The Contract Dilemma: Hollis Thompson & the 4th Year of the “Hinkie Special”
Written by Garrett Catalana – @GarrettCatalana
In what has been described as the most important offseason for the Process Sixers era, there are many lingering decisions for new president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo to consider, such as who to select with the first overall pick in the draft, how to spend in free agency, negotiating trades, and constructing a roster around the Sixers existing talent. One less important roster decision that Colangelo has to decide on in the coming weeks is the fate of Hollis Thompson. With an impending team option held by the Sixers shortly after the NBA Draft on June 29th, Colangelo has to decide whether or not to keep Thompson’s $1 million salary on the books before the start of free agency.
Signed by the Sixers back in the summer of 2013, Hollis has been the longest-tenured Sixer (along with Nerlens Noel) playing the most games in a Sixers uniform during that time (225 games). Thompson was only one of the first players that former-GM Sam Hinkie signed to one of his “Hinkie Specials,” a four-year minimal contract filled with non-guaranteed years and team options. Thompson now enters the final year of his contract with a team option worth $1,015,696 still on the table. With his option date coming up soon, there are four different scenarios in play with Hollis:
1) The Sixers accept the team option; salary of $1,015,696 is on the books; Thompson is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2017
- This is the simplest scenario to understand. If the Sixers accept the option, Hollis counts on the roster with a $1.01 million cap hold. Since Hollis will have had four years of service as a non-first round draft pick, he would become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, meaning anyone can sign him. The Sixers, however, would have his Bird Rights, meaning the Sixers can exceed the salary cap to resign him if the situation presents itself.
2) Sixers accept the team option; Thompson is released anytime between June 30th and January 10th
- The second scenario is for the Sixers is to accept the option and keep Hollis around as roster insurance at his extremely low cost until a better option potentially becomes available or another roster spot is needed (Dario Saric). Even if the Sixers accept his team option, his salary would be non-guaranteed until January 10th (just like Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, and TJ McConnell for this season), so the Sixers can release him at no cost (other than what he has already been paid) before then if they feel he is not worry of a roster spot. Thompson would become an unrestricted free agent after his release.
3) Sixers decline the team option; extend a qualifying offer worth $2.7 million, making Thompson a restricted free agent
- This is a very interesting scenario because with just three years of NBA service, Thompson wouldn’t be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. If the Sixers decline his option, Thompson would become a restricted free agent. In that case, the Sixers would have one day to extend a qualifying offer to Thompson worth $2.7 million to remain a RFA. If they choose to tender him the QO, the Sixers can now match any offer sheet another team might make for Thompson or just offer him a new contract. If a new contract isn’t reached, Thompson would sign his qualifying offer and have a guaranteed salary of $2.7 million on the books. Following the 2016-17 season, Thompson would then become an unrestricted free agent.
4) Sixers decline the team option; do not extend a qualifying offer, making Thompson an unrestricted free agent.
- This scenario is just to release Thompson on June 29th and create an extra $1 million in cap space and an extra roster spot. In this case, Hollis would not be tendered a QO, become an unrestricted free agent and out of the Sixers control, free to sign with any team.
I am particularly fond of Thompson (as I have written in the past) as one of the original Process Sixers. His growth from complete unknown to a career 38% three-point shooter as well as one of the hardest working players on the team should be respected. While he definitely has his flaws as a player with limited athleticism and overall skill level, he has shown at times to be a reliable catch-and-shoot shooter. So in this new phase of the Sixers rebuild under Bryan Colangelo with a greater emphasis on winning than under Sam Hinkie, Thompson will not be averaging 28 minutes a game ever again but he could perhaps stick around as a shooter off the bench at a very cheap price.
Thompson’s future will depend a lot on what the Sixers will do on Draft Night, which mentioned above, is a week before his option date. If the Sixers select Ben Simmons of LSU first overall, it will be imperative to surround Simmons with shooters to stretch the floor and maximize his passing and penetration skills. Hollis could be one such option. His fate may also hang on what the Sixers do with the 24th and 26th picks or potentially a draft day trade involving a quality wing player. Time will tell what happens to Hollis but as one of Brett Brown’s favorite players, I would bet that Hollis will be on the Sixers at the start of training camp but his impending team options brings light to other decisions the Sixers will have in the near future with the other players on Hinkie Specials.
Besides Thompson, the Sixers have four other young players on the team whose contracts provide an interesting dilemma that is potentially the downside of the low-cost four year deal. Next offseason (2017-2018), the Sixers will have this same decision-making with two players who are younger, more important and better skilled than Hollis Thompson, with Jerami Grant and Robert Covington. It’s the same type of tradeoff: let them play off the final year of their super cheap contract but risk losing them in unrestricted free agency or decline their team options so that they become restricted free agents and you can match any offer but in the case of Covington, that fourth year you lose cap space equal to Covington’s $1 million salary and the eight figure contract he would sign. The following year (2018-2019) would be the same dilemma with TJ McConnell and Richaun Holmes if they are both still around. Depending on how advanced the team is at that point and if the Sixers resign their first round picks to large contracts taking up major cap space (Noel, Embiid, Okafor, Simmons/Ingram) or sign major free agent, will change the process of how these players on Hinkie Specials are treated.
So while Hollis Thompson isn’t exactly high on the Sixers priority list this offseason, his free agency dilemma starts to show the decisions that Colangelo will have to make with these players. My guess is that the Sixers will just accept Thompson’s team option and he will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year (if he even finishes out the season on the roster). But if they feel that he would be a cheap, internal option as a shooter off the bench in limited minutes, the Sixers may decide to offer him a new contract over more years but at below-market value.
How exactly will the Sixers handle team building after the draft? Who knows with this wild free agency period soon to begin but it all starts with whether the Sixers accept or decline Hollis Thompson’s team option just before the start of free agency.
Photo: Philadelphia 76ers (via: Flickr)
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Sixers