Brian Harman wins The Open Championship and $3 million. His on-course earnings for the 2023 season are now at $8.34 million and his career total is $31.97 million.

The Open Championship Top 5 Payouts

1. Brian Harman: $3,000,000

T2. Jason Day, John Rahm, Sepp Straka, Tom Kim: $1,084,620

Full Results

2023 Earnings Leaders Update

1. Scottie Scheffler: $19,138,342

2. Jon Rahm: $16,295,609

3. Rory McIlroy: $11,771,008

4. Wyndham Clark: $10,384,690

5. Viktor Hovland: $10,125,569

Full List

Following up with most recent NBA Next Podcast episode, here are some of the numbers and data referenced:

Future Cash Allocations By Team

As of this post, NBA teams are set to “spend” a combined total of $14.46 billion in total cash for the foreseeable future. These include any guaranteed, non-guaranteed or options that could be paid out by teams. Obviously, this is a fluid situation and with a potential Jaylen Brown extension or Damian Lillard/James Harden trade the team allocations will continue to shift. 

Highest Earnings Players

A quick look at the top player earnings over the last five years versus potential earnings from 2023-24 season and forward.

Last 5 Years (2018-2022) 

1. Stephen Curry, $212,031,769

2. LeBron James, $197,966,106

3. Paul George, $178,791,289

4. Chris Paul, $172,312,791

5. Damian Lillard: $169,381,710

6. Kawhi Leonard, $167,011,305

7. Kevin Durant, $164,714,648

8. Klay Thompson, $163,626,510

9. Russell Westbrook, $158,112,176

10. Giannis Antetokounmpo, $157,750,311

Future Years (2023+) 

1. Nikola Jokic, $276,122,630

2. Devin Booker, $270,589,000

3. Karl-Anthony Towns, $270,589,000

4. Anthony Edwards, $219,434,817

5. LaMelo Ball, $216,800,635

6. Damian Lillard, $216,201,799

7. Joel Embiid, $213,280,928

8. Tyrese Haliburton, $211,708,435

9. Bradley Beal, $207,740,400

10. Domantas Sabonis, $203,616,000

Career Earnings Thru 2028-29

Take this with a grain of salt because the earnings list is the most fluid because of signings, trades and waivers, but here is a snapshot of what the current top-10 career earnings would look like through the 2028-29 season (View Full List). 

1. LeBron James, $530,882,395

2. Kevin Durant, $499,843,653

3. Stephen Curry, $470,090,010

4. Damian Lillard, $449,910,157

5. Bradley Beal, $428,874,362

6. Nikola Jokic, $426,640,075

7. Chris Paul, $419,909,419

8. Karl-Anthony Towns, $416,840,523

9. Devin Booker, $401,105,653

10. Joel Embiid, $380,102,965

For context, we referenced the potential 2028-29 maximum salaries based on a $207,902,000 salary cap and a player with 10+ years of experience that could sign at 35% of the cap (with 8% raises) could sign around a 5 year $422 million contract. 

Year 1: $72,765,700

Year 2: $78,586,956

Year 3: $84,408,212

Year 4: $90,229,468

Year 5: $96,050,724

Total: $422,041,060

Recent NBA Next Podcast referencing Future Maximum Salaries: listen now

The NBA offseason is just about wrapped up. As of this writing, we’re still waiting on trades for Damian Lillard, James Harden and maybe Pascal Siakam. There are a handful of impact free agents left on the board, but every team has used almost all of their meaningful cap space. There are lots of exceptions left, but it seems as though teams are in wait-and-see mode, as the calendar moves through mid-July.

That means it’s time to reset where each roster stands. We’re going to look at who is returning, who was acquired and who has departed. We’ll also answer a few key questions about each team.

We covered the Atlantic Division already. Next up: The Pacific Division!

Golden State Warriors

Players Returning (8):

 Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins

Players Added (5): 

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Cory Joseph, Chris Paul, Brandin Podziemski, Dario Saric

Players Lost (9): 

Patrick Baldwin Jr., Donte DiVincenzo, JaMychal Green, Andre Iguodala, Ty Jerome (two-way), Anthony Lamb, Jordan Poole, Lester Quinones (two-way), Ryan Rollins

Roster Openings: 

2 standard spots and 3 two-way spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

Golden State is $25.5 million over the second tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining: 

The Warriors are far over the super tax line and can only offer minimum contracts to free agents.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Re-signing Draymond Green. Yes, the Jordan Poole for Chris Paul trade was a big one, but it’s not on the level of keeping Green in the fold. Green is the key to the Warriors defense, and an important player for the offense because of his facilitation skills. The Warriors had to keep him. It also signals that the core has enough left to keep competing for titles.

As for the Paul trade, it was at least as much about shedding long-term money for Poole as it was about acquiring Paul. The role for the veteran Point God is unclear, and the fit is a little messy. We’ll see how that all plays out.

Work To Do: 

The Warriors need to fill out their roster. They added a nice piece in the frontcourt with Dario Saric, but the big man rotation could use another guy. And Golden State could use another bench shooter, unless they think Moses Moody is ready for a bigger role, or rookie Brandin Podziemski is ready to play from the ump.

Keep an eye on Chris Paul too. His deal is pretty tradable, as it’s basically a $30 million expiring contract (the 2024-25 season is non-guaranteed). Golden State is pretty limited in what else they can do, so having Paul as a living $30 million trade exception could end up just as valuable as what he could do on the court.

The Warriors also need to fill out their two-way spots. Lester Quinones is a good bet to return, as the team remains high on him. Golden State has also done a nice job in recent years with developing players and getting them to the main roster. Don’t bet against that happening again with whoever they bring in on two-way deals this summer.

LA Clippers

Players Returning (15): 

Nicolas Batum, Brandon Boston Jr., Amir Coffey, Robert Covington, Moussa Diabate (two-way), Paul George, Bones Hyland, Kawhi Leonard, Terance Mann, Marcus Morris Sr., Mason Plumlee, Norman Powell, Jason Preston, Russell Westbrook, Ivica Zubac

Players Added (2): 

Kobe Brown, Kenyon Martin Jr.

Players Lost (2): 

Eric Gordon, Xavier Moon (two-way)

Roster Openings: 

2 two-way spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Clippers are $11.3 million over the second tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining: 

LA can only offer minimum contracts, due to being over the second apron.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Re-signing Russell Westbrook. After joining the Clippers during buyout season, Westbrook played really well. LA had very little at the point guard position, so bringing back Westbrook for $7.8 million over the next two seasons is a good value signing.

The Clippers snagged Kenyon Martin Jr. for a second-round pick and draft rights to a player who will likely never come to the NBA. Given they needed to inject some athleticism into an older roster and ground-bound frontcourt, this was a steal for LA.

Re-signing Mason Plumlee was also a smart move by LA. He combines with Ivica Zubac to give Ty Lue 48 minutes of solid center play. Plumlee is also a smart passer who knows to keep the ball moving to the team’s stars.

Work To Do: 

Should they trade for James Harden? That’s the question the Clippers front office has to be asking themselves. It’s clear Harden wants to go to the Clippers. LA has the ability to match salary in a trade without surrendering any key rotation players. But it would sap some of the team’s depth, and given the past injury histories of the main players, the Clippers can’t have enough depth.

Beyond that, there’s not a lot left for LA to do. The Clippers are returning more players from a season ago than any other team in the NBA. They need to waive or trade a player from a standard deal. And the Clippers have a couple of two-way spots to fill. This roster is pretty well finished, minus a Harden trade.

Los Angeles Lakers

Players Returning (8): 

Max Christie, Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Cole Swider (two-way), Jarred Vanderbilt

Players Added (8): 

Colin Castleton (two-way), Jaxson Hayes, D’Moi Hodge (two-way), Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, Taurean Prince, Cameron Reddish, Gabe Vincent

Players Lost (9): 

Mo Bamba, Malik Beasley, Troy Brown Jr., Wenyen Gabriel, Shaq Harrison, Scotty Pippen Jr., Dennis Schroder, Tristan Thompson, Lonnie Walker IV

Roster Openings: 

2 standard spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

Los Angeles is $1.4 million under the luxury tax.

Spending Power Remaining: 

The Lakers have $1.9 million of the Non-Taxpayer MLE remaining, but are functionally limited to veteran minimum contracts, which pay just over $2 million for next season.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Re-signing Austin Reaves. The Lakers re-signed all of their most important free agents, but Reaves was the most most-important player of that group. He’s blossomed into a multi-faceted offensive player, who is equally productive starting or coming off the bench. Reaves also didn’t get the massive $100 million offer sheet that was projected by many. That meant the Lakers got him on a four-year deal for right around the Non-Taxpayer MLE. That’s a great value.

Los Angeles also did well to get Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell back on solid deals. They are both important rotation players. And adding Gabe Vincent for the actual Non-Taxpayer MLE was a good value signing for the Lakers too.

Work To Do: 

Los Angeles will likely fill their 14th roster spot ahead of training camp. They’ll bring in camp guys, but may choose to leave the 15th spot open. That could make it easier to convert a two-way player (keep and eye on Colin Castleton, who was terrific in Summer League) or to sign a veteran player in-season.

Overall, the Lakers roster is far deeper than at this point a year ago. And it makes sense with good positional balance. They probably need to add one more rotation-level big, just to make sure they don’t overtax Anthony Davis, and for when he inevitable misses some games. But this roster is deep and balanced.

Phoenix Suns

Players Returning (7): 

Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Damion Lee, Saben Lee (two-way), Josh Okogie, Ishmail Wainright

Players Added (9): 

Keita Bates-Diop, Bradley Beal, Bol Bol, Toumani Camara, Drew Eubanks, Jordan Goodwin, Eric Gordon, Chimezie Metu, Yuta Watanabe

Players Lost (9): 

Darius Bazley, Bismack Biyombo, Torrey Craig, Jock Landale, Chris Paul, Cameron Payne, Terrence Ross, Landry Shamet, T.J. Warren

Roster Openings: 

2 two-way spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Suns are $4.7 million over the second tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining: 

Phoenix can only sign players to minimum contracts, due to being over the second apron.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Trading Chris Paul for Bradley Beal. This was the Suns all-in move. Beal isn’t a perfect fit, as he overlaps quite a bit with Devin Booker, but he should be just fine for Phoenix. Adding Beal took on a lot of long-term money, and put the Suns in a position to be one of the more expensive teams in the NBA for at least the next few years.

Because Beal, Booker and Kevin Durant have all played alongside other superstars for most of their careers, they should be able to make this work as a trio. The bigger concern: Who is going to make sure Deandre Ayton gets enough touches to stay engaged?

Work To Do: 

Phoenix’s roster is probably about set for the regular season, minus a couple of two-way signings. It seems as though the Suns intend to keep Deandre Ayton. James Jones and the front office did a wonderful job filling out the roster with impact players, despite only have minimum contracts to work with. They added depth and balance behind the star-studded starting lineup.

Now, it’s up to Frank Vogel to turn this collection of players into a team. It’s likely to be a little bumpy early on, but there’s enough talent here that the Suns should eventually be a terrific team.

Sacramento Kings

Players Returning (11): 

Harrison Barnes, Kessler Edwards, Keon Ellis (two-way), De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Alex Len, Trey Lyles, Davion Mitchell, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis

Players Added (5): 

Chris Duarte, Colby Jones, Nerlens Noel, Jalen Slawson (two-way), Sasha Vezenkov

Players Lost (6): 

Terence Davis, Matthew Dellavedova, P.J. Dozier, Richaun Holmes, Chimezie Metu, Neemias Queta (two-way)

Roster Openings: 

1 standard spot and 1 two-way spot.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Kings are $21.6 million under the luxury tax.

Spending Power Remaining: 

Sacramento has about $1.4 million remaining of the Room Exception. Beyond that, it’s minimum contracts for the Kings.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Renegotiating-and-extending Domantas Sabonis. It was a busy summer of retaining talent for Sacramento, but getting Sabonis signed long-term was their best move. He’s become an All-Star center, and made All-NBA last year. He’s a perfect pairing with De’Aaron Fox as the co-engines that make the Kings offense hum. Creating and using cap space to keep Sabonis around was creative and smart by Monte McNair and his front office staff.

Extending Harrison Barnes for a second time, along with re-signing Trey Lyles were also great moves. And finally brining Sasha Vezenkov over, six years after drafting him, seems like a really solid move too. He’ll be a rotation guy from Day 1.

Lastly, keep an eye on Chris Duarte. He went through a mess of a season with injuries, and he got lost in the shuffle in a crowded wing group in Indiana. He can play and the bet here is that he ends up a key guy off the bench for the Kings.

Work To Do:

Sacramento has a couple of roster spots to fill. They could maybe use one more point guard, as a break-glass type of player. But the frontcourt and wing groups seems pretty fleshed out.

It’s not an immediate thing, but the Kings are well clear of the luxury tax. That should give them the flexibility to take on money during any in-season dealings. But that’s something that will make itself known as the season goes along.

Sacramento is talented and deep. That’s a combination that should make it so that last season’s playoff appearance started a new streak vs being a one-year blip.

Quarterbacks

Current Leader: Tom Brady ($332,962,392, Retired)

Brady retires from the game (officially) as the current top earning player in NFL history. That honor will be short lived, as both Matthew Stafford ($328.3M) & Aaron Rodgers ($306.8M) are knocking on the door. In fact, once we learn of Rodgers’ newly constructed contract in NY, there’s a very good chance that he surpasses Brady’s figure by the end of this season. FULL RANKINGS

Fullbacks

Current Leader: Kyle Juszczyk ($37,928,083, Active)

Juszczyk’s contract guarantees fall off after 2023 though there’s another $12.5M remaining on the deal if he can convince the 49ers to keep him around. He’s already $17M clear of any other fullback in history, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else even coming close at this point. FULL RANKINGS

Running Backs

Current Leader: Adrian Peterson ($103,215,972, Retired)

Peterson still sits $32.5M north of any other running back in NFL history (Ezekiel Elliott, $70.6M). Even if Christian McCaffrey plays out the final three years of his current contract, he’ll still “only” max out at $89.8M. It’s going to take a special situation for a running back to approach the $100M mark ever again. FULL RANKINGS

Wide Receivers

Current Leader: Larry Fitzgerald ($180,757,239, Retired)

Fitzgerald probably had another $20M of playing time in him, but walked away from the game on his terms after the 2020 season. Active WR leader Julio Jones appears maxed out at $148M, while Davante Adams has an outside chance to take over the top spot - if he plays out all 4 of his remaining contract years. FULL RANKINGS

Tight Ends

Current Leader: Jason Witten ($81,879,722, Retired)

For a minute, it seemed like Witten’s number was going to be eviscerated by the star tight ends in the game. But a blatant financial plateau at this position has slowed the rate of pay immensely. With that said, Travis Kelce should claim the top spot by the time the 2024 season is complete, whether he remains on his current contract or signs a much deserved new one. FULL RANKINGS

Offensive Linemen

Current Leader: Trent Williams ($168,790,970, Active)

The 34-year old sits $41M+ clear of any other lineman in NFL history, and has another $97.5M remaining on his contract. A $225M final career number for Williams is very much within reach.David Bakhtiari & Lane Johnson should continue to climb the Top 5 quickly. FULL RANKINGS

Defensive Tackles

Current Leader: Ndamukong Suh ($168,165,157, Free Agent)

Suh has stood atop this leaderboard for a few years now, but his time there is now very much on notice. Aaron Donald ($157.1M) should cruise past him after 2024 - if he decides to keep playing football. FULL RANKINGS

Edge Defenders

Current Leader: Von Miller ($179,385,534, Active)

Miller’s big deal in Buffalo helped him cruise past longtime leader Julius Peppers ($164.9M), and the 34-year-old still has at least $10.7M coming his way due to a 2024 guarantee. Behind him, Khalil Mack has a strong chance to join the $175M club, but there’s a pretty significant dropoff with many of the active players in the league right now. FULL RANKINGS

Linebackers

Current Leader: Bobby Wagner ($101,008,441, Active)

Wagner’s compensation with the Seahawks/Rams this year will take him north of $100M earned in his illustrious career. There’s certainly a real world where 31-year-old C.J. Mosley surpasses him at some point, while Roquan Smith & Tremaine Edmunds now have a path to get there as well. FULL RANKINGS

Cornerbacks

Current Leader: Darrelle Revis ($124,211,129, Retired)

A sizable rookie deal ($32M) & 3 hefty veteran extensions keep Revis atop the earnings board still. Joe Haden was on track to pass him before falling out of the league last season, but for now, teammates Xavien Howard & Jalen Ramsey appear to have the best chance to surpass Revis. FULL RANKINGS

Safeties

Current Leader: Charles Woodson ($97,899,369, Retired)

Devin McCourty walked away from the game this winter just $5.2M shy of Woodson’s leading number. If Tyrann Mathieu can stick on his contract through 2024, he’ll surpass the $100M and hold the belt for a while. There’s a world where safeties struggle to get to this point going forward. FULL RANKINGS

Kickers

Current Leader: Sebastian Janikowski ($53,285,137, Retired)

40-year-old Robbie Gould ($47.7M) currently stands 3rd on this list and has expressed a desire to continue playing, but Justin Tucker still remains the most likely option to surpass the $54M mark. It’s not a guarantee though, as A) it will require 3 more seasons on his current contract, and B) His numbers dipped drastically in 2022. FULL RANKINGS

Punters

Current Leader: Thomas Morstead ($36,343,893, Active)

Believe it or not, this seems like a number that could stand at the top for quite some time, as Johnny Hekker’s current contract only takes slightly over $31M, when he’ll be 35 years old. FULL RANKINGS

Long Snappers

Current Leader: J.J. Jansen ($15,161,150, Active)

Jansen has been playing out at or near minimum contracts for the better part of a decade now, but will complete his 14th season in Carolina after 2023. FULL RANKINGS

The NBA offseason is just about wrapped up. As of this writing, we’re still waiting on trades for Damian Lillard, James Harden and maybe Pascal Siakam. There are a handful of impact free agents left on the board, but every team has used almost all of their meaningful cap space. There are lots of exceptions left, but it seems as though teams are in wait-and-see mode, as the calendar moves through mid-July.

That means it’s time to reset where each roster stands. We’re going to look at who is returning, who was acquired and who has departed. We’ll also answer a few key questions about each team.

First up: The Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics

Players Returning (11): 

Malcolm Brogdon, Jaylen Brown, Justin Champagnie, J.D. Davison (two-way), Sam Hauser, Al Horford, Luke Kornet, Payton Pritchard, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Robert Williams

Players Added (5): 

Dalano Banton, Oshae Brissett, Kristaps Porzingis, Jay Scrubb (two-way), Jordan Walsh

Players Lost (6): 

Danilo Gallinari, Blake Griffin, Mfiondu Kabengele (two-way), Mike Muscala, Marcus Smart, Grant Williams

Roster Openings: 

1 standard spot and 1 two-way spot.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Celtics are $2.3 million under the second tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining: 

Boston has the $5 million Taxpayer MLE, but they’d need to clear over $2.7 million in salary to use it in order to stay under the second apron. Teams are hard-capped at the second apron if they use the Taxpayer MLE under the new CBA.

Biggest Move of the Summer:

 Trading Marcus Smart (and others) in a deal to land Kristaps Porzingis. Boston went big, literally and figuratively, this summer by trading Smart for Porzingis. The Celtics are betting that Porzingis will stay healthy and will give the team another offensive weapon, along with some rim protection. Boston’s mounting payroll also played a part in Grant Williams leaving for the Dallas Mavericks via sign-and-trade. That’s a lot of toughness, versatility and defense out the door for the Celtics this summer.

Work To Do: 

Boston needs to get Jaylen Brown signed to an extension. He’s eligible for the super max, and all parties involved continue to say it’ll get done, but it’s been nearly three weeks and nothing is signed yet. That’s something to monitor.

Beyond extending Brown, Boston has to figure out if they are going to trade Malcolm Brogdon or not. He was originally supposed to be part of the deal for Porzingis, but the LA Clippers balked at Brogdon’s health and Brad Stevens pivoted to trading Marcus Smart. Now, the Celtics need to repair their relationship with Brogdon and get him healthy for this upcoming season. Or Boston needs to find another deal for the reigning Sixth Man of the Year before the season starts.

The Celtics will also fill out their roster by adding a 15th player on a standard deal and by filling their third two-way spot. That’s in addition to bringing a few players to training camp, with eyes on getting them to play for Maine in the G League this season.

Brooklyn Nets

Players Returning (10): 

Mikal Bridges, Nicolas Claxton, Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, RaiQuan Gray (two-way), Cameron Johnson, Royce O’Neale, Day’Ron Sharpe, Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas

Players Added (6): 

Darius Bazley, Noah Clowney, Dennis Smith Jr., Lonnie Walker IV, Dariq Whitehead, Jalen Wilson (two-way)

Players Lost (7): 

Seth Curry, David Duke Jr., Joe Harris, Patty Mills, Dru Smith (two-way), Edmond Sumner, Yuta Watanabe

Roster Openings: 

1 standard spot and 1 two-way spot.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Nets are $10 million under the luxury tax.

Spending Power Remaining: 

Brooklyn has the $12.4 million Non-Taxpayer MLE to spend. They are $12 million clear of the first apron, at which they’d be hard-capped if they used the NTMLE. That means to use the entire thing, they’d need to clear a little more space.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Re-signing Cam Johnson. Brooklyn sees Johnson as an important part of their core, alongside Mikal Bridges. Getting him inked to a fair value deal with $94.5 million guaranteed over four years is huge. Brooklyn also got good value with minimum signings in Lonnie Walker IV and Dennis Smith Jr., as well as intriguing draft picks in Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead.

Work To Do: 

The Nets are perhaps a bit light on shooting after trading Joe Harris and Patty Mills in salary-shedding deal, and losing Seth Curry in free agency. Lonnie Walker will help fill that void to some extent, but one more shooter would be nice.

Brooklyn could also use another experienced big to play behind Nic Claxton. The Nets are relying on unproven youngsters behind Claxton. The fifth-year big man has proven himself a top defender, but Claxton can still find himself in foul trouble on occasion. A proven backup would be good to have for the Nets.

It’s not a roster move, but Brooklyn really needs to find out what they have in Ben Simmons. All reports are that he’ll be ready to go to start the season. Can he find his way back to the All-Star level he was just a few years ago? Can he at least be a productive rotation player?

The Nets will also fill out their roster with another standard signing, a third two-way player and then some camp signings.

New York Knicks

Players Returning (13): 

RJ Barrett, Jalen Brunson, Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, DaQuan Jeffries, Miles McBride, Immanuel Quickley, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Roby, Jericho Sims

Players Added (2): 

Donte DiVincenzo, Jaylen Martin (two-way)

Players Lost (4): 

Trevor Keels (two-way), Derrick Rose, Obi Toppin, Duane Washington Jr. (two-way)

Roster Openings: 

1 standard spot and 2 two-way spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

New York is $4.7 million under the luxury tax.

Spending Power Remaining: 

The Knicks have the $4.5 million Bi-Annual Exception to spend, but are unlikely to do so.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Signing Donte DiVincenzo. The Knicks traded big for small by signing DiVincenzo and trading Obi Toppin. The rotation is very wing- and guard-heavy, but getting DiVincenzo for the MLE is good work. He’ll be a productive player and can allow New York to deal from a position of strength in any future trades.

Work To Do: 

The Knicks are still looking for an Evan Fournier trade. At this point, it seems likely they’ll keep Fournier and his $18.8 million pseudo-expiring deal (Fournier has a $19 million team option for 2024-25) in case they need to match salary in a bigger trade.

New York is still looking at potential backup power forward options. They need someone for about 10-12 minutes per game behind Julius Randle. But that player has to come in with the understanding that that’s the role. The Knicks don’t want to get caught with another player looking for a bigger role.

Beyond that, extension talks will continue with Immanuel Quickley, and the Knicks will fill out their roster with a couple more two-way signings and one more standard deal.

Philadelphia 76ers

Players Returning (11):

 Joel Embiid, James Harden, Montrezl Harrell, Tobias Harris, Danuel House Jr., Furkan Korkmaz, Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, Paul Reed, Jaden Springer, P.J. Tucker

Players Added (6): 

Mo Bamba, Patrick Beverley, Ricky Council IV (two-way), Filip Petrusev, Terquavion Smith (two-way), Azuolas Tubelis (two-way)

Players Lost (6): 

Dewayne Dedmon, Louis King (two-way), Mac McClung (two-way), Jalen McDaniels, Shake Milton, Georges Niang

Roster Openings: 

1 standard spot.

Cap/Tax Status:

 Philadelphia is $2.8 million under the first tax apron.

Spending Power Remaining: 

The Sixers have the $12.4 million Non-Taxpayer MLE, but are functionally limited to spending no more than the $5M Taxpayer MLE, due to room under the first apron/hard cap.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Signing Patrick Beverley…so far. In reality, nothing will top whatever happens with James Harden and the potential package Philadelphia gets for trading him. Alas, we wait…

Work To Do: 

As referenced above, the 76ers need to find a James Harden trade. They’ve done some moves while waiting for that deal to develop, but this roster has a very unfinished feel to it. Patrick Beverley is a nice addition, no matter if Harden is on the team or not. Mo Bamba is fine, as is re-signing Montrezl Harrell. But the Sixers have a lot of bigs now and the wing and the backcourt feel a bit thin.

Nothing else of substance is likely to happen until Harden is dealt. That’s likely to be at least a 2-for-1, if not a 3-for-1 or 4-for-2 type of deal. Because of the likelihood of an unbalanced trade, Philadelphia has to somewhat conserve roster spots. You don’t want to pitch a free agent on joining you team, then not have a roster spot for them when the regular season starts.

Toronto Raptors

Players Returning (12): 

Precious Achiuwa, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Chris Boucher, Malachi Flynn, Christian Koloko, Jakob Poeltl, Otto Porter Jr., Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., Joe Wieskamp, Thaddeus Young

Players Added (4): 

Gradey Dick, Jalen McDaniels, Markquis Nowell (two-way), Dennis Schroder

Players Lost (5): 

Dalano Banton, Will Barton, Jeff Dowtin, Ron Harper Jr., Fred VanVleet

Roster Openings: 

2 two-way spots.

Cap/Tax Status: 

The Raptors are is $3.3 million under the luxury tax.

Spending Power Remaining: 

Toronto has only veteran minimum contracts to offer.

Biggest Move of the Summer: 

Re-signing Jakob Poeltl. Toronto got a nice deal on Poeltl, as they re-signed him for $78 million guaranteed over four seasons. That’s a very good value for a starting center. The Raptors also got Jalen McDaniels for a relative bargain of $9.3 million over two seasons via the Bi-Annual Exception. And Dennis Schroder was a nice addition for $25.4 million over two seasons via the Non-Taxpayer MLE. Gradey Dick was also a solid value pick in the middle of the first round of the draft.

Work To Do: 

Toronto’s roster remains very unbalanced. They have approximately 87 forwards, a few centers and two guards. OK…maybe it’s not quite that drastic, but the Raptors remain very heavy in forwards and light in the backcourt. You have to assume that eventually a trade will come to balance things out a bit, otherwise Dennis Schroder is going to have to carry a very heavy load at point guard, unless Malachi Flynn makes a major leap in his fourth season.

Rumors continue to bubble to the surface about Pascal Siakam trade interest. It feels like Toronto has hit a breaking point to extend Siakam or trade him. Letting things play out seems unnecessarily risky. OG Anunoby is in only slightly less of an uncertain position, given his player option for the 2024-25 season.

Fred VanVleet is gone. Siakam and/or Anunoby could be next. Toronto has the pieces in place to be a playoff team, but the possibility of trades given the unbalanced roster still loom over this team. After years of being rock solid, it feels like everything is built on an increasingly shaky foundation. Eventually, this needs to be torn down or reinforced, with the former seeming the more likely path than the latter.

The Titans won the bidding war for WR DeAndre Hopkins, who joins Tennessee on a 2 year, $26M contract this summer. Our look at our how the rest of the roster shapes up financially heading toward camp.

Tennessee entered the week with an estimated $8.3M of Top 51 cap space. Early reports claim that Hopkins' new contract contains $12M cash in 2023, though it's not currently clear if bonuses or void years have been integrated to temper the 2023 cap figure (likely). 

Should the Titans require additional cap space to finish off their summer, QB Ryan Tannehill, LB Harold Landry, CB Kevin Byard, RB Derrick Henry, & DE Denico Autry carry sizable base salaries that can open up ample room as needed.

Quarterbacks

35-year-old Ryan Tannehill enters Year 12 on an expiring contract, set to earn $27M cash against a $36.6M cap hit for 2023. Tennessee has drafted a potential future QB1 in each of the past two drafts, but early reports claim that Malik Willis is a roster bubble candidate this summer, and that Will Levis is still a bit of a project in work.

With ample weapons now available around him, can Tannehill play his way into another contract with the Titans this winter?

Running Backs

Like Tannehill, Derrick Henry enters 2023 on an expiring contract, set to earn $10.5M in his 8th NFL season. His $16.6M cap figure is easily the highest among all running backs this year (Nick Chubb, $14.8M), and two void years already have $4.7M more allocated to 2024.

Behind Henry, #81 overall pick Tyjae Spears is projected to vie for action, while Hassan Haskins, a 2022 4th-rounder could also find himself in the mix.

Despite a wealth of production in 2022 (1,900+ yards from scrimmage, 13 TDs), 29-year-old Derrick Henry is likely heading for his final season in Tennessee.

Wide Receivers

The Titans won the bidding war for DeAndre Hopkins this summer, landing him on a 2 year, $26M base contract that can escalate as much as $3M per year thanks to incentives for receptions, yards, & touchdowns. The price point falls inline with or predicted value for Hopkins on the late open market, with Tennessee always being a top landing spot for the 31-year-old. It remains to be seen just how structurally strong the 2024 portion of his contract comes in at.

Hopkins’ signing takes a load off of 2022 #18 overall pick Treylon Burks, who caught 33 passes, including 1 TD in 11 games last season. Burks holds 3 fully guaranteed years plus a 5th-year option on his rookie contract going forward. Nick Westbrook should remain a factor in the passing game despite the addition of Hopkins.

Tight Ends

2022 4th rounder Chig Okonkwo should win the starting role out of the gate this summer with a non-guaranteed 3 year, $2.95M rookie contract still remaining. Elsewhere, 2023 5th rounder Josh Whyle & veteran Trevon Wesco should factor into the season. Tennessee is living light here in 2023.

Offensive Line

The Titans signed Andre Dillard (3 years, $29M) away from Philly this March to take over the left tackle role from departing Taylor Lewan, then drafted Peter Skoronski #11 overall to continue the rebuild on the fly. Skoronski could open the year on the starting line either as a Right Tackle or Guard.

Elsewhere, Daniel Brunskill was brought over from San Francisco, while starting center Aaron Brewer is entering a contract year in Tennessee.

Defensive Line

Jeffery Simmons was part of sizeable increase to the defensive tackle market this spring, locking in a 4 year, $94M extension that included nearly $60M practically guaranteed.

Nose Tackle Teair Tart is set to play out a $4.3M restricted tender, with unrestricted free agency pending next March, while veteran Denico Autry enters a contract year, set to earn $7.25M against a $9.1M cap hit in 2023.

Edge Defenders

A minute after signing a 5 year, $87.5M extension ($52.5M guaranteed), Harold Landry tore an ACL, shelving his entire 2022 campaign, and all of this offseason thus far. He’s questionable to be ready for Week 1 right now based on reports, but is fully guaranteed through the 2024 season contractually speaking.

Arden Key, who was signed away from Jacksonville on a 3 year, $21M contract ($13M guaranteed), should slot into the Sam Linebacker spot this season

Linebackers

Azeez Al-Shaair joins after starting 20 games for the 49ers over the last two seasons. He’s on a 1 year “showcase” contract for all intents and purposes.

2021 3rd rounder Monty Rice enters Year 3 of his rookie contract, with a non-guaranteed 2 year, $2.42M deal ahead of him.

Secondary

The Titans reportedly approached Kevin Byard about taking a pay cut to remain rostered this offseason, but those discussions appear to have subsided. Byard is due $14.1M against a $19.6M cap hit in 2023, with a non-guaranteed $14.1M also remaining in 2024. The near 30-year-old has 9 INTs in the last two seasons.

25-year-old Amani Hooker enters Year 2 of a 4 year, $32.5M contract, after missing nearly half of 2022 due to injury. His $6.185M base salary for 2023 is the last remaining early guarantee on the deal.

2022 #35 overall pick Roger McCreary should provide strong financial value, while 2020 2nd rounder Kristian Fulton is entering a contract year this season.

Special Teams

2022 UDFA Caleb Shudak & 2023 UDFA Trey Wolff should compete for the starting kicking role out of camp, while 2022 UDFA Ryan Stonehouse will retain the punting duties for the upcoming campaign. Morgan Cox returns for a 3rd season in Tennessee, his 14th overall.

Longtime readers of mine (back to my RealGM days) will know that each year that I attended NBA Summer League, I came home with an overflowing notebook of items from talking to people around the NBA. These can be notes about players, teams, the league as whole or really anything related to the NBA.

Summer League is a very relaxed environment. The draft is done, free agency is largely done (especially this year!) and NBA folks are chatty. It’s also probably the most optimistic time of the NBA calendar. Everyone feels great about the work they did in the offseason and what it means for their club going forward. Admittedly paraphrasing, it’s very common to hear things like:

• “We had him at the top of board.” (Note: This is said almost no matter what pick the team had.)

• “The draft fell off right after pick X.” (Note: This is at whatever pick the team had, traded up to, or the pick after a pick they traded out of.)

• “We were lucky he wanted to sign with us.” (Note: Said about almost every free agent signee.)

• “We feel good about what we did, given our limited resources this summer.” (Note: Said by teams with cap space, teams without cap space, teams that only had veteran minimum deals to offer and teams that had multiple draft picks.)

With that in mind, the vast majority of the quotes about players and teams will be positive ones. But that’s ok! Who can’t use a little more positivity in their life?

A few more notes:

• All quotes are anonymous. Each one came from NBA team personnel (generally a front office executive, coach or assistant coach). In exchange for anonymity, you often get candidness.

• Anything that is an opinion from myself will be noted as such with “Opinion: …”.

• In the vast majority of cases, these notes and thoughts were collected through Tuesday, July 11. A handful of times, folks followed up after the fact with further thoughts, but most were collected while I was on the ground in Las Vegas.

You can read Part 1, which were general NBA comments here and Part 2, which were notes from the Eastern Conference teams here.

Western Conference

Dallas Mavericks

• “Re-signing Kyrie Irving was priority number one. Adding depth to our frontcourt was probably next on the list. And adding some young talent that fit with Kyrie and Luka (Doncic) was also high on the priority list. We feel like we accomplished all of those goals, even if there is still work to be done.”

• “Grant (Williams) is going to help replace what we lost in Dorian Finney-Smith. He can shoot and defend, and we need guys like that. We’re also excited about his ability as a passer too. That’s something our other bigs don’t really do, so it adds a new dimension to our offense.”

• “The kids (Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper) are the kind of defense-first guys we need right now. They’ll get their minutes by defending. From there, the offense will come, especially as Luka (Doncic) and Kyrie (Irving) begin to trust them.”

• Opinion: It’s a shame that the Matisse Thybulle offer sheet didn’t work for Dallas. He would have been a good fit for the Mavericks. Wing depth still seems to be lacking a bit for this team.

Denver Nuggets

• “Does it feel like to you that some people have already forgotten that we’re the champs? That’s how it feels sometimes, because everyone is talking about all the other teams. But that’s ok. Keep sleeping on us!”

• “Christian (Braun) is going to take a big step forward this year. Last season, everything was on instinct until we got to about March or so. This year, he’ll be better prepared to play right out of the gate. We’re excited to watch him grow in a bigger role.”

• “We feel like we nailed our draft class. Julian Strawther is this year’s project. We’re excited about what he can become. Jalen Pickett could contribute right away in the backcourt. And Hunter Tyson knows how to play. Those three, combined with Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, and we have five potential rotation guys out of the last three drafts. That’s huge with our top-end payroll.”

• “We haven’t given up on Zeke Nnaji being a rotation guy. He has to stay healthy though. If he can, there is still a chance he grabs a role in the frontcourt rotation.”

Golden State Warriors

• “It was the only decision to re-sign Draymond (Green). We were never going to break up the core. They’ve had too much success and we won the title two seasons ago. Why would we move off that group now?”

• “We’re aware that Jonathan (Kuminga) wants to play more. The chance will be there for him this season. We need him to be ready for a full rotation role in our frontcourt.”

• “Brandin (Podziemski) hasn’t shot it well, but he’s done everything else. He’s a smart, tough, versatile player. It may take a year, but he’ll be a rotation guy for us eventually.”

• “Both Lester (Quinones) and Gui (Santos) have been our best guys in both Summer Leagues. Lester is probably better than his two-way status, but we’ll see if there is room. Gui could benefit from a step up in league. I think eventually both will find their way on our roster at some point.”

Houston Rockets

• “We set a goal this summer to improve our roster and rebalance things. We felt like we were a little too young. Nine first-round picks over three seasons is a lot. We made it a goal to come away with veteran players who can lift and enhance our young guys. We feel like we accomplished that goal.”

• “Jabari Smith has been working non-stop. Part of the process with changing the coaching staff and roster was to make sure we could get Jabari to a place where he can be his most successful. It’s important that we get him touches, and quality touches, at that. He’s going to be a star in our league, but it’s up to us to help get him there.”

• “Amen Thompson didn’t get a chance to show it for too long out here, but you saw a glimpse that he can do it all. We’re going to keep it simple for him early on. Let his natural instincts take charge first. But we have a plan to add more and more to his plate as the season goes along. He’ll be fine with the injury too. Not something we’re worried about long-term.”

• “When Cam Whitmore was falling in the draft, we considered trading up. Eventually, it became clear he’d get to us. Once that happened, we felt like we had won some sort of second lottery. He’s such a powerful player at a young age. He’s going to fit in our forward group just fine. Him, Jabari (Smith) and Tari (Eason) is as good a young group of forwards as any team in the NBA has.”

• “Fred (VanVleet) is going to be so great for us as an organizer. He’ll enhance Jalen (Green), Jabari (Smith) and Kevin (Porter Jr.) in a big way. Some think Fred and Dillon (Brooks) are going to take reps away from the kids, but we don’t see it that way. They are going to help those guys grow up quicker than they would have otherwise. Same with Jeff Green. We’re excited about getting them in the gym with the young guys.”

LA Clippers

• “We felt like we found a nice groove after we added Russell (Westbrook) and Mason (Plumlee). So, it was important to us to bring them back. They are both great fits with our roster and how we hope to play.”

• “Kobe (Brown) hasn’t shot it well yet, but that will come. He’s rebounding and playing defense. That’s enough for now. Having another big wing is never a bad thing.”

• “Look, I hate to talk bad about any other team, and everyone makes deals for their own reasons, but we stole K.J. Martin. He’s going to add a whole new level of athleticism to our frontcourt. Our vets are going to love playing with him and he’ll change the energy in games for us. Just a straight up robbery to get him on our roster.”

• “I can’t comment on any ongoing trade discussions, but we’re always looking to get better. If the right deal comes our way, it’s something we’ll look at. We feel like our title contention window is right now, so we’re always looking to add talented players in support of that goal.”

Los Angeles Lakers

• “Getting Austin Reaves signed was our top priority. Was there a worry we’d have to match an offer sheet? Absolutely. He’s a good player and he could fit on any team. But we were prepared to match any kind of offers Austin got. We weren’t going to lose him over money.”

• “We’re very happy with how our offseason went. We added a point guard, a forward, a wing and a big man. The two players we drafted (Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis) are guys we targeted in our draft range. And we re-signed all of our important contributors. We feel great about that.”

• “The player I’m most excited about that we added is Jaxson Hayes. He’s shown flashes of being a real player. We have minutes available in the frontcourt. My hope is that he’s ready to take them.”

• Opinion: Keep an eye on Colin Castleton. He has nice touch and rebounding and blocking shots at a pretty good rate. After a little G League time, he could be the next guy to step into a rotation spot for the Lakers.

Memphis Grizzlies

• “Marcus Smart is perfect for everything we want to be. We want our players to be tough, versatile, intelligent and to sacrifice for the team. And they have to represent what we want Grizzlies to be and to do right by Memphis. Marcus is going to teach some of our young guys how to win in ways they haven’t quite figured out yet. We couldn’t be happier to have him.”

• “Our roster was getting a little overstuffed. It probably still is, to be completely honest. There could be another trade or two where we consolidate a little bit. But there aren’t any glaring needs we’re desperately trying to fill. If something becomes available, then we’ll look at it.”

• “Locking up Desmond (Bane) was our primary objective this offseason. We now have our entire core under long-term deals. And they are all 25 and under. How many other good teams can say that?”

Minnesota Timberwolves

• “We traded up to get Leonard Miller as a targeted player at the draft. We weren’t sure how the rest of the summer would go, but we knew getting him would mean we did alright. He’s a first-round talent. Once he fills out and adds strength, we’ll have another big to throw into the mix in our frontcourt.”

• “Re-signing Nickeil (Alexander-Walker) is something I would be lying if I said was a priority when we got him in the trade. But he proved that he can really play and can be a nice combo guard off the bench for us. We’re happy that we kept him in the fold.”

• “One of our goals was to add another wing and to get a little more offense off the bench. Troy (Brown Jr.) and Shake (Milton) fill those needs for us. They’ll have a chance to be rotation guys right out of the gate, and that should strengthen our team in a big way.”

• “We remain confident we can get Jaden McDaniels signed to an extension. He’s a very big part of what we want to be going forward. In my opinion, he’s the best defensive forward in the league right now. And his offensive game just keeps getting better. Of course, you keep a guy like Jaden.”

New Orleans Pelicans

• “Let me start with saying all the noise about Zion (Williamson) not working, not liking his teammates and wanting out, it’s all nonsense. Complete garbage. Zion knows he’s made some mistakes. What 20- and 21-year-old hasn’t? But he’s a hard worker and he gets along with his teammates. It’s painful to read some of this made-up stuff that’s out there.”

• “Jordan Hawkins is going to be a big-time scorer in our league eventually. We’re asking him to do a lot of off-the-dribble stuff out here, because this is the time to experiment. It’s been messy, but that’s fine. It’ll come eventually. He’s a little bigger than C.J. (McCollum), but C.J. is going to be an ideal mentor for Jordan, because they have somewhat similar games.”

• “It was a risk to decline the team option for Herb (Jones), but we felt like it would work out because we’ve put time and effort into building that relationship. And now he’s got a new, big deal and we’ve got one of our most important guys signed long-term. Hard to be unhappy with that.”

• “Just seeing E.J. (Liddell) out there and being aggressive is great. It was such a shame what happened to him last year. But he never got down. He just put the work in, and now he’s ready for his rookie season.”

• Opinion: Dyson Daniels needs the jumper to fall, but he’s ready for a rotation spot. He’s got size, which the veteran Pelicans guards don’t really have. Daniels should be a rotation guy from Day 1.

Oklahoma City Thunder

• “It’s hard to be any more excited about Chet (Holmgren) joining our group this year. He made good use of what I call his “gap year” by watching and soaking it all in. In a weird way, he’s better prepared for how the NBA game is played. He’s going to start the season as one of the more skilled big men in the league. Not rookie big men, all big men.”

• “Yeah, Jalen Williams didn’t need even that one Summer League game. He’s ready for a big second season.”

• “Cason Wallace is what we want in our players. Work hard, play for your teammates and be tough. He’s got all of that. And he’s going to show he can do more than that Kentucky program and system allowed him to do. That’s always a thing with Kentucky guys, especially guards. We’re thrilled to have him.”

• “Tre (Mann) has played terrific so far this summer. It’s been fits and starts for him in the league. But the talent is there. The challenge is that our guard group is so deep, and we added more guys to it this summer. But Tre can really play. We want to see how he takes on the challenge.”

• Opinion: The Thunder are keenly aware that they have too many players on guaranteed contracts, and even non-guaranteed deals. The repeated comment was “Better to have too many guys who you like and can play than not enough of them.” But something is going to have to give, or some talented players are going to get cut.

Phoenix Suns

• “We had a lot of rotation spots to fill. And we had to target specific players, because we weren’t bringing back a lot of depth. Overall, we feel as though we accomplished our goals of getting guys who will complement our starting group.”

• “Brad (Beal) is going to be a terrific addition to our team. Is there overlap with Devin Booker? Sure. But show me the coach that says they have too much playmaking and scoring and I’ll show the first coach to ever say that. We think he might have his most efficient season ever too, because he’s not going to have to create so much for himself.”

• “We’re committed to Deandre (Ayton). He’s going to play a key role for us this year as the backline of our defense. And we’ll make sure he gets enough touches on offense to keep him involved on that end too. It’s not just going to be him living off screens and offensive rebounds.”

• “Toumani (Camara) might be more ready to play than we thought. Once that jumper comes around, we feel like we’ve got a steal on our hands.”

• Opinion: The Suns did more with only veteran minimums to offer than anyone could have imagined. They made it clear that they went after specific players to fill specific needs, and they did well with that strategy.

Portland Trail Blazers

• “I’m not going to stand here and proclaim that it’s a new era and expect trumpets to play and the sun to shine upon us, but it really is a new era. We’ve been fortunate to roll from one good group to the next over the years, and we’ve got the next good group in place already. They just need some seasoning and experience.”

• “Scoot (Henderson) and Shaedon (Sharpe) are the guys everyone is focused on, and for good reason. They are both really great, young players. But we’ve still got Anfernee Simons and we also drafted Kris Murray. That’s four young guys we’d put up against anyone else’s.”

• “We have a logjam of sorts at the guard and wing positions. But it’s a good problem to have. We’ll let them battle it out and it’ll sort itself out over time.”

• “Jerami Grant’s contract isn’t a bad contract. People got downright idiotic with the things that were said and written about that deal. He’s making 20% of the cap and people acted like we gave him a max deal. No matter what direction our roster takes, that’s a good deal.”

• Opinion: The specter of a Damian Lillard trade remains looming over the Trail Blazers. Within the first minute or two of every conversation in Las Vegas, everyone asked everyone else “What do you think will happen with Dame?” And it’s clear the organization is doing their best to move forward with the guys who will be there, as opposed to outwardly focusing on trading Lillard. But there’s only so much you can do with that, considering the stakes of trading your franchise player.

Sacramento Kings

• “We didn’t even need to play Keegan Murray the two games he played (in Summer League), but he wanted to be out there. But that was more than enough. He’s going to be a great player and quicker than most people realize.”

• “We have our entire core locked up for at least the next three seasons. That includes our entire starting lineup. How many teams can say that? And all of them are on value contracts too. That’s going to give us an edge moving forward.”

• “We’re excited to work with Chris Duarte. He’s better than he showed last year. Injuries and a packed rotation in Indiana got him behind and he never caught up. We think he can back up Kevin Huerter and our forwards and be a rotation contributor. We don’t need him to be great. Just productive.”

San Antonio Spurs

• “It’s a step too far to say our entire franchise is focused on making sure Victor Wembanyama becomes everything we think he can be, because we have other good players too. But clearly, we’re all focused on Victor. He’s a special talent and we can’t wait to add him in with all of our other guys.”

• “We’ve still got some roster balancing to figure out. We loaded up on wings over the past few years, because we drafted guys we were high on. Over time, that will need to balance out a bit with more ballhandlers and bigs. But that will come. For now, we’re looking forward to seeing this group together.”

• “There’s no rush to trade our veterans. We like what they can bring to a very young roster. Those guys are going to help the young guys figure out life in the NBA.”

• Opinion: Dominick Barlow should be on a standard NBA deal. He’s got a lot of talent. Barlow played well when given chances toward the end of last season, and he’s been terrific in Summer League. It’s unclear if the Spurs will have a standard spot, so he might have to take another two-way deal, but he’s better than that.

Utah Jazz

• “Adding John Collins was a no-brainer. He’s an outstanding talent. We feel like he got lost in the shuffle some in Atlanta. With us, we’re going to make sure he’s regularly involved and has a consistent role. We want to play big lineups, because it’s an advantage we have over most other teams. John is going to be an integral part of that strategy.”

• “We knew going into the summer that we wanted to keep Jordan Clarkson around. At one point, we thought it would be via a standard extension. But once the board kind of fell into place, it was clear we could do the renegotiation and that would benefit both Jordan and us. He’s an organizational favorite and we’re thrilled we kept him in Utah.”

• “Whenever you have three first-round picks, it’s going to be hard to feel like you nailed all of them, but we really did. Taylor (Hendricks) is going to be a terrific two-way player. It’s rare to find someone as skilled as he is, but that also likes to defend too. Keyonte (George) is already showing his leadership and toughness. He’s going to prove a lot of people wrong. And Brice (Sensabaugh) is going to be really good too. You add them to last year’s rookies, Walker (Kessler), Ochai (Agbaji) and Johnny (Juzang) and that’s six guys in two years. That’s how you fill out your roster while keeping a ton of cap flexibility for the future.”

Longtime readers of mine (back to my RealGM days) will know that each year that I attended NBA Summer League, I came home with an overflowing notebook of items from talking to people around the NBA. These can be notes about players, teams, the league as whole or really anything related to the NBA.

Summer League is a very relaxed environment. The draft is done, free agency is largely done (especially this year!) and NBA folks are chatty. It’s also probably the most optimistic time of the NBA calendar. Everyone feels great about the work they did in the offseason and what it means for their club going forward. Admittedly paraphrasing, it’s very common to hear things like:

• “We had him at the top of board.” (Note: This is said almost no matter what pick the team had.)

• “The draft fell off right after pick X.” (Note: This is at whatever pick the team had, traded up to, or the pick after a pick they traded out of.)

• “We were lucky he wanted to sign with us.” (Note: Said about almost every free agent signee.)

• “We feel good about what we did, given our limited resources this summer.” (Note: Said by teams with cap space, teams without cap space, teams that only had veteran minimum deals to offer and teams that had multiple draft picks.)

With that in mind, the vast majority of the quotes about players and teams will be positive ones. But that’s ok! Who can’t use a little more positivity in their life?

A few more notes:

• All quotes are anonymous. Each one came from NBA team personnel (generally a front office executive, coach or assistant coach). In exchange for anonymity, you often get candidness.

• Anything that is an opinion from myself will be noted as such with “Opinion: …”.

• In the vast majority of cases, these notes and thoughts were collected through Tuesday, July 11. A handful of times, folks followed up after the fact with further thoughts, but most were collected while I was on the ground in Las Vegas.

You can read Part 1, which were general NBA comments here.

Eastern Conference

Atlanta Hawks

• “We’re incredibly excited Dejounte Murray signed his extension. Was the fit perfect last season with Trae Young? No. But you saw what it could be by the end of the year. Those guys will make it work, because they are both too good to not make it work.”

• “It does sting to trade John Collins. He was a big part of some good teams for us. But our cap sheet made it necessary. We were carrying too much long-term salary. Everyone is going to have to make difficult decisions like this in the new CBA world.”

• “A big year is coming for Jalen Johnson. The opportunity is there. He just needs to take it.”

• “Kobe (Bufkin) needs to settle down a little. It’ll come for him. We’re deep, but not in ballhandlers. Kobe could find a rotation role this year.”

• Opinion: Keep an eye on two-way player Seth Lundy. He has a nice shot and good size for a wing. Atlanta has a lot of guys in front of him, but he can play.

Boston Celtics

• “We’re going to miss Marcus (Smart). We’re going to miss Grant (Williams). But we had to become a different kind of team. Getting KP (Kristaps Porzingis) is huge for us. Literally and figuratively. He’s going to make a massive difference for our offense. And he’s come a long way with his defense too.”

• “Our depth took a hit for sure. We’re relying on some guys who have had injuries. But they are also terrific players, and we believe we can keep them healthy.”

• “Jordan (Walsh) was very high on our board. We think he can play either forward spot and probably switch and cover most guards too. He needs to shoot the ball with confidence and consistency to find a spot, and we think he will.”

• “Wanted to see J.D. (Davison) really come out here and dominate guys. He just needs more time in Maine to really develop. Shot has to improve to make it in the league.”

• Opinion: Jay Scrubb is an NBA equivalent of an MLB 4A guy: Too good for the minors, but not quite good enough for the majors. He can really, really score. There’s an NBA spot for him, if he can defend just a little bit better.

Brooklyn Nets

• “Getting Cam Johnson signed was big for us. He’s our guy with Mikal (Bridges) that is going to lead us forward. I don’t think anyone has seen the best of Cam yet.”

• “Having back-to-back picks was a different experience. We felt like we had to add some size this summer, and Noah (Clowney) is that guy. We think he’ll eventually be a stretch big. With our second pick, we wanted to go upside. Dariq (Whitehead) was perfect for that. He was a top recruit for a reason. Just had a messy season. We’re really high on his potential.”

• “Signing Lonnie Walker and Dennis Smith gives us that backcourt depth we needed. Lonnie can really score. Dennis is tough. He’s probably the best defensive guard we have on the team. (Note: It was clarified that Mikal Bridges is seen by the team as a wing.) So, we improved in two ways with those signings for our backcourt.”

• “Things aren’t as certain as they were with KD (Kevin Durant), Kyrie (Irving) and James (Harden), but we’re excited about our future. We have a lot of flexibility moving forward and we’ve got our building blocks in place.”

• “Ben (Simmons) is working. We’re excited about what he could bring to our team with his unique skillset.”

Charlotte Hornets

• “Summer League was a little messy for (Brandon Miller) at times, but that’s ok. This was all about him getting his feet wet and working. We couldn’t be happier with Brandon’s work. He’s a perfect fit with our roster and what we want to be as a team.”

• “Getting LaMelo (Ball) signed to that extension was crucial. He’s our leader and our All-Star. And he’s going to be in Charlotte for a long time.

• “Nick (Smith Jr.) is tough. Tougher than I even thought before he got to us. He had such a messy season on that weird Arkansas team and with his injuries, that people forgot he was in the mix to be a top pick. We feel like we got a steal and that he’ll eventually be a starter in this league.”

• “Our cap sheet cleans up a lot after this season. We can start building around our young core with a lot of pathways forward.”

Chicago Bulls

• “Working around Lonzo Ball’s injury makes everything a little harder. We were a good team before he went down. You build a roster designed to play a certain way, around expensive players, and it becomes very hard when you lose one of those key guys. But we’re figuring it out.”

• “Adding Jevon Carter and re-signing Coby White were big moves for us. Jevon will bring some of the defense we lost at the lead guard spot with Lonzo (Ball) out. And he can shoot too. Coby has come a long way. We think he could win Sixth Man of the Year. He’s been that good as a bench scorer.”

• “We’re aware of the criticism about running it back. But we have good players. Are we supposed to throw in the towel? We’ll be a playoff team, barring another major injury.”

• “Julian Phillips can do a lot of different things. We’re excited about what he brings to our roster.”

• “It’s been disappointing to see Dalen (Terry) really struggle to shoot the ball. He can do just about everything else. But if he can’t figure out the shot, it’ll be hard to get regular rotation minutes. We have a very competitive wing and guard group.”

• “We’re still very high on Ayo (Dosunmu). This is how restricted free agency can go sometimes. Don’t read anything into our opinion of him as a player just because he isn’t signed.”

• Opinion: Javon Freeman-Liberty is really close to cracking an NBA roster. He’s tough, he can score and shoot and he’s improved his playmaking. Chicago’s guard depth, especially if Dosunmu re-signs, is going to make it hard for him to get through with the Bulls, however.

Cleveland Cavaliers

• “We were a good team last year and our guys got a taste of the playoffs. We know it’s not enough to just have another good regular season. We think we addressed our weaknesses, without sacrificing any of our strengths.”

• “Max (Strus) and Georges (Niang) are going to give us two snipers from the arc. And they’ve both played a lot of high-level playoff games. We didn’t want to add anyone who hasn’t been successful in that environment before. Both Max and Georges have.”

• “Our Summer League group is as good as anyone’s. Sam Merrill is an NBA shooter. Emoni Bates was one of the steals of the draft. Isaiah Mobley has improved from a year ago. Craig Porter does everything. And Sharife Cooper can play at this level too. We’re also pleased with the way Luke Travers is developing. He’ll be over in the NBA eventually.”

Detroit Pistons

• “It could have been tough for Ausar (Thompson) to fit in, because we brought real NBA guys to Vegas, but he’s already a team leader. Even in a group where other guys are talkative, you can see him stepping up and taking control. Really confident for a young guy.”

• “Locking up Stew (Isaiah Stewart) to an extension was big for us. We love our big group. They’re going to get better by battling each other every day.”

• “We didn’t just ‘eat’ deals for Joe Harris and Monte Morris, ok? Those guys can actually play. We’re serious about being a better team this year. We added shooting, playmaking and leadership with those two guys. They’re going to help us a lot.”

• “Cade (Cunningham) looks good. He’s ready to go. I bet he would have loved to play out here, but we’re looking forward to seeing him with everyone else in a couple of months.”

• “Jaden (Ivey), James (Wiseman) and Jalen (Duren) all did exactly what we wanted to see our here: They’ve looked a step or two ahead of the rest of their competition here. That’s what the expectation was, and they all delivered.”

Indiana Pacers

• “Having Tyrese (Haliburton) locked up for years to come is a sign that we believe in him and he believes in us. He’s been great since we got him, and we have no reason to believe that will change. He’s an All-Star now and will only continue to get better.”

• “Getting Obi Toppin was a no-brainer for us. He gives us a dimension at the forward spot that we didn’t have. We’re looking forward to seeing him on the floor with the other guys.”

• “We haven’t made very many shots out here, but we’re asking guys to do different stuff. This is where you can play around and try things. But our guys will be good. We’re not worried about it.”

• Opinion: Rick Carlisle has one of those “good” problems with how many guys he has. The Pacers guard and wing group has a lot of players who can play and need minutes. That’s going to take a little while to sort itself out.

Miami Heat

• “We lost some talent, but we have faith in our ability to develop the next guys. The thing with us is that if you come to our organization and you put the work in, we’ll do everything we can to get you to the best level you can be at. That’s from the NBA through the G League and here at Summer League. It’s all about the work.”

• “We’re thrilled to have Jaime Jaquez. He fits everything we want in a player. Versatile, hardworking, communicative and tough. That’s our kind of guy.”

• Opinion 1: The Heat are clearly in a bit of a limbo, as they attempt to trade for Damian Lillard. It was hard to get many definitive thoughts on the roster, because it’s clear they hope the roster isn’t complete yet.

• Opinion 2: Orlando Robinson is ready for a real NBA role. He’ll pass Thomas Bryant (who can also play) in the rotation for minutes behind Bam Adebayo.

Milwaukee Bucks

• “We feel like injuries cheated us the last two playoffs. That’s why we brought our guys back. This is still a championship team. We want the chance to show it again with this group.”

• “It’s hard to be a rookie on a title contender, but MarJon Beauchamp made the best of it. He was a sponge and soaked up knowledge from all of our guys. You can see here in Las Vegas that he’s at a different level now. We’re excited for a big year from him.”

• (After being told A.J. Green is underrated): “We think so too! (laughs) We’re happy to have A.J. He can really shoot the ball. We think our depth in shooters is unmatched in the league, and that’s important to have around our key rotation guys.”

• “Both Andre (Jackson Jr.) and Chris (Livingston) are going to be good players in the league. They’re good examples of why this new rule for signing second rounders is so good. They need time, and now we’re invested in each other for years. Our rotation is hard one to break into, but they have time. It doesn’t have to happen today.”

New York Knicks

• “Landing Donte (DiVincenzo) adds to our depth on the perimeter. We have a lot of different options 1 through 3 now. It’s our deepest spot on the team.”

• “It was time to trade Obi (Toppin). He needs to play more and we’re committed to Julius Randle. It does leave us with a bit of a hole at the 4, but that’s something we can figure out going into the season.”

• “We’re excited about Jaylen Martin’s potential. He’s got a lot of work to do, and he’ll spend a good amount of time in the G League. But all of the potential is there for him to eventually become a rotation player. He’s one of the youngest guys from this draft class, so there’s a long runway.”

• Opinion: The Knicks are loaded with guards and wings. They also have three good center options. Based on observations and conversations, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see New York move some of that depth to find an experienced backup big that can swing between the 4 and the 5.

Orlando Magic

• “Anthony Black is ready to defend in the NBA today. He’s projected as an on-ball guy, but early on, he’ll probably be a secondary creator on offense. The question is going to be his shot. If he hits shots, this is a homerun pick, because he can do everything else.”

• “Jett Howard is doing some of the ‘other’ stuff here in Las Vegas. He’s moving the ball, playing defense, rebounding. That’s good, because his finishing has been a little rough. He’s got a good jumper though. That’s big for his chances of finding playing time.”

• “Adding Joe Ingles brings a measure of maturity to the locker room. Not that the guys are immature, but Ingles can help through the rough patches. If we had a guy like him last year, we might not get off to such a rough start.”

• “Still excited about everything Jalen Suggs can be. He’s got all the talent, just has to stay healthy long enough to put it all together for more than a four- or five-game stretch.”

• “We’ll put our young guys against anyone’s in the league. We feel like this group is ready to start taking steps forward. The talent is there, it’s now about adding the experience.”

Philadelphia 76ers

• “Everything has been in a bit of a holding pattern because of (James Harden’s) trade request. We can’t sign a bunch of guys, then do a 3-for-1 trade and not have the roster spots. But we added Patrick Beverley and Mo Bamba. We needed more depth at those spots no matter what, and those guys will help us this season, no matter what direction the roster takes.”

• “Long-term, it’s about Joel (Embiid) and Tyrese (Maxey). Those two are as good of a starting point as anyone has in the entire NBA. Add a ton of cap and roster flexibility, and you’ve got something most teams would kill for.”

• “Offseason remarks aside, we love Tobias Harris and he knows that. He’s a really good player and a big part of everything we’ve been over the last several years. Nothing has changed about the way we feel about him.”

Toronto Raptors

• “Signing Dennis Schroder wasn’t quite a ‘must sign’, but it was close. We just don’t have a lot at that position. We’re fortunate that our forwards can all handle the ball and do a lot of playmaking. But we still needed someone who is more of a true point guard. Dennis gives us that guy.”

• “I understand you think Jalen McDaniels is just adding an extra forward to an already crowded mix. But sometimes the value of the player and the cost are just something you can’t pass up. We’re happy to have him as part of the Raptors.”

• “Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick are our future, along with Jakob Poeltl. Not because we are down on anyone else, but those guys are all signed for longer than two seasons. But that’s the kind of stability we want, because the rest of the roster is sort of in transition. That trio is a group we can build with.”

• “There’s a lot of trade interest in a lot of our players. We always say that means we have good players. As of now, there’s nothing in the works to move anyone, but we are in a bit of a transition period and the roster is still taking shape.”

Washington Wizards

• “Starting over is too harsh of a term. Resetting? That feels more correct for where we’re at. The intention was never to tear things all the way down. But we like what we’ve got and the path we’re on now.”

• “Kyle Kuzma has been a big part of things for a couple of years now. We’ve seen how he’s grown and rounded out his game. Getting him to return on the deal we did is a major win for him and the franchise as a whole.”

• “There are opportunities for a lot of players to show what they can do this season. We’re going to play the kids a lot and find out what they can be. No one will be able to say it was a lack of opportunity that kept them from showing what they can do.”

• “We’re thrilled to have Bilal (Coulibaly). We traded up because our intel was that other teams were attempting to do the same thing, and Indiana had made it clear they were willing to move around the board. We couldn’t risk waiting one more pick, because we knew someone else was going to come up to draft Bilal. But we’re going to ask everyone to be patient. He’s only 18 years old. (Note: Coulibaly turns 19 years old on July 26.) So, this is very much throwing a kid into the fire. But this is a long-term thing for us. He doesn’t need to be great or to play on Day 1. He just needs to work hard and do what’s asked of him by the coaches.”

• Opinion: It’s officially time to worry about Johnny Davis, if you aren’t there already. Second-year players should look better than the first-year players at Summer League. Unfortunately, Davis hasn’t looked like that guy.

Longtime readers of mine (back to my RealGM days) will know that each year that I attended NBA Summer League, I came home with an overflowing notebook of items from talking to people around the NBA. These can be notes about players, teams, the league as whole or really anything related to the NBA.

Summer League is a very relaxed environment. The draft is done, free agency is largely done (especially this year!) and NBA folks are chatty. It’s also probably the most optimistic time of the NBA calendar. Everyone feels great about the work they did in the offseason and what it means for their club going forward. Admittedly paraphrasing, it’s very common to hear things like:

• “We had him at the top of board.” (Note: This is said almost no matter what pick the team had.)

• “The draft fell off right after pick X.” (Note: This is at whatever pick the team had, traded up to, or the pick after a pick they traded out of.)

• “We were lucky he wanted to sign with us.” (Note: Said about almost every free agent signee.)

• “We feel good about what we did, given our limited resources this summer.” (Note: Said by teams with cap space, teams without cap space, teams that only had veteran minimum deals to offer and teams that had multiple draft picks.)

With that in mind, the vast majority of the notes about players and teams will be positive ones. But that’s ok! Who can’t use a little more positivity in their life?

A few more notes:

• All quotes are anonymous. Each one came from NBA team personnel (generally a front office executive, coach or assistant coach). In exchange for anonymity, you often get candidness.

• Anything that is an opinion from myself will be noted as such with “Opinion: …”.

• In the vast majority of cases, these notes and thoughts were collected through Tuesday, July 11. A handful of times, folks followed up after the fact with further thoughts, but most were collected while I was on the ground in Las Vegas.

All of that said, let’s start with some general NBA observations!

General NBA Observations

New CBA

• “It’s restricting, but you can see the impact already. None of the Warriors, Suns or Clippers signed anyone new for more than the minimum. That’s a good thing for balance.”

• “Everyone is over the salary floor. That’s almost never the case. That’s a good thing, because those teams spent to lift themselves up.”

• “The league already feels more balanced. No one team is spending tens of millions more than everyone else. No teams are sitting on piles of cap space.”

• “The Second Round Pick Exception is a game changer. We were able to use it and use our MLE. That’s extra talent we added because we didn’t have to use the MLE to sign our second rounder.”

• Opinion: The Second Round Pick Exception has been used to sign 13 players to four-year contracts. That’s already a huge win for teams, and most of those players got more guaranteed money than they would have otherwise. That’s a win-win situation.

• “Extensions have changed the game. Of course, that happened before the new CBA, but the new rules make extensions even better for players. You’re not going to see too many guys actually hit free agency.”

• “Trades are the way now, if you want to make a big splash. Maybe for a bad team, like Houston did, you can use space to get some veterans. But most teams aren’t in a spot to pay or overpay for guys. That means trades will be even more important than they were before.”

Depth of Talent

• “This is the most talent the league has ever had. Look at the guys who are playing here in Vegas. These rosters are stacked.”

• “We’ve never been in a better place as a whole. There’s incredible young talent in the league, and vets are playing longer than ever before. I tell our guys all the time ‘It’s hard to find a rotation spot now. If you aren’t playing, it doesn’t mean you can’t play. It’s just not your time yet.’ But the young kids don’t want to hear that. They get impatient and start looking for another situation. The grass isn’t always greener.”

Expansion

• “It’s time. Beyond time actually. We have too many good players not playing. And there are at least 50 guys playing outside of the NBA somewhere, in places like the G League or overseas, that are NBA-level guys.”

• “There are cities who want it and we have enough talent. It’s time. I know they keep saying after the new TV deal, but the process should already be starting. We all know it’s coming.”

• “I want expansion because I want more jobs for everyone. Players, coaches, medical staff, front office personnel, TV folks, all sorts of people. Expansion will add hundreds of jobs to the league. Too much talent not in our league that should be.”

• “I’m against expansion. I’d rather have too many good players on each team than not enough. But I know it’s coming.”

• Opinion: Las Vegas is buzzing about getting their own NBA team. Most folks assume it’s basically a done deal, even if nothing has been officially said, or even fully hinted at.

In-Season Tournament

• “It’s fine. I don’t know. It’s fine.”

• “I guess I don’t see the point. But we tell our guys all the time: If we have to play, we might as well win.”

• “It’ll be fun. Those early-season games don’t have a lot of juice. This will get guys feeling competitive early. And by the time we hit the tournament phase, guys are going to want to win it.”

• “We aren’t soccer. Stop trying to make us soccer.”

• “I thought the Play-In Tournament was bad, but it’s been great. I’m sure this will be great too.”

• “I’m a big soccer fan. This is going to be awesome. Eventually, we should open it up to the G League teams too and make it a real tournament. Unfortunately, no one is going to want to risk losing to a G League team. Imagine how bad that would make you look?”

Summer League

• “I’ll repeat what I told you years ago: Summer League doesn’t tell you who can play, but sometimes it can tell you who can’t play. But don’t read too much into things, whether good or bad.”

• “We use it to experiment with our second- and third-year guys. Some games we tell them that their goal is to shoot at least 20 times, with 10 off-the-dribble shots. Does that get messy? Sure. But that’s what Summer League is for.”

• “I never thought this would get this big. It’s crazy how popular this has become.”

• “Honestly, my favorite two weeks of the year. Everyone is here. We’re all working. Your young guys are in the gym getting better. Nothing beats it.”

• “It should be one week long. Four games. One game every other day. That’s enough.”

• “I’m on the road all the time, so this is my time to actually be with the team. I enjoy that aspect of it. And it’s great to see people, especially coaches, because we don’t cross paths much during the season.”

• “It’s fun to see the rookies, but, for me, it’s about seeing what the other kids can do. Did they get better? Are they improving the skills we tasked them with improving? Are they embracing the new guys? Those are the things I look for.”

• Opinion: Summer League is a must-do for any NBA fan. No where will get you as close to NBA players as you can get in Las Vegas.

On the full days, with eight games spread between the two gyms, you can’t beat it. The gyms are literally right next to each other, and connected by the concourse around Thomas and Mack.

If you ever have the opportunity to attend Summer League, do it. You’ll enjoy yourself, even if the actual basketball isn’t always the best.

As NFL training camps approach, our deep dive into actual contract extension breakdown projections for Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Saquon Barkley, Chris Jones, Justin Jefferson & 5 notable Dallas Cowboys players.

Dak Prescott (QB, Cowboys)

Prescott & the Cowboys waited to the very last minute to lock in his first multi-year extension, a 4 year, $160M contract to bypass a $38M 2nd franchise tag in 2021. Just over two years later, Dallas is eyeing a version 2.0 of this contract, most notably to clean up a near $60M cap hit looming in 2024. With QB salaries soaring past Dak's current $40M pricepoint, what lies next for Prescott?

Projected Contract

There's a world where Dak only accepts a 2 or 3 year extension for his next deal in order to keep things as neat and tidy as possibly (term was a major sticking point for him the last go around). We'll push things out 4 years for this projection, offering up a 6 year, $265M contract that includes 4 years, $200M of new financials. The deal carries $128M fully guaranteed at signing (through 2025), with another $47M locking in March of 2024. Because of a March restructure that paid out $30M to Prescott, we've pushed the bulk of the cashflow on this new deal into 2024, in the form of a $75M option bonus. Any cap relief that the Cowboys are looking to gain in 2024 will quickly be mitigated by huge figures in 2025-2026 here, but we're relying on the assumption that Dallas will keep on kicking that can down the line until the sun sets. Early (large) March roster bonuses will afford them the opportunity for massive cap conversions on a yearly basis. The $175M practically guaranteed is structured entirely into the next 4 seasons, putting Dak on track to re-up for a 3rd time after 2026, at age 33.

CeeDee Lamb (WR, Cowboys)

Lamb became extension eligible for the first time after the 2022 season, his most productive year to date. His primary agent (Tory Dandy) has a strong track record of short and very sweet extensions for star wide receivers (Mike Williams, Chris Godwin, DK Metcalf, etc...), so we're following suit here for Lamb's next deal.

Projected Contract

Our projected extension for Lamb is more or less a cap-adjusted version of DK Metcalf's recent deal in Seattle, with a similar AAV, 2-year, & 3-year cash flow structure. We've stayed away from the double bonus system that Metcalf received, as the Cowboys generally prefer to deal with roster bonuses that they can choose to convert (or not) annually. This is a 3 year, $63.5M base contract on its face, with a chance to get $100M+ over the next 5 seasons in total value.

Tony Pollard (RB, Cowboys)

Pollard was on a fast track to a multi-year extension in Dallas when a broken fibula derailed the process. The Cowboys responded with a tag offered, and Pollard signed it almost immediately. Dallas has yet to replace Zeke Elliott on the roster, potentially further showing their trust and need for Pollard in this offseason.

Projected Contract

With the franchise tag already signed (and on the books), we're offering 2 new years, and $25M new money on top of it, including $23M fully guaranteed through 2024. This figure represents a (slight) increase over the $22.2M Pollard would secure on back to back franchise tags, but such is the life of a running back in the NFL. Our projection includes a $10M signing bonus & $11.5M in 2023 - again a slight increase over his current tag figure. All of 2024 is fully guaranteed at signing, with a $7.5M roster bonus to be paid out early in March. That same $7.5M bonus is available in 2025, though without any early vesting trigger attached to it. We've included two void years to allow the signing bonus to spread out the maximum 5 years.

Trevon Diggs (CB, Cowboys)

Diggs has developed into one of the best young corners in the game, and seems a lock to remain a fixture in Dallas for the next few years. Jaire Alexander ($21M per year) and Denzel Ward ($71.25M guaranteed) carry the top numbers at this position. It stands to reason that Diggs can challenge these numbers with his upcoming extension.

Projected Contract

We're projecting a 4 year, $86M extension for Trevon Diggs, making him the highest average paid CB in NFL history. Our predicted guarantee structure however ($43M at signing, $60.5M practically) fall slightly short of the top of the market, but still represent Top 3 figures in both cases. Dallas will have an early opt-out available after 2025, but will need to make a quick decision as the 2026 salary will fully guarantee in March of that offseason.

Terence Steele (OT, Cowboys)

Steele has started 13 games each of the last 3 seasons, making him an integral piece to the Cowboys puzzle. Dallas has plenty of mouths to feed, but losing a core offensive lineman shouldn't be a consideration with a roster attempting to contend annually.

Projected Contract

With Right Tackle contracts now over $20M per year at the top of the market, $15M becomes a standard extension point. We're projecting Steele to land a little higher on a total value basis, but right at that $15M per year in terms of guarantee structure ($45M practically guaranteed through 2025). This is a $65M contract over 5 years if it's played out in full.

Joe Burrow (QB, Bengals)

Burrow's extension is one of the more anticipated contracts in all of sports, as the Bengals have little wiggle room with their superstar QB. The 27 year old is averaging 284 passing yards per game a 104+ rating, completing nearly 70% of his passes over the past two seasons in Cincy. There will be a push to make this contract a "mini-Mahomes" structure, but with the cap growing rapidly, and QB pay increasing at an even faster rate, keeping this deal as neat and tidy as possible should be a priority for Burrow's camp.

Projected Contract

Our projected breakdown for Burrow's next deal involves tacking on 4 new years, $222M new money to his remaining 2 years, $35M, or a 6 year, $257M contract. The extension includes a $60M signing bonus, $75M of 2-year cash, and $120M of 3-year cash - the fully guaranteed at signing portion of this contract. Another $45M (his 2026 compensation) will become fully guaranteed next March, while a final $25M (a 2027 roster bonus) will become guaranteed for cap in March of 2025, bringing the practical guarantee on this contract to $190M. March roster bonuses in each of the last 5 seasons of this contract offer Burrow an early pay day, and the Bengals an opportunity to free up cap space with a simple conversion where necessary.

Justin Herbert (QB, Chargers)

The Chargers and QB Justin Herbert have been in negotiation talks for the better part of 5 months now, with very little progress being noted publicly. But as training camps approach, contracts for both he and Joe Burrow should become front and center talking points across the league. Like Burrow, Herbert shouldn't be wooed by an 8-10 year "career" contract offer for his first major pay day. With the league's financial landscape as healthy as ever, leveraging a get-in/get-out tactic should allow the 25-year-old to cash in on (at least) 3 major veteran contracts over the course of his NFL career.

Projected Contract

The Chargers haven't veered off the beaten path in terms of structure with their blockbuster contracts, so we won't project they'll do anything of the sort here either. Herbert gets a double bonus package that includes a $40M signing bonus in 2023, and a $25M option bonus for 2024. The early cash payouts equate to $72M through two years ($40M more than his current cashflow), and $112M through three years - representing the guaranteed at sign portion of this extension. From there another $63M of his contract becomes guaranteed for practical purposes, including his entire 2026 salary, and $20M of 2027 compensation, all of which carry early vesting triggers to ensure a payout.

Chris Jones (DT, Chiefs)

One of the best interior defensive linemen in all of football should never have been allowed to enter 2023 with an expiring contract, and it appears the Chiefs won't make that mistake, as the two sides have been deep in negotiation to extend the 29 year old this month. Aaron Donald's $31.6M per year, $95M guaranteed stand atop the DL list, but Jones should be next in line to approach those thresholds with his next contract.

Projected Contract

Our projected breakdown for Chris Jones' extension includes 3 new years, $93M new money on top of his 1 year, $20M remaining. We've added a void year to allow a $25M signing bonus to prorate over a full 5 seasons, which factors into $55M of 2-year cash, $82.5M of 3-year cash, both of which come in comfortably ahead of any DT not named Donald. The deal includes $54.5M fully guaranteed at signing, with another $27M set to lock in for cap/skill next March.

Saquon Barkley (RB, Giants)

The deadline for Barkley to sign a multi-year extension this summer is just days away (July 15th), so any compromising in the process will need to happen quickly. Barkley seems the most likely franchise tagged player to garner an extension, even if paying running backs has become a thing of the past in most cases. Barkley's $10.091M franchise tag would represent the 8th most cash paid out to a running back in 2023. A 2nd franchise tag would bring his 2-year total over $22.2M, so beating this number in upfront guarantee appears to be the largest hurdle for any extension.

Projected Contract

Our projected contract extension for Barkley includes $24M fully guaranteed at signing, with a chance to earn $30M over the next two seasons thanks to per game active bonuses and achievable incentives. The deal includes a $12M signing bonus, increasing Barkley's 2023 base compensation to $13.5M, with a chance to get to $16.25M. The Giants will see around $5M of cap savings for the upcoming season on this contract, while an early March roster bonus in 2024 can be converted to free up ample space next season as well without damaging the dead cap scenarios too much going forward.

Justin Jefferson (WR, Vikings)

It's hard to find a statistical category that Justin Jefferson hasn't eclipsed out of the gate through 3 NFL seasons, which doesn't bode well for any hopes of a "team-friendly" extension in Minnesota. Tyreek Hill's (fluffy) $30M per year and Cooper Kupp's $75M guaranteed are the current top numbers for WRs, though when it comes to rookie extensions, those figures drop to $25M (A.J. Brown) & $58.2M (DK Metcalf). Has Jefferson done enough to sit atop ALL WR numbers?

Projected Contract

We're bucking our usually conventional thinking here, putting Jefferson on the largest contract by every metric in NFL WR history. The 4 year, $128M extension pays out $54M through 2 years, $73M through 3 years with $53M fully guaranteed at signing (Tyreek Hill, $52.5M). Another $43M of salary becomes fully guaranteed in March of 2024, bringing the practical guarantees to a whopping $96M - $21M more than any WR has ever received. The double bonus structure of this contract keep the cap figures extremely tenable for the next two seasons, with a convertable base salaries in 2025-2026 as needed.