Salary Cap

And-Ones: NBPA, Smith, Orton

March 11th, 2015 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the NBPA voting against the league’s cap smoothing proposal the salary cap is expected to increase significantly for the 2016/17 season, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. The owners had hoped smoothing would appeal to the players because it would allow a bigger portion of the new television money to be spread to a wider group of players, Deveney notes. But now there will be nothing preventing the owners from using all the extra space next summer, which won’t benefit players becoming free agents in 2017 and beyond as much as the NBPA expects, Deveney adds.

A source with knowledge of the thinking of NBPA head Michele Roberts told Deveney, “The union should not have to police how much the owners spend. That’s not the job of the union. All of the caps that are on salaries now, the max deals and the shorter lengths and all of that, it’s all stuff that has been done to protect owners from themselves. Michele has been pretty strong on saying, hey, it’s not the job of the players to protect owners from other owners. Why should that fall on the players?”

Here’s more from around the league:

Thunder GM Sam Presti said it was ludicrous to think that the team would consider trading Kevin Durant, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman tweets. It was posited earlier by ESPN’s Tom Penn that OKC would likely trade Durant next season rather than risk losing him in free agency for nothing.
J.R. Smith is happy be a member of the Cavaliers and playing alongside his friend LeBron James, and the guard has indicated that he’d like to remain in Cleveland past this season, Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Smith, who has a player option for 2015/16 worth $6,399,750, could be leaning toward opting in for next season with an eye on a larger contract come 2016 when the salary cap is expected to increase significantly, Vardon adds.
The NBA is projecting that the 2016/17 salary cap will be set at $78MM, a figure that many cap analysts believe is a very conservative estimate, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons‘ D-League affiliate, have acquired center Daniel Orton, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter link). Orton appeared in 22 games for the Sixers last season and averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per contest. The big man was in training camp with the Wizards this season.
Wesley Matthews underwent successful surgery today to repair his torn Achilles, the Trail Blazers announced.

2015/16 Salary Commitments: Hawks

March 11th, 2015 at 7:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the NBA trade deadline now passed, teams are focusing on locking down playoff spots or vying for a better chance in the draft lottery. Outside of the players who are added on 10-day deals, or those lucky enough to turn those auditions into long-term contracts, teams’ rosters are relatively set for the remainder of the season.

We at Hoops Rumors are in the process of taking a look ahead at each franchise’s salary cap situation heading into the summer, and the free agent frenzy that occurs every offseason. While the exact amount of the 2015/16 salary cap won’t be announced until July, the cap is projected to come in somewhere around $68MM, with the luxury tax threshold projected at approximately $81MM. This year’s $63.065MM cap represented an increase of 7.7% over 2013/14, which was well above the league’s projected annual increase of 4.5%.

We’ll begin by taking a look at the Hawks’ cap outlook for 2015/16…

Here are the players with guaranteed contracts:

Al Horford — $12MM
Kent Bazemore — $2MM
Kyle Korver — $5,746,479
Shelvin Mack — $2,433,333
Dennis Schröder — $1,763,400
Mike Scott — $3,333,333
Thabo Sefolosha — $4MM
Jeff Teague — $8MM

Here are the players with non-guaranteed contracts:

Mike Muscala — $947,276

Players with options:

The Hawks’ Cap Summary for 2015/16:

Guaranteed Salary: $39,276,545
Options/Non-Guaranteed Salary: $947,276
Total: $40,223,821

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

NBPA Rejects Salary Cap Smoothing Proposal

March 11th, 2015 at 12:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

12:49pm: The sides met Tuesday in an attempt to hash out a compromise before ultimately ending the conversation without a deal, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

MARCH 11TH, 12:35pm: The league and the union have reached no agreement on any counter proposal, and the union has informed the NBA that it will not accept any sort of tiered increases to the salary cap, the NBA announced via press release (link to statement via USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter). So, it appears as though a giant leap in the cap for the 2016/17 season is inevitable.

FEBRUARY 13TH: The NBPA voted today to reject the league’s salary cap smoothing proposal, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The owners want to gradually increase the salary cap starting in 2016 when the NBA’s new television contract kicks in. NBPA head Michele Roberts said that the shelf-life for players is limited, and the NBPA didn’t want to impact that in any way moving forward, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post adds (Twitter links). Roberts did add that there could be a counter proposal by the NBPA, but the union hasn’t had a chance to decide whether it will produce one, Bontemps notes.

The TV deal, worth approximately $24 billion, is expected to dramatically alter the financial landscape of player contracts after it takes effect for the 2016/17 season. Many executives around the league have already assumed that the cap would jump to $90MM for that season, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe recently wrote, but it’s unclear if that assumption was based on an all-at-once rise to the cap or the tiered increases the league proposed. The NBA thought the union would be fully supportive of its proposal, but the players instead resisted, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

The cap is at $63.065MM this season after having hung between $58MM and $59MM for three straight years, so an influx of revenues had already begun to have an effect even before the NBA and its TV partners struck the deal this past fall. Next year’s cap is reportedly projected to come in at about $66.5MM.

Maximum salaries are tied to the cap, so they’re in line to escalate dramatically as well, but the league and the union predetermined the minimum salaries and the value of exceptions like the mid-level and the biannual when they came to the most recent collective bargaining agreement in 2011, as Pincus points out (Twitter links). Both sides have an opt-out in that agreement in 2017, and it’s likely that either the NBA, its players, or both parties will exercise their right to terminate the deal. That would give them a chance to adjust the minimums and exceptions a season after the cap is set to spike.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lowe’s Latest: Warriors, Garnett, Magic, Pelicans

February 16th, 2015 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Projections from the league and individual teams show the salary cap going from about $68MM next season to around $90MM for 2016/17 without any sort of plan for tiered increases, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. The players union rejected the league’s proposal to smooth out the projected spike in the cap, and while executive director Michele Roberts left open the possibility that the union would counter with a proposal of its own, compromise seems unlikely, according to Lowe. That’s left teams that aren’t usually attractive to free agents with the feeling that their cap flexibility is less valuable than it ever has been, Lowe hears, since just about every team will be in line to sign a max-level free agent or two after next season.

We’ve already passed along Lowe’s news about exploratory Ty Lawson talks between the Nuggets and the latest on the Raptors and Terrence Ross, but Lowe’s must-read column has more, and we’ll hit the rest of the highlights here:

Lowe suggests the Warriors would like to try to convince Kevin Garnett to waive his no-trade clause and that they’ll see if any money-saving deals for David Lee are available.
The Nets don’t want to make a trade just for the sake of making one, and if they do swing a deal, they’ll seek “some token future assets” and cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, Lowe writes.
Lowe names Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson as examples of “little side pieces” the Magic will seek to trade. The Magic are open to trading Nicholson, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders heard last month that teams had been calling about Harkless but that Orlando’s asking price was high.
The Pelicans would like an upgrade at small forward, but they won’t part with Ryan Anderson cheaply just to accomplish that goal, Lowe writes.
Corey Brewer declined his $4.905MM player option for next season to help facilitate the trade that sent him to the Rockets, according to Lowe. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders also shows the option as having been declined on his Rockets salary page.

Mannix’s Latest: Allen, Lopez, Nuggets, Thunder

January 30th, 2015 at 11:17am CST by Chuck Myron

People around the league increasingly believe that Ray Allen already knows the team he would like to play for this season, and that he’s simply deciding whether he wants to play at all, Chris Mannix of SI.com writes. Allen has hinted within the past two weeks that he’s coming back to the NBA, but another more recent report indicated that he’s enjoying time with his family. Mannix has a ton of noteworthy items in his latest weekly column, many of them with a Thunder-centric theme, and we’ll hit the highlights here.

The Nuggets are still trying to pry Brook Lopez from the Nets with a package centered on JaVale McGee, according to Mannix. Still, Denver doesn’t want to put Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, Jusuf Nurkic or Wilson Chandler into any deal, Mannix cautions.
The Thunder are willing to go deep into the luxury tax this season to acquire Lopez, the SI.com scribe writes. Oklahoma City is unwilling to give up any of its top present-day talent, nor will the team make a move that damages its future as the Thunder look for trade partners who are “desperate,” an opposing GM tells Mannix.
Reggie Jackson turned down an extension offer from Oklahoma City that would have made him the most highly paid backup in the NBA, a source tells Mannix. Just what sort of salary that would have meant is unclear, since Amar’e Stoudemire has made more appearances off the bench than he has starts on a deal that gives him in excess of $23.4MM this season. Some teams believed at the beginning of the season that there was a decent chance that Jackson would command offers of between $13MM and $14MM in restricted free agency this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote in October.
Several executives from around the NBA believe it’s conceivable that a five-year max deal for Kevin Durant will be worth some $200MM when he hits free agency in 2016, according to Mannix. Durant will be eligible for a max worth about 35% of the salary cap as a 10-year veteran that summer. Those execs also believe that Durant likes playing in Oklahoma City, as he’s said, Mannix writes.
Markieff Morris believes he and brother Marcus Morris might have made more money in restricted free agency this summer if they hadn’t signed extensions with the Suns, but Markieff can’t envision ever playing without his twin again, as he tells Mannix.

New York Notes: Knicks, Nets, Melo, Howard

January 12th, 2015 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks own a record of 5-35, which is good for first place in our reverse order rankings. After the trade last week that sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavs, the team clearly won’t be buyers at the trade deadline this season. It’s early in the season for most other teams hovering around .500 to make that kind of decision but Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles (Twitter link) has put the Nets in the conversation about potential sellers in the NBA marketplace.

Here’s more from the Empire State:

Carmelo Anthony wants to be involved in recruiting players to the Knicks, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork. “This is why I wanted to come back, to be a part of the plan,” Anthony says. New York is projected to have room for the addition of at least one maximum level contract, although the exact amount of cap room will be unknown until the salary cap is calculated during July’s moratorium.
Dwight Howard will play in Brooklyn for the first time tonight and he reminisces on what could have been if he would have been traded to the Nets, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork writes. “Like I said, everything happens for a reason. There was a point in time where I thought this [Brooklyn] was the best place for me to play basketball. I guess things didn’t happen the way I wanted them to,” Howard said. The Nets were once on the shortlist of teams that the center preferred to be traded to when he was still with the Magic.
Jason Terry will also return to Brooklyn for the first time since being traded from the team last season. The 15-year veteran thought the Nets were going to achieve more over the last few seasons. “I’m surprised a lot,” Terry told reporters, including Tim Bontemps of The New York Post. “For me, when I came here it looked like they were going to put something together a big run for two or three years down the line. But when there’s that much pressure on you to win, and it doesn’t happen, they’re gonna make changes.” As a member of the Rockets, most would consider Terry to now be in a better position to win another NBA title.

Lowe On Cap, Raptors, Nuggets, Cavs, Love

January 6th, 2015 at 2:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most league executives assume the salary cap will surge to around $90MM for the 2016/17 season, though they’re preparing for any eventuality, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. The cap’s at $63.065MM this year, so that means teams are in line for nearly 30% more spending power within the next two years, thanks to the NBA’s new $24 billion TV deal. Lowe has much more from around the league as teams peer into an uncertain future:

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri won’t say whether he’ll trade a first-round draft pick for someone who could help the team this season, but Ujiri tells Lowe that he “won’t make decisions that are going to shorten our growth and help us only this year.”
The Nuggets, Ujiri’s old team, appear to be closing in on the realization that the playoffs are out of reach, several league sources said to Lowe. That suggests that current Nuggets GM Tim Connelly is about to change his approach to the team’s roster this season, though that’s my own inference.
Chances are the Cavs will send a first-round pick out in a trade that brings back a center this season, Lowe writes in a separate piece. Cleveland maintains “serious off-and-on talks” with the Nuggets and Grizzlies about Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos, respectively, according to Lowe.
Kevin Love has insisted on multiple occasions that he’s committed to the Cavs for the long term, but the Grantland scribe believes the All-Star power forward will undoubtedly survey the market in free agency this summer if conditions don’t improve in Cleveland. Love, who has a player option worth more than $16.744MM for 2015/16, is taking fewer shots this season than in any year since he became a full-time starter in 2010/11.

Central Notes: Butler, Cavs, Antetokounmpo

December 3rd, 2014 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls are keeping an eye on the Kings this season, since Sacramento owes Chicago its first-round pick if it falls outside the top 10, and for now Chicago’s in line to receive a lottery pick, as our Reverse Standings show. Still, it might be difficult for the Bulls to squeeze even a rookie scale contract onto their ledger for next season, as we detail amid the latest from the Central Division:

Several executives from around the NBA believe Jimmy Butler will command the maximum salary in restricted free agency this summer if he keeps up his torrid start to the season, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Butler and agent Happy Walters were asking for $14MM salaries from the Bulls but would have been willing to settle somewhere between $12.5MM and $13MM during extension talks in October, sources tell Deveney. Instead, the team held firm at $11MM over four years, Deveney hears, echoing a report from K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, but Chicago appears to have passed up a bargain. The Bulls will court luxury tax trouble if they bring Butler back at the max, with the latest projection putting the tax line at $81MM for next season, according to Deveney, and the Bulls on the hook for nearly $63MM already if Kirk Hinrich picks up his player option.
Cavs GM David Griffin originally planned to shuttle Joe Harris between Cleveland and its D-League affiliate this season, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Instead, he’s been part of the rotation, complicating matters for Dion Waiters and a suddenly resurgent Mike Miller, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com examines.
Giannis Antetokounmpo would have been a Mav if owner Mark Cuban had given in to Dallas GM Donnie Nelson‘s desire to draft him 13th overall in 2013, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Antetokounmpo fell to the Bucks at No. 15, and the Mavs swung deals that landed them Shane Larkin, whom they eventually traded for Tyson Chandler.

2015/16 Projected Cap Flexibility By Team

November 27th, 2014 at 10:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Trade activity around the league is sure to increase after December 15th, which is the date that the majority of offseason signees become eligible to be dealt. Thanks to the salary cap, there is more for GMs to consider than just the on-court impact any potential transaction will have. There are financial implications that must be weighed, and not just for this season. Many players will be dealt strictly because of their contracts, as teams seek expiring deals, tax relief, future bargains, and other financial gains.

With teams around the league relying more and more on constructing their rosters through free agency, future cap flexibility has never been more important. It’s this eye on flexibility and available salary cap space that will no doubt dictate more than a few transactions prior to this season’s February 19th trade deadline.

Next season’s salary cap is projected to come in at $66.5MM, but the final amount won’t be known until next summer. Still, using that projection as a guideline, I’ve run down the potential salary cap flexibility for each team for the 2015/16 campaign. I included both the fully guaranteed contracts as well as those players with non-guaranteed deals who are signed for next season. While these non-guaranteed deals can easily be removed from each team’s cap figure, a roster move to waive these players would still be required. Teams also have to carry at least 12 players who count against the cap in some form or fashion, either by contract or cap hold, during the offseason, or the league will apply a roster charge for each vacancy. Those roster charges are equivalent to the rookie minimum salary, which for 2015/16 will be $525,093. Other factors that could serve to alter these numbers include player options, early termination options and team options, and they’re included them in the calculations below.

Cap holds for free agents and first-round picks eat up potential cap space, too, but teams can renounce their rights to free agents at any time and, with cooperation from others, either trade their draft picks or stash them overseas. Given the fungibility of those assets, they’re not included in these calculations, unlike non-guaranteed contracts, many of which include partial guarantees and salary that becomes guaranteed at different points throughout the offseason.

As trades begin to occur these numbers below should help explain some decisions and serve as a reference point for the offseason ahead:

76ers

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$13,508,212 (Five Players)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$2,792,335 (Three Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$50,199,453

Bucks

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$51,099,680 (11 Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$947,276 (One Player)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$14,453,044

*Includes Jared Dudley‘s early termination option of $4,250,000.

Bulls

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$59,735,202 (Eight Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$1,860,480 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$4,904,318

*Includes Kirk Hinrich‘s player option for $2,854,940 and the $333,333 owed to Richard Hamilton via the stretch provision.

Cavaliers

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$72,660,099 (Seven Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$11,367,559 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=Over the projected cap by $17,527,658

*Includes LeBron James‘ player option for $21,573,398; Kevin Love‘s player option for $16,744,218; and Mike Miller‘s player option for $2,854,940.

Celtics

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$45,548,917 (Ten Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$3,972,335 (Three Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$16,78,748

*Includes Jeff Green‘s player option for $9.2MM and Jameer Nelson‘s $2,854,940 player option.

Clippers

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$58,537,731 (Seven Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$9,217,500 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=Over the projected cap by $1,255,231

*Includes Jordan Farmar‘s player option for $2,170,465; the $650K owed to Carlos Delfino via the stretch provision; and the $300K owed to Miroslav Raduljica via the stretch provision.

Grizzlies

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$40,190,597 (Eight Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$3,205,465 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$23,103,938

*Includes the $437,080 owed to Fab Melo via the stretch provision and the $163,296 owed to Jamaal Franklin via the stretch provision.

Hawks

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$41,215,385 (Nine Players)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$947,276 (One Player)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$24,337,339

Heat

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$69,632,912 (Nine Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$2,201,205 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=Over the projected cap by $5,334,117

*Includes Dwyane Wade‘s player option for $16.125MM; Luol Deng‘s player option for $10,151,612; and Danny Granger‘s player option for $2,170,465.

Hornets

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$64,710,704 (10 Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$0
Projected Cap Flexibility=$1,789,296

*Includes Al Jefferson‘s player option for $13.5MM and Gerald Henderson‘s player option for $6MM.

Jazz

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$49,583,335 (Eight Players)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$6,620,059 (Three Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$10,296,606

Kings

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$55,330,145 (Eight Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$1,792,335 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$9,377,520

*Includes the $923,780 owed to Wayne Ellington via the stretch provision.

Knicks

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$38,827,141 (Five Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$1,734,572 (One Player)
Projected Cap Flexibility=25,938,287

*Includes J.R. Smith‘s player option for $6,399,750

Lakers

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$36,176,261 (Five Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$10,826,407 (Three Players) **
Projected Cap Flexibility=$19,497,332

*Includes Ed Davis‘ player option for $1,100,602
**Includes Jordan Hill‘s $9MM team option

Magic

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$38,975,806 (Eight Players)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$9,042,335 (Four Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$18,481,859

Mavericks

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$42,466,471(Seven Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$1,792,335 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$22,241,194

*Includes the $947,276 owed to Gal Mekel, who was waived; Monta Ellis‘ player option for $8.72MM; Raymond Felton‘s $3,950,313 player option; and Al-Farouq Aminu‘s player option for $1,100,602.

Nets

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$76,756,235 (Eight Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$3,652,815 (Four Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=Over the projected cap by $13,909,050

*Includes Brook Lopez‘s $16,744,218 player option and Alan Anderson‘s player option for $1,333,484.

Nuggets

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$63,742,655 (Eight Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$16,101,721 (Four Players) **
Projected Cap Flexibility=Over the projected cap by $13,344,376

*Includes Arron Afflalo‘s $7.5MM player option.
**Includes Timofey Mozgov‘s $4.95MM team option

Pacers

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$64,146,742 (Eight Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$0
Projected Cap Flexibility=$2,353,258

*Includes Roy Hibbert‘s $15,514,031 player option and David West‘s player option for $12.6MM.

Pelicans

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$52,414,854 (Five Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$1,792,335 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$12,292,811

*Includes Eric Gordon‘s player option for $15,514,031.

Pistons

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$40,750,527 (Eight Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$5,447,276 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$20,302,197

*Includes Cartier Martin‘s $1,270,964 player option and the $1,356,146 owed to Aaron Gray, who was waived.

Raptors

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$49,049,074 (Nine Players)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$0
Projected Cap Flexibility=$17,450,926

Rockets

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$55,137,043 (Nine Players)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$6,589,989 (Three Players) *
Projected Cap Flexibility=$4,772,968

*This includes the team’s $4,797,664 option for Kostas Papanikolaou.

Spurs

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$34,159,326 (Five Players)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$0
Projected Cap Flexibility=$32,340,674

Suns

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$59,676,911 (12 Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$3MM
Projected Cap Flexibility=$3,823,089

*This amount includes the $777,778 owed to Michael Beasley, who was waived using the stretch provision, and Goran Dragic‘s $7.5MM player option.

Thunder

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$63,569,558 (10 Players)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$0
Projected Cap Flexibility=$2,930,442

Timberwolves

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$69,003,699 (11 Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$0
Projected Cap Flexibility=Over the estimated cap by $2,503,699.

*This amount includes Thaddeus Young‘s $9,971,739 early termination option, Chase Budinger‘s $5MM player option, and Corey Brewer‘s $4,905,000 player option.

Trail Blazers

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$24,243,542 (Five Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$5,963,276 (Two Players)
Projected Cap Flexibility=$36,293,182

*This amount includes Steve Blake‘s $2,170,465 player option.

Warriors

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$78,772,757 (9 Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$3,815,000 (1 Player) **
Projected Cap Flexibility=Over the estimated cap by $16,087,757

*This amount includes Brandon Rush‘s $1,270,964 player option.
**This amount includes Marreese Speights‘s $3,815,000 team option.

Wizards

Fully Guaranteed Contracts=$69,124,802 (10 Players) *
Non-Guaranteed Contracts=$0
Projected Cap Flexibility=Over the projected cap by $2,624,802

*Includes Paul Pierce‘s $5,543,725 player option and the $1,100,602 player option for Garrett Temple.

Note: The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Western Notes: Thompson, Kobe, Fesenko

November 5th, 2014 at 1:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Klay Thompson agreed that the starting salary in his extension with the Warriors couldn’t escalate past the current $15.5MM projection for next season’s 25% maximum salary, even if the max ends up coming in higher, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. That means the deal will be no more lucrative than $69MM over four years, and Lowe heard from a couple of agents who believe the Warriors acted unfairly in the way they structured Thompson’s deal (Twitter link). Still, it doesn’t appear that it will end up having been a sacrifice for Thompson, since it’s unlikely next year’s salary cap, to which maximum salaries are tied, will reflect any of the revenue from the league’s new $24 billion TV deal, according to Lowe. The league’s salary cap projections for 2015/16 remain around $66-68MM as league office execs favor a gradual phase-in of the TV money that wouldn’t start until 2016, Lowe writes. There’s more on Thompson and the Warriors amid the latest from Western Conference:

The promise of future production, expendability, strong character and the ability to attract fans are a few of the qualities that current and former team executives tell Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher they believe players who sign maximum-salary contracts should possess. All of those execs agree that Thompson is a max player, but their opinions are mixed on Kawhi Leonard, to whom the Spurs decided against giving a max extension.
Kobe Bryant‘s two-year, $48.5MM extension looks like an albatross for the 0-5 Lakers, but Warriors executive and part-owner Jerry West doesn’t agree, as he told KNBR radio, “Whatever they’re paying, he’s earned it,” West said, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group notes (Twitter link).
Timberwolves camp cut Kyrylo Fesenko has inked with Avtodor of Russia, the team announced (translation via David Pick of Eurobasket.com, on Twitter).