Warning: There are a few things in here that rely on some understanding of the NBA CBA. If have something in here that doesn't make sense, just ask.
I see a lot of people talking about this kid but I couldn't find any in depth information about what kind of contract he could receive so I decided to do some research for myself. His situation is so unique I don't know how a front office exec will approach his value, but I think I understand how his agent might approach it. What I found is the following:
Mcdaniels agreed to the unguaranteed rookie min. last year (as opposed to a traditional 2 year partially guaranteed second round contract) because he felt he was worthy of a first round pick, and he believed he could prove his worth after 1 year in the NBA. That is exactly what he did in the early part of his rookie season before being traded to the Rockets. If we were to redraft 2014 today he likely would be picked somewhere between 7-10 regardless of the lack of playing time he received at the end of the year.
He would likely be drafted behind players like: A. Wiggins, E. Payton, M. Smart, Z. Lavine, J. Nurkic, D. Exum, J. Clarkson
And possibly drafted behind injured players like: J. Embid, J. Parker, J. Randle
So he can argue that his compensation should be somewhere in the range of picks 7-10 of the 2014 NBA draft. Here are those contracts at 120% of the rookie scale:
Pick 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year Total Average
7 $2,997,360 $3,132,240 $3,267,120 $4,149,242 $13,545,962 $3,386,490
8 $2,745,840 $2,869,440 $2,993,040 $3,807,147 $12,415,467 $3,103,866
9 $2,524,200 $2,637,720 $2,751,360 $3,505,233 $11,418,513 $2,854,628
10 $2,397,840 $2,505,720 $2,613,600 $3,332,340 $10,849,500 $2,712,375
Based of this logic, and considering he was paid only $507,336 in year 1, he will be looking to make between $10,342,164 and $13,038,626 over 3 years or between $3,447,388 and $4,346,208 per year.
Considering any team that signs him is making the financial investment of a high lottery pick, it is likely that teams will be willing to offer him no more than a 2 year deal. The reason is because all veteran free agents with 3 or less years of service in the NBA, and not coming off rookie scale contracts, are subject to restricted free agency (pending a qualifying offer). And if his market demands him to be paid a high lottery pick salary, then most teams will want to retain his restricted rights in order to gain value from his second contract (3rd contract for him) in the same way they would with a traditional lottery pick.
However, there is another curve ball Mcdaniels throws at us here that makes things very interesting:
If Mcdaniels were to sign a 2 year contract with a NEW team and the Rockets don't match he will be an early-bird restricted free agent in 2017 just like he is right now in 2015. A restricted Early-Bird free agent able to make NO MORE than the MLE for the first 2 years of their contract. This is the same thing that Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik were involved in when the Rockets stole them from the Knicks and Bulls respectively in 2012.
This would mean that McDaniels can only make up to the MLE for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Considering the risk that Mcdaniels has taken to maximize his earning potential it is unlikely he is willing to pidgin hole himself in that way. However, there are 4 ways for Mcdaniels to avoid this:
1) Sign a contract with the Rockets making him a Full-Bird restricted free agent in 2017
2) Have the Rockets sign and trade him to another team so that he can retain his accumulating Bird rights like in the last case
3) His new team could not extend his qualifying offer in 2017 making him an unrestricted free agent, but this is not good because it would mean he is not worth the investment.
4) He could play out his QO in 2017 and make his deal in essence a 2 year deal with a team option (QO would act as an option) and in 2018 he would be unrestricted.
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I am interested in him as a player because he presents an opportunity to sign a player in free agency that has the perceived value of a TOP 10 lottery pick, and that is rare if not impossible. There is a reason the two biggest asset hoarders, Rockets and 76ers, have had his rights. Basically, he is like a mystical unicorn of NBA assets. And he has shown last year that he has the potential to develop a jump shot to compliment his defensive versatility and athleticism. Last year he graded out as the best RIM PROTECTING WING in the NBA, as a ROOKIE. I know that sounds weird, but imagine what kind of versatility you could have with him as a weak side shot blocker covering up a stretch 4 with poor defensive ability. I like him because if he does not develop that jump shot, he still has shown to posses NBA ready skills that can contribute now and be strengthened moving forward.
Thinking about the Pelicans and their opportunity to sign him I came up with a contract that I feel is relatively accurate to what Mcdaniels would need to receive to pry him from the Rockets.
- 2 years 8.18 mill, plus a 4.36 mill 2017 team option.
It would look like this:
2015/16- $4,000,000
2016/17- $4,180,000
2017/18- $4,360,000 (Team Option)
If option declined:
2017/18- $5,450,000 (Qualifying Offer)
This would allow the team to have an opportunity to retain his restricted rights, or keep him at a discounted rate for an extra season. And if Mcdaniels does see his option declined he will have the flexability to either receive a pay raise by signing the 1 year qualifying offer, and becoming unrestricted in 2018 as planned with the team option, or agreeing to a new contract that pays him up to the MLE for 2017/18 ($5,971,000) and 2018/19 ($6,150,000). Also, it would make him happy because he would receive a salary comparable to the 8th player drafted last year, and it helps us because that contract will look like peanuts when the cap rises and is a tradable asset in the future.
I think that the Rockets are likely to still match this contract, but if they were to attempt to clear cap space while trying to make a move in free agency this might do the trick.