The Waive and Stretch: Myles Turner Renegotiates, Hachimura To The Lakers, New Agency For FVV
Welcome back to another edition of The Waive and Stretch Newsletter. A quick shameless plug to note that I am looking to work in basketball in any capacity and would love to connect with anyone in the industry or trying to break in. Please feel free to share this with anyone who you might find it interesting. Let's get into it!
What Caught My Attention This Week
The Myles Turner Renegotiate and Extend
Well we finally figured out what the Indiana Pacers are going to do with all that additional cap space they have for this year, as they chose the renegotiate and extend route with Myles Turner. The Pacers and Turner agreed to a 2 year, $60 million extension, with $2 million of that in unlikely incentives. Of that $60 million includes an additional $17.1 million this year, bringing Turner’s salary for this season to $35.1 million. In reality, its a two year $42.9 extension, with the rest being added on to this year’s salary. Here’s a look at it year by year from a cap hit perspective:
Current Year: $35.1 million
2023-24: $20.9 million
2024-25: $19.9 million
Couple things stick out right away from a cap nerd perspective.
1) The additional $17.1 he’s getting this year is the most he could’ve received, as he still has $2 million in unlikely incentives that would bring him to his max if hit.
2) The Pacers dropped his salary by the maximum 40% in 23-24 under the CBA rules.
3) They are declining his salary so that its a smaller cap hit in 24-25, the first year of a theoretical Tyrese Haliburton extension.
4) That extension is essentially a $20.5 million average annual value, with the two extension years being 15.6% and 13.5% of the salary cap respectively, given current salary cap projections. That puts him in the same neighborhood as current year Clint Capela, Steven Adams, Mitchell Robinson, Jarrett Allen, and Jusuf Nurkic.
Overall, this was a great job on the Pacers part to lock in Turner to an additional two years at a team friendly rate, while still keeping him trade eligible for this year. Meanwhile, Turner’s representation did a great job of getting their client essentially $60 million over two years, something very few centers are touching these days. One more thing to note, this could actually make a Lakers trade easier with respect to matching up the money. Russell Westbrook and Pat Beverley for Turner and Buddy Hield works perfectly, with neither team having to include extra people or free up roster spots. The only thing left to haggle on would be the draft pick compensation, and I think we all know what the Lakers have in the tank for that.
Bonus: The Lakers Trading For Rui Hachimura
We have a trade! The Lakers sent Kendrick Nunn and three second round picks to Washington in exchange for Rui Hachimura. It seems to me this was an on-the-court deal for the Lakers and off-the-court deal for the Wizards. Hachimura gives LA a frontcourt player that can help space the floor for Lebron and AD. He is a restricted free agent this offseason, but the Lakers giving up assets to bring him in seems to imply that they plan on giving him a new deal this summer, thus eating into their cap space. This move makes me think that the team will act as an over-the-cap team and keep the bird rights of their free agents. Additionally, this trade makes it all the more likely that the team looks to move Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook to bring in long-term salary, since they no longer need to keep next year’s cap sheet clean. As far as the Wizards, this moved makes it obvious that the team had no interest in re-signing Hachimura this summer. They could not have been able to bring back Rui and Kyle Kuzma and stayed under the luxury tax next year. This trade does seem to imply that the team is optimistic that they will be able to bring back Kuzma this offseason, despite the price tag at which it might have to be at. Starting Kuzma at $20 million next year would give the Wizards a bit of breathing room under the luxury tax to dip into their MLE, but not much. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he commands a larger number than that, given his play this year.
Three Things To Keep An Eye On This Season
1. Fred Van Vleet Changing Agents
Chris Haynes reported earlier this week that Toronto Raptor’s point guard Fred Van Vleet has cut ties with his agency, Par-Lay Sports and Entertainment. Later on, Marc Stein reported that Van Vleet is expected to sign with Klutch Sports for his new representation. This would seem to imply that Van Vleet has no interest in taking a discount to stay in Toronto and will be chasing the largest bag he can get this summer, given Klutch’s penchant for being aggressive for their clients in negotiations. Van Vleet should command a market very similar to his former teammate, Kyle Lowry. Teams that could have interest this summer that will have the cap space to make a real offer include: Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Orlando Magic. The Magic especially stick out to me as a real landing spot for Van Vleet considering their need for a guard that can shoot. It’ll be interesting to see if Toronto seriously takes the temperature on the trade market for him, with all signs pointing to Fred trying to cash out this summer. I could see the Clippers, Lakers, and Miami all trying to bring him in.
2. What Is San Antonio Doing With Their Cap Space?
The Spurs have ~$27 million in cap space this year still. Do they plan on serving as a dumping ground for unwanted contracts in three team trades or with teams looking the shed salary, extracting draft capital in the process? The Spurs unfortunately cannot do a renogotiate and extend with Jakob Poeltl, as he is only on a three year contract. Are there teams out there that are even in a bad enough place to want to shed salary? The 76ers are just over the tax line. Other teams that are within $2 million below the tax line include: Portland, Miami, Atlanta, Washington, and Chicago. Could they look to dump some money to get some more breathing room or bring in more money via trade?
3. Jerami Grant IS Taking It To Free Agency
On one of the earlier newsletters this year, I touched on the excellent play of Jerami Grant and on whether or not he should take the 4 year $112.6 million extension offer that was ultimately coming his way this year, and thought that he should test the waters in free agency and turn down the offer. Evidently, Grant and his representation came to the same conclusion, as it was reported by Jake Fischer that the offer was made and was not accepted. Fischer states that Grant turned it down because the Blazers can offer more and include a fifth year in the offseason. That would be correct, as the max offer they can make to him is 5 years, $233.16 million deal. Any other team can only offer 4 years, $172.86 million. Both of these are a whole heck of a lot more than his current extension, and though he probably won’t get these offers, I am willing to bet his next deal is closer to these than they are to the extension amount. The Blazers could ill afford to let Grant walk in unrestricted free agency, and I could see a cap space team making a hefty offer to pry him away from Portland. Teams like Houston or Oklahoma City could use a player like Grant and have the cap space to do so.
Fake Trade Of The Week
Memphis Grizzlies receive: OG Anunoby, Thaddeus Young
Toronto Raptors receive: Dillon Brooks, Danny Green, 2023 MEM 1st, 2024 GSW 1st, 2025 MEM 1st (lottery protected)