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12 NBA Salary Guarantees To Watch In October

September 6th, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

The majority of the NBA players who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts won’t have their salaries for 2019/20 become fully guaranteed until January 10. That’s the league-wide salary guarantee date and the default deadline that applies to players who haven’t negotiated an earlier salary guarantee date.

Still, some players did negotiate an earlier trigger date, and the majority of those deadlines will arrive in October. At least a dozen players around the NBA are believed to have partial or full guarantees that will go into effect in October.

Now, it’s worth noting that salary guarantee dates are somewhat malleable. If the player’s camp agrees, a team can quietly move that deadline back, giving the club more time to make a decision on whether or not to fully invest in its player for the 2019/20 season. The player doesn’t necessarily have to agree, but he may be on board with postponing that deadline if the alternative is being waived and receiving none of his salary.

Most of our information related to salary guarantee dates is coming from the salary database at Basketball Insiders, and BI hasn’t published all the details on the latest signings from around the NBA yet. In other words, there could be a few more recently-signed players who have October salary guarantee dates.

For now though, these are the 12 players believed to have salary guarantee dates coming up next month:

Full guarantees:

Ivan Rabb (Grizzlies): Partial guarantee of $371,758 increases to full guarantee of $1,618,520 salary if not waived by October 19.
Chris Boucher (Raptors): Partial guarantee of $125,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,588,231 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
Malcolm Miller (Raptors): Partial guarantee of $150,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,588,231 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
Duncan Robinson (Heat): Partial guarantee of $1,000,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,416,852 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
Kenrich Williams (Pelicans): Partial guarantee of $200,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,416,852 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.

Partial guarantees:

Christian Wood (Pistons): $1,645,357 salary becomes partially guaranteed ($822,679) if not waived before first day of regular season.
Trey Burke (Sixers): Partial guarantee of $405,000 increases to $810,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $2,028,594).
Jordan McRae (Wizards): Partial guarantee of $400,000 increases to $600,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,645,357).
Dragan Bender (Bucks): Partial guarantee of $300,000 increases to $600,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,678,854).
Ben McLemore (Rockets): Partial guarantee of $50,000 increases to $500,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $2,028,594).
Kendrick Nunn (Heat): Partial guarantee of $150,000 increases to $450,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,416,852).
William Howard (Jazz): Partial guarantee of $50,000 increases to $250,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $898,310).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eastern Notes: Ntilikina, IT, Flourney, Washburn

September 5th, 2019 at 5:34pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Frank Ntilikina, who is playing for the French National Team in the FIBA World Cup, is beginning to showcase his potential, Marc Berman of the New York Post contends. The 6’6″ guard has risen up during international play, earning the starting point guard role for his country. He’s also caught the eye of his teammates.

“He’s a very, very talented player and an excellent defender, and I see a bright future ahead for him,” said Rudy Gobert, who is also playing for France in the tournament.

The Knicks selected Ntilikina with the No. 8 overall pick back in 2017 draft and he’s rumored to be on the trade market. Perhaps the FIBA World Cup can elevate his trade stock.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

With Isaiah Thomas landing in Washington, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports examines the Wizards‘ recent history of reclamation projects. Markieff Morris, Brandon Jennings, and Dwight Howard are among the former Wizards players who have joined the franchise with the hope of revitalizing their career.
The Raptors are hiring Fabulous Flournoy as an assistant coach, Simon Rushworth of NewCastle-Eagles.com relays. Flournoy is a well-respected coach from the British Basketball League.
The Sixers‘ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, has acquired Julian Washburn from the Austin Spurs in exchange for Matt Farrell, according to the team’s website. Washburn has appeared in 18 NBA contests, all of which came last season while he was on a two-way deal with Memphis. If he signs a G League contract for 2019/20, he’d play for Delaware.

NBA Teams With Open Two-Way Contract Slots

August 28th, 2019 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Only a small handful of two-way players from 2018/19 had their contracts carried over to the 2019/20 season. A couple more of last year’s two-way players have signed new two-way deals. For the most part though, NBA teams have filled their two-way contract slots for the coming season with new faces, including several rookies who went undrafted in 2019.

At the moment, 44 of 60 league-wide two-way contract slots are occupied. A 45th appears set to be filled if and when the Knicks finalize their reported agreement with Kris Wilkes. That leaves just 15 two-way deals available across the NBA as training camps approach.

Some clubs may not fill these slots before camps get underway, preferring to sign players to non-guaranteed NBA contracts and then convert those deals to two-way pacts later, depending on how players perform in camp and in the preseason. By the time the 2019/20 regular season begins though, I don’t expect many two-way slots to still be open.

With the help of our two-way contract tracker, which lists all the players currently on two-way deals, here are the teams who can still offer two-way contracts without waiving anyone:

Two open slots:

Houston Rockets
Miami Heat
Toronto Raptors

One open slot:

Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
New York Knicks
- Note: The Knicks only have a slot available if their reported deal with Wilkes isn’t finalized.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Washington Wizards

And-Ones: Drummond, Gasol, Leonard

August 27th, 2019 at 10:06pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Andre Drummond recently spoke about how he was excited for free agency next summer, leading some to speculate that he would like to leave the Pistons. He took to Instagram to clarify his comments.

“My point was I’m excited to go through the process because I never been [through] it, doesn’t mean I’m trying to leave Detroit. I love it here,” the big man said on his social media page.

Drummond has a player option for the 2020/21 season, though he called this upcoming campaign his “contract year,” insinuating that he’s preparing to opt out.

Here’s more from around the league:

Marc Gasol doesn’t blame Kawhi Leonard for leaving the Raptors and joining the Clippers in a move that will put Leonard closer to his hometown. “I haven’t talked to him. Just a little through group text — that was it. You can’t blame the guy for wanting to go home. You can’t,” Gasol told Marc Stein of The New York Times in his latest newsletter. “If you tell me I can go back to Barcelona and make an absurd amount of money and play in the NBA — I understand completely the decision and respect it and wish him the best.”
In the same piece, Gasol spoke about how he didn’t know that winning a championship would mean as much to him until after the Raptors took home the Larry O’Brien trophy. “It fulfilled me in a way that I didn’t know it could,” Gasol said. “Instantly you gain so much respect for everyone who has done this. Golden State, going to five straight finals and the rings that they have, I just instantly got so much respect for them. And LeBron going to eight finals in a row. Just doing it once put me beyond the limits I thought I had — physically and mentally. It was great to see, for myself, pushing those limits and leaving everything out there. It was awesome.”
NBA agent James Dunleavy is joining Excel Sports Management, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Dunleavy’s clients include Chandler Parsons and Gerald Green, among others.

Atlantic Notes: English, Redick, Knicks

August 27th, 2019 at 8:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers are hosting a free agent mini-camp on Thursday and A.J. English is among the players expected to be in attendance, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. The 6’3″ guard has spent time overseas since going undrafted out of Iona in the 2016 draft, playing last season for Lavrio B.C. in Greece.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Replacing J.J. Redick won’t be easy for the Sixers, Jack Winter of Basketball Insiders writes. Winter explains how the loss of Redick changes the team’s offensive identity.
The Knicks are bringing in Malcolm Delaney for a workout, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Delaney, a former Virginia Tech guard who spent two seasons with Atlanta from 2016-18, will participate in drills alongside current Knicks players.
Quinn Davis of Basketball Insiders makes a case for the Raptors remaining competitive in the post-Kawhi Leonard era. Toronto went 17-5 last year during the regular season without Leonard, though the team’s record in those games vs. playoff clubs was just 4-5.

And-Ones: Loyd, MVP Race, Bucks, Sterling

August 26th, 2019 at 3:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Jordan Loyd views his upcoming season in the EuroLeague as an opportunity to showcase his talents before returning to the NBA, Blake Murphy of The Athletic reports. Loyd played on a two-way contract with the Raptors last season and feared he’d get stuck on a similar deal if he stayed in Toronto. The Raptors waived him after he agreed to a one-year contract with Valencia Basket.

“This year, I have a one-year deal, and then try to get back to the league, man. I think it’s gonna help me, honestly,” he said. “I look at it as a year to better myself and to get back to the league. I feel like I am an NBA player, but I’m not naive enough to sit there and let great opportunities pass me by overseas.”

We have more from the basketball world:

The Most Valuable Player race for the upcoming NBA season looks wide open, according to a panel of ESPN experts. While reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is favored to win it again, former MVPs Stephen Curry and LeBron James as well as Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and Kawhi Leonard are all logical candidates for the top individual award.
The Bucks’ biggest challenge will be handling the pressure of high expectations, Malika Andrews of ESPN writes. Not only will they have a target on their backs but it will be a pivotal season in terms of whether they can retain Antetokounmpo long-term. A group of ESPN writers examines the strengths and biggest question marks looming over seven contenders.
ESPN took a deep dive into the saga of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was forced to sell the team after making racially insensitive statements. Perhaps the most eye-opening revelation by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne was that the league nearly shut down during the 2014 playoffs until commissioner Adam Silver took swift and bold action. “I was all-in. Like shut down the whole season,” then-Warriors forward Andre Iguodala said. “Maybe that was too far, but as far as that game that day, you can reschedule it, you gotta sort this thing out, because there’s some deep-rooted stuff with him that had to be addressed.”

Remaining Offseason Questions: Atlantic Division

August 26th, 2019 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have now completed the brunt of their offseason work, with the draft and free agency practically distant memories. Still, with training camps more than a month away, many clubs around the league have at least one or two outstanding issues they’ve yet to address.

Over the next week, we’ll be looking at all 30 NBA teams, separating them by division and checking in on a key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2019/20 regular season begins.

We’re starting today with the Atlantic division, so let’s dive right in…

Boston Celtics
How will the Celtics’ World Cup contingent respond to the experience?

Six Celtics players are set to represent their respective countries at the 2019 World Cup in China, starting this weekend, including four for Team USA.

Boston’s top priority will be making sure that Kemba Walker (USA), Jayson Tatum (USA), Marcus Smart (USA), Jaylen Brown (USA), Vincent Poirier (France), and Daniel Theis (Germany) make it through the tournament healthy. But the team will also be curious to see how its international contingent performs in China and is affected by the experience.

A strong World Cup showing for a player like Poirier or Theis could increase his confidence heading into the 2019/20 season and put him in position to take on a more prominent rotation role. Meanwhile, a run at a gold medal could help the Team USA group develop the kind of on- and off-court chemistry that last year’s Celtics never quite had.

Brooklyn Nets
What’s next for second-round pick Jaylen Hands?

One of just four second-round picks who remains unsigned, Hands doesn’t project to be part of the Nets‘ regular season roster for 2019/20. The club already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and is unlikely to cut one of its veterans for the No. 56 overall pick.

The logical place for Hands to begin his career would be in one of Brooklyn’s two-way contract slots, where he’d spend much of his rookie season developing his game with the Long Island Nets in the G League. Henry Ellenson currently occupies one of the Nets’ two-way slots, but the other one is open.

Still, there were rumblings that Brooklyn had interest in Ron Baker as a potential two-way player before he headed overseas. And if the Nets had that second two-way slot earmarked for Hands, it seems like the two sides would have completed a deal by now. It’s still possible that he’ll end up on a two-way deal, but it’s far from a certainty — we should find it in the coming weeks what the team has in mind for the rookie out of UCLA.

New York Knicks
Does Frank Ntilikina have a place in the Knicks’ plans?

NBA teams have completed a total of 43 trades so far this offseason, but not one of them involved Ntilikina, who was among the league’s most frequently cited trade candidates heading into the summer.

The Knicks didn’t land the star free agents they were hoping for, but they reshaped their roster with a series of veteran signings in early July, jettisoning all of their own free agents. As New York goes through a transition period, it remains to be seen whether the club will recommit to finding out what it has in Ntilikina or whether his inevitable departure has just been delayed.

Shortly after the regular season begins, the Knicks will have to decide whether or not to exercise Ntilikina’s fourth-year option for 2020/21. But if the club revisits the trade market this fall, it’s possible another team will be making that decision on the the former lottery pick.

Philadelphia 76ers
Do the Sixers plan on making Trey Burke their 15th man?

Currently, the Sixers have 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, leaving a potential spot open on the team’s projected 15-man regular season roster. However, that count doesn’t include Burke, whose salary for 2019/20 is said to be partially guaranteed.

Although Burke appears likely to be Philadelphia’s 15th man, the specifics on his deal remain a question mark — if his partial guarantee isn’t significant, he’s not necessarily a lock to make the team.

The 76ers signed Raul Neto as a backup this offseason and may rely on Shake Milton to play a larger role behind Ben Simmons as well. If the team determines that it has a more pressing need at another position, perhaps it brings in someone else to fill that 15th and final roster spot.

Toronto Raptors
Will Pascal Siakam or Kyle Lowry sign an extension?

The Raptors have two of the more intriguing extension candidates in the NBA, as Siakam and Lowry each project to be top-10 free agents on the 2020 market if they don’t get new deals before then.

Lowry, who is eligible for a veteran extension, recently said that he’d “love” to sign a new deal to remain in Toronto rather than reaching unrestricted free agency next summer. It’s unclear whether he and the club will see eye-to-eye on his value though as his 34th birthday nears.

As for Siakam, he’s among the top candidates for a rookie scale extension. However, given the dearth of talent on the 2020 free agent market, he may only be willing to ink a new deal if he gets a max salary or something close to it — after all, he can reasonably expect to get offers in that range next summer if he continues to improve.

Siakam will certainly be a part of the Raptors’ long-term future. Since we can’t definitively say the same about Lowry, the up-and-coming forward is probably more likely to be extended within the next couple months than the veteran guard.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Being Especially Careful With Sagaba Konate

August 22nd, 2019 at 12:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors are being careful with shot-blocking specialist Sagaba Konate, who missed most of last season at West Virginia because of knee problems, writes Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Konate signed with Toronto shortly after being passed over in the draft, but hasn’t seen much on-court action in the past two months. He was held out of the Las Vegas Summer League and hasn’t participated in five-on-five scrimmages. “We feel really strong about our medical staff and what the proper sort of approach you can take to a rehabilitation project,” assistant GM Dan Tolzman said. “We’re curious to see what he can become. It’s all about getting him ready for the start of the training camp and see what he does from there.”

International Notes: Lin, Todorovic, Withey, Phillip

August 18th, 2019 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Raptors guard Jeremy Lin is in advanced talks with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The news was first reported by journalist Sonx Xiang of China.

We passed along a story earlier this week that several CBA teams were interested in adding Lin if he didn’t receive an invitation to an NBA training camp. He admitted that playing in China is an option he’s considering.

Lin, who will turn 31 on Friday, won his first championship ring after coming to Toronto in February. He was part of the rotation during the regular season, averaging 7.0 points and 18.8 minutes per night. However, his role was greatly reduced in the postseason, as he appeared in just eight games and averaged 3.4 minutes. He has played for eight teams in a nine-year NBA career.

There’s more international news this morning:

Marko Todorovic, who had his draft rights renounced by the Rockets earlier this month, has reached an agreement with the Tianjin Pioneers of the CBA, Carchia writes in a separate story. The 27-year-old center played in Spain last season for Joventut Badalona. The Trail Blazers selected him with the 45th pick in the 2013 draft and traded his rights to Houston.
Former NBA center Jeff Withey will play in Israel this season for Ironi Nes-Ziona, Carchia adds in another piece. Withey spent time in Turkey and Greece last year. He played for three teams during his five years in the NBA, most recently for the Mavericks in 2017/18.
Tarik Phillip, who was waived by the Wizards on Thursday, will play for Tofaş Spor Kulübü in Turkey, according to a tweet from the team. The 26-year-old guard signed with Washington at the end of the 2018/19 season, but didn’t see any game action. He spent most of the year with the Memphis Hustle in the G League, averaging 13.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 3.8 APG in 48 games.

Malachi Richardson Will Play In Israel

August 17th, 2019 at 7:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Malachi Richardson, who saw infrequent playing time for the Raptors last season, has signed with Hapoel Holon in Israel, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Richardson appeared in 22 games for Toronto before being traded at the deadline to the Sixers, who waived him.