Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers Sign C.J. Wilcox To Two-Way Contract

August 9th, 2017 at 3:39pm CST by marksuleymanov

AUGUST 9: The Blazers have officially signed Wilcox to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 8: The Trail Blazers have agreed to a two-way deal with former Washington standout C.J. Wilcox, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). Just yesterday, basketball journalist David Pick tweeted Wilcox was reportedly drawing interest overseas interest for Baskonia Vitoria, but the former first-rounder will instead remain in the United States.

Wilcox, 26, appeared in 22 games with the Magic last season, averaging a mere 1.0 PPG. Selected 28th overall by the Clippers in 2014, Wilcox has failed to transition his collegiate success to the professional level. In 66 career NBA contests, Wilcox has posted averages of 2.0 PPG, 0.5 RPG, and 0.5 APG while suiting up for the Clippers and Magic.

Portland will hope that Wilcox, entering his fourth professional season, can rediscover his once productive form as he resumes his career domestically.

NBA Teams Projected To Be 2017/18 Taxpayers

August 7th, 2017 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of 2016’s salary cap spike, the luxury tax line was higher than ever in 2016/17, and only two teams finished the season above it. The Clippers barely crossed over into taxpayer territory, while the Cavaliers blew past that threshold and were on the hook for a big tax bill.

In 2017/18, the salary cap increase was far more modest, and as a result, it appears that several more teams will finish the season as taxpayers, surpassing this year’s $119.266MM tax line. Teams have until the end of the ’17/18 regular season to adjust team salary in an effort to get back under the tax line, but most of those clubs will have little leverage if they try to dump salary, so it won’t be easy to cut costs.

Here’s an early look at the teams likely to finish 2017/18 as taxpayers:

Cleveland Cavaliers
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $139.73MM
No team is further over the tax line than the Cavaliers, and Cleveland will also qualify as a repeat taxpayer for the first time this year, making the penalties levied against the franchise more punitive. Currently, the Cavs’ projected tax bill is approaching $70MM, which explains why the team is interested in attaching an extra contract or two to Kyrie Irving in any trade.

Golden State Warriors
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $135.36MM
Last year’s dominant Warriors team actually didn’t have one of the more expensive rosters in the league, but that will change this time around, with several players signing lucrative new deals. The biggest raise belongs to Stephen Curry, who played out the final season of a four-year, $44MM deal in 2016/17, and will now start a five-year, $200MM+ pact.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $125.99MM
Years ago, the Thunder decided to move on from James Harden when he and the team couldn’t agree to terms on an extension that would have created luxury-tax issues for the franchise. Now, Oklahoma City has the third-highest team salary in the NBA, and a projected tax bill that will exceed $10MM.

Portland Trail Blazers
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $124.25MM
The Trail Blazers managed to slash their projected tax bill significantly a couple weeks ago when they sent Allen Crabbe to the Nets for Andrew Nicholson. Assuming they eventually waive and stretch Nicholson’s contract, as expected, the pair of transactions will save the club upwards of $40MM in tax payments alone.

Washington Wizards
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $123.54MM
Going into tax territory was necessary if the Wizards wanted to match Otto Porter‘s offer sheet from the Nets and bring him back. Fortunately for the club, John Wall‘s new super-max extension won’t go into effect until 2019/20 — his current salary is far below the 2017/18 max, which will save the Wizards from paying more exorbitant tax penalties.

Milwaukee Bucks
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $119.38MM
The Bucks currently project to be over the tax threshold by a very small amount, and I’d be surprised if the team doesn’t make every effort to trim payroll and sneak below that line before the season is over. Milwaukee isn’t a big-market team, and the opportunity to be on the receiving end of the luxury tax – rather than the paying end – will be tantalizing.

Outside of the six teams listed above, a handful of other clubs are inching dangerously close to tax territory. Among them: The Clippers, whose estimated guaranteed team salary sits about $100K below the tax threshold; the Pelicans, who are less than $1MM below the tax line; and the Rockets, who only have about $114.75MM in guarantees, but are carrying several million more dollars in non-guaranteed contracts.

Salary information from ESPN, Basketball Insiders, and HeatHoops was used in the creation of this post.

Poll: Northwest Division Winner

August 6th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Jazz made the leap last season, winning 51 games while taking home the Northwest Division crown. After an offseason of change, a repeat is far from certain. Utah lost Gordon Hayward in free agency, something that should knock them down in the standings. Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com projects the Jazz to take home under 45 wins next season.

Pelton predicts that the Wolves will win the division after they brought in 3-time All-Star Jimmy Butler this offseason. Minnesota added several other pieces in free agency, including Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson. Pelton has the Thunder placing second in the division with his model predicting OKC takes home 49.5 wins.

The statistician has the Nuggets finishing third in the division with Utah and Portland behind them. The mathematical model gives Denver 47.2 wins which puts them third in the division and seventh in the conference. Adding a proven veteran like Paul Millsap will certainly increase a team’s chances of making the postseason, something that the franchise hasn’t done in each of the last four seasons. The addition of Millsap, along with the progression of the team’s young nucleus, should also give the team a chance to steal the division’s crown and land a top-4 seed in the Western Conference.

What do you think? Which team will win out in what should be a tight race for the Northwest Division crown? Weigh in below with your vote and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts.

Poll: Which Northwest Team Had Best Offseason?

August 4th, 2017 at 3:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz took home the Northwest division crown in 2016/17, finishing with a 51-31 record despite having several key players miss time due to injuries. However, with Gordon Hayward heading from Utah to Boston this summer, and several other Northwest teams making impact moves, things look a little more wide open in the division as the 2017/18 season nears.

The Timberwolves struck first, acquiring Jimmy Butler in a blockbuster draft-day trade that sent Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and a draft pick to Chicago. Having traded for Butler, the Wolves continued to stock up on veterans in free agency, adding Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, and Jamal Crawford to a young core that already features Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

With one All-Star Eastern forward headed to Minnesota, the Thunder worked quickly to snag another, reaching a deal with the Pacers that saw Paul George land in Oklahoma City. It was an impressive move by Sam Presti, who didn’t appear to have the assets necessary to make the winning bid for George. The team’s strong offseason continued in free agency, as OKC secured Patrick Patterson on a very affordable contract and re-signed standout defender Andre Roberson.

A third All-Star made the move from the Eastern Conference to the Northwest division when the Nuggets locked up Paul Millsap to a three-year contract in free agency. Denver lost longtime forward Danilo Gallinari, but the addition of Millsap creates a formidable frontcourt duo, as the former Hawk will be paired with Nikola Jokic.

The Trail Blazers have had a quiet offseason, but did make a few moves of note, drafting big men Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan in June and then slicing their projected tax bill in a massive way by trading Allen Crabbe to the Nets.

Meanwhile, the defending division champs recovered nicely from losing Hayward and George Hill. The Jazz re-signed Joe Ingles, and Ricky Rubio, Thabo Sefolosha, Donovan Mitchell, Jonas Jerebko, and Ekpe Udoh are among the new additions who will contribute to the 2017/18 squad.

What do you think? Which Northwest team had the best offseason? Weigh in below with your vote and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Previously:

Which Atlantic team had the best offseason?

Latest On Carmelo Anthony

August 2nd, 2017 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters today for the first time in months, Carmelo Anthony admitted that the last 12 months have been an “emotional roller coaster” for him, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Even though he’s not certain whether or not he’ll be traded by the Knicks before the 2017/18 season begins, Anthony said he’s at “peace” with his current situation.

As Begley details, Anthony was fairly noncommittal during his sitdown with the media today at The Basketball Tournament in Baltimore, declining to comment on his reported interest in joining the Rockets. He also didn’t have much to say about the Knicks’ decision to replace Phil Jackson earlier this summer, calling that a “business” move that owner James Dolan made in the course of running his organization.

Here’s more on Carmelo:

Anthony said today that he hasn’t spoken to the new Knicks regime, notes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. According to Bondy, new team president Steve Mills has tried to talk to Anthony about his options, but Carmelo isn’t interested in having that discussion. “For him, there’s nothing to talk about,” one source told The Daily News.
Despite his apparent lack of interest in meeting with the front office, Anthony acknowledged that he and Scott Perry have long been acquaintances on good terms. “I’m pretty sure I’ll talk to him when the time comes,” Anthony said of the Knicks‘ new GM, according to Bondy.
Sources reiterate to Bondy that Anthony thought he was on the verge of being sent to the Rockets before Mills halted trade discussions in mid-July.
After Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum made an effort to recruit Anthony to Portland last month, another Trail Blazers player made a pitch of his own, with Evan Turner suggesting that Carmelo would “love” playing in Portland. “If he waives [his no-trade clause] and wants to come, it would be great,” Turner said, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “He’ll lock in because he made the decision to come. He’s got all the power in a certain sense. It’s not a guarantee. The positive is if we did get him, that means he wanted to be there and accepted the trade and buckle into what we’re trying to do.”

Latest On NBA’s Summer Salary Guarantee Dates

August 2nd, 2017 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat didn’t make any roster moves with Rodney McGruder or Okaro White on Tuesday, ensuring that both players remain under contract and received partial guarantees on their contracts for 2017/18, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

As Basketball Insiders details, McGruder and White are on minimum salary deals worth $1,312,611 for the coming season. By remaining with the Heat through August 1, both players are now in line for about $453K in guaranteed money. Their full salaries will become guaranteed if they stay under contract through the first game of the regular season.

Meanwhile, as we noted last night, the Hornets also kept Johnny O’Bryant on their roster beyond his August 1 salary guarantee deadline, making his $1,524,305 minimum salary fully guaranteed.

Other players, including Jordan Crawford of the Pelicans and Bryn Forbes of the Spurs, had August 1 salary guarantee deadlines in their contracts as well, per Basketball Insiders’ data. However, we haven’t received confirmation that their guarantees are locked in.

Neither Crawford nor Forbes was waived, but teams and players can sometimes agree to push back guarantee dates to create more flexibility for the club — the Trail Blazers recently did just that with Pat Connaughton, whose salary guarantee deadline is now August 31 instead of July 25.

For more details on which players have received salary guarantees this summer – as well as which players have been waived before those guarantees kicked in – be sure to check out our full breakdown.

Bulls, Blazers, Raptors Hold Largest Trade Exceptions

July 26th, 2017 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

When an over-the-cap NBA team sends out more salary than it receives in a given trade, that team can generally create a traded player exception. As we explain in our glossary entry, a traded player exception serves as a way for a team to acquire talent without using cap room to do so.

Traded player exceptions last for one year from the time they’re created, and can be used to absorb a player’s contract in a trade without sending out any salary in return. Trade exceptions can’t be combined with another exception or another contract, but they have $100K worth of wiggle room. So, a team with a $9.9MM TPE could trade for a player earning $10MM without any outgoing salary involved in the deal.

In recent weeks, a handful of teams – including the Hornets, Clippers, and Cavaliers – have seen trade exceptions created last July expire without being used. However, none of those TPEs was substantial. All of this year’s biggest TPEs are still available, though some are more likely to be used than others.

Here’s the current list of the top 10 traded player exceptions available around the NBA, along with each TPE’s expiration date:

Chicago Bulls: $15,311,329 (6/22/18)
Portland Trail Blazers: $12,969,502 (7/25/18)
Toronto Raptors: $11,800,000 (7/13/18)
Toronto Raptors: $7,630,000 (7/14/18)
Los Angeles Clippers: $7,273,631 (6/28/18)
Milwaukee Bucks: $5,000,000 (2/23/18)
Oklahoma City Thunder: $4,936,529 (11/1/17)
Cleveland Cavaliers: $4,837,500 (1/7/18)
New Orleans Pelicans: $3,517,200 (2/20/18)
Oklahoma City Thunder: $2,550,000 (7/6/18)

While some of these TPEs are quite sizable, there’s a good chance that most of them will go unused. Many of the clubs on this list are near or above the luxury tax threshold, and will be reluctant to acquire an expensive player without dumping any salary as part of the deal.

The Blazers, Raptors, Clippers, Bucks, Thunder, and Cavaliers all fit that bill, though some of those clubs may be willing to bite the tax-penalty bullet, while others could wait until next July when some contracts expire to use their respective TPEs.

As for the Bulls, no team has a more significant TPE than the one Chicago created as part of June’s Jimmy Butler trade. But that exception is somewhat hollow at the moment — the Bulls only have $73.25MM in guaranteed salaries on their 2017/18 cap, so the club could actually create an even greater chunk of cap room by renouncing its trade exception, along with its other cap holds and exceptions. Still, there’s no reason to do that now. That TPE could come in handy later if the Bulls re-sign Nikola Mirotic and much of that potential cap space disappears.

The full list of current NBA trade exceptions can be found right here.

Northwest Notes: Carmelo, Ferguson, Fredette

July 25th, 2017 at 9:45pm CST by marksuleymanov

Bill Simmons of The Ringer noted on Monday that the Thunder are “circling” Carmelo Anthony as the Knicks look for a suitable trade. Anthony’s camp has made it clear he does not want to remain in New York. His preferred destination being the Rockets, which would partner Anthony with Chris Paul and James Harden. However, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman examines the likelihood and outcome of Melo possibly ending up in Oklahoma City.

Since Anthony wields the power of a no-trade clause, it’s ultimately up to him whether or not a trade occurs. The Thunder have already acquired Paul George, teaming the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player with one of the league’s best players. One thing that could help facilitate a move is Anthony’s relationship Thunder assistant general manager Troy Weaver — who recruited Melo to Syracuse.

Even if Anthony warms up to the idea, a lot hinges on all sides finding the right trade. Also, due to their respective contractual situations, Anthony, George, and Westbrook could all hit free agency after next season, which could put the Thunder in the bad situation. However, if the three players can be teamed together and enjoy success, it could change a lot of things; Melo’s former coach at Syracuse, Jim Boeheim, remains an Anthony supporter.

“It’s a myth that he can’t play with good players,” Boeheim said to Horne. “And Russell will get along with anybody that will help him win.”

Below are additional notes surrounding the Northwest Division:

Terrance Ferguson is the final first round pick not to have signed a contract. The Thunder selected Ferguson with the 21st overall pick but Horne notes that one potential holdup could be his contract with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia, Ferguson’s previous team. Horne also delves into the salary cap ramifications of Ferguson signing his deal later than expected.
Jimmer Fredette has signed a two-year deal to return to China as he resumes his professional career. Before he made the decision, however, the Timberwolves considered signing the former 10th overall pick, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
The Trail Blazers have moved their deadline to guarantee Pat Connaughton‘s 2017/18 contract from July 25 to August 31, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (via Twitter).

Nets Acquire Allen Crabbe From Blazers

July 25th, 2017 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

A year after aggressively pursuing shooting guard Allen Crabbe as a restricted free agent, the Nets have landed their man. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the Trail Blazers are trading Crabbe to Brooklyn in exchange for forward Andrew Nicholson. Upon acquiring Nicholson, Portland will waive him and stretch his contract, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).

When Crabbe reached restricted free agency in 2016, he was one of a handful of players to sign an offer sheet with the Nets. That deal, worth nearly $75MM over four years, looked like an awfully steep price to pay for a player with 17 career starts to his name. However, the Blazers thwarted Brooklyn’s attempts to poach Crabbe, matching the Nets’ offer sheet and bringing him back to Portland.

A year later, that decision to match Crabbe’s deal – while retaining other RFAs and adding Evan Turner – looks like it may have been a mistake. The Trail Blazers were in position to pay a huge tax penalty in 2018 if team salary remained as high as it was, and dumping a contract or two appeared to be an inevitability. By swapping Crabbe for Nicholson and stretching the $19MM+ left on Nicholson’s contract over the next seven seasons, the Blazers will clear approximately $16.5MM from their 2017/18 cap, ending up only about $3MM above the tax threshold.

It remains to be seen if the Blazers have another move up their sleeves — the club has been linked to Carmelo Anthony, despite Carmelo’s apparent unwillingness to waive his no-trade clause and accept a deal to Portland. Even if no second deal is coming though, the Blazers should be happy with this trade from a financial perspective. It will allow the club to shed more than $50MM in total projected salary and tax penalties.

From the Nets’ perspective, the deal will allow them to land a player they loved at a slightly lesser cost, albeit a year after they had hoped to acquire him. Once the Blazers matched Crabbe’s offer sheet last July, he was ineligible to be traded to Brooklyn for a full year, but once those 365 days passed, it made sense for the two teams to engage on trade discussions.

By sending out Nicholson in the swap, the Nets appear to have the cap room necessary to absorb Crabbe’s salary without having to make any corresponding roster moves. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Crabbe also waived his trade kicker, making things a little simpler for both teams. That decision will cost the 25-year-old some money, but he’ll have a chance to assume a larger role in Brooklyn than he had in Portland.

In 79 games last season for the Blazers, Crabbe set new career bests with 10.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, a .468 FG%, and a .444 3PT%. While it remains to be seen how Brooklyn’s starting lineup will shake out, Crabbe figures to see plenty of minutes alongside D’Angelo Russell in a new-look Nets backcourt.

The Blazers will generate a trade exception worth $12,969,502 in the deal. That figures represents the difference between Crabbe’s and Nicholson’s salaries for 2017/18.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mutual Interest Between Carmelo Anthony, Thunder?

July 24th, 2017 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Carmelo Anthony and the Thunder are “officially circling each other,” according to Bill Simmons of The Ringer (Twitter link). As Simmons observes, Troy Weaver – Sam Presti‘s top lieutenant in Oklahoma City’s front office – has a history with Anthony, having recruited him to Syracuse a decade and a half ago.

Simmons isn’t technically a reporter, but he’s plugged in when it comes to the NBA, so his suggestion that there may be mutual interest between Anthony and the Thunder is an interesting one. The Knicks reportedly had hoped that the standout forward would expand his list of preferred destinations beyond just Houston and Cleveland, so it’s possible that Carmelo isn’t entirely zeroed in on those two teams.

Like the Rockets and Cavs, however, the Thunder wouldn’t necessarily be an ideal trade partner for the Knicks. Oklahoma City moved two of its best young players in the Paul George deal, and has committed to trading first-round picks in 2018 and 2020, limiting the club’s assets.

Steven Adams could be an interesting trade chip for OKC, but it’s not clear if the Thunder would be willing to include him in a deal for Anthony. For salary-matching purposes, Enes Kanter would likely have to be part of any offer if Adams isn’t involved, and I expect Kanter wouldn’t appeal much to the Knicks. So even if Carmelo were willing to waive his no-trade clause for the Thunder, a deal wouldn’t necessarily be any easier than it would be with the Rockets or Cavaliers.

The Trail Blazers are also interested in getting involved in the Anthony sweepstakes, though despite recruiting efforts from Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, there has been no indication that the Knicks forward is willing to accept a deal to Portland. Lillard spoke this week about his pitch to Anthony, as Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk details.