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Clippers, Spurs Among Teams Facing Potential Roster Crunch

August 13th, 2021 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams are permitted to carry up to 20 players during the offseason, so no clubs have been forced to cut anyone to make room for new additions so far this summer. However, once the regular season begins in October, teams must trim their rosters to 15 players (not counting two-way contracts), and there are already a handful of clubs that may face some difficult decision to get down to that number.

Of course, there’s plenty of time for these teams to figure out how their regular season rosters will look and make the necessary trades or cuts. It’s only mid-August after all.

Still, we wanted to check in on these teams to preview some of the decisions they may be facing in the coming weeks and months.

Let’s dive in…

Los Angeles Clippers:

After officially completing their new deal with Kawhi Leonard on Thursday, the Clippers now have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, and Nicolas Batum will become the 16th once he officially finalizes his new contract with the team.

Yogi Ferrell remains under contract on a non-guaranteed salary, but it’s hard to see how he’ll fit on the regular season roster, since the club would have to remove two players on guaranteed salaries in order to keep him.

Perhaps the Clippers, who are facing a projected $125MM tax bill in 2021/22, will make a surprise trade involving a veteran on an expiring contract in order to cut costs, but it’s hard at this point to imagine the team salary-dumping a player like Patrick Beverley, Serge Ibaka, or Rajon Rondo.

This year’s second-round picks, Jason Preston and Brandon Boston, signed deals with two guaranteed seasons and should be safe, but last year’s second-rounder – Daniel Oturu – is on an expiring $1.52MM deal and could be at risk of losing his roster spot following a quiet rookie season.

San Antonio Spurs:

The Spurs are currently at 14 players on guaranteed contracts and one (Drew Eubanks) with a small partial guarantee of $500K. Their offseason moves aren’t all done though — Bryn Forbes and Jock Landale have yet to sign their contracts, and second-rounder Joe Wieskamp is unsigned too.

We don’t know the exact salary details for Forbes and Landale. However, Forbes seems like a safe bet for a full guarantee. It’s possible Landale’s deal won’t be guaranteed, which would make him and Eubanks potential odd men out. The Spurs also have an open two-way slot, which perhaps they’d like to use on Wieskamp.

If San Antonio wants to carry at least one of Eubanks, Landale, and Wieskamp on its 15-man regular season roster, Al-Farouq Aminu would be the most logical odd man out. Injuries have limited him to just 41 games over the last two seasons, he’s on an expiring contract, and he was included in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade for salary-matching purposes.

Detroit Pistons:

It was a little surprising when the Pistons brought back Rodney McGruder on a guaranteed minimum-salary deal just a few days after waiving him. McGruder is Detroit’s 15th guaranteed contract, and the team has yet to sign restricted free agent Hamidou Diallo or second-round picks Luka Garza and Balsa Koprivica.

The Pistons are reportedly using one of their two-way contract slots on undrafted rookie Chris Smith, but that leaves one for Koprivica or Garza. Jahlil Okafor, who is on expiring $2.13MM contract, is probably the most expendable of the 15 players on guaranteed deals.

But even if, say, Koprivica fills a two-way slot and Diallo replaces Okafor on the 15-man roster, one more move would be necessary to accommodate Garza. Perhaps Detroit can stash Koprivica in the G League or an international league and use that second two-way spot on Garza.

New York Knicks:

The Knicks are carrying just 10 players on fully guaranteed contracts for the time being, but they still need to officially complete deals for Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, Derrick Rose, and Taj Gibson. That’ll bring the total to 14.

The team is also carrying Luca Vildoza on a non-guaranteed deal, has reached an agreement to sign Dwayne Bacon, and has No. 34 overall pick Rokas Jokubaitis talking about wanting to make this year’s roster.

We don’t know the full details on Bacon’s contract yet, but if it’s not fully guaranteed, he could end up battling Vildoza for the final spot on the 15-man squad, with Jokubaitis returning to Europe for at least one more year.

A few other situations worth noting:

The Celtics will have 15 fully guaranteed contracts once Dennis Schröder and Enes Kanter officially sign, making Jabari Parker (non-guaranteed) the odd man out unless a player like Kris Dunn or Bruno Fernando is traded.
The Nets have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with DeAndre’ Bembry on a partial guarantee and Alize Johnson on a non-guaranteed deal. Second-round picks Kessler Edwards, Marcus Zegarowski, and RaiQuan Gray are all unsigned, as is two-way RFA Reggie Perry. Two of those players will likely end up on two-way deals and one of the second-rounders probably replaces Johnson on the 15-man roster. However, there’s not really a path to Edwards, Zegarowski, and Gray all claiming standard contracts or two-way deals unless one of Bembry or Perry is cut loose.
The Warriors have 13 players on fully guaranteed deals, meaning not all three of Damion Lee, Mychal Mulder, and Gary Payton II (all non-guaranteed) will make the team. Mulder and Payton may end up fighting for the 15th spot.
If the Pelicans sign RFA Josh Hart and second-round pick Herb Jones to guaranteed contracts, they’ll have 15 of them, making Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed) the likely odd man out.
The Sixers have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Paul Reed and Anthony Tolliver on non-guaranteed deals and second-round picks Charles Bassey and Filip Petrusev unsigned. Bassey figures to get a 15-man spot, since both of the team’s two-way slots are full, and I’d be surprised if Reed goes anywhere. That might mean Tolliver is waived, with Petrusev remaining overseas.
The Kings will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts once Alex Len officially signs, leaving Chimezie Metu (partially guaranteed) and Justin James (non-guaranteed) battling for the 15th spot.

Kings Guarantee Salaries For Damian Jones, Chimezie Metu

August 10th, 2021 at 4:53pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Kings have guaranteed the contracts of center Damian Jones and Chimezie Metu, according to tweets from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and NBC Sports Bay Area’s James Ham, respectively. Jones’ contract is now fully guaranteed while Metu received a partial guarantee.

The 26-year-old Jones, the former 30th overall pick by the Warriors in 2016, was assured of his $1.98MM salary for 2021/22 as long as he wasn’t waived today, ESPN’s Bobby Marks explains (via Twitter). After bouncing around the league, Jones finished last season in Sacramento, playing 17 games for the Kings and averaging 6.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 1.0 BPG in 20 minutes a night.

His play as the team’s backup center at the end of the season allowed him to parlay his two separate 10-day contracts into a partially-guaranteed deal. He will now go into the season holding onto the Kings’ 14th roster spot.

Metu, who was converted from a two-way contract at the end of last season, is he Kings’ 15th man for the time being. The 24-year-old power forward/center has improved each year in the league, averaging 6.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG while shooting 35% from three last season, all career-highs.

According to Ham, Metu’s contract is now partially guaranteed for $881,398 — it has the potential to be worth $1.8MM over the entire season if he sticks with the team.

Fischer’s Latest: Markkanen, DeRozan, Hield, Hart, Suns, More

August 10th, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

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.

Kings Notes: Holmes, Davis, O’Neal, McNair

August 9th, 2021 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

When word of Richaun Holmes‘ new four-year contract agreement with the Kings first broke last week, his agency told Shams Charania of The Athletic that the deal was worth $55MM. That raised some eyebrows among cap experts, since that amount was significantly higher than what Sacramento could have realistically given Holmes using his Early Bird rights and the team didn’t have cap room available to get up to that number.

As it turns out, the $55MM figure was indeed a case of some very generous “rounding.” As Keith Smith of Spotrac confirms (via Twitter), the Kings gave Holmes the maximum they could using his Early Bird rights, which works out to about $46.52MM.

As we learned last week, the final year of the deal is a player option and it includes a 15% trade kicker. That trade bonus would increase Holmes’ earnings over the next four years if the Kings move him at some point, but even if they were to trade him as soon as he becomes eligible this season, he’d still fall short of $55MM.

Here’s more on the Kings:

Terence Davis‘ new two-year, $8MM deal with the Kings has fully guaranteed cap hits of $4MM in each season, with no options, tweets Smith.
Shaquille O’Neal has been named a brand ambassador for WynnBET and, as a result, will have to divest himself of his small ownership stake in the Kings, tweets Joe Pompliano of ReadHuddleUp.com. In his breakdown of the situation, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area says it’s possible O’Neal is part of the group of investors reported last month to be selling their 5% stake in the franchise to Dyal Capital.
In case you missed it, a report this morning suggested that Kings GM Monte McNair may be feeling some pressure to make a major addition to the roster, with Ben Simmons and Pascal Siakam among the players on his radar.

Kings, Warriors, Clippers Eyeing Pascal Siakam

August 9th, 2021 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings, Warriors, and Clippers are among the teams believed to be especially “enamored” with forward Pascal Siakam, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells Anderson that Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has received numerous trade inquiries on Siakam and is “listening like a good negotiator.” However, while a deal is possible, Anderson’s source doesn’t believe it’s likely, noting that Siakam has no desire to be moved.

Siakam’s name has popped up in trade rumors throughout the offeason. John Hollinger of The Athletic first suggested in June that the former All-Star was on Golden State’s radar, and multiple subsequent reports referenced a leaguewide belief that Siakam could be had, particularly in the wake of Toronto using the No. 4 pick to draft Scottie Barnes.

Sam Amick of The Athletic said last week that Sacramento “definitely” has interest in Siakam, and Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report stated that the Trail Blazers engaged in some preliminary discussions involving the veteran forward.

If the Kings were to make an offer for Siakam, it would likely include Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III, and at least one future first-round pick, per Anderson. While that would be a perfect salary match, it’s not clear if such a package would be enough to seriously entice Toronto, Anderson acknowledges.

Siakam is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and will likely miss a little time at the start of the 2021/22 season.

The Kings have also displayed interest in Sixers star Ben Simmons, Anderson confirms, adding that GM Monte McNair seems motivated to make a major roster move as the pressure to win begins to build. Outside Sacramento, there’s a sense that McNair and his front office – installed just a year ago – are already “feeling the heat” from Kings owner Vivek Ranadive to take a significant step forward, says Anderson.

Kings Sign Neemias Queta To Two-Way Contract

August 8th, 2021 at 11:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Neemias Queta, the 39th overall pick in July’s NBA draft, has officially signed a two-way contract with the Kings, the club announced today in a press release.

Queta, 22, played his college ball at Utah State. As a junior in 2020/21, the young center averaged a double-double (14.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG) with an impressive 3.3 blocks per game in 29 contests (30.0 MPG).

The Kings carried over Louis King as a two-way player from last season, so King and Queta will occupy the team’s two-way contract slots.

Sacramento is currently carrying 12 players on guaranteed contracts, three players on non-guaranteed deals, and two on two-way pacts, for a total of 17. That number will increase to 20 (the offseason limit) if and when the Kings complete their previously-reported deals with Alex Len, Matt Coleman, and DJ Steward.

Kings Acquire Tristan Thompson In Three-Way Deal

August 7th, 2021 at 4:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 7: The three-team trade is now official, the Kings, Celtics, and Hawks all announced today in press releases.

The 2023 second-round pick that the Hawks are sending to Boston originally belonged to the Trail Blazers and was shipped to Atlanta by the Clippers in the Lou Williams trade in March, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).

JULY 30: The Celtics are trading veteran big man Tristan Thompson to the Hawks for guard Kris Dunn, forward Bruno Fernando and a 2023 second-rounder, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

However, Thompson isn’t staying with the Hawks. He’s being forwarded to the Kings, with guard Delon Wright going to Atlanta.

All the players in the three-way deal have expiring contracts. Thompson will make $9.7MM next season, while Dunn will secure just over $5MM and Fernando will collect $1.8MM. Wright will make approximately $8.5MM next season.

The move pushes the Celtics another $3MM below the luxury tax threshold, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Dunn had a player option on his contract and opted in earlier this week, which made the trade viable.

After nine seasons in Cleveland, Thompson played in 54 regular-season games with the Celtics, including 43 starts. He averaged 7.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG.

Dunn’s lone season in Atlanta was a washout due to an ankle injury. He only appeared in four regular-season games, but does give the Celtics another option for their backcourt rotation with Kemba Walker getting traded this offseason.

Fernando, an early second-round pick in 2019, appeared in 89 regular-season games during his first two years in the league.

Thompson gives the Kings some frontcourt insurance with Richaun Holmes entering free agency.

Wright averaged 10.0 PPG and 3.6 APG in 27 games with Sacramento after being acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline. Wright can play either guard spot and will likely slide into a backup role with Atlanta.

Kings, Richaun Holmes Finalize Four-Year Deal

August 6th, 2021 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Kings have officially re-signed Holmes, the team announced today in a press release.

“This is a great day for Richaun and the entire Kings organization,” GM Monte McNair said in a statement. “Richaun brings toughness, skill and versatility to the court. His energy is the perfect fit for our style of play and he represents the values of this organization. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him and this tremendously talented team we’re building.”

AUGUST 2: The Kings and center Richaun Holmes are in agreement on a four-year contract that could be worth up to $55MM, his agency tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Charania, the deal includes a fourth-year player option and a trade kicker.

Holmes, 27, is coming off two impressive seasons in Sacramento, including perhaps the best year of his career in 2020/21. He averaged 14.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.6 BPG on 63.7% shooting in 61 games (29.2 MPG) this past season, putting himself in position for a significant payday this summer.

There was a sense leading up to free agency that the Kings might have a hard time retaining Holmes, since the team only had his Early Bird rights, limiting the starting salary it could offer him without opening up cap space. Charlotte, Toronto, and Dallas were among the teams expected to have interest in prying him away from Sacramento.

However, Holmes’ agreement with the Kings suggests that those other presumed suitors didn’t make an aggressive play for the big man, opening the door for Sacramento to bring him back.

For what it’s worth, $55MM over four years is quite a bit more than the Kings could offer Holmes using his Early Bird rights, and there’s no indication that the team is clearing cap room to complete the deal, so that figure coming from the agent may be a generous one — I’d expect the base value of the contract to come in lower than that. The four-year Early Bird amount is a little shy of $47MM.

The Kings have now addressed the center position by lining up deals with Holmes and Alex Len, and reportedly have a deal in place to acquire Tristan Thompson from Boston as well.

Kings Sign Davion Mitchell To Rookie Contract

August 5th, 2021 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially signed Davion Mitchell to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release.

The Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, Mitchell helped lead the Baylor Bears to a national title in his junior season, averaging 14.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 1.9 SPG on .511/.447/.641 shooting in 30 games (33.0 MPG).

Sacramento made Mitchell the ninth overall pick in last Thursday’s draft, surprising observers who expected the team to opt for a wing or a big man. Mitchell will vie for minutes in a talented backcourt led by rising stars De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton.

As our breakdown of first-round salaries shows, Mitchell will earn $4.6MM as a rookie, assuming he receives 120% of his rookie scale amount, as nearly every first-rounder does. His four-year deal will be worth just shy of $21MM.

Kings Sign Terence Davis To Two-Year Deal

August 4th, 2021 at 2:48pm CST by Eli Cohen

AUGUST 6: The Kings have made it official with Davis, announcing his new deal in a press release.

“We are excited that Terence will remain a part of the Kings family,” GM Monte McNair said in a statement. “His combination of scoring, defense, athleticism and energy are integral parts of our team. “We are thrilled to see Terence’s continued development in a Kings uniform.”

AUGUST 4: The Kings have reached an agreement with restricted free agent guard Terence Davis on a guaranteed two-year deal that will keep him in Sacramento, his agents at CAA Basketball tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old came over to the Kings in a trade from the Raptors in March and played well in his 21 games coming off the bench, averaging 11.1 PPG and 3.3 RPG while shooting 37.2% on 5.4 three-point attempts per game in only 21.5 minutes a night. Davis’ defense has been at times erratic, but he has shown potential on that end as well.

After going undrafted in 2019, Davis put together a strong rookie season, including averaging 11.3 PPG in 17 MPG in the Raptors’ first-round playoff series against the Nets, and was rewarded with an All-Rookie Second Team selection a year ago.

Davis’ two-year deal is worth $8MM, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

That’s a far cry from the $9MM-per-year commitment Davis was rumored last month to be seeking, but as Scotto observes, it will put him on track to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023, when he’s still just 26 years old.

Between the 6’4″, 201-pound Davis and rookie Davion Mitchell, the Kings are loading up on tough, physical guards who can shoot to round out their backcourt core of De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Buddy Hield remains in the mix for now too, though he has been the subject of trade rumors.