With the NBA postseason coming to an end, players must decide on whether or not they intend to exercise or decline their player options. Some of the marque players with options are LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, Dwight Howard, Chandler Parsons and Pau Gasol. By exercising a Player Option players are guaranteed that salary for the 2016-2017 season, while declining a Player Option insures that player will become an Unrestricted Free Agent allowing them to negotiate on July 1st.
Point Guards
Player | Team | Option | 2016 Cap | Deadline | Thoughts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Deron Williams | DAL | Player | $5,621,026 | June 22 OPTED OUT |
Opt out and seek multi-year deal with Dallas or another team |
Jeremy Lin | CHA | Player | $2,235,255 | June 22 OPTED OUT |
Opt out but will seek to remain with Charlotte |
Mo Williams | CLE | Player | $2,194,500 | June 13OPTING IN | Has stated he doesn't want to retire; opting in would guarantee him a 2016-2017 salary |
Shane Larkin | BKN | Player | $1,500,000 | June 29OPTED OUT | He'll opt-out and await for Brooklyn to part ways with Jarrett Jack, aligning him for starting PG money. |
Shooting Guards
Player | Team | Option | 2016 Cap | Deadline | Thoughts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DeMar DeRozan | TOR | Player | $10,150,000 | June 15OPTED OUT | Opt out and Toronto will most likely offer him a max contract |
Arron Afflalo | NYK | Player | $8,000,000 | June 22OPTED OUT | Opt out and seek his market value with other teams around the league |
J.R. Smith | CLE | Player | $5,375,000 | June 16OPTED OUT | Opt out and re-sign with Cleveland at a larger salary. His 3-point ability during the regular season and throughout the playoffs has been an asset to the Cavaliers. |
Austin Rivers | LAC | Player | $3,344,106 | June 22OPTED OUT | While staying in LA seems likely, don't be surprised if a teams in need of younger bench depth, like San Antonio don't show interest. |
Manu Ginobili | SAS | Player | $2,940,630 | June 22 OPTED OUT |
Retirement/Opt out |
Wayne Ellington | BKN | Player | $1,567,500 | June 29OPTED OUT | Opt out and seek more than the minimum salary |
Wesley Johnson | LAC | Player | $1,227,286 | June 22OPTED OUT | Johnson will opt-out and almost certainly return to the Clippers for the 2016-17 season. |
James Anderson | SAC | Player | $1,139,123 | June 21OPTED OUT | His opt-out is clearly for financial gain, as a soaring salary cap should benefit all playerseven if just a bit here. |
Seth Curry | SAC | Player | $1,015,696 | June 21OPTED OUT | Curry should double his $1M option by opting out and negotiating a salary well above the $1.2M qualifying offer. |
Small Forwards
Player | Team | Option | 2016 Cap | Deadline | Thoughts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LeBron James | CLE | Player | $24,004,173 | June 29OPTED OUT | Will opt out and will sign a 2 year with a Player option (1+1) contract with Cleveland |
Chandler Parsons | DAL | Player | $16,023,000 | June 22 OPTED OUT |
Opt in and then see what kind of market value he will foster once the cap is at $107M. |
Caron Butler | SAC | Player | $1,551,659 | June 22OPTED OUT | Opt out and seek more than the minimum salary |
Alonzo Gee | NOP | Player | $1,379,400 | June 21OPTED OUT | Possibility of opting in based on injury sustained at the end of the season |
Quincy Acy | SAC | Player | $1,050,961 | June 1OPTED OUT | With Sacramento unlikely to land a max-type free agent, Acy might cash in big by re-signing this offseason. |
Lance Stephenson | MEM | Club | $9,405,000 | June 29OPTED DECLINED | Stephenson was geling nicely with the previous coach/system, but a new regime may mean free agency. |
Power Forward
Player | Team | Option | 2016 Cap | Deadline | Thoughts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dirk Nowitzki | DAL | Player | $8,692,184 | June 22OPTED OUT |
Opt out and will mostlikely re-sign with Dallas for 1 or 2 more years |
Pau Gasol | CHI | Player | $7,769,520 | June 27OPTED OUT | Opt out and seek a multi-year contract with a team other than Chicago |
Tim Duncan | SAS | Player | $6,393,750 | June 29OPTING IN | Retirement/Opt out |
Derrick Williams | NYK | Player | $4,598,000 | June 22OPTED OUT | Having averaged 9.3 pts, .94 ast, and 3.7 reb in 2015 he should opt in with the Knicks |
Brandon Bass | LAL | Player | $3,135,000 | June 21OPTED OUT | Bass' flexibility and experience should land him a contract averaging double the $3.1M option he's turning down. |
Darrell Arthur | DEN | Player | $2,940,630 | June 22OPTED OUT | Opt out and re-sign with Devener on a multi-year contract |
David West | SAS | Player | $1,551,659 | June 22OPTED OUT | Opt in to remain with the Spurs who potentially could be without Duncan and Ginobili or opt out and seek a slight increase, possibly through an exception with another contending team |
Thomas Robinson | BKN | Player | $1,050,961 | June 15OPTED OUT | He's likely headed to free agency where some of the bigger teams may have interest. Robinson has shown flashes of star power as a point guard early on. |
Centers
Player | Team | Option | 2016 Cap | Deadline | Thoughts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dwight Howard | HOU | Player | $23,282,457 | June 29 OPTED OUT |
Will opt out and will seek a max contract with a team other than Houston. |
Cole Aldrich | LAC | Player | $1,227,286 | June 22OPTED OUT | Simple game of a player looking for more minutes and a few extra dollars. He'll catch on somewhere. |