Kristaps Porzingis gets raise in new NBA pact with $195M in reach
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The NBA’s tentatively agreed upon collective bargaining agreement will make Knicks second-year phenom Kristaps Porzingis richer even before he becomes a free agent for the first time in the summer of 2019.
When he does hit free agency, Porzingis will be aided even more by the riches of the new CBA. In fact, with an assist from Derrick Rose, Porzingis could be in line for a max contract of $195 million in 2019.
Last week’s agreement immediately affected Porzingis’ existing four-year rookie-scale deal that has two years left on it. The new CBA will change its existing terms with a 15 percent increase from what he would have made next year and a 30 percent hike to what he would have collected in his fourth year. Porzingis was to huddle with his agent, Andy Miller, to go over the changes.
“I heard a little about it,’’ Porzingis said before Tuesday’s game against the Pacers. “It’s not bad. But it’s never money for me but it’s cool a lot of money is being thrown around this league.’’
According to sources, Porzingis’ revised salary will change from $4.5 million to $5.1 million next season. Porzingis’ final year will change from $5.63 million to $7.28 million.
That could be pocket change for the designated max Porzingis is looking at in 2019. Fifth-year players — coming off their rookie contracts — will have a bigger piece of the pie.
Porzingis will be eligible to make 25 percent of the actual salary cap (as opposed to a previous artificial cap figure that’s lower). That starting max wage for Porzingis in 2019 is projected at $27.5 million, according to sources. In the old agreement, a fifth-year player next year would have started at a long-term max of $21 million.
However, Porzingis could also fall under the Derrick Rose Rule. That allows a player coming out of his rookie deal to make 30 percent of the cap — not 25 percent — as a starting salary. The requirements in the old deal were twice being voted in as an All-Star starter, twice an All-NBA selection or an MVP. Those Rose Rule requirements have eased slightly in the new agreement. The rule was named after Rose because he won the MVP in 2011 during his rookie pact with the Bulls. If Porzingis qualifies under the rule, his first max contract would total $195 million.
The CBA also will aid the Knicks in another aspect — giving them greater access to their D-League team, the Westchester Knicks.
As the only D-League affiliate that practices in the same facility as the NBA team, the Knicks should reap the benefits of the new rule change allowing a pair of “two-way contract’’ players in addition to the standard 15-man roster next season. No longer will a D-League player only be allowed to play an NBA game if signed to a 15-man roster.
Such a benefit would have eased the debate on whether Westchester point guard Chasson Randle, named D-League Performer of the Week, should be signed to the 15-man roster.
Two players are allowed to be designated as two-way players. They would be part of the D-League squad at an increased max wage ($25,000 to $75,000), but more importantly permitted to be on the NBA roster for a max 45 days. If a player spends the entire 45 days — it doesn’t have to be sequentially — it equates to $200,000 (prorated from the new $811,000 minimum).
The new two-way rule is incentive for players not to leave for Europe, giving that 45-day incentive to make NBA money. In the Knicks’ case, the club could have used the two-way contract to bring up Randle during Rose’s back woes.
“We’re always keeping an eye on that. He’s knocking down shots,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said of Randle, who has scored 38 and 36 points in back-to-back games. “We’ll continue to look at that but we have a full roster at 15.’’
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