On Monday, ESPN’s Bobby Marks released some starting salary projections for free agents for the upcoming offseason. As Marks noted, the salary projections are for starting salaries if the player signed a multi-year deal, not a one-year deal.
I’ll list the projections Marks provided for Spurs free agent players and what that could mean this offseason.
DeMar DeRozan – $22 to $24 million starting salary range – DeRozan has a $27.7 million player option to decide on five days before free agency officially begins (whenever that date is set). For DeRozan to get $22-24 million from a team on a long term deal, he’d have to sign with a team that has significant cap space (there will be a limited amount of teams with major cap space), or he could decline his player option, and see if he, the Spurs, and another team that is over the cap can work out a sign-and-trade deal similar to how Chris Paul ended up going to the Houston Rockets from the Los Angeles Clippers a few years ago.
Jakob Poeltl – $8 to $10 million starting salary range – This salary range falls in line with what Poeltl would most likely get if he signed for the full mid-level exception, projected to be around $9.3 million with a $109 million salary cap. If Poeltl’s starting salary were to be in this range, the Spurs would have a good chance to re-sign him in restricted free agency either by re-signing him with his bird rights, or offering the mid-level exception that they’re expected to have.
Bryn Forbes – $4 to $6 million starting salary range – Forbes will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and it’s unclear whether the Spurs will want to re-sign him. He didn’t play in the bubble due to injury, though he did start for the majority of the season prior to the pandemic shutting down the season in March. At this salary range, if the Spurs wanted to bring Forbes back, they’d have to re-sign him with bird rights or use part of the mid-level exception if it’s available.
Marco Belinelli – $2 to 4 million starting salary range – This salary looks to be right at or just above the veteran minimum for Belinelli. Belinelli did get some minutes in bubble play, but he never had a secure role since the coaching staff was trying to get more minutes at the 2 and 3 for younger players like Lonnie Walker IV and Keldon Johnson.
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Drew Eubanks – minimum salary range – Marks doesn’t provide a salary range for Weatherspoon and Eubanks, he just notes that they spent the bulk of last season in the G-League. They’d most likely command veteran minimums at this point, which could be good for the Spurs since both players can become restricted free agents if the Spurs tender them qualifying offers before free agency begins. According to the WinsAdded.com’s player projection tool, a starting salary for both players would be in the veteran minimum range.
