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Spurs Used Room Exception To Sign Bryn Forbes

August 29th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Spurs used their room exception to finalize the signing of shooting guard Bryn Forbes, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Forbes’ deal with San Antonio, which is worth $4.5MM, only covers one year, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Although Forbes’ contract technically doesn’t use up the Spurs’ entire room exception, the amount left ($410K) isn’t big enough to be used on a second player. It’s possible it could come in handy very late in the season, when the prorated portion of the room exception exceeds the prorated minimum salary, but I’d expect it to just go unused.

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Northwest Notes: Green, Timberwolves, Lore, Snyder

August 27th, 2021 at 8:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JaMychal Green drew interest from a number of teams during free agency, Mike Singer of The Denver Post reports. Green caught the attention of the Timberwolves, Pelicans, Sixers, Spurs and Bucks. Minnesota even considered a possible sign-and-trade for the veteran forward, who opted to re-sign with the Nuggets on a two-year, $17MM deal.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Timberwolves had some level of interest in all of the forwards involved in the unofficial three-team trade among the Bulls, Cavaliers and Trail Blazers, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. They had early interest this summer in restricted free agent Lauri Markkanen, who’s headed to Cleveland in the sign-and-trade, but Chicago didn’t seriously engage them in trade discussions, Wolfson adds. Minnesota had strong interest last year in Larry Nance Jr., who’s going to Portland, and Derrick Jones Jr., who’s joining the Bulls.
  • Marc Lore, who along with former baseball star Alex Rodriguez has assumed 20% of the Timberwolves franchise with plans to eventually become the controlling owners, believes he can sell top free agents on coming to Minnesota, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. “When players or people say, ‘Hey, it’s a small market, we’re never going to get any of the big free agents,’ — well, if they share a similar set of values maybe they will (come),” Lore said. “If you really stand for something, and they’re passionate about the same values, then they’re like, ‘No, I’ve seen it. I’ve heard about it. I want to be a part of that.'”
  • Jazz coach Quin Snyder isn’t likely to tinker too much with his lineups and rotations this coming season, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News speculates. Snyder isn’t the type of coach who does a lot of experimentation but he will play to the strengths of his personnel and there are some new faces, so that will require some flexibility, Todd adds.
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Forbes Strongly Mulled Return To Bucks

August 26th, 2021 at 7:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Bryn Forbes strongly considered re-signing with the Bucks before signing up for a second stint with the Spurs, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News. Forbes declined a player option in order to become a free agent. He’s thrilled to return to the Spurs. “I still had good relationships with everyone here,” he said. “They know what I can do. … When I had the opportunity to come back, I was immediately excited.”
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Spurs Sign Bryn Forbes

August 25th, 2021 at 2:29pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 25: Three weeks after agreeing to a deal with the Spurs, Forbes has formally signed his new contract, he told Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).

“It was a great year (in Milwaukee),” Forbes told McDonald. “But I’m happy to be home.”

The terms of Forbes’ contract still aren’t known, but they should surface soon now that the deal is done. The Spurs have used up their cap space, so they may use the room exception to pay Forbes more than the minimum.

AUGUST 4: Free agent shooting guard Bryn Forbes is expected to return for a second stint in San Antonio. Per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Spurs have agreed to ink old friend Forbes, hot off a championship run with the Bucks, to a new contract. The terms of the agreement have yet to be disclosed.

After going undrafted out of Michigan State in 2016, Forbes impressed San Antonio during a Summer League run with the club.

He then signed on with the Spurs for the start of the 2016/17 season and had been with the team for his entire NBA career, until departing for Milwaukee on a two-year, $4.79MM deal in free agency during the 2020 offseason.

Earlier this summer, Forbes declined the player option on the second year of his Milwaukee deal after proving himself as a solid offensive contributor during the Bucks’ 2021 postseason run.

Forbes, 28, appeared in 70 games with the Bucks during the abbreviated 72-game 2020/21 NBA season. In 19.3 MPG, the 6’2″ wing averaged 10.0 PPG and 1.6 RPG, with a stellar shooting line of .473/.452/.770.

The Spurs have been active in free agency thus far. The team has also added Doug McDermott, Zach Collins and NBL big man Jock Londale in free agency. San Antonio also moved 2020/21 leading scorer DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade deal that will net them future draft equity, plus veteran forwards Thaddeus Young and Al-Farouq Aminu.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Popovich Focused On All-Time Wins Record?; Landale Signed For Minimum

August 21st, 2021 at 9:26am CST by Dana Gauruder

Gregg Popovich may not seem the type of coach who is interested in records, but he wants to become the NBA’s all-time winningest coach more than many people would suspect, according to Marc Stein of Substack (subscription required). The Spurs’ longtime coach is 26 wins shy of passing Don Nelson for the most regular-season coaching victories. The fact that they are close friends adds to the appeal. Prior to becoming a head coach, Popovich spent two seasons in Golden State as Nelson’s top assistant.

  •  Jock Landale’s two-year contract with the Spurs is a minimum-salary deal, Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets. The first year is fully guaranteed, while the second year is non-guaranteed. The Australian big man was the NBL Grand Final MVP last season.
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Spurs Sign Jock Landale

August 20th, 2021 at 8:07am CST by Eli Cohen

AUGUST 20: The signing is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

AUGUST 3: The Spurs have agreed to a two-year deal with Australian big man Jock Landale, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Landale, a 25-year-old, 6’11” center, is fresh off winning the 2021 NBL Grand Final MVP for Melbourne United. He averaged 16.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.5 BPG while shooting 38.9% from three on 149 total attempts during the 2020/21 season.

The Spurs are light in established frontcourt players, leaving the possibility of Landale to carve out a role for himself, especially if newly-signed Zach Collins is unable to stay healthy. With the team officially losing Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan, the youth movement appears to be in full swing in San Antonio.

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Latest On Ben Simmons

August 17th, 2021 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

The “overwhelming sense” among NBA insiders is that Ben Simmons will likely still be with the Sixers when training camp opens on September 28, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

As Fischer explains, if Damian Lillard becomes available, the likelihood of a Simmons deal would increase significantly, since the Trail Blazers star appears to be Philadelphia’s preferred trade target. However, there’s a belief in league circles that Lillard will open the season in Portland and give new head coach Chauncey Billups a shot, according to Fischer.

Given the ugly way the 2020/21 season ended in Philadelphia, having Simmons report to training camp could create an uncomfortable dynamic. Fischer suggests that Simmons hasn’t personally been in close contact with Joel Embiid, head coach Doc Rivers, or president of basketball operations Daryl Morey this offseason and may welcome a trade — his representatives have canvassed front offices around the NBA this summer about a potential deal, Fischer adds.

However, with trade talk quieting down and teams more focused on filling out their final roster spots than making any blockbuster moves, a deal may not materialize in the next six weeks or so, and the 76ers appear ready for that possibility, Fischer says.

“Daryl is not afraid to go into training camp with a potentially combustible situation,” a source told Bleacher Report.

Here’s more on Simmons:

  • The Timberwolves remain very interested in Simmons, but it will be a challenge for Minnesota to put together a package strong enough to entice the Sixers, according to Fischer, who notes that if Philadelphia makes a non-Lillard deal involving Simmons, the team may try to get pieces that could eventually be flipped to the Trail Blazers for the star guard.
  • Sources from the Trail Blazers and Warriors “categorically denied” rumors that any traction was gained in talks about a potential three-team trade involving the 76ers, reports Fischer.
  • There’s a faction of the Spurs‘ front office rumored to have strong interest in Simmons, according to Fischer, who says San Antonio was willing to discuss Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker prior to the draft.
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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.
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And-Ones: Draft Picks, Hammon, Luxury Tax, Gortman, Spurs

August 12th, 2021 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Executives around the NBA don’t love the idea of having teams forfeit second-round picks as a result of tampering investigations, like the Bucks did a year ago, writes ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link). As Givony explains, the thinking is that late second-rounders don’t have a ton of value to begin with, so taking away those picks hurts would-be draftees as much as it hurts teams.

“Why are we punishing players by reducing the number of picks that are made in the NBA draft?” one executive said to Givony. “Players work their entire careers to get to the point that they can hear their names called on draft night. It’s completely unfair to them to have fewer bestowed that honor because of backroom shenanigans that are entirely out of their control.”

Givony suggests some execs would like to see the NBA find a way to avoid having fewer than 60 picks in future drafts by redistributing any forfeited picks. For instance, a team that wins a midseason tournament could earn an extra second-round pick, or a forfeited pick could be awarded to the team that employs the winner of the league’s new Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award.

“How cool would it have been if (inaugural winner) Carmelo Anthony went up to the podium at the 60th pick and announced that the Portland Trail Blazers have drafted someone?” one Eastern Conference executive said to Givony. “That would have been a great moment at Barclays Center, shedding light on the work he’s done, and tying it to the start of a young player’s NBA career, who could maybe follow in his footsteps.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Speaking to Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press, Spurs assistant Becky Hammon said she can’t wait for a time when it’s considered normal for NBA teams to interview and hire women for head coaching jobs. Hammon, one of the few women to receive head coaching consideration, added that she wants to be hired for the right reasons. “Please don’t hire me to check a box. That’s the worst thing you can do for me,” she said. “Hire me because of my skill sets and coaching, who am I as a person, hire me for those.”
  • Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) provides a breakdown of the projected tax penalties for the eight teams currently above the tax line. While some clubs may shed salary over the course of the season to reduce those bills, the current numbers are staggering, especially for the Warriors ($184MM), Nets ($131MM), and Clippers ($125MM).
  • Five-star prospect Jazian Gortman, a guard based in South Carolina whom ESPN ranks fifth in the 2022 recruiting class, has signed with Overtime Elite, the league announced on Wednesday in a press release.
  • RealGM has the details on the draft picks involved in a pair of Spurs trades – with the Pacers (Doug McDermott) and Bulls (DeMar DeRozan) – this week. Most notably, the first-round pick Chicago is sending San Antonio will be top-10 protected in 2025 and top-eight protected in two subsequent years. That pick would be pushed back by a year if the Bulls’ 2023 first-rounder falls within in its top-four protection and isn’t conveyed until 2024.
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NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2021/22

August 12th, 2021 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $112,414,000 threshold once their cap room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax line of $136,606,000 as well — the Nets and Warriors, for instance, project to have nine-figure tax bills this season as a result of their spending.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows clubs like Brooklyn and Golden State to build a significant payroll without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped, as we explain in a glossary entry.

When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception (three years, starting at $5,890,000), that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron for 2021/22 was set at $143,002,000.

So far, over a third of the teams in the NBA have been willing to hard-cap themselves this offseason. Some teams will have to be aware of that hard cap when they consider any roster move for the rest of the season, but for others it’s just a technicality that won’t affect their plans.

Listed below are the hard-capped teams for the 2021/22 league year, along with how they created a hard cap.

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Houston Rockets

Miami Heat

  • Acquired Kyle Lowry from Raptors via sign-and-trade.
  • Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on P.J. Tucker.

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

  • Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Khem Birch.

Washington Wizards

This list, which could continue to grow, will continue to be updated throughout the 2021/22 league year as necessary. It can be found anytime in the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” menu on our mobile site.

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