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Summary

Belinelli struggled with his shooting this season, hitting only 34% from three, his lowest percentage since the '15-'16 season. However, it doesn't surprise me that the Spurs played much better with Belinelli on the floor this season, as they desperately needed his shooting after trading away Davis Bertans last summer. Belinelli may not be coming off the best season from a shooting perspective, but his ability to space the floor and hit difficult threes on the move should be attractive to some teams.

 

Belinelli may not be a good enough defender to stay on the floor against the best lineups in the playoffs, but he is still a serviceable bench player. At age 34, teams will be hesitant to give him a long-term contract, but would not be surprised if Belinelli and his agent are able to create a bidding war for his services and get a significant one or two-year contract.

Cap Considerations

Belinelli will be an unrestricted free agent with a $7.6 million cap hold and Early Bird rights. If Belinelli is re-signed using Early Bird rights rather than cap space (or the Mid-Level Exception, if the Spurs remain over the cap), the Spurs will be limited to paying him a starting salary of $13.3 million, which should be more than enough.

 

If DeMar DeRozan opts out and leaves in free agency, the Spurs may renounce Belinelli in order to maximize their cap space. If DeRozan stays and the Spurs operate over the cap, retaining Belinelli would come at no opportunity cost, since removing his cap hold would not free up any cap space. If Belinelli is brought back by the Spurs on a multi-year contract, they should frontload his contract as much as possible, while still avoiding the luxury tax.

 

Teams other than the Spurs will have multiple ways to sign Belinelli, as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer, Taxpayer, or Room Mid-Level Exceptions to sign him. There's even a possibility Belinelli only warrants the minimum this offseason.

Potential Teams: Celtics, Spurs, 76ers, Suns, Nuggets

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.6 million ($1.6 million cap hit) with the Celtics

Actual Contract: N/A

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Belinelli ended up going back overseas, as his NBA career is likely over.

Last updated: 12/31/2020

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