Not All Cap Space Is Created Equal

Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertAugust 15, 2024

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#nba #offseason #philadelphia 76ers #oklahoma city thunder #detroit pistons #san antonio spurs #charlotte hornets #utah jazz

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This offseason the NBA split into five distinct groups, as far as their approaches to roster-building. One-fifth of the league dealt with second-apron issues, as they were either over or dancing around that ominous barrier. The second bundle of teams had the same challenges, but slightly less so, with the first apron.

The third group found themselves just over or just under the tax line. A fourth set found that sweet spot of operating over the cap, but far enough under the tax that the extra penalties weren’t really a concern.

Then there was a last group: the cap space teams. The Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets all used cap space this offseason to build out their rosters.

But not all cap space is created equal.

The NBA offseason is full of harsh realities, especially for cap space teams. Some are good enough that they use their room to propel themselves to a new level. Some are so bad that their space is merely a dumping ground for others to get off undesirable contracts. And some…well…they just sort of flounder around without seemingly having much of a plan.

We’re going to look at how each of the six 2024 cap space teams handled their offseasons. The idea is to examine how circumstances, and not just money available, drove the summer for teams who used cap room.

Philadelphia 76ers

Acquisitions

Paul George (signed via cap space), Andre Drummond (signed via cap space), Caleb Martin (signed via cap space), Eric Gordon (signed via Minimum Exception), Reggie Jackson (signed via Minimum Exception), Jared McCain (2024 first-round pick), Adem Bona (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

Tyrese Maxey (signed via Bird rights), Kelly Oubre Jr. (signed via Room Exception), K.J. Martin (signed via Bird rights), Kyle Lowry (signed via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

The Sixers spent a full year planning to use their cap space to make a big splash. That’s a risky play, but Daryl Morey pulled it off. Philadelphia wouldn’t have been as successful without Tyrese Maxey foregoing a rookie scale extension and holding off to re-sign as a free agent this summer. Sure, Maxey got paid the same max deal in the end, but he took on all of the risk.

As for the other signings, once Paul George agreed to a max (the only All-Star level player to change teams via free agency this offseason), things came together pretty well for Philadelphia. Andre Drummond took $5 million to back up Joel Embiid. Caleb Martin took the rest of the cap space (and reportedly less than the Miami Heat were offering) to be a part of the wing rotation.

From there, Morey filled out the roster by re-signing Kelly Oubre Jr. via the Room Exception and Kyle Lowry via the Minimum Exception. The 76ers also added Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson via the Minimum Exception, and Jared McCain and Adem Bona through the draft.

The last move we want to address was re-signing K.J. Martin to a two-year, $16 million deal. Martin got just under $8M guaranteed for this season, with next season fully non-guaranteed at just over $8 million. That makes him a perfect trade chip up to the trade deadline. But where Morey was really smart was that he didn’t use Martin in a sign-and-trade this offseason. That would have hard-capped the Sixers at the first apron, under which things were starting to get a little tight. Instead, Morey re-signed Martin and will likely trade him later this season in a deal which won’t trigger a hard cap.

That’s delayed gratification, for sure. But after a year of waiting to use cap space, Philadelphia fans can wait a little while longer.

The 76ers summer started with Joel Embiid, Ricky Council IV and Tyrese Maxey’s free agent rights. Over $62 million in cap room spent later, Philadelphia finds themselves near the top of Eastern Conference projections. That’s money well spent, especially when you consider the amount of roster spots the Sixers had to fill.

Related: Philadelphia Transactions

Oklahoma City Thunder

Acquisitions 

Alex Caruso (acquired by trade via salary-matching), Isaiah Hartenstein (signed via cap space), Nikola Topic (2024 first-round pick), Dillon Jones (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signings 

Isaiah Joe (signed via Bird rights), Aaron Wiggins (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

Unlike the Philadelphia 76ers, the Thunder didn’t have to build an entire roster around a couple of returning players. The Thunder were able to make a targeted signing to fill a rotation weakness.

After acquiring Alex Caruso in a deal that took on money, but didn’t require using cap space, the Thunder filled out their rotation by using the bulk of their cap space to sign Isaiah Hartenstein.

Is $30 million for Hartenstein an overpay? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Not at all.

With Caruso already in the fold, Oklahoma City clearly felt that adding a starting-level center was their biggest need. Hartenstein was the best starting-level center on the market this summer. In order to get Hartenstein away from the New York Knicks (and possibly others), the Thunder had to go all Godfather and make him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

OKC had to spend some money this summer to hit the salary floor, and they didn’t have many roster spots to fill. So, it makes perfect sense to overspend on Hartenstein on a short-term deal. And that’s the key. This is a three-year, $87 million deal, but the final season is a team option. So, that makes it really more like a two-year, $58.5 million deal. That’s still an overpay for Hartenstein, but it’s a savvy one. More on that in a bit.

To finish up their summer, the Thunder used the old “decline the team option and re-sign” trick to retain both Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins. Both players have grown into rotation players for Mark Daigneault, and both players got really smart deals from the Oklahoma City side.

Just as Sam Presti can get out of the deal with Hartenstein as his team starts to get expensive (extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are looming, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s next deal), the Thunder used a smart structure for both Joe and Wiggins. Both of their contracts decline in value year to year. And, as is a trademark of Presti when he can get it, the deals both include a team option. That gives Oklahoma City tremendous flexibility when they have their young stars locked into max and near-max extension.

The Thunder only needed to fill one rotation spot, and they did it in a big way. Hartenstein will help as a starter or off the bench. Joe and Wiggins will continue to play key roles off Oklahoma City’s bench. Oh, and Sam Presti is still sitting on a bundle of future draft picks that he can use in future deals. This was as quick of a bounce back from contender to rebuild to contender as we’ve seen in NBA history.

Related: Oklahoma City Transactions

Detroit Pistons

Acquisitions

Tobias Harris (signed via cap space), Tim Hardaway Jr. (acquired by trade via cap space), Malik Beasley (signed via cap space), Paul Reed (acquired through waiver claim via cap space), Wendell Moore Jr. (acquired by trade via cap space), Ron Holland II (2024 first-round pick), Bobi Klintman (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

Simone Fontecchio (via Bird rights)

Analysis

Detroit didn’t have the same recruiting tools as the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pistons had the cap space, but they didn’t have the promise of winning. Despite that, new front office leader Trajan Langdon still upgraded his roster to start moving the rebuild forward.

The Pistons brought back old friend Tobias Harris with the bulk of their cap space. Is Harris a worth $26 million AAV over the next two seasons? Probably not. Unlike the Thunder, who spent to add Isaiah Hartenstein as the rotation player to put them over the top, the Pistons overpaid Harris when no one else was likely to beat their offer.

But that’s what you have to do sometimes as a bad team. And, despite being overpaid, Harris will help Detroit. He’s reliable as far as availability goes, he can hit a jumper and he’ll give the team a likeable, veteran presence. That’s all valuable for a team that all too often couldn’t get out of their own way last season.

Acquiring Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley follows a similar thought process. Both have good track records health-wise, both can hit shots and neither will cause a stir in the locker room.

The good news? None of these deals run past two seasons. Harris is on a two-year deal, while Hardaway and Beasley will come off the books after this season. The Pistons didn’t really sacrifice any long-term flexibility. And, as Tom Gores challenged the team with, Detroit took on contracts, but for guys who can actually play. Minus maybe Wendell Moore Jr., who was more of a straight salary dump. But his contract is so small, that it doesn’t really matter.

Langdon used a chunk of cap space to claim Paul Reed off waivers. That’s a smart, no-risk pickup for Detroit. If he doesn’t work out, both years of Reed’s deal are non-guaranteed. The Pistons can get off of this contract at minimal to no cost.

Re-signing Simone Fontecchio was a bit of an interesting process. Detroit didn’t wait until they used all over their remaining cap space to bring the veteran shooting forward back into the fold via his free agent rights. Instead, the Pistons re-signed Fontecchio and ate up some cap space. While that’s probably not ideal, Langdon was about out of ways to use his cap space anyway.

As it stands, the Pistons still have about $10.2 million left in cap room. That’ll make them popular as the third-team-in as trade talks happen around the league. Detroit can help facilitate deals using that space, while picking up another asset or two for themselves.

The Pistons summer didn’t have the blockbuster feel of the Sixers. Nor did it even have the smart-overpay feel of the Thunder. But Detroit got better this offseason and they didn’t dip very far into any future flexibility. And there’s probably more to come before the trade deadline. The Pistons simply aren’t walking the same path as the Sixers or Thunder yet.

Related: Detroit Transactions

San Antonio Spurs

Acquisitions

Chris Paul (signed via cap space), Harrison Barnes (acquired by trade via cap space), Stephon Castle (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signing

Charles Bassey (via Minimum Exception), Sandro Mamukelashvili (via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

The Spurs are kind of in between the Detroit Pistons and the contenders in terms of cap space teams. San Antonio’s record has them closer to Detroit, but the presence of Victor Wembanyama has them closer to the contenders.

No, we’re not saying San Antonio is competing for a title. Just making the playoffs is an uphill task in a very deep Western Conference. But Wembanyama is here, he’s only getting better and the Spurs aren’t far off from contention.

Because they’ve drafted so many players, and re-signed a few players, in recent years, San Antonio wasn’t working with max cap space like the previous three teams. Still, the Spurs made savvy upgrades that will improve their team next season.

In order to fit Harrison Barnes’ deal into their remaining cap space, the Spurs wisely structured Chris Paul’s deal to include some incentives. Paul got a base salary that is roughly $10.5 million, with some unlikely bonuses that can push his deal up to just over $12 million. That difference of just over $1.5 million was enough for San Antonio to acquire Barnes.

Barnes’ $18 million contract slid into the remainder of the Spurs cap room. For taking on Barnes, who can still play and will actually help San Antonio on the court, the Spurs also picked up a potentially valuable 2031 pick swap.

Both Paul and Barnes will help some young players mature. Paul will help a young backcourt, as well as just making sure everyone is in the right spots to execute Gregg Popovich’s schemes. Barnes will be a boon to a young forward group that will benefit from seeing how he’s been such a consistent performer year over year.

When you are shy of max cap space, and you don’t want to push your building blocks into lesser roles, you have to be really careful. Brian Wright and the Spurs did a great job of using their room to add two additive vets to a roster that really needed them. That’s a productive offseason.

Related: San Antonio Transactions

Charlotte Hornets

Acquisitions

Josh Green (acquired by trade via cap space), Devonte’ Graham (acquired by trade via cap space, then waived), Reggie Jackson (acquired by trade via cap space, then waived), Taj Gibson (via Minimum Exception), Tidjane Salaun (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signings

Miles Bridges (via Bird rights), Seth Curry (via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

The Hornets split the difference this summer with the cap space. They used some room to take on unwanted contracts in Devonte’ Graham and Reggie Jackson, who were both later waived. Charlotte also used some cap space to bring in Josh Green in a six-team trade.

For new front office executive Jeff Peterson to pull off his moves, he had to work around Mile Bridges’ cap hold. Peterson had to keep Bridges on the books, in order to re-sign him later via Bridges’ Bird rights. That made things a bit more complicated, but the Hornets made it all work.

In exchange for renting out some cap space, Charlotte added Green, who should slot in as a potential 3&D wing in a lineup that can use those skills. The Hornets also added a second-round pick in the Graham deal. In the six-team deal that brought Green and Jackson to Charlotte, Peterson was able to add two future Denver second-round picks by trading away a 2025 second-round pick that should be near the end of the round.

Was it the “fresh start” summer that Hornets fans were dreaming of? Kind of. They have a new front office and a new coaching staff. But outside of Green, the roster is pretty similar to last season’s downtrodden group. 

Many were split on bringing back Bridges, given his past domestic violence issues. Strictly basketball-wise, the Hornets got a terrific deal on Bridges with a non-max declining contract year to year. But it would be silly to suggest such a deal would have happened without the past domestic violence issues. In the end, if the organization believes Bridges is a changed person and continuing to work on improving himself off the court, then this is a solid value deal. Given the Hornets paid him, it’s fair to suggest that’s exactly how they feel about Bridges.

Tidjane Salaun looks like he’s at least a year away from contributing. Seth Curry and Taj Gibson will probably contribute more in the locker room than on the floor. Everyone else is returning from a season that was wrecked by injuries and the inconsistency of youth.

All that said, Peterson did a nice job in his first offseason. The Bridges situation wasn’t an easy one to navigate right out of the gate. Charles Lee seems to be a perfect hire to grow with this still-young roster. And the Hornets did a fine job using cap space to pick up a helpful player in Green and a couple of long-term assets. As a bad team that is figuring things out on the fly with all new leaders in charge, Charlotte made out alright this summer.

Related: Charlotte Transactions

Utah Jazz

Acquisitions

Drew Eubanks (signed via cap space), Svi Mykhailiuk (signed via cap space), Cody Williams (2024 first-round pick), Isaiah Collier (2024 first-round pick), Kyle Filipowski (2024 second-round pick, signed via cap space)

Re-signings

Lauri Markkanen (renegotiated-and-extended via cap space), Johnny Juzang (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

Utah’s offseason was going to go in one of two directions. Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik said the Jazz were going to go big-game hunting. If that path failed, they were prepared to make moves to keep some talent home in Utah long-term.

Utah ended up walking that second path, and used the bulk of their cap space to renegotiate-and-extend Lauri Markkanen’s contract. Markkanen’s salary went from just over $18 million for this season, up to the maximum allowable of just over $42 million. From there, the Jazz tacked on four new years at nearly $196 million for Markkanen.

Some have questioned the size of the deal, but Markkanen has proven to be an All-Star. And, most importantly, he really wanted to stay in Utah. That’s huge for the Jazz. Having Markkanen in the fold now precludes a trade this season, as Markkanen delayed signing the deal by a day to give himself a trade restriction that runs until after the trade deadline. However, Utah could always trade Markkanen next summer. His deal is large, but it’s far from untradeable, due to Markkanen’s talent and skillset. Given Ainge is running the team, never count out anything trade-wise.

The Jazz used the rest of their cap room to shore up a few roster holes. Drew Eubanks got what amounts to a one-year, $5 million deal to provide some center depth. Svi Mykhailiuk brings a championship ring and outside shooting to Utah on what is essentially a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Ainge also used cap space to sign Kyle Filipowski to a bigger deal than is allowed via the Second Round Pick Exception. The Jazz also re-signed Johnny Juzang to a four-year deal via his free agent rights, which has only this season guaranteed.

Even with Markkanen off the market for this season, the Jazz are still a team to watch in trade talks. Utah has a collection of veterans like John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, who could all be of interest to various playoff teams. Walker Kessler has also reportedly been dangled in trade discussions this offseason. There are even some deals out there that could return a big name (Brandon Ingram? Zach LaVine? A deal no one sees coming?) in a rebalancing or shedding long-term salary kind of trade.

Keeping Markkanen, while adding talent on short-term or pseudo short-term deals, is a solid summer for the Jazz. They didn’t sacrifice any long-term flexibility in any kind of harmful way. And there’s still the potential for another big move.

Oh, and let’s not forget the Jazz are sitting a bunch of extra draft picks, including as many as three first-round selections in the talent-rich 2025 NBA Draft. This is exactly where Danny Ainge wants to be. Ainge has the flexibility to keep rebuilding and adding assets, right up until he feels like it’s time to cash in and go for it.

Related: Utah Transactions