NBA
Deadline for Options & Extensions; D-League Draft
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Monday is the NBA’s deadline for teams to pick up the third or fourth-year options for players on rookie-scale contracts.
Most options, for those drafted in 2013 or 2014, have already been taken — though a handful are still waiting for their respective team’s decision.
The Brooklyn Nets have yet to commit to Sergey Karasev and his $2.5 million salary for 2016-17.
The Charlotte Hornets have to decide on P.J. Hairston ($1.3 million) and Cody Zeller ($5.3 million).
Client Capela would seem to be a lock to get his $1.3 million option picked up by the Houston Rockets.
The Indiana Pacers have yet to commit to Solomon Hill at $2.3 million.
Given that the NBA’s salary cap is expected to jump to nearly $90 million next season, up from this year’s $70 million, it’s no surprise that teams are almost uniformly choosing to take their rookie-scale options.
For players drafted in 2012, end-of-day Monday is also the deadline for contract extensions.
Some players locked in long-term deals early, including Anthony Davis (New Orleans), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Jonas Valanciunas (Toronto Raptors) and John Henson (Milwaukee Bucks).
Unless a last minute agreement is reached, the rest will hit restricted free agency next summer, including Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons), Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors) and Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards).
Basketball Insiders has the full list of players eligible for options and extensions with Monday’s deadline looming.
D-League Draft & Affiliate Players
The NBA Development League held its annual draft on Saturday, with former San Antonio Spurs forward Jeff Ayres going as the top overall pick to the Idaho Stampede, the D-League affiliate of the Utah Jazz.
The Westchester Knicks (New York Knicks) took guard Jimmer Fredette second while the Iowa Energy (Memphis Grizzlies) picked up former NBA players Perry Jones III and Cartier Martin third and fourth, respectively.
The D-League draft runs for eight rounds, but doesn’t represent the league’s entire player pool.
Teams retain rights to returning players, bring a few roster candidates from local tryouts and are also assigned affiliate players from their parent NBA club.
A maximum of four affiliate players can be named to a team’s D-League franchise, defined as a player who went through the preseason (or regular season) with an NBA team but was subsequently waived — different from a mid-season assignment where a current NBA player is temporarily sent to the D-League.
The Development League currently has 19 teams, each paired up individually with NBA franchises. The remaining 11 NBA teams can temporarily send regular-season players on their rosters to the D-League, but with minimal to no control over which team will take on their player — and what kind of playing time/attention they’ll receive.
Most D- League players are free agents and can easily get out of their contracts to sign anywhere, be it in the NBA or overseas.
The Lakers have two affiliate players with the D-Fenders — center Robert Upshaw and guard Michael Frazier, but any NBA team can sign them to contracts should they choose.
Unsigned draft picks are, however, safe in the D-League. Andrew Harrison, the Grizzlies’ 44th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, cannot be called up by a different NBA team.
D-League squads can generally keep 10 players on their roster, but up to 12 with two possible NBA assignments throughout the season.
Not every team has announced its training camp roster but to date, the following have been assigned as affiliate players:
Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs) — Youssou Ndoye, Deshaun Thomas, Keifer Sykes, Julian Washburn
Bakersfield Jam (Phoenix Suns) — TBD
Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers) — Nick Minnerath, D.J. Stephens, Quinn Cook
Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers) — TBD
Erie BayHawks (Orlando Magic) — Jordan Sibert, Keith Appling, Melvin Ejim, Nnanna Egwu
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Indiana Pacers) — Kadeem Jack, C.J. Fair, Terran Petteway
Grand Rapids Drive (Detroit Pistons) — Ryan Boatright
Idaho Stampede (Utah Jazz) — TBD
Iowa Energy (Memphis Grizzlies) — Michael Holyfield, Lazeric Jones, Alex Stepheson
Los Angeles D-Fenders (Los Angeles Lakers) — Robert Upshaw, Michael Frazier
Maine Red Claws (Boston Celtics) — Coty Clarke, Malcolm Miller, Levi Randolph, Corey Walden
Oklahoma City Blue (Oklahoma City Thunder) — TBD
Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors) — Michale Kyser, Axel Toupane, Shannon Scott
Reno Bighorns (Sacramento Kings) — TBD
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets) — TBD
Santa Cruz Warriors (Golden State Warriors) — TBD
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami HEAT) — TBD
Texas Legends (Dallas Mavericks) — Brandon Ashley, Tu Holloway
Westchester Knicks (New York Knicks) — TBD
Check back over the coming days for updates as teams release their training camp rosters.
