- In the latest installments of their Summer Forecast series, ESPN’s panel projects the Eastern and Western Conference standings and champions for the 2018/19 season. While the teams at the top of those lists aren’t surprising, the playoff predictions in the West are noteworthy — ESPN’s panelists have the Spurs and Trail Blazers outside the top eight.
Free agent signees, trade acquisitions, and 2018 draftees are the most common additions to NBA rosters this summer. However, a small number of players will come via the draft-and-stash route, as teams bring aboard players drafted in previous years.
While players who were previously selected in the second round of a draft are free to sign any type of contract via cap room or exceptions, first-round draftees are limited to the 2018 rookie scale, unless it has been more than three years since they were selected. It doesn’t seem that will apply to any draft-and-stash signings in 2018, as former first-rounders like Anzejs Pasecniks (Sixers, 2017) aren’t coming stateside.
Listed below are the draft-and-stash prospects who have signed so far this offseason, with contract details noted. If and when more teams add draft-and-stash players, we’ll update this list, which can be found at anytime on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or in the “Features” page in our mobile menu.
Houston Rockets
- Isaiah Hartenstein, PF (2017 draft; No. 43): A second-round pick last summer, Hartenstein signed a G League contract after being drafted, allowing the Rockets to retain his NBA rights while they got a closer look at him with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The big man didn’t put up huge numbers in the G League (9.5 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 38 games), but the Rockets will move him to the NBA roster as they continue to work on his development.
- Contract: Three years, minimum salary ($3,919,177). Fully guaranteed in year one. Last two years non-guaranteed. Signed using portion of taxpayer mid-level exception.
- Alessandro Gentile, G/F (2014 draft; No. 53): Gentile signed his mandatory second-rounder tender from the Rockets, but wasn’t in the club’s plans and was quickly released.
- Contract: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. Subsequently waived.
Philadelphia 76ers
- Jonah Bolden, PF (2017 draft; No. 36): The Sixers‘ roster was overloaded with young players in 2017/18, so it made sense for Bolden – who already had international experience – to remain overseas, seeing minutes for Maccabi Tel Aviv, a high-caliber EuroLeague squad. The plan for Bolden was always to join the 76ers after a year, and that didn’t change when the team’s front office underwent an unexpected overhaul this offseason — Bolden officially signed on July 25.
- Contract: Four years, $7,000,000. Fully guaranteed in years one and two. Last two years non-guaranteed. Signed using cap room.
San Antonio Spurs
- Jaron Blossomgame, F (2017 draft; No. 59): Blossomgame was a standout for the Spurs’ G League affiliate in Austin during the 2017/18 season, helping lead the club to an NBAGL title. That performance, along with an impressive showing in Summer League play, earned him a camp invite from San Antonio.
- Contract: One year, minimum salary. Exhibit 10. Subsequently waived.
- Contract: One year, minimum salary. Exhibit 10. Subsequently waived.
- Olivier Hanlan, G (2015 draft; No. 42): Acquired from the Jazz in a 2016 trade, Hanlan remained overseas for a second season before joining the Austin Spurs in 2017. Like Blossomgame, he was a started for the squad that won the G League championship in 2017/18, and like Blossomgame, it earned him a chance to join the Spurs in camp.
- Contract: One year, minimum salary. Exhibit 10. Subsequently waived.
- Contract: One year, minimum salary. Exhibit 10. Subsequently waived.
Former Spurs two-way player Darrun Hilliard has signed a contract with Spanish club Baskonia, the team announced today (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal.
Hilliard, a second-round pick in the 2015 draft, spent two seasons with the Pistons before being dealt to the Rockets in June 2017. Houston used him as a salary-matching piece in the Chris Paul trade with the Clippers, who subsequently waived him.
The Spurs signed Hilliard to a two-way contract last September, and kept him under contract for the entire 2017/18 season. The 6’6″ swingman appeared in just 14 games for San Antonio, but played well in 36 contests for the team’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, averaging 20.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.8 APG with a shooting line of .475/.400/.845.
Hilliard received a qualifying offer from the Spurs at season’s end, making him a restricted free agent, and it doesn’t appear San Antonio ever withdrew that offer.
This is the first summer that two-way qualifying offers have been an option for teams and players, so we’re still figuring out how they’ll be used going forward. Assuming they function like standard QOs, the Spurs should have the option of keeping that offer on the table next offseason before Hilliard can sign another NBA contract. The Raptors have taken this approach with Nando De Colo for the last several years, tendering him a qualifying offer every year in case he decides to return to the NBA.
With Thunder second-rounder Devon Hall set to spend the upcoming season playing in Australia, 56 of 60 players selected in the 2018 NBA draft have now made plans – in the NBA or elsewhere – for the 2018/19 campaign.
As our 2018 draft pick signing tracker shows, that leaves four players whose status for 2018/19 has yet to be reported or announced. Here’s what we know – or can deduce – about those four rookies:
- Justin Jackson (Magic): According to our roster counts, the Magic have used both of their two-way contract slots and have 16 players on NBA contracts. However, only 14 of those NBA deals are fully guaranteed, meaning there could be a path for Jackson to claim the 15th spot. Still, Isaiah Briscoe looks like he’ll have an opportunity to make the team despite not having a guaranteed salary. Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel expects Jackson, who is coming off a major shoulder injury, to spend the 2018/19 season with the Lakeland Magic, so perhaps he’ll sign a G League contract with an eye toward joining Orlando’s 15-man squad in 2019.
- De’Anthony Melton (Rockets): The Rockets only have 10 players on fully guaranteed salaries, meaning there’s plenty of room for Melton to join the mix. It’s possible Houston is waiting to sign Melton in order to keep him trade-eligible — as soon as he signs, he can’t be dealt for one month, and the Rockets may want to keep their options open as they scour the market for a wing player. Assuming Melton remains with the Rockets, they’ll likely lock him up for at least three years using part of the taxpayer mid-level exception, like they did with Isaiah Hartenstein.
- Chimezie Metu (Spurs): The Spurs have a lone opening on their projected 15-man roster, with 14 players on guaranteed deals. It’s possible Metu could slot into that spot, but he’s not the only option. Former two-way player Darrun Hilliard is a candidate to be promoted to a standard NBA contract, and 2017 second-rounder Jaron Blossomgame could also be signed. The Spurs are very comfortable stashing draft picks, as they currently retain the NBA rights to 11 players who aren’t playing in the NBA. We’ll see if Metu becomes the 12th or if the Spurs held onto part of their mid-level exception this summer in order to sign him to a long-term deal.
- Kevin Hervey (Thunder): Hall’s move overseas looks like it could be good news for Hervey. The Thunder have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, leaving no clear path to OKC’s regular season roster, but the club only has Deonte Burton on a two-way deal. That leaves the Thunder’s other two-way contract slot open, and it would make sense for Hervey to fill it, as four other 2018 draftees in the 54-60 range have inked two-way deals so far this summer.
- The losses of Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Anderson, Danny Green and Tony Parker should expand Derrick White‘s role with the Spurs next season, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio News Express. The 6’4” guard appeared in just 17 games last season but the 2017 first-rounder is poised to be a rotation player after a strong showing in summer-league play. “It’s nice to know they have faith in me, that they are confident in me,” White told Orsborn. “It’s tough to see all those guys go. They did so much for the organization. But I’ve got to make the most of my opportunities.”
The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $101.869MM threshold once that room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit as well, with clubs like the Warriors, Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers, Raptors, and Wizards going well beyond that tax line this year.
The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows those clubs to build significant payrolls without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped.
When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion ($5.337MM) of the mid-level exception, 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 is set at a point approximately $6MM above the luxury tax line. For the 2018/19 league year, the tax apron – and hard cap for certain clubs – is set at $129.817MM.
So far this year, nine teams have imposed a hard cap on themselves by using the bi-annual exception, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, or acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. Listed below are those nine teams, along with how they created a hard cap.
Charlotte Hornets
- Used approximately $6MM of mid-level exception to sign Tony Parker and Devonte’ Graham.
Detroit Pistons
- Used approximately $5.75MM of mid-level exception to sign Glenn Robinson, Khyri Thomas, and Bruce Brown.
Los Angeles Clippers
- Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Scott.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Kyle Anderson.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Ersan Ilyasova and Pat Connaughton.
- Used bi-annual exception to sign Brook Lopez.
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Used approximately $6.59MM of mid-level exception to sign Anthony Tolliver and Keita Bates-Diop.
New Orleans Pelicans
- Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Julius Randle.
- Used bi-annual exception to sign Elfrid Payton.
New York Knicks
- Used approximately $8MM of mid-level exception to sign Mario Hezonja and Mitchell Robinson.
San Antonio Spurs
- Used approximately $6.99MM of mid-level exception to sign Marco Belinelli and Chimezie Metu.
- Used bi-annual exception to sign Dante Cunningham.
Currently, none of the hard-capped teams listed above have team salaries within $5MM of the tax apron, so that hard cap shouldn’t be a real issue for most of these clubs during the 2018/19 league year. However, that could change if any of these teams – particularly the Hornets or Pistons – makes additional free agent signings or takes on extra money in a trade at some point.
Despite the fact that the NBA rumor mill was flooded with whispers from Kawhi Leonard‘s camp this summer, we heard next to nothing from Leonard himself. That changed this morning, with Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports relaying a letter published by the star forward in the wake of the trade that sent him from the Spurs to the Raptors.
“I have been going back and forth the last few weeks trying to figure out the right things to say, and it comes down to two simple words: THANK YOU!” Leonard writes. “My family and I want to say THANK YOU to the entire Spurs organization and the people and fans of San Antonio.”
Leonard’s letter goes on to specifically thank head coach Gregg Popovich, his teammates during his Spurs years, and the San Antonio fans, adding that he’ll “never forget what we have shared and accomplished together.”
While Leonard’s statement expresses the right kind of sentiment, it may be too little, too late for many Spurs fans, considering it comes after months of drama related to his trade request, and weeks after that drama was seemingly resolved with the Raptors trade.
We likely won’t hear from Leonard publicly again until September, when the Raptors host a media day to kick off their training camp.
- Tony Parker, who signed with the Hornets after 17 years with the Spurs, reflects on his time in San Antonio in a letter on The Players’ Tribune. Parker talks about his embarrassing audition with the team, the transition to Dejounte Murray as the starting point guard and the meaning of “Spurs culture.”
Matt Costello, a two-way player with the Spurs last season, has signed with Scandone Avellino in Italy, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
The former Michigan State center played almost exclusively in the G League after signing with San Antonio last summer. He appeared in just four NBA games, averaging 8.0 minutes per night, but put up 8.0 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 30 games with the Austin Spurs in his second season in the G League.
Costello, 24, was San Antonio’s last unrestricted free agent. Darrun Hilliard, who filled the team’s other two-way slot last year, is restricted and remains unsigned.
Former Trail Blazers forward and Kansas standout Cliff Alexander will continue his playing career in Germany. Alexander has signed a two-year contract to join German team Brose Bamberg, the club announced today in a press release.
While Alexander only appeared in a total of eight regular season NBA games for Portland, he has spent time with a handful of teams. The ex-Jayhawk was in camp with the Magic in 2016 and the Pelicans in 2017, and signed a 10-day contract with the Nets near the end of the 2016/17 season.
Here are a few more notes on one-time NBA players who are playing – or may play – in international leagues this season:
- Having been waived by the Spurs on Tuesday, shooting guard Brandon Paul appears to already be drawing interest from teams in Europe. Orazio Cauchi of Sportando relays a report from El Mundo Deportivo suggesting that Barcelona and Baskonia of the Spanish League may have their eye on Paul.
- Matt Costello, another former Spurs player who spent last season on a two-way contract with the club, is weighing offers from Italy’s Avellino and Turkey’s Galatasaray, a source tells Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Costello intends to take some time to make his decision, per Cauchi.
- Former second-round pick Tibor Pleiss, who appeared in 12 NBA games for the Jazz back in 2015/16, will continue to play in Europe. The big man signed with Turkish club Anadolu Efes on a one-year deal featuring a second-year option, according to an announcement from the team (Twitter link).