Tag: 2020 NBA Draft

2020-21 NBA rookie scale contract figures for first-round picks

Rookie Wire took a look at the rookie scale salaries for each of the first-round picks ahead of the 2020-21 season.

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Following the NBA draft, prospects are beginning to sign with their respective teams with the start of the 2020-21 season just around the corner on Dec. 22.

Contracts for rookies are each slotted based on where they were drafted. The amount is tied to a certain percentage of the salary cap and fluctuates each season. Players can sign for as much as 120% and as little as 80% of the rookie scale so each contract can be different.

While the amount of each contract is locked in, agents can negotiate different conditions for their clients. This is why some players sign earlier than others. Stipulations can range from salary advancement to payment dates.

Last year, Rich Paul negotiated that Darius Garland and Darius Bazley, along with the rest of his clients, receive the maximum advancement of salary on a six-month payment schedule, so they had already earned 90% of their season salary when the NBA shut down on March 11.

With teams set to begin training camp in early December, Rookie Wire took a look at the rookie scale salaries for each of the first-round picks for the 2020-21 season.

Note: The fourth-year represents the percentage over the third-year salary while the qualifying offer percentage is over the fourth-year salary

Pick 1st Year Salary 2nd Year Salary 3rd Year Salary 4th Year Option Qualifying Offer
1 8,131,200 $8,537,900 $8,944,500 26.1% 30%
2 7,275,200 $7,639,000 $8,002,800 26.2% 30.5%
3 6,533,300 $6,859,800 $7,186,600 26.4% 31.2%
4 5,890,300 $6,185,000 $6,479,500 26.5% 31.9%
5 5,334,100 $5,600,600 $5,867,400 26.7% 32.6%
6 4,844,700 $5,086,900 $5,329,300 26.8% 33.4%
7 4,422,600 $4,643,900 $4,864,800 27% 34.1%
8 4,051,700 $4,254,300 $4,456,900 27.2% 34.8%
9 3,724,300 $3,910,700 $4,096,800 27.4% 35.5%
10 3,538,100 $3,715,000 $3,891,800 27.5% 36.2%
11 3,361,200 $3,529,300 $3,697,500 32.7% 36.9%
12 3,193,200 $3,353,000 $3,512,600 37.8% 37.6%
13 3,033,500 $3,185,200 $3,336,900 42.9% 38.3%
14 2,882,000 $3,026,000 $3,170,300 48.1% 39.1%
15 2,737,600 $2,874,500 $3,011,400 53.3% 39.8%
16 2,600,900 $2,730,900 $2,861,100 53.4% 40.5%
17 2,470,700 $2,594,300 $2,717,900 53.6% 41.2%
18 2,347,300 $2,464,600 $2,582,000 53.8% 41.9%
19 2,241,600 $2,353,600 $2,465,900 54% 42.6%
20 2,151,800 $2,259,400 $2,366,800 54.2% 43.3%
21 2,065,700 $2,169,100 $2,272,400 59.3% 44.1%
22 1,983,200 $2,082,300 $2,181,500 64.5% 44.8%
23 1,904,000 $1,999,300 $2,094,200 69.7% 45.5%
24 1,827,900 $1,919,200 $2,010,700 74.9% 46.2%
25 1,754,600 $1,842,200 $1,930,200 80.1% 46.9%
26 1,696,500 $1,781,200 $1,866,000 80.3% 47.6%
27 1,647,500 $1,729,900 $1,812,400 80.4% 48.3%
28 1,637,300 $1,719,400 $1,801,200 80.5% 49%
29 1,625,500 $1,706,700 $1,788,100 80.5% 50%
30 1,613,700 $1,694,300 $1,775,200 80.5% 50%

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LaMelo Ball says he’s proud of former teammate, fellow top pick Onyeka Okongwu: ‘It’s amazing to see’

LaMelo Ball spoke about his close friend and former teammate Onyeka Okongwu, speaking on how proud he is to see him fulfill his dreams.

LaMelo Ball and Onyeka Okongwu’s relationship has been an oft-discussed topic heading into the 2020 NBA Draft. The former Chino Hills teammates remained best friends even after Ball left to play professionally all over the globe.

Their wildly different paths converged on Wednesday as Ball was selected with the third pick by Charlotte and Okongwu with the sixth pick by Atlanta, becoming the second and third members of the 2015-16 Chino Hills side to be top-6 draft picks.

Ball revealed to Fox Sports Southeast’s Ashley Shahahmadi that he and Okongwu had a conversation on draft night and discussed what it was like to see his former teammate be drafted shortly after him.

“I told him I was proud of him, congrats and all that. Had a cool little convo and same with him.”

…

“It’s amazing to see, too, obviously and seeing how hard he works and everything and his goals and dream coming true. It’s amazing to see.”

Okongwu himself spoke about being excited to play the Ball brothers this season. He’ll have many chances to face LaMelo as the Hornets and Hawks are division rivals.

More than that, though, Okongwu has also shared some of the same sentiments of pride and friendship with LaMelo. In his media availability ahead of the draft, Okongwu spoke of being happy for Ball as well.

It’s rare to see a pair of close friends like Ball and Okongwu make the NBA, just as it’s rare to see a pair of brothers as top-five draft picks. All of it makes it a very easy story and a group of kids to root for.

LaMelo Ball reveals the playlist he was listening to on draft night

LaMelo Ball took plenty of flack for his headphones on draft night and he recently revealed the playlist he was listening to.

LaMelo Ball became a bit of an internet meme on draft night not with his draft outfit, but with his headphones. Positioned at his home in Chino Hills, Ball sat on his couch in front of the TV cameras between his mother and father with a stone face and a pair of headphones on.

The headphones remained on until Ball was drafted with the No. 3 pick by the Charlotte Hornets. By then, he had received his fair share of roasts from the internet.

In an interview with Fox Sports Southeast on Friday, Ball revealed what was on the playlist that he was listening to before and during the start of the draft.

“I was listening to the new Future and Uzi that came out. Definitely just having that on run, letting that play. Also NBA Youngboy, he put out some music so I was listening to that, too. Some Babyface Ray, a Detroit rapper. I was listening to everything pretty much. Lil Baby, everything.”

The Ball family has some interesting taste in music that has gotten them roasted online before, particularly when it comes to their lists of top rappers. LaMelo’s most recent list of his top five rappers included Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, Meek Mill, Baby Smoove and Drake.

When it comes to Future, the Ball brothers also have a history with the rapper. Lonzo helped Future release his most recent solo project, High Off Life, by teasing the tracklist and album on his Instagram story.

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NBA 2K21: Complete rookie ratings for each first-round draftee

Now that they have been released, Rookie Wire went through and took a look at the ratings for each first-round pick in the NBA draft.

Just two days following the 2020 NBA Draft, 2K Sports released the complete rookie ratings for each prospect in NBA 2K21 ahead of the 2020-21 season.

The popular video was released worldwide on Sept. 4 and features cover athletes Kobe Bryant, Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson across the various platforms. On the initial release, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo each ranked as the top-rated players at 97, respectively.

Evaluating the incoming rookie class this year was a bit of a challenge since prospects did not play in the NCAA tournament and others had atypical paths to the NBA, such as LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton. Based on those limitations, the first batch of ratings could change once the season begins.

Now that the official ratings have been released, Rookie Wire went through and took a look at the grades for each of the first 30 selections in the NBA Draft.

Note: Order sorted from highest rating to lowest rating

Ratings via 2KRatings.com and Newsweek

Report: LaMelo Ball preferred being drafted by Hornets over Timberwolves

While stating he wanted to be the No. 1 pick, LaMelo Ball reportedly preferred to be drafted by the Hornets over the Timberwolves.

Despite making a claim that he was “born” to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, LaMelo Ball may have actually preferred to land away from Minnesota. The Timberwolves skipped out on Ball with the top pick and the Hornets snapped at the opportunity two picks later, nabbing Ball with the No. 3 pick and putting him in a preferred situation.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress appeared on Zach Lowe’s The Lowe Post podcast to wrap up Wednesday’s draft. In discussing LaMelo Ball, Givony revealed that Ball preferred going to Charlotte over Minnesota.

“He was always going in the top three. He preferred to go to Charlotte over Minnesota. That’s a fact. I think he would have slightly rather been in Golden State right now but he’s very, very happy to end up in Charlotte. He’s going to have the keys to the franchise right away. They’re going to be globally relevant. They’re going to be on TV nationally, I would think, fairly often.”

Givony doesn’t further explain why Ball preferred Charlotte over Minnesota. The most logical guess would be that he wanted to be seen as the focal point of a franchise. In Charlotte, he will be the face moving forward. In Minnesota, he would have played third fiddle to both Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell.

It may also have to do with Minnesota’s struggles as a franchise, having only made the playoffs once since 2004. Charlotte has hardly done better, making the playoffs just three times in that span and not making it out of the first round in any of those appearances.

There also is the fact that Michael Jordan, arguably the best player in league history, owns the Hornets and the Timberwolves ownership is in flux. Ball was nearly speechless when asked what it will be like to play for Jordan after he was drafted, calling it a “straight blessing.”

Ultimately, there was likely not one aspect that put Charlotte over Minnesota but a combination of many.

The 2020 draft was supposed to be full of trades; what happened?

The assumed flurry of deals never materialized on Wednesday evening.

“There was a lot of trade discussion before the draft. I think we anticipated there to be more during the draft,” shared Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge after the end of the 2020 NBA draft.

From the sound of things, in the lead-up to the big annual event, you might have been expecting a host of trades up and down the first round of the draft.

And while there were indeed a few — even for the Celtics, later in the first round — it was far from the draft pick flea market some of us may have been expecting.

It surprised Ainge as well.

“There was a lot of discussion, but not anything that was really tempting for us in the first part of the draft,” he explained. “It was not as eventful as we thought, but we did have some discussions about moving up, and then about moving back. But as we were watching the draft unfold, and we saw that one of the guys that we identified a player we liked and wanted.”

“We just hung in there, and we’re fortunate we got our guy,” he added.

Ultimately, it worked out fairly well for Boston, even if some of the sexier mock draft darlings ended up being passed over for high-floor and stashable options.

For us at the Celtics Wire, it perhaps surprised less than with most, as in our NBA Wire editor roundtable draft, we experienced the exact same result when it came time to pull the trigger on deals.

In our simulation — as we saw in real life — the appeal of a making a selection for a player projected higher was simply too great for almost everyone to pass up.

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Onyeka Okongwu looking forward to playing Lonzo, LaMelo Ball in rookie season

After playing together at Chino Hills, Onyeka Okongwu is looking forward to facing both Lonzo and LaMelo Ball in the NBA next season.

While the Ball brothers made history on Wednesday in becoming the first brothers selected in the top-5 in the NBA Draft in the league’s history, both are connected to another top-10 draft pick. Onyeka Okongwu was selected No. 6 by the Atlanta Hawks.

Okongwu played alongside the Ball brothers at Chino Hills, spending one year with Lonzo when the Huskies won the state title and two years with LaMelo before he withdrew from school. Okongwu and LaMelo stayed in touch in the years after Ball left Chino Hills and the group as a whole that won a state title kept in contact. The Ball brothers have been supportive of both Okongwu and the fifth starter on that team Eli Scott, who is entering his senior year at Loyola Marymount.

After being drafted to Atlanta, Okongwu discussed the players he was most looking to face at the next level and his previous teammates’ names came up.

Okongwu will have his chance to play both brothers this season. The NBA’s restricted schedule of just 72 games means that the Hawks will play the Pelicans just once next season. However, Okongwu will have four match-ups against Charlotte, who is a Southeast Division rival.

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Hornets teammates react to Charlotte drafting LaMelo Ball with No. 3 pick in 2020 NBA Draft

After LaMelo Ball was selected third overall by the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, his new teammates took to social media to react.

In drafting LaMelo Ball with the No. 3 pick of 2020 NBA Draft, the Hornets selected one of the most popular prospects in recent years. Ball’s following on Instagram totals over 5.7 million followers with a reach larger than some NBA teams.

That following has led to him being one of the most well-known prospects among both fans and his peers. Despite taking a route that saw him leave college after his sophomore season and make stops in professional leagues in both Lithuania and Australia, Ball’s popularity only grew.

Included in that following were a handful of Ball’s new teammates on the Hornets as PJ Washington, Malik Monk and Miles Bridges all took the opportunity to welcome him to the league on Twitter Wednesday night.

Interesting, Ball and Washington do have some history together as the two played one another in a preseason friendly ahead of their 2016-17 high school seasons. At the time, Ball was a sophomore at Chino Hills and Washington was a senior at Findlay Prep.

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Rockets signing undrafted rookie Brodric Thomas from Truman State

A 6-foot-5 guard, Thomas averaged 21.5 points (41.7% on 3-pointers) and 7.2 rebounds per game for Truman State (a Division II program).

The Houston Rockets are signing undrafted rookie Brodric Thomas from Truman State University, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

Thomas joins second-round pick Kenyon Martin Jr. and a pair of other undrafted signings (Mason Jones, Trevelin Queen) as newcomers to the 2020-21 training camp roster in Houston.

A 6-foot-5 guard, Thomas averaged 21.5 points (41.7% on 3-pointers) and 7.2 rebounds per game last season. However, he wasn’t very visible on the national scene, since Truman State is a Division II program in Kirksville, Missouri. Here’s how his game is described by Draft Directory:

Swagger is not a problem for Brodric Thomas. His game exudes confidence and control on both ends of the court. Thomas is a long and lean athlete with plenty of highlight reel dunks, blocks, and is known for taking and making big shots. He has excellent court vision, beats people in transition, and is an aggressive defender.

His Truman State teammates believe his future is still bright as a pro. Thomas was named GLVC [Great Lakes Valley Conference] Player of the Year and 1st Team DII All-Midwest Region. Thomas has the size and athleticism to play shooting guard as a pro, but it is his mean streak on defense that makes him stand out.

Terms of Thomas’ contract were not immediately available, though the likely scenario is that it effectively serves as an invitation to training camp. Thomas was not on Rookie Wire’s final Top 100 big board.

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Hornets draftee Vernon Carey calls LaMelo Ball ‘top playmaker’ in 2020 NBA Draft

Fellow Hornets draftee Vernon Carey had high praise for LaMelo Ball, calling him one of the top playmakers in the 2020 NBA Draft.

On top of landing LaMelo Ball with the No. 3 pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets also selected Duke center Vernon Carey with the 32nd pick. The big man has a fascinating story, having lost 30 pounds since the end of the college basketball season after hiring a personal chef in the lead-up to the draft.

While speaking with media following his selection on Wednesday, Carey had high praise for his new teammate in Ball.

“I feel like he’s one of, if not the top, playmaker in this draft,” he said. “With his IQ level and the way he sees the floor and everything, it’ll make it a lot easier on my game, for sure.”

Carey has plenty of experience playing alongside a top point guard as Tre Jones anchored the point guard spot in the Duke starting lineup. Jones was named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American last year.

All of that is to say Carey’s praise of Ball comes from a place of experience with a top point guard, experience he intends on leaning upon when sharing the court with Ball next season.

“I feel like it’s kind of similar to what I had with Tre (Jones) this past year just being able to run certain situations like pick and pops and pick and rolls, just playing basketball, really,” Carey said. “I feel like he’s the type of player that you can just play basketball with. I’m just excited to get out there, really.”

With a hole at the center position long-term, Carey could help shore up the Pelicans’ young core moving forward. Whatever the role may be, Carey is ready to do it with open ears.

“I can’t speak for anybody else that got drafted tonight but just for me personally,” Carey said, “I know I’m going to follow Miles and PJ and those type of guys and soak up all the knowledge I can because they already went through it. For me, personally, I’m definitely going to be all ears.

“Whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do it. For myself personally, playing defense, being a big energy guy, getting rebounds, doing whatever the team needs me to do. That’s what I’m here for.”

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