NBA free agency finally has a start date, and it comes shortly after the 2020 NBA draft.
Less than a week after the NBPA tentatively agreed upon NBA’s proposal for a 72-game regular season that would start on December 22, the league announced the negotiations had been officially agreed upon in full as of midnight on Tuesday.
In addition to the start date and the season length, the NBPA and NBA agreed the salary cap for 2020-21 will be the same as it was in 2019-20 at $109,140 million, as will the $132,627 million luxury tax level.
More importantly for the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA and NBPA agreed that in the event player compensation were to exceed the players’ designated share in any season, necessary salary reduction beyond the standard 10% escrow would be spread across that season and potentially beyond the following two seasons — with a 20% salary reduction in any season being the absolute maximum.
While Nets general manager Sean Marks was still expected to have money to spend on Joe Harris, this adds a little monetary relief for Nets governor Joe Tsai across the board.
ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps are also reporting another way in which the NBA is trying to “ease the tax burdens of teams that had been planning on the salary cap and luxury tax continuing to steadily rise.”
“…the NBA will reduce the luxury tax bill for teams at the end of the 2021 season by the percentage amount that the league’s Basketball Related Income declines from initial projections.”
The NBA and NBPA also free agency negotiations can officially start on November 20 at 6 p.m. EST and signings can happen at midnight EST on November 22.
Joe Harris was expected to get a big payday in the offseason. The Nets guard still should, but maybe not as much as initially expected.
When Joe Harris re-signed with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2018 offseason, the sharpshooter inked a two-year deal worth $16 million. He was coming off a year in which he’d shot a then career-high 41.9% from 3-point territory breaking, the previous career-high (38.5%) he’d set in his first year with the Nets.
Of course, Harris proved to be a bargain, leading the league in 3-point shooting with his now career-high of 47.4% in 2018-19, following that up with another high success rate (42.4%) from long-range in 2019-20.
So, it’s safe to say Harris should make quite a bit more as a free agent this offseason than he did last time around.
At one point, it seemed like he might make as much annually as he did over the duration of his last deal with Brooklyn. But between the pandemic and the league’s issues withues with China, the salary cap probably won’t increase ahead of 2020-21 like it was expected to entering 2019-20.
Still, John Hollinger of The Athletic thinks Harris will get a pay raise.
The former vice president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies projects the Brooklyn sharpshooter will command just over $10.9 million in the first year of his new deal.
“Harris just barely keeps his toes inside the MLE category and could very well get more than that in the open market, given how much every team is looking for a shooter.”
Hollinger notes Harris’ age (29) doesn’t necessarily help him when it comes to negotiating the length of his deal. Still, he anticipates the Nets wing “will be very popular” in the free agent market.
“…the biggest factor working against him being the lack of contending teams with cap space. His most appealing option is likely returning to the Nets at a number above the MLE.”
“They want to at least have the ability to play different styles,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said. “Not just the all small, all the time.”
The Rockets are belived to be happy with the February trade that brought versatile forward Robert Covington to Houston at the cost of shipping starting center Clint Capela to Atlanta.
However, they would still like to replace some of Capela’s value as a traditional big man with rebounding and rim protection, as well as a lob threat in pick-and-roll scenarios with James Harden.
They would like to have a [Clint] Capela-lite type of center on the roster. Not necessarily in the starting lineup, but on the roster, they want to at least have the ability to play different styles. Not just the all small, all the time. I was told that was the plan last year, when they made the Covington trade. They thought they could backfill that spot.
The name that was brought up to me was Nerlens Noel. They thought they could get a deal done with OKC at the deadline to get Noel. That didn’t happen. They had other deals that also fell through. Noel has been a productive player in OKC the last couple years on a minimum [contract]. He can catch lobs, he can switch defensively, and he can give them a different look as a guy coming off that bench.
With Houston reportedly poised to spend its taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (MLE), which was worth roughly $5.7 million last season, a big man could be a realistic target in free agency for new GM Rafael Stone.
The Rockets reportedly plan to spend the full taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, worth ~$5.7 million, and would like a “Capela lite” big man.
Led by new GM Rafael Stone, the Houston Rockets reportedly plan to spend their taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (MLE) this offseason as they seek to upgrade the roster around James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
This year’s precise taxpayer MLE level has yet to be finalized, but it was at approximately $5.7 million last season. There’s a larger non-taxpayer MLE available to teams at roughly $9.2 million, but it implements a hard salary cap that cannot be exceeded under any circumstances. Thus, using the taxpayer MLE offers the most flexibility for all scenarios.
For teams like the Rockets who are above the NBA’s salary cap, the MLE is the top financial tool available for upgrading their roster.
They do plan to spend the $5.7 million. That’s their Mid-Level Exception without hard-capping themselves. Now, I was told last year that they planned on spending their Mid-Level, and the year before. So, it’s one of those… believe it when you see it. But, that’s what they’re saying.
The other thing is, they would like to have a [Clint] Capela-lite type of center on the roster. Not necessarily in the starting lineup, but on the roster, they want to at least have the ability to play different styles. Not just the all small, all the time. I was told that was the plan last year, when they made the Covington trade [at the February deadline]. They thought they could backfill that spot. The name that was brought up to me was Nerlens Noel. They thought they could get a deal done with OKC at the deadline to get Noel. That didn’t happen. They had other deals that also fell through.
Noel has been a productive player in OKC the last couple years on a minimum [contract]. He can catch lobs, he can switch defensively, and he can give them a different look as a guy coming off that bench.
The Rockets did spend a portion of their MLE last offseason to give a three-year contract to promising young forward Danuel House Jr., who was very unlikely to accept a minimum offer. Because House had only signed with Houston during the 2018-19 season, they did not have any financial tool (such as Bird rights) outside of an exception to retain him. So while the MLE was largely used, it didn’t bring in a roster upgrade.
But this offseason, none of Houston’s internal free agents without Bird rights have anywhere near the market value that House did in 2019.
Thus, if Stone truly has the approval of owner Tilman Fertitta to spend that taxpayer MLE, Houston should be able to bring in a capable role player worthy of rotation minutes next season. Spending the MLE would likely push the Rockets into luxury tax territory, which they’ve yet to pay since Fertitta officially became owner in October 2017.
Luxury tax levels for 2020-21 have yet to be set, with negotiations still ongoing due to unexpected revenue losses from COVID-19.
“We’re not blowing up anything,” Fertitta said on Tuesday. “We plan on contending. We’re going to do whatever we have to do to win.”
In his weekly Tuesday afternoon appearance on CNBC, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said his team remains fully focused on contending for a championship in the 2020-21 NBA season.
When asked about suggestions that Houston should consider “blowing it up” after bowing out in the second round of the playoffs for two straight years, Fertitta pushed back strongly on that notion.
Here’s what Fertitta told CNBC’s Power Lunch about his roster:
You have James Harden and Russell Westbrook. You have almost 90% of your salaries tied up in them, and Eric Gordon. Any time you have players like that — Eric, P.J. [Tucker], James, and Russell, there’s no reason to blow up your roster.
This is still our window, the next couple years. James and Russell are in their early 30s. We’re not blowing up anything. We plan on contending. I’ve always said that you want to set yourself up to be one of the top four teams in your conference, and then it takes a little bit of luck to win. We’re going to set ourselves up again to make a move to be one of the top four teams. We’re going to do whatever we have to do to win, I can promise that to my fans, and compete for the NBA championship this year.
The likely course appears to be trying to build on Houston’s No. 4 finish in the Western Conference during the 2019-20 season, and perhaps seeing further growth in the second year of the Harden-Westbrook partnership and the first year of a new coaching regime. Any talks about more drastic changes will likely be tabled until at least the 2021 offseason.
[lawrence-related id=39438]
.@TilmanJFertitta on @CNBC:”You have James Harden & Russell Westbrook..any time u have players like that,Eric,PJ,there’s no reason to blow up your roster.This is still our window,the next couple of years.We’re not blowing up anything..We’re gonna do whatever we have to do to win” pic.twitter.com/X3AvFzX6z9
The NBA and the NBPA have both agreed to give both sides more time to layout parameters for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
Only a few days after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship and officially closed out the longest season in NBA history, both the league and the player’s union are working together to figure out what the next season will look like. They are also agreeing to give both sides more time to figure things out.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported late last week that the NBA and the NBPA extended the negotiation window to October 30. It also sounds like an outright termination of the CBA is unlikely. The NBA Draft is scheduled to take place on Nov. 18.
The NBA and NBPA agreed on a new Oct. 30 deadline to complete ongoing discussions on modifications to the CBA for the 2020-21 season, a date that requires the league or union to provide 45 days’ notice if either decides to terminate the CBA — a scenario that sources continue to believe is a remote possibility.
A big reason why a CBA termination is unlikely is both sides made enormous sacrifices in making sure the bubble was successful and they were able to crown champions for the season.
The deal didn’t get done, but with Noel set to become a free agent this offseason, Houston might again pursue the athletic big man.
According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, the Houston Rockets didn’t want to completely commit to smaller lineups as part of their flurry of moves at this past season’s trade deadline in February 2020.
Rather, it happened in part because a planned deal for an established backup center didn’t work out following the blockbuster trade of center Clint Capela for versatile forward Robert Covington.
Per MacMahon, Houston’s target was Nerlens Noel of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here’s how he described it on Zach Lowe’s podcast:
They obviously went all in on micro-ball, but they thought at the time that they could find a bargain big man. If Clint Capela was a full-service Marriott, they thought they could find a Courtyard by Marriott type of big man to at least be in the rotation. .
For example, they had discussions before the trade deadline and were optimistic and thought that they could get a deal done to bring in Nerlens Noel.
Lowe Post podcast: @espn_macmahon on Daryl Morey leaving the Rockets, his legacy there, the backstory of the Westbrook trade, what's next in HOU, Ty Lue getting Clippers job, more:
The Rockets did trade for Bruno Caboclo in the final hours before the deadline, in hopes that he could potentially fill a similar role. However, he struggled in limited opportunities with the Rockets.
As for Noel, the deal likely fell apart because the Thunder were much closer to contention than expected, and thus less likely to be a seller at the deadline. (Oklahoma City, of course, ended up pushing the Rockets to seven games in a tightly contested first-round playoff series.)
Now 26 years old, Noel averaged 7.4 points (68.4% FG), 4.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 18.5 minutes per game this season. Noel made the minimum salary and is set to become a free agent this offseason, so he very plausibly could again become a target by the Rockets — assuming they still want the option of larger lineups. As an athletic center, he could potentially provide both rim protection on defense and a lob threat on offense (like Capela did) as a pick-and-roll partner for James Harden.
Noel was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by Philadelphia. During his career, he’s played four seasons with the Sixers; one season in Dallas; and the last two in Oklahoma City, where he played alongside current Rockets star Russell Westbrook in the 2018-19 campaign.
Bleacher Report made a free agency pitch for the Oklahoma City Thunder to target Sacramento Kings forward Harry Giles III.
As the Oklahoma City Thunder enter the offseason, questions abound for the direction of the team. Decisions involving veterans Chris Paul, Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder, along with the impending free agencies of Danilo Gallinari and Nerlens Noel, will dictate which direction the organization goes in free agency.
If Gallinari’s price tag is too high and he leaves the Thunder for a contender like the Miami Heat, OKC would be in the market for a power forward.
Bleacher Report thinks that Sacramento Kings big Harry Giles III would be a good target.
Giles, energetic on the court and charismatic off, has become a fan favorite in Sacramento. The Kings declined his fourth-year option, so the 22-year-old is an unrestricted free agent.
His potential in the league is still unclear. Giles was once the top prospect in high school, but ACL and MCL injuries before entering the NBA have set him back.
Over the two seasons he played with the Kings, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 assist in 14.3 minutes per game.
He is more impressive than those stats indicate. The Kings began running some plays for him, and he is a good passer, though maybe not to the level that he has proclaimed.
Bleacher Report thinks he’d fit well with the Thunder. Reporter Zach Buckley wrote:
“He’s still just 22 years old and clearly skilled. He filled out this season’s per-36-minutes stat line with 17.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks. Stick him in the same frontcourt with Darius Bazley and put Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort on the perimeter, and OKC might already have a young nucleus to build around.”
Depending on his price tag, Giles certainly looks like he could be an option for the Thunder.
Especially if other free agency moves go the way B/R projects.
Bleacher gave one free agency idea for every team under the premise of finding the best free agent each had a realistic chance of signing.
In the projections, Gallinari departed for the Heat. That would not be a surprise. Miami targeted him at the trade deadline and has made quite a pitch to free agents over the past month by getting to the NBA Finals. If Gallinari wants a contender who can pay him well, he has no better option than the Heat.
Bleacher Report also recommended the Portland Trail Blazers to go after Noel as a replacement for Hassan Whiteside.
Free agent Gerald Green has been training privately in Houston as he ramps up his recovery, in hopes of a Rockets return, league sources told The Athletic. It’s been over a year since Green last played an NBA game, missing the entire season with a broken foot before being included in the multi-team trade that sent Robert Covington to Houston. Green was waived by the Denver Nuggets and has remained in Houston ever since February.
Source: Free agent Gerald Green has been training privately in Houston in hopes of a future Rockets return, league sources told The Athletic. https://t.co/XC9rFsPNEy
Known best for his 3-point shooting, Green hasn’t played in the NBA since injuring his foot last preseason. The 34-year-old fan favorite then had season-ending surgery last October, and he was traded for salary reasons in the blockbuster deal that brought Covington to Houston.
In two seasons with his hometown team from 2017 through 2019, the 6-foot-6 reserve swingman averaged 10.3 points (36.0% on 3-pointers) in 21.1 minutes per game. Among Houston’s rotation players in the 2019-20 season, only Ben McLemore (40.0%) and Danuel House Jr. (36.3%) shot a higher clip than that from 3-point range.
The entirety of the 2019 NBA season was about Kevin Durant leaving the Golden State Warriors and where he would go.
Rumor had it that he was going to go sweep Kyrie Irving up from the Boston Celtics and they were going to both play for the Knicks. This might’ve been the worst kept secret in NBA history.
Yes, Durant did end up pairing with Irving as everyone predicted. But they’re doing it in Brooklyn with the Nets instead of the Knicks.
Still, we all knew this moment was coming. We knew it as soon as we saw those two chatting it up in the tunnel at the 2019 All-Star game. They were always going to play together.
At the 36:30 mark of the podcast, Irving is explaining how he and Durant both arrived in Brooklyn and how much of a surprise it was. And Durant interjects with this point.
“The All-Star game video where they caught us in the hallway. That’s when it was solidified that we were going somewhere. They didn’t know for a fact where it was, but it was somewhere.”
Here’s the video Durant is talking about.
“The All Star game video – where they caught us in the hallway. That’s when it was solidified that we were going somewhere. They didn’t know for a fact where it was. But it was somewhere.”
“It’s a video of me and one of my best friends talking. And then it turns out to be a dissection of a free-agency meeting? Do you get that? Like, do you get that? And then I’m asked questions about that? That’s what disconnects me from all that s***.”
Guess the media wasn’t so wrong after all. Way to play us, KD and Kyrie. Hilarious. Hopefully, next year, these two are both healthy and we get to see if they gel on the court as well as they do off of it.
