiple positions. Creating offense for my teammates with screens, pick-and-rolls. Passing the ball. Just whatever it takes to win basketball games. Getting loose balls… For me, it’s all about winning.” During his rookie season in Miami, Achiuwa averaged 5.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 12.1 MPG after being selected 20th overall in the 2020 draft.
Veteran point guard Kemba Walker gave up $20MM in his buyout agreement with the Thunder, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Bobby Marks of ESPN (Instagram video) first reported that Walker was giving back $20MM as part of that deal.
Walker’s cap hit with Oklahoma City will be reduced by $9,777,778 in 2021/22 and by $10,222,222 in 2022/23, per Smith. The 31-year-old guard had originally been set to earn $36,016,200 this season and $37,653,300 in ’22/23.
It’s a significant concession by Walker, whose new deal with the Knicks is reportedly to be worth approximately $8-9MM per year over two seasons. It’ll be interesting to see whether his new salaries match the amounts he gave up in the buyout, or if he ends up making a little less as a result of his decision to play for his hometown team.
The terms of the buyout also help explain why the Thunder were willing to move on from Walker now rather than trying to rebuild his value during the coming season and flip him for an asset down the road.
Walker, who was traded from Boston to Oklahoma City in June, was limited to 43 games for the Celtics in 2020/21 due to knee issues, but put up strong numbers in the games he played, averaging 19.3 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 4.0 RPG on .420/.360/.899 shooting in 31.8 minutes per contest.
Walker officially cleared waivers on Sunday, so his new deal with New York can be completed anytime. The Knicks haven’t yet announced any of their free agent signings — they’ll likely finalize them one after another at some point, whether that happens today or later in the week.
The Knicks have added forward Jericho Sims on a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). The deal will cover two seasons, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.
Sims, selected with the No. 58 pick out of Texas, will be eligible to appear in 50 games with New York while on his two-way contract. If the Knicks want to play Sims in more than 50 games, his contract would need to be converted to a standard deal.
As a two-way player, Sims also figures to spend time with the Knicks’ Westchester affiliate during the season for further development. A four-year college player, the 22-year-old was honored with an All-Big 12 Team selection during his final season in Austin.
The 6’10” big man averaged 9.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 1.1 BPG across 27 games for the 2020/21 NCAA regular season, including 26 starts. He also connected on 69.6% shooting from the field, the second-best field goal percentage in UT’s history for a single year.
It was previously rumored that Sims, currently with New York’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas, would most likely join the Knicks on a two-way deal. The Knicks still have a second slot in which to ink a two-way player for the upcoming 2021/22 season.