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Raptors To Decline Malachi Richardson’s Option

October 31st, 2018 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors won’t pick up Malachi Richardson‘s fourth-year option for the 2019/20 season, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (via Twitter). The decision ensures that Richardson will become an unrestricted free agent during the summer of 2019.

Richardson, the 22nd overall pick in 2016, was acquired by the Kings on draft night and spent a season and a half in Sacramento before being sent to the Raptors at last season’s trade deadline. The former Syracuse standout was never able to establish a consistent role with the Kings and hasn’t played much in Toronto either, appearing in just six games for the club since February’s trade.

The $2,581,597 cap hit on Richardson’s 2019/20 option was modest, but every dollar will count for the Raptors, especially if they’re able to re-sign Kawhi Leonard — in that scenario, the team would almost certainly be in luxury tax territory, so replacing Richardson with a minimum-salary player would create substantial savings.

While the Raptors have yet to make an official announcement on 2019/20 rookie scale options, their other decisions are easy ones, as they’ll surely be picking up the options for Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.

Suns To Decline Dragan Bender’s 4th-Year Option

October 30th, 2018 at 6:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns will decline Dragan Bender‘s fourth-year option, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports. The move will free Phoenix of Bender’s $5.8MM salary that he would have received during the 2019/20 season.

“Of course I wish they picked up the option, but I am not going to let this stop me from reaching my goals,” Bender said. “I am 20, and I will keep working to be the best NBA player I can be and make it in this league whether it’s with Phoenix or another team.”

Bender was one of the top prospects in the 2016 Draft and one of the most heavily-scouted European prospects in recent memory. He was expected to form a young, up-and-coming frontcourt combo in Phoenix with fellow first-rounder Marquese Chriss. Chriss has since been traded to Houston and Bender has failed to live up to expectations.

Phoenix has the ability to re-sign Bender after the season, though the team would be limited to offering him a starting salary of $5.8MM. Woj notes that Bender playing with the Suns beyond this season is a “doubtful outcome.”

Pistons Exercise 2019/20 Option On Luke Kennard

October 30th, 2018 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have picked up their 2019/20 team option on former lottery pick Luke Kennard, the team announced today in a press release. As a result, Detroit will carry a guaranteed cap hit of $3,827,160 on its books for Kennard next season.

Kennard, the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, may never reach the level of the player selected one spot after him (Donovan Mitchell), but he’s developing into a reliable contributor for the Pistons. In 76 career games so far, Kennard has averaged 7.6 PPG with an impressive .416 3PT% in a part-time role.

Kennard’s option was one of two that the Pistons had to make a decision on by Wednesday, and it seems his will be the only one exercised. A report from earlier today indicated that Detroit has opted not to pick up Henry Ellenson‘s fourth-year option for 2019/20.

Wizards Sign Chasson Randle

October 30th, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

3:07pm: The Wizards have officially signed Randle, the team announced today in a press release. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks outlines, Randle will earn $7,624 per day on his new minimum salary deal, which will increase Washington’s projected tax bill by $14,956 per day.

1:09pm: The Wizards intend to sign point guard Chasson Randle to an NBA contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Randle was in camp with Washington this fall, but was waived by the club just before the regular season began. Two and a half weeks later, he’ll be re-added to the roster.

As we explained earlier today, NBA teams are generally required to carry at least 14 players on their 15-man regular season rosters, but league rules allow clubs to carry less than that amount for up to two weeks at a time. Because the Wizards only had 13 players on their roster for the first two weeks of the season, a transaction to add a 14th man was required.

Washington was considered likely to stay in-house to fill that roster spot, and it will be Randle who gets the call after having reported to the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. The 25-year-old last appeared in the NBA during the 2016/17 campaign, when he played eight games for the Sixers and 18 for the Knicks. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.3 APG in 11.5 minutes per game during his brief NBA stint.

While Randle will fill the Wizards’ 14th roster spot for now, he’s not locked in for the rest of the season. His new one-year contract will be non-guaranteed, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The league-wide salary guarantee date is January 10, so Randle will have to stick on the roster through that date in order to fully guarantee his salary.

Hornets Pick Up Malik Monk’s 2019/20 Option

October 30th, 2018 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have formally exercised Malik Monk‘s third-year option for the 2019/20 campaign, the team announced today in a press release. The move, which was expected, guarantees Monk’s $4,028,400 cap hit for next season.

Monk, 20, joined the Hornets last year as the 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft. The former Kentucky standout averaged just 6.7 PPG on .360/.342/.842 shooting in 63 games as a rookie, but has seen an increased role in the early going this season. While Monk’s shooting percentages so far have been about the same as last year’s, he has bumped his scoring average to 11.0 PPG through six contests.

The Hornets’ next contract decision on Monk will be due a year from now, when the team will either exercise or decline his fourth-year option for 2020/21. Assuming that option is picked up, the young guard will become extension-eligible during the summer of 2020, and would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2021.

The full list of 2019/20 rookie scale option decisions can be found right here.

Bucks Exercise 2019/20 Options On Maker, Wilson

October 30th, 2018 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have picked up the 2019/20 rookie scale options for former first-round picks Thon Maker and D.J. Wilson, according to Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Velazquez suggests that the Bucks “love” both players and consider them important parts of the club’s present and future.

Maker, the 10th overall pick in the 2016 draft, had a promising rookie season, but didn’t take a noticeable step forward in 2017/18 and has seen inconsistent minutes so far this season. Still, the 21-year-old big man has plenty of upside and his fourth-year option isn’t expensive, with a cap hit of $3,569,643, making the decision a fairly easy one for the Bucks.

The decision to pick up Wilson’s $2,961,120 third-year option is a little more surprising. The second-year forward played just 71 total minutes in his rookie season and hasn’t seen any action so far this season.

Wilson, the 17th pick in the 2017 draft, has been slowed by a hamstring issue this year, but it’s not clear if he’ll be part of the rotation even when he gets healthy, as there were rumblings during the preseason that he wasn’t even a lock for the regular season roster. However, the Bucks are apparently still high enough on him to guarantee his 2019/20 salary.

NBA teams must make their final decisions on rookie scale options for 2019/20 by Wednesday.

Warriors Pick Up Damian Jones’ 2019/20 Option

October 30th, 2018 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

1:26pm: The Warriors have officially exercised Jones’ fourth-year option, the team confirmed today in a press release.

10:01am: The Warriors anticipate picking up their fourth-year team option on center Damian Jones, a league source tells Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group. The team has until Wednesday’s deadline to make the move official.

Exercising Jones’ option would add $2,305,057 in guaranteed money to Golden State’s books for 2019/20. While that’s not a huge cap charge, it will likely be about $700K higher than the cap hit for a veteran’s minimum salary. That difference would increase the projected tax bill for a Warriors team that will be way over the luxury tax threshold if Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson return.

Still, it should be a worthwhile investment for the Warriors, who turned down Kevon Looney‘s rookie scale option a year ago and then watched him outperform his contract during the 2017/18 season. The Dubs were fortunate to retain Looney anyway, but they apparently don’t want to roll the dice again with Jones, who is off to a solid start in 2018/19. In eight games (all starts), the 23-year-old has averaged 6.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.4 BPG with a league-high .778 FG%.

We’re tracking all of the 2019/20 rookie scale option decisions right here.

Nuggets Exercise Options On Murray, Hernangomez, Beasley

October 30th, 2018 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have officially exercised their 2019/20 team options on Jamal Murray, Juan Hernangomez, and Malik Beasley, the team confirmed today (via Twitter). Michael Scotto of The Athletic had reported on Monday that Beasley’s option would be picked up, and the other two were viewed as locks.

The trio of fourth-year options will add about $10.5MM in guaranteed money to the Nuggets’ cap for next season — $4,444,746 for Murray, $3,321,030 for Hernangomez, and $2,731,714 for Beasley. All three players will now be extension-eligible as of July 1, 2019, and would reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2020 if they don’t sign new deals with Denver before then.

Murray, the seventh overall pick in the 2016 draft, is one of the Nuggets’ core pieces. So far this season, he’s averaging 16.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 2.8 APG in six games (31.2 MPG). Hernangomez and Beasley have more modest roles in Denver’s rotation, but have been seeing fairly regular playing time in 2018/19. They’re each averaging just over 15 minutes per contest.

The Nuggets’ announcement doesn’t mention Tyler Lydon, whose third-year option for 2019/20 must also be picked up by tomorrow to avoid making him an unrestricted free agency next July. Lydon has been unable to carve out a role in Denver’s crowded power forward picture, appearing in just three games since being selected 24th overall in the 2017 draft, so the club seems likely to pass on his option.

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

Pistons To Decline Henry Ellenson’s 2019/20 Option

October 30th, 2018 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons will not exercise Henry Ellenson‘s rookie scale option for the 2019/20 season in advance of Wednesday’s deadline, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). By turning down that option, Detroit will put Ellenson on a path to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2019.

Ellenson, 21, has appeared in just 58 games during his two-plus seasons in Detroit since being selected 18th overall in the 2016 draft. He has averaged 3.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG in those 58 games, with an underwhelming .363 FG% in 8.3 minutes per contest.

With Anthony Tolliver no longer a Piston, Ellenson was considered a candidate to earn some playing time in the frontcourt behind Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond this season, but that hasn’t happened so far. Zaza Pachulia has handled most of the backup minutes at center, while smaller forwards like Stanley Johnson and Glenn Robinson III have seen some time at the four. Ellenson has appeared in just one game.

Ellenson’s option for 2019/20 would have been worth $2,856,804. Now, the Pistons will be prohibited from offering a starting salary worth more than that amount if they change course and want to bring him back next season.

The Pistons will also have a decision to make on Luke Kennard before Wednesday — his third-year option for 2019/20 looks like a safe bet to be exercised.

Bulls Exercise Options On Markkanen, Dunn, Valentine

October 30th, 2018 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have exercised their 2019/20 team options on three players, announcing today in a press release that Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, and Denzel Valentine have all had their salaries guaranteed for next season.

Dunn and Valentine were 2016 draft picks, so their options for 2019/20 are for the fourth and final year of their respective rookie scale contracts. Dunn’s will have a cap charge of $5,348,007, while Valentine’s is worth $3,377,569. Both players will be eligible for rookie scale extensions during the 2019 offseason before entering the last year of their rookie deals. If they don’t sign extensions, they’ll remain on track for restricted free agency in 2020.

Markkanen’s $5,300,400 option is for his third year, meaning the Bulls will have one more option decision to make on his rookie contract next October. He won’t be extension-eligible until 2020.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, all three of these young players are currently injured, with Markkanen sidelined by an elbow injury, Dunn recovering from an MCL sprain, and Valentine battling an ankle issue. Barring setbacks, all three players could get back on the court for Chicago within the next four or five weeks.