- Despite the season the Suns are battling through, veteran guard Troy Daniels believes that it’s still important to put in the work and stay professional, writes Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Daniels also hopes to rub off on some of the younger guys on the team, saying, “It’s hard to stay motivated for games sometimes going through a season like this. (But) I think it’s something these young guys will learn. To survive in this league, even if you’re a lottery pick, you always have to be working on your game, tuning it up.”
At this point in the NBA league year, most of the discussion about cap room focuses on how much teams will have in July. While 2018/19 cap space will be extremely valuable for teams looking to make a splash in free agency or on the trade market, there aren’t many reasons teams need ’17/18 cap room at this point — free agency is all but over, the trade deadline is behind us, and even the deadline for renegotiating contracts has passed.
Still, 2017/18 cap room isn’t entirely useless, even this late in the season. The current league year runs through June 30, so if a team wants to complete a trade before, during, or right after this year’s draft, having cap room available to accommodate a salary could come in handy.
Additionally, teams with cap room have fewer restrictions when it comes to signing free agents — if a club wants to take a flier on a prospect during the final few weeks of the ’17/18 regular season, it could use cap space to sign that player to a lightly-guaranteed contract that stretches across three or four seasons.
Here are the teams that still have cap space available for the 2017/18 season, along with their estimated total room:
- Dallas Mavericks: $14,240,776
- Chicago Bulls: $11,325,670
- Note: The Bulls are technically operating an over-the-cap team, but could use this cap room if they renounce their exceptions.
- Phoenix Suns: $6,749,365
- Indiana Pacers: $5,423,615
- Orlando Magic: $3,669,889
- Sacramento Kings: $3,465,472
- Brooklyn Nets: $3,128,440
- Note: The Nets are technically operating an over-the-cap team, but could use this cap room if they renounce their exceptions.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders, along with our own data, was used in the creation of this post.
So far this week, we’ve relayed comments from Suns general manager Ryan McDonough and owner Robert Sarver about the state of the franchise, the upcoming search for a new head coach, and potential roster moves. We’ve got a few more Suns-related notes to pass along this afternoon, so let’s dive right in and round them up…
- With Josh Jackson showing the potential to emerge as the Suns’ starting small forward for years to come, Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic suggests that T.J. Warren, whose four-year contract extension will begin in July, could become an “ideal sixth man” for the team.
- Within the same article, Bordow says it’s unlikely that the Suns attempt to re-sign Alex Len this offseason, despite the big man’s solid numbers as a starter (10.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.0 BPG). Having signed his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent in 2017, Len will be an unrestricted free agent this July.
- The Suns are currently on track to receive two additional first-round picks in the 2018 draft, in addition to their own lottery pick. Assuming the club keeps one or both of those picks, keep an eye on Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a potential target, tweets Bordow.
- With the Suns set to miss the postseason for an eighth consecutive season, David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders details the moves he’d look to make this offseason to turn things around for the franchise.
Early in the 2017/18 season, the Suns made a coaching change, installing Jay Triano as the interim head coach in place of Earl Watson. Speaking to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic, team owner Robert Sarver praised the job that Triano has done with the club this season, suggesting that his interim role has been “a tough job that wasn’t what he signed up for.”
Despite his appreciation for Triano, Sarver doesn’t want to repeat a past mistake — in 2016, after Watson stepped in for Jeff Hornacek as the Suns’ interim coach, the team hired Watson to the full-time position at season’s end without interviewing other candidates. This time around, Sarver says, the club plans to “cast a much wider net.”
Sarver’s conversation with Bordow about the state of the franchise is worth checking out in full, particularly for Suns fans. The discussion includes a few more interesting comments from the club’s owner, so we’ll relay some of those highlights right here:
On the Suns’ offseason outlook as the 2017/18 season nears an end:
“We’re going to add another really good young player. I think we’re in a position where we can turn the corner, but if we don’t execute properly in terms of free agency and we don’t develop the players and we don’t execute in terms of our draft, then it’s going to be another tough year. So I think it’s a year of opportunity, but a year for us to step up and make some good decisions.”
On adding more veteran leadership without compromising the development of young players:
“Our younger players need confidence. I think there’s a fine line between coming in a game feeling confident you can win and not feeling confident you can win. I think maybe we can add a piece or two next season with some leadership and some experience and some winning and some grit that can help turn that confidence level with some of our younger players. So this offseason is going to be about adding some of that confidence and leadership, and at the same time to get some of our younger players to take a meaningful step forward.”
On what sort of player(s) the Suns will be targeting this summer:
“I think two things. Balance in terms of shooting. The league has been changing. What’s very important is the ability to shoot the three and defend the three. And getting back to this winning attitude that someone can bring to us. Someone who has won and someone who plays a meaningful role on our team. Someone who probably is a starter or first guy off the bench who can bring some swagger and a winning attitude. Obviously I’m biased, but I do think the talent on our roster is a little bit better than our win-loss record, and I think we need some of that winning attitude and swagger. I don’t think we have that right now.”
On expectations for 2018/19:
“I think with a piece or two and a solid year of development, I think we can flip the switch and end up being a team that can have a winning record. But looking at where we stand right now, there’s a long way to go to get to that.”
Suns general manager Ryan McDonough participated in a Facebook Live interview on the Suns’ official Facebook page today, addressing several topics of note during that Q&A with fans. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic rounded up some highlights from the discussion, which we’ll relay below. Let’s dive in…
- The Suns intend to interview several candidates for their permanent head coaching job, per McDonough, who suggested that the team will consider college coaches (Twitter link). Interim head coach Jay Triano will receive an interview for the full-time job too.
- McDonough referenced the possibility of using extra first-round picks from Milwaukee and Miami for “asset consolidation” purposes, per Bordow (Twitter link). In other words, the Suns would be open to packaging one or more of those picks to trade up in the draft or to make a move for an established star.
- According to McDonough, a center is a “slightly higher” priority than a point guard for the Suns this offseason. As Bordow notes (via Twitter), that preference could be good news for fans hoping that Phoenix can land a high lottery pick and draft Arizona center Deandre Ayton.
- The Suns would like to add more veteran players to balance out the age of their roster, says McDonough (Twitter link). Bordow observes that it makes sense to have some veteran depth on the bench so that Phoenix’s head coach has some options if the club’s young players struggle. The Suns entered the 2017/18 campaign with a bit more balance in terms of NBA experience, but Brandon Knight has missed the season with an ACL injury and Eric Bledsoe was traded.
- The Suns have recalled Davon Reed from the Northern Arizona Suns, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Reed, 22, has averaged 8.0 minutes, 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds per game in seven contests for Phoenix so far this season.
The Suns have signed guard Shaquille Harrison to a second 10-day contract, tweets Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports.
Harrison, 24, went undrafted out of Tulsa in 2016 and was part of the Suns’ training camp that year. The last two seasons, Harrison has played with the organization’s G League affiliate Northern Arizona. In 36 games with Northern Arizona, he averaged 11.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.9 SPG.
In five games with Phoenix this season, Harrison has averaged 1.8 PPG and 1.4 APG in limited playing time. Harrison contributed seven points and five rebounds in 18 minutes as part of the Suns’ February 28 win over the Grizzlies.
- After making some cryptic comments prior to the All-Star break about his attitude on and off the court, Suns forward Marquese Chriss expanded on those thoughts in a conversation with Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Chriss, who says he had long conversations with GM Ryan McDonough and head coach Jay Triano during the break, spoke about taking care of mental health and not taking his spot in the NBA for granted.
Former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale has become the prime candidate to take over as the Suns‘ head coach once the season ends, according to Mitch Lawrence of The Sporting News. James Jones, who became VP of basketball operations in Phoenix last summer, spent five seasons as a player with the Heat while Fizdale was the lead assistant under Erik Spoelstra. Earlier today, we passed on Lawrence’s comments that Fizdale hasn’t given up on the Lakers job if the team decides to replace Luke Walton, so the Suns could have some competition for his services. Interim Phoenix coach Jay Triano has expressed a desire to be considered for the job, but it appears the team is looking in a different direction.
Lawrence passes on a few more rumors from NBA coaching circles:
- If the Magic decide to move on from Frank Vogel, longtime player Jerry Stackhouse will be their top choice. Stackhouse, named G League Coach of the Year with Raptors 905 last season, is close to Jeff Weltman, Orlando’s president of basketball operations. Weltman spent four years as GM in Toronto and got an up-close look at Stackhouse’s coaching abilities.
- There’s a growing sense that the Knicks will part with Jeff Hornacek once the season ends. Lawrence admits Hornacek has been in a difficult situation in New York between the front office turmoil, the Carmelo Anthony situation and the recent injury to Kristaps Porzingis, but Hornacek was hired by former team president Phil Jackson, and Steve Mills might prefer to have his own coach in place. There is a strong sentiment to bring in former Knick Doc Rivers, but he still has supporters in the Clippers front office and might be kept for another year after turning in an impressive coaching job with a weakened roster.
- Stan Van Gundy may need to get the Pistons into the playoffs to keep his job. Van Gundy has one season left on his five-year, $35MM contract and is back on thin ice after the team’s recent slump. Even if he does return next season, the feeling is Van Gundy will be replaced at team president, with former agent and current Pistons VP Arn Tellem next in line to run the team’s basketball operations.
Earlier this month, we identified the NBA teams with open roster spots. Since then, clubs have completed a flurry of 10-day signings, and a couple players have even received rest-of-season deals.
However, there are still plenty of teams around the league with openings on their respective rosters, which could come in handy with Thursday’s de facto buyout deadline around the corner. Once March 1 comes and goes, teams will have a better idea of which players will or won’t have postseason eligibility the rest of the way, creating a clearer picture for how to fill those open roster spots.
In the space below, we’ll take a closer look at teams with an open roster spot, breaking them down into three categories. Each of the clubs in the first group actually has a full 15-man roster right now, but in each instance, one of those 15 players is only a 10-day contract. With those contracts set to expire soon, it’d be very easy and inexpensive for these teams to create an opening if they need to.
Teams with full 15-man rosters who are carrying at least one player on a 10-day contract (10-day player noted in parentheses):
- Dallas Mavericks (Scotty Hopson)
- Indiana Pacers (Trey McKinney-Jones)
- New Orleans Pelicans (Walter Lemon Jr.)
- New York Knicks (Troy Williams)
- Orlando Magic (Rashad Vaughn)
- Phoenix Suns (Shaquille Harrison)
- Utah Jazz (Naz Mitrou-Long)
The next list of teams includes the clubs with one open spot on their roster and no players on 10-day contracts. These clubs each have 14 players on standard, full-season NBA deals, leaving one spot open for either a 10-day player or a rest-of-season signing.
Teams with one open roster spot:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Note: The Lakers will create a second opening when they officially waive Corey Brewer.
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
Finally, the last group of teams features four clubs that have been grouped together before. These four teams saw their roster counts slip to 13 players around the time of the trade deadline, and each had to add a player to get back up to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14. To reach that minimum, each team signed a player to a 10-day contract. That means these four franchises still only have 12 or 13 players on full-season contracts, with at least one player on a 10-day deal.
Teams with one open roster spot, plus at least one player on a 10-day contract:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Note: 12 full-season contracts, plus Antonius Cleveland and Jaylen Morris on 10-day contracts
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Marcus Thornton on 10-day contract.
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Brandon Rush on 10-day contract.
- Washington Wizards
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Ramon Sessions on 10-day contract.
For roster-count details on all 30 teams, be sure to check out our roster count page, which we updated daily throughout the 2017/18 season.
Note: Roster info current as of Wednesday, February 28 at 12:00pm CT.