Most of the NBA’s July deals have already been checked off and made official, but a few notable agreements are still sitting in limbo.
The biggest one is the reported blockbuster between the Clippers and Raptors that would send Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and draft assets. That delay has a clear reason: if the trade were completed right now, the Raptors would take on the risk of any punishment Leonard himself - not the Clippers - might face from the NBA’s investigation into possible salary cap circumvention tied to the now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration. For now, Toronto is willing to wait, and both teams have said they expect the deal to go through once the league finishes its investigation.
That trade is the only one still waiting for formal completion, but several reported free agent signings are also still unsigned. A few of them are tied directly to cap mechanics, which is why the paperwork hasn’t been pushed through yet.
Brooklyn’s reported signing of Wagner appears designed to fit into the Nets’ room exception, which can be worth as much as $19.2MM over two seasons. That gives the team a reason to hold off, since Brooklyn could still keep nearly $14MM in cap room without Wagner on the books. If the Nets signed him into cap space instead, that number would drop to below $5MM.
Denver’s situation is more complicated. The Nuggets may be waiting for clarity on their restricted free agents, especially Peyton Watson, before finalizing the reported signings.
Certain outcomes involving Watson or Spencer Jones could trigger a hard cap. If Denver were to sign-and-trade Watson and bring back salary in return, the use of Watson’s outgoing salary would hard-cap the team at the second tax apron.
Depending on the size of the incoming salary, that could leave the Nuggets so close to the limit that they’d need to move another player just to finish these minimum-salary signings and round out the roster.
Golden State’s reported deal for Melton also carries apron implications. Based on the contract terms, he could be signed with either the bi-annual exception, worth up to $11.2MM over two years, or the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth up to $12.4MM over two years.
The bi-annual exception would hard-cap the Warriors at the first tax apron, while the taxpayer mid-level would hard-cap them at the second apron. That decision matters because it affects how much room the Warriors have to re-sign Draymond Green and fill out the rest of the roster.
There’s also a timing element with Golden State. The expectation is that this move won’t happen until after LeBron James makes his decision, since signing Melton into the bi-annual exception would leave the Warriors able to use part of the non-taxpayer mid-level to offer James more than the veteran’s minimum.
In Los Angeles, Williams’ reported agreement with the Lakers is too fresh to raise any alarms. It was reported less than 24 hours ago, so the delay is normal, and it should be finalized soon.
Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr. deal - four years, $64MM - is in the same bucket. Some Bucks fans may be hoping for a snag, but this is just a recent agreement that hasn’t been officially completed yet.
Phoenix has one of the cleaner situations. Luke Kennard’s reported two-year, $12.4MM deal had to wait until the Suns finished their Miles Bridges trade with the Hornets, because Phoenix is hard-capped at the second tax apron and needed the trade done to create enough space below that line to fit Kennard’s first-year salary. That trade was completed on Monday, so the Suns should now be able to sign Kennard using the taxpayer mid-level exception whenever they’re ready.
There are plenty of other reported two-way deals and Exhibit 10 agreements around the league that still haven’t been finalized, but those don’t affect team cap situations. The ones above are the contracts worth watching.
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