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Summary

Biyombo is one of the 2016 "spikers" that got a big contract when the salary cap spiked and teams had more cap space than they knew what to do with. That contract looked bad for the Magic the moment it was signed, and it never improved afterwards. Biyombo never played at the level of a starting center, and one could argue he has never even played at the level of a solid backup center since signing that contract.

 

Biyombo's block and rebounding rates are solid, so teams could talk themselves into him being a defensive presence. However, he provides very little, if any, value on offense, and I would be surprised if he got anything above the minimum as a free agent next summer.

Cap Considerations

Biyombo will be an unrestricted free agent with full Bird rights. As his cap hold ($25.5 million) greatly exceeds the salary he will get in free agency, his cap hold is not really relevant. The Hornets will almost certainly go into the summer prepared to renounce Biyombo and remove his $25.5 million cap hold in order to maximize their cap space.

 

If the Hornets  want to bring Biyombo back, they can certainly do so with the potential $33 million in cap space they will have available. If Biyombo is brought back by the Hornets on a multi-year contract (which is unlikely), they should frontload his contract as much as possible, given they have the excess cap space now.

 

Teams other than the Hornets will have multiple ways to sign Biyombo 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 also the possibility that Biyombo does not get any offers above the minimum next summer.

Potential Teams: Pistons, Wizards, Hornets, Heat, Suns

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.3 million ($1.6 million cap hit) with the Pistons

Actual Contract: 1-year, $3.5 million with the Hornets

I was pretty surprised to see Biyombo get more than the minimum, as he's at best an average backup center. I'm not sure who the Hornets were bidding against to have to pay him this much.

Last updated: 12/31/2020

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