- Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina (France) and Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen (Finland) will not play for their national teams in FIBA World Cup qualifiers next month, according to a Sportando report. Both players will focus on preparing for their second season in the NBA, the report adds.
While NBA teams can use the stretch provision all season long, August 31 represents a key deadline related to the rule. Players who are waived by August 31 can have their current-year salaries stretched, immediately reducing their 2018/19 cap charge. If a player is released after August 31, his current cap hit will remain unchanged, and only the subsequent years of his contract will be stretched.
As we detail in our glossary entry on the subject, the stretch provision is a rule ensuring that any player waived with at least $250K in guaranteed salary remaining on his contract will have the payment schedule of that money spread across multiple years. Teams also have the option of spreading his cap charges across the same number of years.
That schedule is determined as follows:
- If a player is waived between July 1 and August 31, his remaining salary is paid over twice the number of years remaining on his contract, plus one.
- If a player is waived between September 1 and June 30, his current-year salary is paid on its normal schedule, with any subsequent years spread over twice the number of remaining years, plus one.
- Note: If a player in the final year of his contract is waived between September 1 and June 30, the stretch provision does not apply.
For instance, as the Knicks mull whether or not to waive Joakim Noah, here are the options they’ll consider:
| Year | Leave contract as is |
Stretch by 8/31/18 |
Stretch after 8/31/18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018/19 | $18,530,000 | $7,565,000 | $18,530,000 |
| 2019/20 | $19,295,000 | $7,565,000 | $6,431,666 |
| 2020/21 | – | $7,565,000 | $6,431,667 |
| 2021/22 | – | $7,565,000 | $6,431,667 |
| 2022/23 | – | $7,565,000 | – |
In Noah’s case, there’s essentially no incentive for the Knicks to waive and stretch him by August 31. The team – well over the cap for 2018/19 – wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the extra cap flexibility this season. As such, it makes more sense to keep him on the roster for now and to start considering the possibility of his release sometime after September 1.
The same logic that applies to Noah and the Knicks applies to most teams around the NBA. Outside of perhaps Rodney Hood, there just aren’t many free agents left who are worth using cap room on, so teams aren’t clamoring to create additional space for the 2018/19 season. In other words, we shouldn’t expect to see many players on expensive contracts hit waivers in the next week.
There are a couple of potential exceptions worth watching. The Kings, for instance, have about $11MM in cap room and are currently carrying 16 players on guaranteed contracts. If they decide they want to waive a veteran like Iman Shumpert to get down to 15 players for the regular season, it might make some sense to stretch him by August 31. That would reduce his $11MM+ cap charge to just $3.67MM for 2018/19, opening up another $7MM+ in cap space for Sacramento.
Again though, unless the Kings have a use in mind for that cap room, they’ll likely be reluctant to add extra salary to their cap for two subsequent seasons by stretching Shumpert’s 2018/19 salary. The same can be said of the Suns, who are currently hovering just below the $101.869MM salary cap in terms of total guaranteed salary.
Phoenix is reportedly expected to buy out Darrell Arthur, and if the team does so within the next week, it could trim his $7.46MM cap hit to about $2.49MM, opening up additional cap room. Like the Kings, the Suns would have to have a clear purpose in mind for that space in order to justify adding extra money to their books for two future seasons.
New Knicks coach David Fizdale has told Kristaps Porzingis to set lofty goals for himself and the franchise player appreciates getting pushed. In a WNBC TV interview that was relayed by Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, Fizdale said that he wants Porzingis, who is rehabbing from a torn ACL, to embrace the status that comes with being the team’s star. “He likes the challenge of me saying ‘I want him to be the MVP’ and ‘I want him to be the Defensive Player of the Year.’ That’s real competitors they want that and I’m going right at it with him. I want him to look at himself that way,” Fizdale said.
- New York’s G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, has acquired former Kings forward Duje Dukan, Ian Begley of ESPN tweets. Dukan was chosen by the Wizards’ new G League team, the Capital City Go-Go, in the expansion draft on Wednesday. Dukan has also played for the G League affiliates of the Kings, Bulls and Pacers.
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.
[RELATED: Outstanding NBA Traded Player Exceptions]
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.
Badly in need of rebounding help, the Knicks may have found it at a bargain price with the signing of Noah Vonleh, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. While other parts of his game have been questioned, Vonleh is considered very good at getting boards. He collected a career best 5.8 in about 16 minutes per game with the Trail Blazers and Bulls last season.
Chicago acquired Vonleh from Portland at the trade deadline, but didn’t make him an offer in free agency. The Knicks were able to sign him to a partially guaranteed one-year deal that will pay $100K if he’s still on the roster September 25.
The Pacers took the conference champion Cavaliers to seven games in their playoff series and feel good about their chances to contend in the upcoming season, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Coach Nate McMillan is especially encouraged by Indiana’s offseason moves, which included the free agent additions of Tyreke Evans, Doug McDermott and Kyle O’Quinn, along with drafting Aaron Holiday.
“We feel good about our draft picks and our free agents that we were able to pick up,” McMillan said. “We felt like we added a need to our roster. We felt like we were able to strengthen our bench. All of those were guys we felt like if we could improve that position, we wanted to. Aaron is going to be a real solid guard in this league.”
“Is it open? With LeBron [out]? Yes. We’re happy that he’s gone west,” McMillan said. “But we know that it’s still going to be a challenge and we have to make sure we work on us and not assume anything. It’s going to be a challenge for us to do the things we did last season and do it better.”
There’s more tonight from the Central Division:
- Victor Oladipo‘s summer is a mixture of workouts and marketing opportunities, relays J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star. The league’s reigning Most Improved Player adopted a new diet and upgraded his offseason routine last year before posting the best season of his NBA career. The Pacers star is also taking advantage of his new-found fame to help build his brand. “I decided to take control on and off the court and really make decisions that are best for me instead of relying on other people,” Oladipo says. “It’s about growth, getting a little wiser, a gray hair here or there. I’m trying to grow up.”
- The Cavaliers have 12 players on their roster with guaranteed contracts and are keeping two spots open for David Nwaba and Rodney Hood, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Cleveland was reportedly finalizing a deal with Nwaba at the start of the month, but nothing has been made official. Hood remains the top restricted free agent on the market, but has little bargaining power with so few teams having cap space remaining. Point guard Isaiah Taylor, who signed a non-guaranteed $1.5MM deal yesterday, will also compete for a roster spot, Marks adds.
- The Cavaliers were the second choice for former Bulls forward Noah Vonleh, who signed with the Knicks this summer, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. The Bucks and Spurs were also in the running.
The Nets guaranteed Spencer Dinwiddie‘s contract for the 2018/19 season earlier this week as the guard looks to build off a career season in 2017/18. Dinwiddie recently returned to Brooklyn after spending the summer in California and China and he’s ready to get started, Tom Dowd of NBA.com writes.
“Scoring efficiency is the main area of improvement,” Dinwiddie said. “Overall development. I’m 25 years old, still got a lot of juice in the tank. I want to continue to push the limits of who I can be as a player and see how far we as a group, a collective, can take this thing. A lot of that comes from every individual being one percent better. Trying to do a lot of that.”
In 80 games last season, Dinwiddie enjoyed his best year to date, averaging 12.6 PPG and 6.6 APG for Brooklyn. Entering this season, with the roster shaken up and without Jeremy Lin, Dinwiddie figures to have a shot to retain his spot. As Dinwiddie and his teammates prepare for the preseason, he acknowledged that workouts have ramped up.
“It’s all ramping up and we’re getting to a place where the season is coming up,” Dinwiddie said. “It’s about to be around the corner. We’re putting in some of those final touches, some of that final preparation to get ready.”
Check out more Atlantic Division notes:
- After the Knicks parted ways with Jeff Hornacek, guard Tim Hardaway Jr. was unsure of the front office’s thought process. With David Fizdale on board, Hardaway loves what the new coach brings to the team, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “He’s respected around the league,’’ Hardaway said. “He does bring that type of vibe and character around the team that makes you want to go out there and compete each and every day for him. That’s what we love about him.”
- A lot has been made of Joakim Noah and his role — or lack thereof — on this upcoming year’s Knicks team. While his contract is an albatross, utilizing the stretch provision is one way New York can rid itself of the injured center. Danny Leroux of The Athletic (subscription required) explains why the Knicks should hold onto Noah for now.
- The Raptors announced the coaching staff for their G League affiliate, Raptors 905.
Hornets point guard Kemba Walker has said in the past that he doubts he’ll end up with the Knicks once he’s eligible for free agency. He touched on the subject yet again during a visit to the Player’s Association’s kids camp in New York City.
“I’ve been hearing it for years now — the Knicks,” Walker said (via Marc Berman of The New York Post). “Every time I come home, it’s, ‘When are you coming home to the Knicks?’ MSG is a special place, man. The Knicks are a special team. Of course, I’ve been a Knicks fan growing up, always rooted for the home team. But I really can’t see myself in a Knicks jersey — only because I’ve been in one jersey. I really don’t know.”
As for what the future holds, Walker said he doesn’t “have a clue,” while hinting that a Knicks offer next summer might be tempting.
“Got to see. We got to see. I’ve never been free, never been a free agent. We’ll see.” Walker added. “I have no idea. I’ve never been a free agent. I don’t know how the process works. I will have options unless Charlotte gets something done.”
Walker has one year and $12MM remaining on his contract.
As we explored earlier this summer, both Irving and Butler have reportedly expressed interested in playing together, and the panel obviously took that into consideration, predicting both players to suit up for the Knicks next season. However, the Celtics were a close second for Irving.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni isn’t sure how his rotation will look with the addition of Carmelo Anthony, he acknowledged to Sam Amick of USA Today. Anthony officially signed with Houston on Monday but D’Antoni said it’s too simplistic to think he’ll just plug Anthony into Trevor Ariza‘s former spot in the starting lineup.
“I don’t know, and that’s something that we’ll have to work out. All I know is that we’ll try different combos — preseason, early season, and the good thing is that with analytics and with gut feelings and coaches and players, we’ll figure out what is the best way to play.”
There’s more from Amick’s Q&A with D’Antoni:
- Anthony and D’Antoni had some differences in New York when D’Antoni coached the Knicks. D’Antoni isn’t worried about a repeat in Houston. “In New York, when they gave away half the team [to Denver in the February 2011 trade] and everybody expected us to win a championship, it really wasn’t realistic. It put a lot of pressure on everybody, and it kind of burst the pipes. I think this is totally different.”
- D’Antoni feels confident that Anthony will fit in with the team’s other two stars, reigning Most Valuable Player James Harden and Chris Paul. D’Antoni noted that many people thought Harden and Paul couldn’t mesh when Paul was acquired last summer. “It’s like having Chris and James together. It was relatively non-eventful …and I think it’ll be the same thing. … We’ve just got to make sure we don’t get too far away from taking threes and layups and foul shots.”
- Continuing with that theme, D’Antoni said Houston is fighting fire with fire, trying to keep up with the star-laded Warriors. “Look at Golden State, how they had all those guys and you fit in [Kevin] Durant, I mean if you are committed to a certain style, and everybody is committed to the team, it works itself out.”