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With the Final Four set to be determined this weekend and many NBA teams gearing up for the draft, let's take a quick glance at how some players who've had success at the college level have stacked up in the pros. Below is a list of each player currently on an NBA roster who has won an NCAA championship, along with the player's NBA career PER in parentheses. As we can see, guiding your team to a college championship doesn't mean you're going to succeed in the NBA. There are a lot of good, but not great, players here, and Carmelo Anthony is likely the only true superstar talent on this list. He was the only one to play in the All-Star Game this season. So when you hear about a player's draft stock improving as his team advances through the tourney this week and next, take it with a grain of salt.  

Grant Hill, Duke 1991, 1992 (19.2)
Nazr Mohammed, Kentucky 1996, 1998 (15.5)
Mike Bibby, Arizona 1997 (16.1)
Jason Terry, Arizona 1997 (17.5)
Jamaal Magloire, Kentucky 1998 (13.5)
Richard Hamilton, Connecticut 1999 (16.7)
Jason Richardson, Michigan State 2000 (16.5)
Carlos Boozer, Duke 2001 (20.6)
Shane Battier, Duke 2001 (13.0)
Chris Duhon, Duke 2001 (11.0)
Mike Dunleavy, Duke 2001 (14.6)
Steve Blake, Maryland 2002 (11.3)
Chris Wilcox, Maryland 2002 (15.5)
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse 2003 (20.2)
Hakim Warrick, Syracuse 2003 (15.7)
Ben Gordon, Connecticut 2004 (15.3)
Emeka Okafor, Connecticut 2004 (17.1)
Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut 2004 (16.4)
Raymond Felton, North Carolina 2005 (14.3)
Marvin Williams, North Carolina 2005 (13.7)
Corey Brewer, Florida 2006, 2007 (11.2)
Al Horford, Florida 2006, 2007 (18.1)
Joakim Noah, Florida 2006, 2007 (17.5)
Marreese Speights, Florida 2007 (16.6) 
Darrell Arthur, Kansas 2008 (13.2)
Mario Chalmers, Kansas 2008 (12.1)
Brandon Rush, Kansas 2008 (10.4)
Cole Aldrich, Kansas 2008 (13.4)
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 2009 (15.8)
Ty Lawson, North Carolina 2009 (17.5)
Wayne Ellington, North Carolina 2009 (9.2)
Ed Davis, North Carolina 2009 (15.0)
Danny Green, North Carolina 2009 (14.1)
Nolan Smith, Duke 2010 (7.1)
Lance Thomas, Duke 2010 (11.5)
Kemba Walker, Connecticut 2011 (15.4)

With teams making some final tweaks to their rosters heading into the final weeks of the season, let’s take a look at one of the most interesting wrinkles in the NBA salary cap. The cap hold exists primarily to close a loophole. Without cap holds, a team could structure a bunch of its contracts to end simultaneously, giving them cap room to pursue other teams’ free agents while still possessing Bird rights on its own free agents.  Almost every team in the NBA has a cap hold on someone. There are free agent cap holds and draft pick cap holds, but the largest ones fall into the free agent category. Whenever a player’s contract with a team ends, it creates a cap hold (see Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ for how the amount of the cap hold is determined).

So even though a player is no longer getting paid, he can still be on the books for a large number. The cap hold doesn’t go away unless the team waives the player or renounces its rights to him, or until the player signs with another team or formally files retirement papers with the league. Players are often slow to file that paperwork, as there’s no real impetus to do so until they’re eligible for a pension. Teams often won’t renounce the rights to retired players so they can throw them into trades, as with the Keith Van Horn deal a few years ago, and because there’s little reason to do so if the team is over the cap anyway, since cap holds don’t count for luxury tax purposes.

For more on cap holds, check out this post on ShamSports. Here are the largest current cap holds, according to Storytellers Contracts:

Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz: $18,091,250
Wally Szczerbiak, Cavs: $18,091,250
Jeff Green, Celtics:  $11,139,970
Marcus Banks, Hornets: $9,210,413
Darius Songaila, 76ers: $9,154,200
Richard Hamilton, Pistons: $8,430,293
Nenad Krstic, Celtics: $8,314,674
Pat Garrity, Magic: $7,342,075
Julian Wright, Raptors: $7,145,143
Steven Hunter, Grizzlies: $7,022,400
Robert Horry, Spurs $6,897,000
Greg Ostertag, Jazz: $6,305,000
Aaron Brooks, Suns: $5,041,730

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The trade deadline often means expiring contracts receive increased attention, and we listed the largest expiring contracts of 2011/12 last month. With the deadline behind us and the focus eventually shifting to the summer, it's worth taking a look at which teams may have their cap flexibility handicapped by expensive long-term deals.

In many cases, these contracts are ones teams are happy to pay, if it means locking up a top-10 or top-15 NBA player. But some of these deals have the potential to become albatrosses before they expire, if they aren't already. Here's a look at the contracts with the most money remaining on them after this season (minimum $40MM):

* Derrick Rose (Bulls): Five years, $94MM
Joe Johnson (Hawks): Four years, $89.3MM
LeBron James (Heat): Four years, $79.32MM (third-year ETO; fourth-year player option)
Chris Bosh (Heat): Four years, $79.32MM (third-year ETO; fourth-year player option)
Dwyane Wade (Heat): Four years, $77.67MM (third-year ETO; fourth-year player option)
* Russell Westbrook (Thunder): Five years, $78MM
Kevin Durant (Thunder): Four years, $73.69MM
Carmelo Anthony (Knicks): Three years, $67.22MM (third-year ETO)
Amare Stoudemire (Knicks): Three years, $65.04MM (third-year ETO)
Kobe Bryant (Lakers): Two years, $58.3MM
* Kevin Love (Timberwolves): Four years, $58MM (fourth-year ETO)
David Lee (Warriors): Four years, $57.13MM
Rudy Gay (Grizzlies): Three years, $53.67MM (third-year player option)
Nene (Wizards): Four years, $52MM
Zach Randolph (Grizzlies): Three years, $50.8MM (third-year player option)
Al Horford (Hawks): Four years, $48MM
Joakim Noah (Bulls): Four years, $48MM
Carlos Boozer (Bulls): Three years, $47.1MM
LaMarcus Aldridge (Trail Blazers): Three years, $45.38MM
Marc Gasol (Grizzlies): Three years, $44.58MM
Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks): Two years, $43.63MM
Tyson Chandler (Knicks): Three years, $42.3MM
Danilo Gallinari (Nuggets): Four years, $42MM

Note: Players marked with an asterisk signed extensions that will go into effect next season. Their exact contract figures have yet to be determined, so the totals listed are based on various reports.

Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this post.

Only about five weeks remain until the end of the regular season, and with the NCAA Tournament in full swing, NBA teams are beginning to look at draft prospects for next year. With that in mind, it's helpful to look back at previous drafts to see what we can learn. Three years after a draft offers a fairly relevant sample size to judge teams on their selections and players on their performances. It also offers a look ahead to next season, when some of the 2009 draftees will be extension candidates ahead of a chance at restricted free agency in the summer of 2013. Here are the top five overachieving picks from 2009, and the top five underachievers, with the team that drafted them, draft position, and relevant career stats in parentheses.

Overachievers

• Brandon Jennings (Bucks, 10th overall: 16.5 PPG, 5.4 APG, 15.9 PER) He's a lottery pick with a career 38.6 shooting percentage, but when he scored 55 points in his seventh NBA game, he showed why he's got more talent than the average 10th selection. He's improved his field-goal percentage and PPG in each of his three seasons, and the 22-year-old is the Bucks leading scorer this year.
• Marcus Thornton (Heat, 43rd overall: 14.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 17.1 PER) The Heat traded him on draft night to the Hornets, but it's been in Sacramento where Thornton has truly flourished, putting up 21.3 PPG after arriving last year and 18.6 this season. Credit former Kings coach Paul Westphal with putting him in the starting lineup and getting the best out of this former second-round pick. 
• Ty Lawson (Timberwolves, 18th overall: 11.3 PPG, 4.6 APG, 17.6 PER) Of all the point guards the Wolves drafted that year, he might be the best. Unfortunately for Minnesota fans, GM David Kahn traded Lawson to Denver on draft night. Lawson served as an understudy to Chauncey Billups his first year and a half, but was picked to start over Raymond Felton after the Carmelo Anthony trade last year and has held the job ever since. He's averaging a career-high 15.2 PPG and 6.8 APG this season.
• Taj Gibson (Bulls, 26th overall: 7.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 14.6 PER) He became a bench player after starting 70 games in his rookie season, but he often plays the crunch-time minutes of a starter. He's earned coach Tom Thibodeau's trust, which speaks to his defense, and he's tough to handle on boards, averaging 9.7 RPG per 36 minutes for his career.
• DeJuan Blair (Spurs, 37th overall: 8.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 17.3 PER) There aren't many second-rounders who start for contending teams in their third seasons, and fewer still who do it without ACLs in their knees. He plays less than half the game for the Spurs these days, even though he starts, but is efficient in his time, averaging 15.8 PPG and 9.7 RPG per 36 minutes this season.

Underachievers

• Hasheem Thabeet (Grizzlies, 2nd overall: 2.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 10.6 PER) It's not a positive sign for a No. 2 overall pick when he goes down to the D-League in each of his first two seasons, but that's exactly what happened here. Memphis GM Chris Wallace has avoided too much criticism for this one because the spectre of the Blazers' wasted pick of Greg Oden two years prior overshadows it, the Grizzlies have been winning, and the team was able to trade Thabeet in a package that netted Shane Battier, a key figure in their playoff run last year.
• Terrence Williams (Nets, 11th overall: 7.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 10.5 PER) After being waived by the Rockets last week, he's headed for his third NBA team, this time on a 10-day contract with the Kings. That's a long fall for a lottery pick.
• Jordan Hill (Knicks, 8th overall: 5.4 PPG, 4.2 PPG, 14.1 PER) He was traded to Houston midway through his rookie season, and now finds himself with the Lakers after another deadline deal this year. Still, since L.A. gave up trusty Derek Fisher to get him, the Lakers may see enough in Hill to think he can at least carve out a niche as a solid contributor.
• Jonny Flynn (Timberwolves, 6th overall: 9.7 PPG, 3.9 APG, 11.2 PER) David Kahn raised plenty of eyebrows when he followed up his pick of Ricky Rubio at No. 5 with another point guard. He was a reliable insurance policy in his first year as Rubio played overseas, starting 81 games and averaging 13.5 PPG and 4.4 APG. He's started only eight games since, but could see time with his new team in Portland, as the Blazers look at some of their younger players.
• Earl Clark (Suns, 14th overall: 3.0 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 8.7 PER) Buried on the bench with the Suns, Clark got a look as the backup to Dwight Howard after being traded to Orlando last year. His 4.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 11.9 MPG was underwhelming enough for the Magic to give his minutes to Glen Davis this year, and Clark is once more out of the rotation.

Buyouts, waived players and guys returning from China are keeping the NBA rumor mill interesting even after the trade deadline. Several teams have the chance to improve themselves by picking up a contributor for the final weeks and the playoffs. So, we ask which player with a new team after the trade deadline will have the greatest impact. This list includes a mix of guys who are already on their new teams and some who are still negotiating. We'll include Chris Kaman, as even though the Hornets seem to want to keep him, the notion that the No. 1 buyout candidate will hit the open market remains at least a slight possibility.

Another deadline looms over the NBA this week. Players must clear waivers by Friday to be eligible for the playoffs with a new team, and many of them are in the process of negotiating buyouts with their current teams to obtain the freedom to sign elsewhere. With a buyout, a player is essentially paying for his free agency by giving back a portion of his contract. Sometimes it's a relatively small fraction of the contract's worth, and other times, as with Mike Bibby last year, it's a sizable chunk of money. Teams may be motivated to do a buyout for cap relief, as the reduced value of the contract, and not its original value, is what counts on the ledger. For more on buyouts and their affect on the salary cap, check out Larry Coon's CBA FAQ.

As this year's crop of buyouts gets ready for harvest, let's take a look back at what happened to the players who agreed to buyouts last year: 

• Mike Bibby renounced $6,217,616 of his salary over two seasons when he reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards on February 28. Scheduled to make $5,764,767 in 2010/11 and $6,417,616 in 2011/12, he received $4,438,893 last year and gets $1,125,874 this year from the contract. (The contract also netted Bibby $400K in incentives). He signed with the Heat on March 2, earning $342,022 for the rest of the season. He started all but the final playoff game for Miami, averaging 3.7 points, 1.2 assists and 20.8 minutes in the postseason. He has played a limited role with the Knicks this season on a 1,352,181 minimum-salary deal. The $1.125MM he gets from his bought out contract still counts as a cap hit against the Wizards this year.
• Troy Murphy gave up $300K of the $11,968,253 remaining on his expiring contract when he and the Warriors reached a buyout agreement February 28. The Celtics picked him up March 2 for $310,929, so Murphy came out ahead by close to $11K. Though he averaged 10.5 MPG off the bench for the Celtics during the regular season, he played a total of just three minutes in the playoffs. He signed with the Lakers for the veteran’s minimum of $1,352,181, and as the first big man off the bench, he’s averaged 3.4 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 18 MPG.
• Al Thornton was making $2,814,196 in the final year of his rookie contract last year, and gave back $100K in a buyout with the Wizards on March 1. He latched on with the Warriors for $218,677 on March 3 and settled into the rotation, averaging 6.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 14.3 MPG. Nonetheless, the 14th pick in the 2007 draft has not played in the league this season, and signed with a Puerto Rican team last month.
• Corey Brewer’s was making $3,703,472 in the final year of his rookie contract with the Timberwolves when he was shipped to the Knicks in the three-team Carmelo Anthony deal. On March 1, he agreed to cut his salary to $3.2MM in a buyout. Two days later, the Mavs used their midlevel exception to sign him to a three-year, $7.452MM deal. He played in 13 regular season games for the Mavericks, performing well in just 11.4 MPG, compiling PER (17.6) and points per 36 minutes (16.8) numbers well above his career marks. He was an afterthought in the playoffs though, appearing for just 23 total minutes as the Mavs made their championship run. Seeking to shed salary, Dallas traded Brewer and Rudy Fernandez to the Nuggets for a second-round pick before this season. Seeing 21.8 MPG, Brewer is averaging 9.8 PPG, the best scoring output of his career save for 13.0 PPG in 2009/10.
• Jared Jeffries forfeited $1MM of his $6,883,800 salary on February 25 to get a buyout from the Rockets. He signed a $316,584 minimum-salary deal on March 1 with the Knicks, who had sent him to Houston in a 2010 trade. A favorite of coach Mike D’Antoni’s, he saw 19.3 MPG in the regular season but was largely ineffective en route to a career-worst 34.9% shooting percentage. He bounced back in the playoffs, averaging 6.3 PPG on 47.8% from the floor. The Knicks brought him back on another minimum deal for $1,229,255 this season, and while he’s averaged 4.8 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 20.5 MPG this year, his playing time has been cut back somewhat under new coach Mike Woodson.
• Eddy Curry’s six-year, $56,014,078 contract finally came off the Knicks books last year when they shipped him to the Timberwolves as part of the Carmelo Anthony trade. The Wolves absorbed a $504,459 trade kicker, but wasted little time divesting themselves of Curry. He agreed to give back $250K in a buyout March 1, yet still wound up pocketing more than $11.53MM from the final year of his massive deal. The buyout turned out to be a waste for Curry, who didn’t catch on with another team last year. The Heat signed him to a $1,352,181 minimum-salary deal before this season, but has used Curry for a total of just 46 minutes all year.

Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this post.

A few weeks ago, I broke down some of the rules and regulations on trades in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Now that the trade deadline has passed and we've seen a number of deals consummated, it's worth a look back to see how those trade rules applied to this week's moves.

As we run through the trades, explaining the financial details for each team, keep in mind that each club involved in a deal can break down a trade in different ways. Jeff Kramer of Storytellers Contracts explained this splendidly in a piece on this week's Andrew Bogut/Monta Ellis trade for Blazer's Edge. Although the total salaries going each way matched up almost perfectly, the Bucks broke down the move into two separate trades, while the Warriors viewed it as three separate transactions. This way, each team was able to acquire a sizeable traded player exception that wouldn't have been possible by viewing the trade as a single, simultaneous transaction.

For more clarification on this point, check out Kramer's piece, revisit Larry Coon's CBA FAQ, and feel free to ask questions in the comments section of this post. Also, be sure to check out our list of outstanding traded player exceptions, which has been updated to reflect all the info below.

Here's the complete breakdown of this week's trades:

Read more

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With just hours to go before the trade deadline, it’s worth taking a look at a set of stumbling blocks that might be making some potential deals a lot harder: trade kickers.

A trade kicker, or trade bonus, is an amount of money paid to a player if he is traded during his contract. Only a few players have trade kickers as a part of their deals, many of them stars who can command such clauses during negotiations. Trade kickers are usually a certain percentage of the remaining value of the contract, but sometimes they are a fixed amount. In either case, they can’t exceed 15% of the deal’s remaining value.

For salary cap purposes, the kicker counts toward the cap of the team acquiring the player, and the bonus is spread evenly over the remaining years of the contract. So, if Player X has a $2.5MM trade kicker and two more seasons left on his contract after this year, the kicker counts as $500K for the rest of this season and $1M each for the next two seasons.

For more on trade kickers, check out Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ page. Here’s a roundup of players with trade kickers, with the value in parentheses.

Atlanta:
Josh Smith (15%)

Boston:
Kevin Garnett ($1,751,394)
Ray Allen (15%)
Jermaine O’Neal (7.5%)

Cleveland:
Anderson Varejao (5%)

Dallas:
Shawn Marion (15%)

L.A. Clippers:
DeAndre Jordan (15%)

L.A. Lakers:
Kobe Bryant (15%)
Pau Gasol (15%)
Metta World Peace (15%)
Luke Walton (7.5%)

Orlando:
Hedo Turkoglu ($415,850 for each 2011/12 and 2012/13)
Quentin Richardson (15%)

San Antonio:
Tim Duncan (15%)
Manu Ginobili (5%)

Toronto:
Jose Calderon (10%)
Andrea Bargnani (5%)
Amir Johnson (5%)

Note: A player's salary plus his trade bonus is not permitted to exceed the maximum salary for that year, so some of these bonuses would be unavailable in the case of a trade.

Storytellers Contracts and Yahoo! Sports were used in the creation of this list.