Tuesday evening, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved plans for free agency and next season.
Monday evening, the NBA and NBPA agreed to the offseason dates and salary cap figures for the 2020-2021 season, and both sides also agreed the season would be played up to 72 games beginning on December 22.
The next decision to watch is whether the NBA will lift the moratorium BEFORE the 2020 NBA Draft scheduled for next Wednesday on November 18.
Lifting the moratorium would allow teams to begin making trades and option dates like player options and non-guaranteed dates could be decided on before the draft, meaning some teams could know how they’re approaching the draft and free agency if decisions have already been made with their current players.
For the San Antonio Spurs, this could be important in how the Spurs navigate their offseason route if DeMar DeRozan were to decide on his $27 player option before the draft.
Aldridge – Warriors Rumor
On last Thursday’s episode of the Lowe Post Podcast from ESPN, writers Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks were discussing what the Golden State Warriors will do with their number 2 pick in the draft and Lowe opened up about how the Spurs have been involved in the talks for the number 2 pick for LaMarcus Aldridge and the Spurs’ 11th pick.
AmicoHoopsNews.com has the transcript of the audio:
“Someone within the league texted me and said, ‘Hey, there is a little bit of buzz about No. 2 to San Antonio for LaMarcus Aldridge and No. 11, and obviously there has to be salary going out,’” Lowe said on his podcast. “And my response was, ‘That’s crazy! The Warriors should not do that.’”
If you listened to the full episode, you’ll note that both Lowe and Marks thought that type of trade wouldn’t be good for the Warriors.
Aldridge will earn $24 million next season, but it’s also important to note that he has a 15% trade kicker in his contract. This means if he didn’t waive the trade kicker, his outgoing salary would go up to $27.6 million.
There’s two players on the roster for the Warriors that would fit financially in a deal for Aldridge – Andrew Wiggins ($29.5 million) and Draymond Green ($22.2 million, ~$25 million with 15% trade kicker also). Green likely wouldn’t be included in such a deal since he’s part of the core with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. So the most likely player the Warriors would want the Spurs to take is Wiggins.
Like Lowe mentioned, with the draft and free agency approaching so quickly, there are going to be different rumors coming more frequently, especially for a team like the Warriors, who have been reportedly looking at deals to trade the number 2 pick.
It’s also key to note that the Spurs have reportedly communicated with or worked out some draft prospects who are likely be drafted before the 11th selection in Deni Avdija, Onyeka Okongwu, and Killian Hayes.
