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Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2022 Free Agents - C.J. Elleby
Summary
Elleby did not make much of an impact in his rookie season, only playing in 57 non-garbage time minutes, per Cleaning the Glass. Elleby was a scorer in college, but his efficiency declined as his usage increased from his freshman to sophomore year. If he can improve his off-the-dribble game and become more of a playmaker for himself and his teammates, he could find a role as a decent secondary playmaker. He would also need to finish better at the rim in order to really take advantage of that improvement. Without improvement as a play-maker, Elleby would have to be a more efficient scorer to remain in the league.
Elleby got more minutes in '21-'22, but most of that came after the Blazers' season went down the drain and they embraced tank mode. However, the results for Elleby have not been very promising. He's shot 29% from three, 26% from midrange, and 59% at the rim, according to Cleaning the Glass. That has led to an eFG% of 45%, which is in the bottom 10th percentile for his position. Simply put, Elleby needs to hit shots at a higher rate to stick around in the league, especially considering he doesn't do much else at this point.
Cap Considerations
Elleby will be a restricted free agent with a $2 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer, and the Blazers will have his Early Bird rights. However, the Blazers may not tender him a QO, which would make him an unrestricted free agent.
If the Blazers re-sign Elleby using the Early-Bird Exception, they could offer him a starting salary of up to 105% of the average salary this past season (roughly $10.9 million), which would be more than enough.
Since Elleby will only have two years of service, he will be subject to the Gilbert Arenas provision. This means that any offer sheet he signs with a team besides Portland can have a starting maximum salary of $10.3 million, but the third and potentially fourth years of that contract can have a large jump (up to the max). His cap hit would then be the average salary over the life of the contract.
If the Blazers match, they could choose for his cap hit to either be his actual salary per season or the average over the life of the contract, provided the average fits within the Early Bird Exception or cap space. I do not expect this to come into play for Elleby, as I think any offers for him would fit within the full Non-Taxpayer MLE over the length of the contract.
Most likely, Elleby will be an unrestricted free agent with only minimum offers, and may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.
Potential Teams: Trailblazers, Magic, Heat, Spurs, Knicks
Predicted Contract: 1-year, $1.8 million with the Trailblazers
Actual Contract: 1-year, $1.8 million (non-guaranteed) with the Timberwolves
Elleby was unable to get a guaranteed contract, and is unlikely to make the Timberwolves' final 15-man roster, so he may need to develop his game in the G-League or overseas in order to work his way back into the NBA.
Last updated: 8/3/2022
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