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Cavs Won’t Exercise Ante Zizic’s 2020/21 Option

October 30th, 2019 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers won’t be picking up their 2020/21 option on Ante Zizic‘s rookie scale contract, league sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). The option would have been worth $3,872,215.

If Cleveland had exercised that fourth-year option, it would have put Zizic on track to become eligible for an extension during the 2020 offseason and restricted free agency during the summer of 2021.

Instead, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent next July. Assuming he finishes the season with the Cavs, they’ll be ineligible to offer him a starting salary higher than $3,872,215 on a new contract.

Zizic, 22, was part of the trade package that the Cavaliers received from the Celtics for Kyrie Irving during the summer of 2017. However, his contributions in Cleveland through two years have been modest. In 91 games, he averaged 6.4 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 14.2 minutes per contest. He has yet to make his 2019/20 debut due to a left foot injury.

Zizic, who is now on an expiring contract, has a $2,281,800 cap hit for the 2019/20 season.

Cavaliers Pick Up Collin Sexton’s 2020/21 Option

October 29th, 2019 at 4:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Cavaliers have picked up Collin Sexton‘s third-year option, sources tell Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Sexton will make approximately $4.99MM during the 2020/21 season. He has another team option on his contract for the following campaign. Assuming it’s exercised as well, he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2021 offseason.

Cleveland selected Sexton with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He started 72 games for the club during his rookie season and has started all three games this year next to 2019 first-rounder Darius Garland.

Sexton isn’t the only Cavaliers player with a rookie scale option for 2020/21. Cleveland will have until Thursday to make a decision on Ante Zizic’s fourth-year option, worth approximately $3.87MM.

Clippers Exercise 2020/21 Option On Landry Shamet

October 29th, 2019 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Clippers have picked up their 2020/21 rookie scale team option on Landry Shamet, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Shamet, 22, was drafted 26th overall in 2018 by the Sixers, then was sent to the Clippers at last season’s deadline in the Tobias Harris blockbuster. He emerged as a reliable rotation piece for both playoff teams, averaging 9.1 PPG on .431/.422/.806 shooting in 79 total games (22.8 MPG).

We heard earlier this afternoon that Los Angeles had exercised its ’20/21 option on Jerome Robinson, so it was only a matter of time until we heard the same on Shamet’s option. It will be worth just $2,090,040. The Clippers will have until October 31, 2020 to pick up Shamet’s $3,768,342 option for 2021/22.

We’re tracking all of the decisions on 2020/21 rookie scale options right here.

Clippers Picking Up Jerome Robinson’s 2020/21 Option

October 29th, 2019 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have exercised their third-year option on Jerome Robinson, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move will guarantee Robinson’s $3,737,520 cap hit for the 2020/21 league year.

A 6’5″ shooting guard, Robinson was the 13th overall pick in the 2018 draft. However, he didn’t see much action in his rookie season, averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.2 RPG in just 9.7 minutes per contest over 33 games. Given all the veteran depth the Clippers have now, the 22-year-old probably won’t play a major role this season either. He has logged just six total minutes through four games.

Still, the Clips project to be over the cap next season and won’t necessarily need to maximize their flexibility, so locking in a prospect like Robinson at a fairly modest price makes sense. Before October 31, 2020, the club will have to decide whether or not to exercise his $5,340,916 option for the 2021/22 season.

Landry Shamet is the other Clipper who has a rookie scale option to be picked up before Thursday’s deadline. That decision will be a no-brainer for the club, given that Shamet is a starter and his 2020/21 option costs just $2.09MM.

Cavs Sign Cedi Osman To Four-Year Extension

October 26th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by clarkcrum

OCTOBER 26, 2:30pm: The Cavaliers have officially signed Osman to his four-year extension, the team announced today in a press release.

OCTOBER 24, 8:59pm: In his full story for Cleveland.com, Fedor details that Osman will earn $8.75MM, $8.05MM, $7.35MM, and $6.65MM (non-guaranteed) over the life of the extension.

OCTOBER 24, 7:48pm: According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the Cavaliers and forward Cedi Osman have agreed to a four-year, $31MM contract extension, per Osman’s representatives. Brian Windhorst of ESPN adds that the figure is $30.8MM and that the final year of the extension is non-guaranteed.

The extension, which will begin next season, will keep the 24-year-old Macedonian under team control through the 2023/24 season. Four seasons is the longest extension Osman could have received, as veteran contract extensions (besides super-max deals) are limited to five total seasons, counting the years remaining on the current contract.

Osman, who is scheduled to make just over $2.9MM this season in the last year of his current deal, could have earned up to 120% of the estimated average salary in the first year of the extension, or just under $11.5MM. Clearly, he’ll not reach that figure based on the reported value of the deal.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com hears that Osman’s salary will decline over the life of the contract and Bobby Marks of ESPN adds that his 2020/21 salary will be $8.6MM. At a decline of 8% per season – the maximum amount allowed under the CBA – Osman’s contract would be worth just under $30.3MM, which is close to the figures reported by Stein and Windhorst.

The Cavaliers will surrender some cap flexibility this upcoming offseason by signing Osman to a deal with a first-year salary about $3.1MM higher than his cap hit would have been, but with so many other potential free agents signing extensions, the Cavs were smart to lock up Osman for the future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hornets Exercise 2020/21 Options On Monk, Bridges

October 25th, 2019 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have picked up their rookie scale team options for 2020/21 on guard Malik Monk and forward Miles Bridges, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. It’s Monk’s fourth-year option and Bridges’ third-year option.

Monk, the 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft, has yet to have the same kind of success at the NBA level that he did at Kentucky, averaging just 7.9 PPG on .377/.336/.871 shooting in 137 career games. He’s still just 21 years old though, and his 2020/21 option of $5,345,687 isn’t a major investment for the rebuilding Hornets. Monk will be eligible for a rookie scale extension 2020 and would be a restricted free agent in 2021 without a new deal.

Bridges, 21, was the 12th overall pick in the 2018 draft. In his rookie season, he averaged 7.5 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 80 games (21.2 MPG). He’ll likely play a key role for the team this season and is now locked in for $3,934,320 in 2020/21. The Hornets will have to make a decision on his 2021/22 team option by October 31, 2020.

Even with Monk and Bridges now on guaranteed salaries for ’20/21, the Hornets should be one of the few teams with a decent chunk of cap room available next summer. Currently, the club has approximately $76.3MM in guarantees on its books for next year, counting Nicolas Batum‘s $27MM+ player option.

Pelicans Pick Up 2020/21 Options On Ball, Hart

October 25th, 2019 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 25: The Pelicans officially exercised their 2020/21 options on Ball and Hart on Friday morning, a source tells Lopez (Twitter link).

OCTOBER 22: The Pelicans are expected to exercise their team options for the 2020/21 season on Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN. The moves will likely become official soon, Lopez adds.

Ball, who will turn 22 on Sunday, was one of the key pieces in the blockbuster trade that sent Anthony Davis to Los Angeles this summer. In two seasons with the Lakers, Ball averaged 10.0 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 6.2 RPG, but shot poorly (.380/.315/.437) and battled injuries, appearing in just 99 games.

He’ll get a chance at a fresh start in New Orleans this season, and the Pelicans are prepared to lock in his $11,003,782 cap hit for 2020/21. The move will make Ball eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2020 offseason. He’ll reach restricted free agency in 2021 if he doesn’t sign a new deal next year.

Hart also arrived in New Orleans as a result of the Davis trade. Like Ball, he was a first-round pick in 2017 and is entering his third season. He saw his shooting numbers dip to .407./.336/.688 last season after posting a .469/.396/.702 line as a rookie, but will be counted on to help the Pelicans space the floor. His fourth-year option for 2020/21 is worth $3,491,159.

We’re tracking all of this year’s rookie scale option decisions for ’20/21 right here.

Bucks Exercising 2020/21 Options On DiVincenzo, Wilson

October 24th, 2019 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

3:50pm: Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel confirms (via Twitter) that the Bucks are exercising Wilson’s fourth-year option in addition to DiVincenzo’s third-year option. Wilson’s 2020/21 option is worth $4,548,280.

2:45pm: The Bucks are picking up their third-year option on Donte DiVincenzo‘s rookie contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). DiVincenzo is already on a guaranteed contract this season, but this move will lock in his $3,044,160 cap charge for the 2020/21 league year.

DiVincenzo, who won a pair of NCAA championships during his time at Villanova, was the 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, but was limited to 27 games during his rookie season due to foot problems. The 22-year-old averaged just 4.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .403/.265/.750 shooting in 15.2 minutes per contest.

Despite a disappointing first year, the Bucks still believe in DiVincenzo, whose modest rookie contract would become a bargain if he develops into a reliable rotation player. Milwaukee’s next decision on the shooting guard will be due on October 31, 2020, when the team has to exercise or decline his $4,675,830 option for 2021/22.

As our tracker of rookie scale option decisions for 2020/21 shows, the Bucks also have a decision to make this year on D.J. Wilson‘s fourth-year option. That one’s a safe bet to be picked up too, so the team will likely announce both moves at the same time.

Rockets Signed, Waived Ronshad Shabazz

October 23rd, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

4:24pm: Agent Cam Brennick of RBA Sports confirms to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) that Shabazz will enter the G League draft, since the Rockets won’t hold his affiliate rights.

While Houston can’t designate Shabazz as an affiliate player, it’s probably safe to assume the Rio Grande Valley Vipers will target him in the NBAGL draft.

3:30pm: The Rockets were one of many NBA teams that signed and immediately waived a player before the regular season, doing so with undrafted rookie guard Ronshad Shabazz, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

In his senior season in 2018/19, Shabazz averaged 18.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG with a shooting line of .496/.376/.815 in 32 games (32.2 MPG).

These sign-and-waive transactions are always G League-related. They’re designed to either make a player eligible to be designated as a G League “affiliate player” or to ensure that a returning-rights G League player receives an Exhibit 10 bonus.

However, the Rockets’ deal with Shabazz was a little different than every other sign-and-waive maneuver completed this fall. Rather than signing the former Appalachian State standout to an Exhibit 10 contract, Houston inked him a two-way contract before releasing him. The moves occurred on Monday, before the club officially converted Chris Clemons‘ contract to a two-way deal.

On the surface, it looks as if the Rockets were trying to secure Shabazz’s G League rights without adding any dead money to their cap. If Shabazz had signed an Exhibit 10 contract on Monday and been cut right away, he wouldn’t have cleared waivers until the second day of the regular season, meaning the tax-conscious Rockets would have been on the hook for about $10K in dead money ($18K for tax purposes) — two days’ worth of his salary.

According to Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & Days, however, NBA teams don’t retain affiliate rights for waived two-way players. That would seem to make Shabazz ineligible to be designated as an affiliate player.

General manager Daryl Morey and the Rockets are pretty savvy with their roster moves, so it’s possible they’ve found a loophole here, or perhaps there’s another motivation for the signing. The official list of 2019 affiliate players should be released next week when G League training camps open, so we’ll see at that point whether or not Shabazz shows up on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ roster.

Hawks Claim Tyrone Wallace Off Waivers

October 23rd, 2019 at 4:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks submitted a successful waiver claim for former Timberwolves point guard Tyrone Wallace, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Wallace was Minnesota’s final cut on Monday as the Wolves trimmed their roster to the league limit.

Atlanta will inherit his $1.6MM non-guaranteed contract, which comes with a daily cap hit of $8,973, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The Hawks are now up to 15 players and will have $3.7MM in remaining cap room as long as Wallace stays on their roster. His contract will become fully guaranteed on January 7, which is the league-wide guarantee date.

Wallace, 25, spent the past two seasons with the Clippers, averaging a 5.5 PPG in 92 combined games. He had a promising rookie season, but fell out of the rotation last year and saw his playing time cut to 10.1 minutes per night. The Wolves claimed him in July after he was waived by L.A.