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Several Players Set To Receive Salary Guarantees

October 19th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Most players who are still on non-guaranteed contracts as the NBA’s regular season begins won’t have their salaries for 2022/23 fully guaranteed until January. The league-wide salary guarantee date is January 10, and teams must waive players on non-guaranteed contracts on or before January 7 in order to avoid being on the hook for the full-season salaries.

However, a number of players on non-guaranteed deals have language in their contracts that calls for them to receive full or partial guarantees if they’re not waived before their team’s first game of the regular season. Those players are as follows:

Full guarantees:

Dalano Banton (Raptors): Partial guarantee ($300,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,563,518).
Keita Bates-Diop (Spurs): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,878,720) becomes fully guaranteed.
Justin Champagnie (Raptors): Partial guarantee ($325,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,637,966).
Tre Jones (Spurs): Partial guarantee ($500,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,782,621).

As our full list of early salary guarantee dates shows, Isaiah Joe (Sixers), Josh Jackson (Raptors), and D.J. Wilson (Raptors) also would’ve had their salaries become fully guaranteed if they had remained under contract through their teams’ first regular season games. However, they were all waived within the last week. Joe has since signed with the Thunder on a deal that includes a guaranteed first-year salary.

Partial guarantees:

Matthew Dellavedova (Kings): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,628,597) becomes partially guaranteed ($250,000).
Haywood Highsmith (Heat): Partial guarantee ($50,000) increases to $400,000.
Luke Kornet (Celtics): Partial guarantee ($300,000) increases to $1,066,639.
Chima Moneke (Kings): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $500,000.
Markieff Morris (Nets): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,905,581) becomes partially guaranteed ($500,000).
KZ Okpala (Kings): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $500,000.
Edmond Sumner (Nets): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $500,000.

Guarantee dates are a matter of negotiation between a team and a player, so there’s nothing stopping a club from approaching a player and asking him to agree to push that date back. If a player feels as if he’ll be waived if he says no, he may agree.

This happened last season, for instance, when Isaac Bonga‘s and Sam Dekker‘s contracts with the Raptors called for their salaries to be fully guaranteed as of opening night. Both players assented to moving their guarantee dates back to November 6. When that new deadline arrived, Toronto opted to retain Bonga and guarantee his full salary while waiving Dekker.

In other words, it’s not yet a sure thing that all the players mentioned above will get the guarantees described here, even if they remain under contract through Wednesday (or Tuesday, in Kornet’s case). We may get word in a day or two that a couple of them agreed to postpone their salary guarantee dates.

For the most part though, we should count on this group of players receiving some added security, with a handful of names coming off our list of players who still have non-guaranteed salaries.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Raptors, Brunson, Begarin

October 16th, 2022 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After converting Michael Foster Jr. to a two-way deal, the Sixers have an opening on their 15-man roster, and it sounds like the team doesn’t plan to fill that opening right away.

“We believe there’s a lot of guys out there that may become available,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “We wanted to make sure we had a spot.”

Even if Philadelphia doesn’t end up finding a free agent or trade target to fill that 15th spot anytime soon, keeping it open will allow the team to maximize its financial flexibility. The Sixers are a few million dollars below their hard cap and have a chance to duck out of luxury tax territory altogether if they trim a little salary during the season.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The chances of Fred VanVleet or Pascal Siakam signing a contract extension with the Raptors before the regular season begins appear slim, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star (Twitter link). VanVleet could still negotiate an in-season extension if he turns down his 2023/24 player option, whereas Siakam would be ineligible to sign an extension until next summer if he doesn’t receive one by opening night.
In a full story for The Toronto Star, Smith writes that Justin Champagnie earned the Raptors‘ 15th roster spot almost by default. Champagnie was sidelined for most of the preseason due to a hip injury, but the other challengers – D.J. Wilson, Josh Jackson, and Gabe Brown – didn’t do much in training camp or the preseason to stand out and seize the final regular season roster spot.
Newly added free agent point guard Jalen Brunson has been everything the Knicks could’ve hoped for so far, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post, who writes that Brunson’s selfless play seemed to be rubbing off on the other starters during the preseason. “It’s clear as day the impact he’s had on the team,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Former NBA assistant Will Weaver, who is now coaching Paris Basketball in France, loves what he has seen from Celtics draft-and-stash prospect Juhann Begarin so far this fall, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “We all witnessed it today,” Weaver said on Sunday after Begarin scored 28 points in a loss to AS Monaco. “Juhann Begarin is an NBA player. He can make an impact in Boston.” The Celtics drafted Begarin with the 45th overall pick in 2021 and continue to hold his NBA rights.

Justin Champagnie Earns Raptors’ 15th Roster Spot

October 14th, 2022 at 10:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Justin Champagnie has won the training camp battle for the Raptors‘ 15th and final standard roster spot, sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet (Twitter link).

Toronto has waived the three other contenders for the last spot on the 15-man roster, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Those players are Josh Jackson, D.J. Wilson and Gabe Brown, and they’ll clear waivers on Monday, assuming they go unclaimed.

Champagnie, 21, went undrafted last year after starring in two college seasons at Pitt. He signed a two-way deal with the Raptors as a rookie, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per night in 36 games last season.

Though his role with the NBA club was modest, Champagnie averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 boards, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks on .489/.409/.778 shooting in 14 regular season games (35.9 minutes) for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate, and clearly made a strong impression on the organization. His contract was previously partially guaranteed for $325K, but now he’s set to have his $1,637,966 deal for 2022/23 fully guaranteed.

Wilson had a $250K partial guarantee on his deal, and the Raptors will be on the hook for that amount. Jackson’s deal was non-guaranteed, as was Brown’s, but unlike Jackson, Brown signed an Exhibit 10 contract, so he will earn a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905.

Raptors Notes: Roster Battle, Boucher, Porter, J. Jackson, Achiuwa

October 12th, 2022 at 6:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

With Dalano Banton likely to make the team after a strong preseason, the Raptors appear to have a three-man battle for their final roster spot, writes Lori Ewing of The Toronto Star. Justin Champagnie, Josh Jackson and D.J. Wilson are all in the running and Friday’s preseason finale is their last chance to make an impression.

The competition is particularly stressful for Champagnie, who missed the first three preseason games with pain in his hip, Ewing notes. He played only eight minutes Sunday, recording one point and one rebound. Champagnie, who appeared in 36 games for Toronto as a rookie last season, estimates that he is 90 to 95 percent recovered from the hip issue.

“I sensed some urgency from Justin,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I think some other guys just kind of let their game each day do what it does. It’s hard to get all excited one game and be not so excited the next because they play good and then not so good. Then they come back in practice and light it up again and get you thinking again. (Making cuts) is always a tricky thing. We’ll see how it all shakes out. I think there are still a lot of questions to be answered.”

There’s more from Toronto:

A hamstring injury will keep Chris Boucher out of the lineup for Friday’s game, which is in his hometown of Montreal, Ewing adds. Free agency addition Otto Porter Jr. will also miss the game with an injured hamstring, and Nurse said he’s not certain if either player will be ready for the regular season opener next Wednesday.
Jackson is hoping to revive his career with the Raptors after playing for four teams in his first five NBA seasons, per Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Jackson takes responsibility for not living up to the expectations that came along with being the fourth pick in the 2017 draft. “I can’t say that every organization that I’ve been a part of has been great in helping its players succeed but, with that, what I have learned is you’ve got to be the one to make sure that you’re getting everything that you need,” he said. “You have to make sure you’re working on the things you need to work on because, at the end of the day, it is your career, it’s not theirs.”
Sixth Man of the Year or Most Improved Player honors might be within reach for Precious Achiuwa after his impressive performance during the second half of last season, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN. “[The accolades are] something that [will] just happen based on how I play,” Achiuwa said. “Control what I can control. Your shots aren’t always going to go in but being able to play defense and bring effort, that’s something you can control every game.”

Raptors Notes: Starting Lineup, VanVleet, Last Roster Spot, Barnes

October 11th, 2022 at 9:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

When the Raptors face opponents with bigger frontcourts, they may switch up their lineup, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes and OG Anunoby will start most nights but it “doesn’t mean you always have to start your five best,” according to head coach Nick Nurse said.

“Do we really want Scottie, Pascal or OG guarding a really good, big five to start the game?” Nurse said. “I don’t think we do, so we’re going to have to make some adjustments to that, or it’s just going to be three minutes and we’re sending in a guy.”

We have more on the Raptors:

Fred VanVleet believes there’s good chemistry in the locker room, Michael Grange of SportsNet.ca writes. “I think you have to give credit to management and coaching staff. They have their hands full in terms of putting together a locker room that works before we even step on the court,” said VanVleet. “I think we have done a good job of building that back up. It feels more like a Raptors team now.”
Nurse may weigh potential offensive contributions a little more heavily when it comes to deciding which player gets the 15th spot on the roster, Grange tweets. Justin Champagnie, D.J. Wilson, Josh Jackson and Gabe Brown are the candidates.
Barnes has been a little slow getting up to speed and there’s a good reason for that — the reigning Rookie of the Year was held out of training for the last three weeks prior to camp with a mild ankle sprain, Grange tweets. Nurse commented on that subject. “He’s playing a little bit of catch-up and it’s noticeable,” Nurse said, as relayed via a Lewenberg tweet. “I don’t think he’s shown a whole lot in the preseason… I think he’s just behind a little bit, conditioning-wise, feel-wise. We need to keep plugging away and get him feeling (like himself).”

Atlantic Notes: Harden, Melton, Raptors, G. Williams

October 11th, 2022 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

Asked by Joe Vardon of The Athletic if he believes he’s gotten the proper credit for taking a pay cut this season in order to allow the Sixers to sign other players, including P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, James Harden shook his head.

“Nope, but guess what? I don’t care,” Harden said. “There’s like a stereotype (of Harden) where people always want to talk. People don’t really know me, so they feel like they can just say anything. One thing I won’t do is give them any attention. I won’t say anything, media-wise, publicly. I don’t care, because I’m comfortable and I’m confident in the things I do on and off the court.”

Harden turned down a player option worth more than $47MM and accepted a $33MM salary for 2022/23, with a player option worth $35.64MM for ’23/24. Having sacrificed some short-term money for the good of the team, the former MVP told Vardon he intends to take the same approach with his on-court statistics this season.

“At this point, (big) numbers are great, but whether I’m averaging 22 or 28 (points per game), I think it’s more that I’m making an impact on the game each and every night,” Harden said. “I don’t really think about numbers. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about numbers, honestly. … Ultimately, it’s winning a championship. The numbers don’t really mean anything, individually.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

De’Anthony Melton is looking forward to showing what he can bring this season to the Sixers and is grateful that Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman traded him to a favorable landing spot, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Zach and I have a good relationship to where I know he wouldn’t send me to a bad situation,” Melton said. “He wouldn’t do anything that he doesn’t feel like is a good situation for his organization and for me. You don’t get that in a lot of GMs. So that’s why the care factor was there. I could be wrong. I could be right, but that’s what I felt, given the situation.”
Dalano Banton‘s place on the Raptors‘ regular season roster looks increasingly secure after another solid performance vs. Chicago on Sunday, but the team’s 15th spot remains very much up in the air, says Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. As Grange notes, Justin Champagnie got a late start to the preseason, but hasn’t fallen far behind in the battle for the No. 15 spot, since none of D.J. Wilson, Josh Jackson, and Gabe Brown have run away with it.
In a mailbag for NBC Sports Boston, Chris Forsberg makes a case for why the Celtics and Grant Williams should be able to get a rookie scale extension done before next Monday’s deadline, arguing that a deal in the range of $12-13MM per year would allow Williams to earn more than the mid-level and let the team lock up another member of its core.

Raptors Notes: Banton, Champagnie, Wilson, Jackson, Siakam

October 3rd, 2022 at 8:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

From all appearances, Dalano Banton will have his contract guaranteed and a spot on the Raptors’ opening night roster, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. That would leave forwards Justin Champagnie, D.J. Wilson and Josh Jackson fighting for one job during the preseason.

Coach Nick Nurse has spelled out the parameters of what he’s looking for at the end of his bench.

“Are they going to be able to understand what we’re doing, know what we’re doing, not make too many mistakes, be opportunity-type scorers?” he said. “Being on the same page out there, and being able to execute so that you’re fitting in, is always right at the top of the list. Competitive fire and drive, (playing) super hard is always 1, 1 and 1A. It’ll be interesting. It’s a battle, for sure.”

We have more on the Raptors:

Banton, a 2021 second-round selection, had nine points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals against the Jazz in the preseason opener. Fred VanVleet notes how much Banton has learned since joining the team, Smith writes. “There’s a progression to the game slowing down for guys as they gain experience and you can see that with him,” VanVleet said of his young teammate. “Picking his spots, knowing where to attack, getting stronger and being able to finish at the rim. Last year he came in with amazing pace and that height at 6-9 but for him to really read the floor and know the system and kind of run the team a bit, I think that’s where he’s probably grown most and will continue to grow.”
A Siakam will bide his time with the team’s NBA G League affiliate this season. Christian Siakam, the older brother of the star forward, has been added to the Raptors 905 coaching staff, according to The Star. He worked with the club last season and played professionally for Bahrain Club and the Malaysian club KL Dragons.
Pascal Siakam aspires to reach the superstar level, prompting both Michael Grange of Sportsnet and Eric Koreen of The Athletic to explore how he could elevate his game to new heights.

Atlantic Notes: Grimes, Vonleh, Nurse, Maxey, Rivers

August 4th, 2022 at 5:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In an effort to upgrade his skills on the ball and as a play-maker, second-year Knicks guard Quentin Grimes trained with four-time NBA All-Star and current University of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway for a second consecutive offseason, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post (subscription required).

“He’s kind of like a big uncle to me,” Grimes said of Hardaway. “Just took me under his wing and helped me play the point guard position a lot better, because that’s what I was in high school… Last year, they didn’t necessarily need me to do that — got to come in, play extremely hard on defense, knock down shots. I feel like next year my role will be expanded a little bit more. … I’m a scorer, really. I love getting to the mid-range, getting all the way to the rim, getting fouled. I like having an all-around game.”

The 6’5″ shooting guard out of Houston was selected with the No. 25 pick in the 2021 draft. A right kneecap injury and a bout with COVID-19 limited his on-court availability to just 46 contests. In 17.1 MPG, he averaging 6.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.0 APG and 0.7 SPG. As Braziller writes, Grimes shone bright during Summer League in Las Vegas last month, averaging 21.4 PPG on 41% field goal shooting, plus 4.2 RPG and 4.0 APG.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Jared Weiss of The Athletic explores how 2014 lottery pick Noah Vonleh could help the Celtics if he makes the team’s 15-man regular season roster following his training camp audition. Weiss thinks Boston could benefit from Vonleh’s abilities as a screener with some defensive versatility as a post presence. In 339 games played for seven teams, the 26-year-old holds averages of 4.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG. He spent last year with the Shanghai Sharks of the CBA. In terms of NBA action, Vonleh most recently suited up for the Nets during the 2020/21 season.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is preparing to juggle the challenge of doling out time for three exciting bench players who are still in early phases of their NBA development, per Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. When it comes allocating rotation minutes for Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton and Justin Champagnie, Nurse spoke candidly about his approach. “I can envision sitting in front of [media members] a lot here coming up in these press conferences, pre- and post-game, asking me about why he played and why he didn’t,” Nurse said. “I think there will be some serious finessing about it, but it’s turning in my head a little bit and I can see us using a lot of them different ways.”
During an appearance on the Vince Carter Show podcast, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers heaped praise on breakout shooting guard Tyrese Maxey (h/t to Adam Herman of NBC Sports Philadelphia for the transcription). “He’s the most impressive young player I’ve ever had, in 21 years of coaching,” Rivers said. “His work ethic, Vince, is beyond belief.” As Herman notes, Rivers has coached All-Stars like Blake Griffin, Al Jefferson, Ben Wallace, and Rajon Rondo in similarly early phases of their NBA careers. Maxey enjoyed an excellent second season in 2021/22. His 17.5 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.2 RPG are all almost double his rookie season output.

Raptors Sign Justin Champagnie To Two-Year Contract

July 14th, 2022 at 10:25am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors have signed Justin Champagnie to a two-year contract, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets.

It’s a minimum-salary deal with a $325K partial guarantee for the first year, Murphy adds.

The structure of the contract means Champagnie will still be competing for a roster spot in camp. D.J. Wilson got a similar deal from Toronto last week.

They will compete with Armoni Brooks and David Johnson for the remaining roster openings. Rookie Ron Harper Jr. holds one of the two-way contract spots. That signing is now official, according to the NBA transactions log.

Champagnie held a two-way slot at the end of last season and received a qualifying offer, which made him a restricted free agent. The size of his new partial guarantee makes him ineligible for a two-way slot with Toronto this season, Murphy adds in another tweet.

Champagnie fractured his thumb during Summer League practices, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets, but is expected to fully recover by training camp,

The undrafted wing, who turned 21 last month, appeared in 36 regular-season games last season. He averaged 2.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 7.8 MPG.

Miles Bridges, Collin Sexton Among Players Receiving QOs

June 28th, 2022 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have issued qualifying offers to a pair of forwards, officially making Miles Bridges and Cody Martin restricted free agents, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Bridges’ qualifying offer is worth $7,921,300 as a result of him meeting the starter criteria in 2021/22. That one-year offer is essentially a placeholder, giving the Hornets the ability to match any offer sheet Bridges signs as a free agent. He could accept the QO, but will likely receive a far more lucrative long-term contract — perhaps even a max deal.

Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak expressed confidence in the team’s ability to re-sign Bridges today, telling reporters that “we’re going to bring him back.”

As for Martin, his qualifying offer is worth a more modest $2,228,276. He’s coming off a strong season as a rotation player in Charlotte and has earned a raise himself, albeit not one as substantial as the one Bridges will receive.

Bridges and Martin rank sixth and 29th, respectively, on our list of the top 50 free agents of 2022, and will each move up a spot when we officially remove Kyrie Irving.

Here are a few more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:

The Cavaliers have extended qualifying offers to Collin Sexton and RJ Nembhard, making both players restricted free agents, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter links). Sexton’s QO will be worth $7,228,448 instead of $8,559,357 because his torn meniscus prevented him from meeting the starter criteria. Nembard’s QO is for a two-way deal with a small partial guarantee.
The Raptors made qualifying offers to both of their two-way free agents, Justin Champagnie and David Johnson, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Toronto has reportedly agreed to a two-way deal with Ron Harper Jr., which would leave only one two-way slot for Champagnie or Johnson, so perhaps the team plans to promote one of them to a standard contract.
The Raptors also continued their annual tradition of submitting a qualifying offer to French guard Nando De Colo, who has been out of the NBA since 2014 and continues to play for Fenerbahçe in Turkey, Murphy notes. There’s no indication De Colo will ever return to the NBA, but if he does, the 35-year-old’s RFA rights would be controlled by Toronto. The qualifying offer projects to be worth $2,011,516, based on a $122MM cap.