Name that player!
December 4th, 2013
As is my wont of an evening, I sometimes trawl through the rosters and box scores of the more obscure leagues of this world, looking for two things – players I’ve heard of (so as to see what they’re now up to), and any novelties I happen upon along the way. In doing so today, I found the following eyecatching player description. According to the internet, the perfect basketball player exists. His EuroBasket.com profile describes him as follows: An emotional leader on the court. A highflyer. Very talented player that can move easily from SG to SF and even some limited minutes at PG because of his GREAT court vision. Has great range on his shot and is a threat well beyond the 3 pt arc as he has worked to improve his accuracy beyond the line. Handles opposing pressure very well allowing team mates to score open easy buckets. He cannot be double teamed as he kills opposing teams with the right passes and athletic drives to the basket. Has the ability to take over a game when necessary at either end of the floor. A very athletic player he also has the ability to rebound with the best of them when necessary. Also a great defender will always be called upon to shut down the opposing teams’ best player. Very athletic with great body control allows him to take contact and finish strongly at the rim to consistently get the shot off. Will find a variety of ways to score and will make good shot selections with the shot clock running down. That player sounds perfect. The perfect all around player, great offensively and defensively, unselfish, a perfect team mate, a perfect son in law, wonderful husband material, the works. This player seems like they’re destined for the […]
The amount of cap room teams actually have, updated
July 25th, 2013
The previous post attempted to explain how much cap room all NBA teams would (or wouldn’t) actually have in this upcoming free agency period. It was a bit presumptuous. It had to be. Now, we can be reflective. Here’s what’s left. All salary information is taken from this website’s own salary pages. All figures taken from the day of publication – if subsequent trades/signings are made, then adjust accordingly. No trades are assumed to be taking place here. Guesswork and speculation aren’t helpful. It is vital – VITAL – that you understand what a “cap hold” is before you read this. An explanation can be found here. Atlanta Hawks Committed salary for 2013/14: $53,314,578 (view full forecast) Possible cap space: $6,878,477. Committed salaries: Al Horford: $12,000,000 Paul Millsap: $9,500,000 Jeff Teague: $8,000,000 Kyle Korver: $6,760,563 Lou Williams: $5,225,000 Elton Brand: $4,000,000 DeShawn Stevenson: $2,240,450 Dennis Schroder: $1,348,200 John Jenkins: $1,258,800 Jared Cunningham: $1,208,400 Shelvin Mack: $884,293 Mike Scott: $788,872 Jeremy Tyler: $100,000 Cap holds: Lucas Nogeira: $1,419,200 Ivan Johnson: $1,250,854 Anthony Tolliver: $884,293 Total: $56,868,925 = $1,810,075 in cap room. This amount can be increased. Stevenson is unguaranteed with no guarantee date, as is Mack, and Scott can be waived for no cost before August 15th. Waive them three, renounce Johnson and Tolliver, and, after adding two roster charges, Atlanta now has cap space of $6,878,477. With a cap room MLE to spend after that. Note, however, that DeMarre Carroll is to be factored in. His signing is agreed upon but not yet finalised, and when it happens, figures are to be adjusted accordingly. Charlotte Bobcats Committed salary for 2013/14: $52,392,131 (view full forecast) Possible cap space: $6,222,408 Committed salary: Al Jefferson: $13,500,000 Ben Gordon: $13,200,000 Ramon Sessions: $5,000,000 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: $4,809,840 Cody Zeller: $3,857,040 Bismack Biyombo: $3,049,920 Josh McRoberts: […]
It’s official – Keith Bogans will earn $5,058,198 next year. All guaranteed. Keith Bogans.
July 15th, 2013
Happy? You should be. Keith Bogans has an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time. He has become throughout his NBA career the archetypal three-and-D wing role player, the kind of piece you want around star point guards or big men (or both), who’ll defend opposing stars for a few pesky minutes a night and not risk anything more offensively than taking some open threes. Yet despite not being significantly above average at either, and in no way any more of a stand-out talent in relation to the dozens of other suitable candidates for the role, Bogans’s medicority is nonetheless a sure thing, a known commodity, a risk-free contributor who’ll neither say nor do nothing confrontational. Teams like that, and, because of this, he has time and again landed starting roles, often on competitive teams. In a talent vacuum, he’s not worth this opportunity or luxury, yet by continuing to land these gigs, Bogans is doing something right. Normally, of course, this role doesn’t earn very much. Keith has mostly been a minimum salary player throughout his career, only rarely exceeding it, and this reflect his minimal contributions. None of this is meant pejoratively – Bogans plays a role, plays it fairly well, and yet the role is small and replacable, so so is its salary. This, however, is all change in light of Keith’s new contract. The rebuilding Boston Celtics insisted upon Jason Terry (and, primarily, his salary) being included in the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade with the Nets. Either he or Courtney Lee. Brooklyn could afford it and were prepared to pay it, but, in light of all their recent roster turnover, they didn’t have the necessarily medium-size expiring contracts that are so useful in trade scenarios that would have facilitated it. In […]
Did Milwaukee pick up Gustavo Ayon’s option? Yes. Will they have to do so again in a week? Also yes.
July 15th, 2013
Gustavo Ayon, thinking of victims A month ago, it was widely reported via all media outlets (though seemingly originating from Mexico) that the Bucks had picked up Gustavo Ayon’s team option for next season. This week, the story’s doing the rounds that the Bucks need to pick up his option. This, on the surface, rather counters the former. In reality, both are right. The confusion stems from the terminology used. Only one is actually an option – the other just functions much like one. An explanation follows. As explain in a couple of blog posts, but firstly this one of 2010, no one really gives out team options any more. All rookie scale contracts have two of them, but very very few other contracts do – indeed, headed into this offseason, there were only six in total in the entire league (Francisco Garcia, Dante Cunningham, Jodie Meeks, Mario Chalmers, John Lucas III and Ayon). With all of those having been decided upon this summer, we see then that, unless only fresh ones were given out in this summer’s contracts – and none have as of yet – there will be no non-rookie scale team options in the league at all. That’s how rare they are. Ayon, though, was one of the rare few to have one. Yet his case is itself a further exception. You’d think that team options gave you a year. They do, pretty much – a team option is a decision at the team’s discretion as to whether they wish to extend the contract for one season at prearranged terms. And they can only ever be for one year – not two, nor three, or part of one, but for one whole year. In saying yes and exercising the team option, the team validates the year’s contract, […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Vegas – D-League Select
July 13th, 2013
Zach Andrews Since graduating from Bradley in 2007, Andrews spent four years touring the world’s lower leagues, then joined the reformed L.A. D-Fenders in 2011. He spent a full season with the team, averaging 8.4 points and 6.8 rebounds, then left last summer to go to Italy with Montegranaro. However, Andrews disappointed there, and was released after posting 6 points and 6 fouls in 28 minutes. He then returned to the D-Fenders and posted a further 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in the final 32 games of the season, Andrews has a good frame (6’9, 230lbs), hustles, and is athletic. But he’s not offensively skilled and defends via the foul. At 28, the D-League is the highest standard he has ever played to, save for the time in Italy, in which he looked highly overmatched. He’s a D-League role player, not an NBA one. Brian Butch Butch remains just outside the NBA, and just did his fourth stint in the D-League, hoping to bridge the final gap. In 47 games with the Bakersfield Jam, he averaged 12.7 points and 10.9 rebounds in only 29.7mpg, shooting 44%, 33% and 68%. More importantly, he stayed healthy for the full season. It is true that he can’t be a stretch big of all that much effectiveness when scoring so inefficiently, but it’s also true that that’s one hell of a rebounding rate. He doesn’t need athleticism to do it in the D-League and he won’t need it to do it in the NBA either. Nick Covington 27 year old Covington started his professional career in, of all places, Ireland. Having started at the absolute bottom of the pro basketball ladder, he slowly made his way up it, going via the ABA, Estonia and Romania to being a seventh round pick in the 2011 […]
Complete History of Luxury Tax Payments, Updated for 2012/13
July 10th, 2013
This website and its sole proprietor keep a spreadsheet containing to-the-dollar information on all luxury tax paid to date. In the 12 seasons since the luxury tax was created, it has been applicable in ten seasons; in those ten seasons, 24 NBA franchises have paid over $920 million in payroll excess. The exact details can be found here. (Sorted alphabetically – click to enhance.) (Sorted by expenditure – click to enhance.) Please use the spreadsheet freely for resource purposes, and feel equally free to suggest any improvements. However, please do not just take it, and if you do cite its data somewhere, please acknowledge its source. While the content is not my IP, I did spend a long time sourcing the relevant information, and in return, I seek only credit for that. Thank you.
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Orlando
July 9th, 2013
Jared Berggren True to the Wisconsin way, Berggren makes few mistakes on the court. Or at least, he does now. Throughout his career, Berggren significantly reduced his foul and turnover rates to the point that they’re now very strong suits of his. He also got bigger and tougher, turning himself into a sufficiently mediocre rebounder and much improved rim protector. Tougher, however, is not the same as tough. Berggren is frail, still too frail to play with NBA muscle on both ends. Recognising this and taking more jump shots to diversify his decent internal finishing would have been a successful move had he hit a good number of said shots. This didn’t happen, and thus Berggren projects best as a defender and finisher who can’t do such things as well against bigger opponents. Not an NBA combination. But he will make money in European leagues, such as the German and Belgian ones. Keith Clanton Clanton rather stagnated as an upperclassman, but still left UCF as the all-time leader in games, rebounds and blocks. Statistically, aside from some extra percent on his free throw and three point strokes, there is a lot to like. The mostly face-up power forward has decent if unspectacular size and athleticism, and a versatile skill set. Clanton can create in the post and finish with a turnaround jumper or with a hook with both hands, shoots reasonably well from mid-range (although he could stand to improve here, as well as shoot a bit quicker), can straight-line drive, and run the pick-and-roll. He rebounds well and can defend the basket even without overwhelming physical tools. However, it is this lack of physical tools that will surely prevent an NBA career of note. Like Berggren, he will make money in Europe, and may progress to the higher levels […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Miami
July 9th, 2013
Jackie Carmichael Carmichael would likely have been drafted were he from a bigger school. He scores around the paint with good touch, rebounds the ball, and protects the rim without fouling. He’s big enough, athletic enough, skilled enough, to make the NBA. But he just wasn’t seen enough. Ian Clark Clark is this draft’s designated point guard shooter, an efficient one with sufficient size and wingspan to project as a capable defender of the position, even if he hasn’t the playmaking skills to ever be a “true” one. It is odd, then, that he was not drafted. The league always needs shooters, and it just passed on one. Just like the similarly overlooked Carmichael, then, Young has to make it in the hard way. And he might. Vincent Council Council is a markedly poor shooter who takes a high number of shots. To be blunt, his shortcomings are really, really short. Council can’t shoot, but he does. He can pass, and will, but he can’t consistently run a halfcourt. He can steal the ball, but he can’t keep opponents out of the lane. And he can be dynamic in transition, yet it’s heavily undermined by his poor decision making in all facets. There are too many holes in Council’s game to justify him making it as an uptempo third point guard specialist. There are other candidates without them. Dewayne Dedmon Dedmon is about to turn 24, and was seemingly too old to be drafted as a prospect. But a prospect, he is. Last year for USC, he averaged 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in only 23 minutes per game. He’s old in relation to his level of development, a touch thin, and raw on the ball skills, but is he really any further behind the curve than Saer […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Philadelphia
July 8th, 2013
Michael Carter-Williams Criticisms of Carter-Williams include that he can’t shoot, and he can’t make contested shots at the basket either, as he’s too slender. He’s raw, he’s too turnover prone, he doesn’t use his left hand enough, and he makes poor decisions. All true enough, and all sound bad. But all can be worked at. What Carter-Williams does undeniably possess is size, a handle, the ability to score in isolation and in transition, a knack for getting to the rim more with guile than speed, passing skills and vision, and an innate skill for the penetrate-and-dish. If he needs to get bigger, tougher and smarter while developing a jump shot, that’s fine. So do most 21 year old guards. D.J. Cooper Cooper couldn’t have done much more for Ohio than he did, leading them to multiple NCAA tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16, and averaging 14.1 points and 7.1 assists per game. He did so while averaging 42% shooting, a marked improvement on his 34% the year before, and upped his three point percentage to 36%. A better jump shot is essential to the sub-six footer, who, no matter how good his passing and handles, and how blazing his speed, needs to be able to make shots to make the league. He’s both smaller and slower than Patty Mills, for example, so he needs to compensate. Micheal Eric Eric was signed to a substantially guaranteed contract with the Cavaliers last season – over 60% of it, in fact – and then was waived before the season started anyway. He then went to the D-League, and, although he played pretty well (8.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 22 minutes per game), he was nonetheless outplayed by Arinze Onuaku. Eric has shot blocking instincts, size, and effort both defensively and […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Utah
July 8th, 2013
Jeff Brooks Brooks has improved year on year and now finds himself playing a decent role for one of the best teams in a strong league. Playing for Cantu in Italy’s SerieA, Brooks averaged 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as one of the few non-shooters on a perimeter oriented team. His tremendous athleticism is a mismatch, particularly against the slower European forwards. When plugged in, Brooks can defend interior and perimeter forwards, take the slower ones off the dribble with a decent handle, fly out in transition and hit open mid range jump shots. William Buford Buford’s first professional season was not a good one. He was able to land a spot in Spain’s ACB, very rare for an American rookie, but in 31 games for Obradoiro, Buford averaged only 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He scored 108 points on 136 shots, shooting 34% from two and 25% from three, in what was frankly a nothing year for him. Perhaps this summer league stint can be a springboard from which to restart his career. Trey Burke Utah have been searching very, very proactively for a point guard, a “proper” one of some calibre, since Deron Williams left. Figured that search would culminate with someone like Jose Calderon or Andre Miller. Trumped that and then some. Alec Burks Burks stagnated a bit as a sophomore, although the signs of improved range are positive. The arrival of Burke should facilitate his offence from now on and improve his efficiency, and the apparent commitment to the youth movement means he shouldn’t lack for opportunity from here on out. You can’t commit to a youth movement if you’re DNP-CDing your lottery picks. Dionte Christmas After (and because of) his summer league performance last year, Christmas signed a contract with the […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Detroit
July 8th, 2013
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Cuttino Mobley. Just putting it out there. And if he can’t shoot like Cuttino Mobley yet, that’s OK, because nor could Cuttino Mobley at that age. Andre Drummond We won’t know until it’s over quite whether or not Drummond’s career is a reminder of why mental make-up tests shouldn’t be too overvalued in light of a player’s actual abilities and impact, but the indications from his rookie season suggest that it will be. Kim English To stick in this league, English will have to not just be a catch-and-shoot player, but also as a shooter off of screens and occasionally off of the bounce. He showed in college that he could potentially do this if he could develop the extra range required, but he has yet to show this has happened. Due to having had no opportunity to do so. Ryan Evans Evans is a wing man with a famously poor outside jump shot, so it’s probably a slight contradiction that last year, he started to take jump shots for free throws. If he could shoot, he’d be a great prospect, an above average defensive player (who can defend inside and out) and very good rebounder from the swingman positions with length, athleticism, transition finishes and some off-the-dribble game. But the lack of a jumper submarines it all, and it seems it’s trending backwards. JaJuan Johnson Johnson’s pro career has thus far been a jarring disappointment. Last year he played for three different D-League teams, this after being picked first overall in the draft. He was traded twice, once for Luke Harangody and once for Kyle Weaver, and his averages declined at each gig. By the end of the year, Johnson found himself averaging only 6.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game for the Idaho Stampede. […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Brooklyn
July 8th, 2013
Keith Benson Benson has spent the past two summer leagues and training camps with the Hawks, but seemingly that well has dried up. He briefly played in the NBA, managing nine minutes with the Warriors late in 2011-12, but didn’t make it back last year. Benson spent most of last season in the D-League, averaging 10.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in only 23 minutes per game in two stints with the Erie BayHawks, bookending a stay in the Philippines, where he averaged 23.6 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game for Talk’N’Text in the Commissioners Cup. However, import big men ALWAYS put up big numbers in the Philippines, as there are very few domestic big men to compete with them. And so despite the ostensibly gaudy numbers, Benson was released for being “ineffective”, and replaced by Donnell Harvey, who was acquired to bring the “toughness, interior defence and communication” that Benson just didn’t. Therein lies the story with Benson – he’s tall, athletic, fluid, and fairly skill, but he’s just not tough enough, and shot blocking is not the same as defence. Jamelle Hagins Hagins just graduated from Delaware, where he was a three time CAA All-Defensive Team selection, and last year’s Defensive Player of the Year. As a senior, he averaged 11.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, on an efficient 55% FG and 74% FT. Hagins was an invite to the Portsmouth Invitation Tournament, where he played extremely well in all facets of the game, demonstrating both his skills and his athleticism. In addition to this athleticism and fluidity of motion, Hagins has a strong frame, good rebounding instincts, hustle, a hook shot with both hands, and a mid range jumper. He rotates well, plays strong post defence, and, whilst not being a […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Boston
July 8th, 2013
Tim Abromaitis Abromaitis began his professional career this season in France, playing for perennial powerhouse ASVEL Villerbanne and averaging 8.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. He shot his usual 41% from three point range, and didn’t make many mistakes, yet nor did he (or does he) do much other than shoot. He doesn’t have Kyle Korver’s ability to get open or shoot off screens, he’s not as tall as Steve Novak, not as athletic as James Jones, and not as lucky as Luke Zeller. Abromaitis could in theory have Pat Garrity’s role in the NBA, but Pat Garrity was considerably better than Abromaitis before becoming the specialist that he did. Courtney Fells Fells continues to plug away in summer league, hoping to catch on, and has built up one of the biggest resumes of anyone here. He’s spent the last two regular seasons in Israel and the last two summers in the Dominican Republic, rarely getting hurt and certainly putting in his work. The off-ball scorer averaged 12.3 points per game for Hapoel Jerusalem this season, and his decision making and shot selection skills continue to show incremental improvements. However, Fells is still not a playmaker, still average to mediocre in the rest of the game other than the jump shot, and, nice as his shot is, it still doesn’t have electric three point range. A shooting specialist can’t always shoot in the 30% range. Fells would potentially have a Von Wafer-like role if his jump shot could make the leap, but it still hasn’t. Jayson Granger Granger’s decision to come to summer league now, after spending his entire career to date in Spain, is interesting. With his contract with Estudiantes this summer, perhaps this is his best chance of making the NBA. Granger continues to […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Indiana
July 8th, 2013
Rasual Butler Butler returned to the D-League last season in an attempt to springboard himself back into the NBA. He played well, averaging 17.8 points and 5.1 rebounds for the Tulsa 66ers. However, aged 34, the once-good athleticism has largely gone, save for flashes. Butler would like to cash in on a reputation as a three-and-D guy, but the reality of his situation is that he’s average at both, and only ever was. He has been a sub-par NBA player for years – this isn’t meant pejoratively, although it’s appreciated that it’s hard to take it any other way – and he’s not going to reverse that now. Chris Daniels Years of summer leaguing it up finally paid off for Daniels with a training camp contract with the Lakers last season. He consistently remains on the cusp of the NBA because he’s legitimately good, a jump shooter with range and legit size who can also block shots and rebound when he puts his mind to it. But this latter thing is also what has kept him on that side of the fence – Daniels doesn’t always try that hard, be it on individual possessions, entire games, or in his overall conditioning. Even when he does, the reputation now precedes him. Nevertheless, Daniels routinely produces at this level, and he will likely do so again. Micah Downs In his first D-League season, Downs got out to a blistering start, the closest thing to a prime Andrei Kirilenko that the Maine Red Claws have ever seen. He tapered off over the final two months but still finished with season averages of 16.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Downs has always had tools but has never had a great run of actually putting them together. This year, admittedly […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Houston
July 8th, 2013
James Anderson Anderson landed an extended run with Houston last season, and, although the unguaranteed nature of his contract makes his position rather tenuous, he’s done enough to merit the minimum. He could have a Danny Green-like role for someone if he can hone that jumper further. Patrick Beverley Houston was better when Beverley was at point guard last year than anyone else. He is a steal of a contract, and despite concerns about consistency being entirely valid, he would be a perfectly capable starter alongside James Harden. And that day might be upon us some day soon. Vander Blue Blue unexpectedly declared for the draft, after what was a good year for his program but not necessarily a good one for him. As of right now, it’s not obvious what role he could fit. He has a shooting guard’s height, great athleticism, and a strong transition game, yet his jump shot is mediocre, and much as some may want him to play point guard on account of his decent passing vision and pick-and-roll game, he cannot handle the ball sufficiently to be a full time one. Blue needs to develop more, and while he can do so while still being paid to play, he needs consistent work somewhere and minimal upheaval to do so. The D-League, then, may be the place. Isaiah Canaan The leader and best player of an extremely fun Murray State team, Canaan is mostly a shooter. And he’s an explosive one. The 37% three point percentage belies him somewhat, as Canaan can take over games purely from deep, and often has done. He can create these looks off the dribble, hit them off the catch-and-shoot, has a high quality pull-up jumper, and shoots so quickly that he still gets them off despite his lack of […]
Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin’s contract situations
July 8th, 2013
In light of one or both of these two being about to be traded, there exists a new realm of questions about this two unusual, nearly-novel deals. The questions surround what they’re being paid, and what they’re being charged to the salary cap. People don’t know which set of figures to believe, and the confusions stems from the fact that those two questions actually have two different answers. “Salary” and “cap number” are usually assumed to be synonymous with each other on account of the fact that they normally are, with rare exceptions. Occasionally, exceptions can be found in buyout agreements (I believe, though cannot say decisively, that the Blazers were still playing Shawn Kemp up to and including last season), but not with valid contracts. These deals, then, are an exception. And that’s why they need clarifying. Using the Arenas provision, Lin and Asik signed for the most Houston could give them over three years – $25,123,938. The contracts called for them to be paid an even $5 million in 2012/13, $5.225 million in 2013/14, and $14,898,938 in 2014/15. For the purposes of where we’re going, it doesn’t matter how these figure was arrived at, only what they are and where we’re going. The cap number for these contracts calls for that $25,123,938 contract to be split evenly across all three years, i.e. $8,374,646 each season. This is true despite of the actual payment schedule being what it is above. So when someone asks “what are Lin and Asik getting paid?”, the answer could be either, technically. On a literal interpretation of the question, the payment schedule is the right answer. Yet when people ask that, what they really want to know, even if they don’t know there’s a difference, is what is their cap number. That’s the one […]
There IS a difference between “team option” and “unguaranteed”, and it DOES matter
July 3rd, 2013
Several years ago, I wrote a piece called Creative Financing in the NBA, that sought to address and highlight a few quirky salaries and salaries mechanisms handed about that season. In that piece, I also spent a long time addressing the difference between team options and unguaranteed salaries. Often times, unguaranteed salaries are reported in the mainstream press as being team options, even though the two mechanisms are different. And often times, this is fine, because the differences don’t really matter. Not to the casual fan, at least. Nevertheless, differences do exist. Some of the initial post is quoted below that explains these differences: Unguaranteed or partially guaranteed final seasons are becoming quite the trend in the NBA, and they are quickly replacing team options. In fact, there are only 11 team options in the entire league […] There are very few instances in which contracts must be guaranteed. In fact, there are only two; the first year of a signed-and-traded contract, and the first two years of a rookie scale contract (which must be guaranteed for a minimum of 80% of the scale amount). Nothing else has to be guaranteed, but it is self-evident that almost all are. Would you accept an unguaranteed contract as a player? Not without incentive to do so, no. It is self evident why so many contracts are fully guaranteed. Yet the unguaranteed contract fad has its basis in logic. In a lot of cases, unguaranteed contracts function much like team options do. However, there are some significant advantages to doing it in this way, which is why it happens. The differences: 1) Team options have to be decided upon by the final day of the previous season. Seasons change over on July 1st, and thus team options must be decided upon by June […]
Salary Bookkeeping, 2013
July 1st, 2013
July 1st is (the date on which one season ends and the next one begins, and thus June 30th (and the week preceding it) is an important cut-off date for certain transactions. Players with player or early termination options had to decide if they were coming back; the few players with team options awaited an uncertain future; players eligible for QO’s had to see if they got them. All the results are in now, and there follows a list of who did what before July 1st. NB: free agent statuses taken as of April 22nd 2013. The following players opted in: – Charlotte = Ben Gordon – Dallas = Shawn Marion – Detroit = Charlie Villanueva – Golden State = Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush – L.A. Lakers = Metta World Peace – Memphis = Jerryd Bayless – Miami = Ray Allen, James Jones and Rashard Lewis – Philadelphia = Kwame Brown – San Antonio = Patrick Mills and Boris Diaw – Toronto = Aaron Gray and Linas Kleiza – Utah = Marvin Williams – Washington = Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor The following players opted out: – Brooklyn = C.J. Watson – Cleveland = Marreese Speights – Dallas = O.J. Mayo – Denver = Andre Iguodala – Golden State = Carl Landry – Milwaukee = Monta Ellis – Minnesota = Andrei Kirilenko – New York = J.R. Smith The following players had their 2013/14 team options exercised: – L.A. Lakers = Jodie Meeks – Miami = Mario Chakmers – Milwaukee = Gustavo Ayon – Minnesota = Dante Cunningham The following players had their team options declined: – Houston = Francisco Garcia – Toronto = John Lucas III (No one really gives out team options any more. For an explanation as to why, read the opening of this.) […]
Mavericks to sign Gal Mekel to three year guaranteed deal
July 1st, 2013
It was actually three, but close enough. Looking to reinvent their point guard rotation, the Dallas Mavericks have looked to the overseas market, and will sign Israeli national team point guard Gal Mekel. Mekel has been named in NBA circles in recent times, as he has participated in a series of workouts and free agent camps for teams around the league, hoping to catch on. Recently, this culminated into accepting an offer to join the Milwaukee Bucks’ summer league team. Yet in signing a three year, fully guaranteed deal, Mekel has done much more than merely catch on. Mekel played for Wichita State between 2006 and 2008, establishing himself as a solid but unspectacular point guard who shot too much and had absolutely no NBA prospects. However, after leaving college after his sophomore season and returning to his native Israel, Mekel (who also has a Polish passport) has improved markedly and emerged as one of the best floor generals on the continent. In winning last year’s Israel Premier League MVP award, the 6’3 Mekel recorded per game averages of 13.3 points and 5.4 assists (good for second in the league), including a 21 point 7 assist 3 steal outing in the deciding championship game. Mekel commands games with passing vision, ball handling, high basketball IQ, genuine leadership skills and a deadly pick-and-roll game, and, while he’s not fast and lacks a good outside jump shot, he nonetheless brings a wealth of transferrable skills to the NBA. Last year, Mekel impressed the Utah Jazz so much that they extended him a training camp offer, one he was only prevented from taking due to visa problems. This year, he’s done a lot better than that. Mekel’s three year guaranteed minimum salary contract will pay him $490,180, $816,482 and $947,276 over the next […]
Anthony Tolliver earned $273,697 and counting for one day of work, and it’s all thanks to Sasha Pavlovic
June 11th, 2013
After going undrafted out of Creighton in 2007, Anthony Tolliver played in summer league for the Miami Heat, and was granted the honour of being the 16th overall pick in the 2007 Continental Basketball Association draft. These things eventually parlayed themselves into a training camp contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tolliver’s contract with Cleveland was a typical ‘summer’ (read as ‘training camp’) contract. It was a fully unguaranteed rookie minimum salary contract, which, in the 2007/08 season, was worth $427,163. Tolliver was one of several camp signings for the Cavaliers that season – alongside Noel Felix, Chet Mason, Hassan Adams, Darius Rice, and a re-signed Dwayne Jones – and was an outside shot to make the roster based purely on the numbers game alone. Concurrent with these moves, Cleveland was embroiled in the long-since-forgotten-about holdouts of Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic. Both restricted free agents out of contract that summer, both unhappy with Cleveland’s best offer, and yet both seemingly unable to get more on the market, the two held out of training camp, waiting for enormous deals that never came. From memory, Pavlovic wanted roughly six years and $40 million, while Varejao wanted $10 million per annum. The two held out all through the free agency period, all through training camp, all through preseason, and into the regular season. It is precisely because of this that Tolliver, as well as Demetris Nichols, made the Cavaliers roster that season. Pavlovic was the first to crack – he agreed to re-sign to a partially guaranteed three-year, $13,696,250 contract that he was waived after only two years of. He signed this contract on October 31st 2007, the second day of the regular season. And when he did so, Tolliver was waived to open up a roster spot. It seemed mostly innocuous that […]
The amount of cap room teams will actually have
June 8th, 2013
All salary information is taken from this website’s own salary pages. All figures taken from the day of publication – if subsequent trades/signings are made, then adjust accordingly. NOTE: All cap space amounts are calculated to an estimated salary cap of $58.5 million. This inexact figure is the most recent (and thus accurate) projection released yet, and will suffice for now. When the actual amount is calculated/announced, the sums below will be altered accordingly. It is vital – VITAL – that you understand what a “cap hold” is before you read this. An explanation can be found here. Atlanta Hawks Committed salary for 2013/14: $22,497,415 (view full forecast) Projected cap space: At most, $35,504,580, but not really. If Atlanta renounce (or lose) Josh Smith, and renounce their remaining free agents (Kyle Korver, Devin Harris, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro, Ivan Johnson, Jeff Teague, Dahntay Jones, Hilton Armstrong, Erick Dampier, Etan Thomas, Randolph Morris and Anthony Tolliver), waive DeShawn Stevenson ($2,240,450, fully unguaranteed with no guarantee date), Shelvin Mack ($884,293, fully unguaranteed with no guarantee date) and Mike Scott ($788,872, fully unguaranteed until August 15th, thereafter $100,000 guaranteed) and sell or renounce their first-round draft picks (#17 and #18, cap holds of $1,348,200 and $1,280,800), they will have a cap number of $22,995,420 (the committed salary plus nine minimum salary roster charges of $490,180 for having less than twelve things on the cap). (If you want to get really absurd, they could even amnesty Al Horford. Hypotheticals are fun.) This is, however, a maximum amount. And it’s not a realistic one. Smith’s cap hold will be equal to the maximum amount for a nine year veteran, and, while this amount will not be known until the new salary cap figure is determined, a slight increase in the cap will mean a slight […]
Bookkeeping The Retired Guys, 2013 Edition
March 19th, 2013
Every now and then, it’s fun to comb through the list of recently retired players (almost, but not quite exclusively, NBA ones), and track down their current post-playing career whereabouts. The last such list was compiled two years ago and is rather out of date now, so here’s a fresh one. Tariq Abdul-Wahad – Abdul-Wahad is now the head coach at Lincoln high school in San Jose. Shareef Abdur-Rahim – Still the Kings assistant general manager. Last year returned to university to finish the degree he left unfinished 16 years earlier. Maurice Ager – Ager hasn’t played since a four game stint with the Timberwolves at the very start of the 2010/11 season. Instead, he’s turned to music, and is now a producer and occasional rapper. Ager’s first album, “Moe Town,” was released last month; here’s a video clip of a bonus track, called “Pistons.” You’ll recognise one sample. Briefly mentioned at the end is “Sports ‘n’ Music”, a radio show Ager also hosts. Here’s an episode of that. Cory Alexander – Last time we checked in, Alexander had had some problems. He’d lost all his money, and was suing Bank of America to get it back, claiming it was their fault. It is unclear how successful this action was. But what is clear is that Alexander turned his occasional commentary role on Virginia games into a bigger media career, and is now an analyst and announcer on the ACC Network. Courtney Alexander – Now coaching high school basketball at Dominion Christian High School in Marietta, Georgia. Alexander also still runs his not-for-profit, Georgia Press, although the website has changed location since last time. It now points to a subdirectory of imsopure.com. Alrighty then. Derek Anderson – After initially going quiet in retirement, Anderson has made numerous waves in the […]
