The amount of cap room teams have remaining
July 17th, 2014
The bulk of free agency is behind us, maybe, but we’re far from done. There follows a look at how much cap space NBA teams still have outstanding, which, with the exception of the occasions I blatantly do the opposite, will be presented without analysis as to how the situation came about.
All the teams that have cap space, or have had cap space this offseason, are included in the list. That is a total of fifteen teams and half the league. The other fifteen – Boston, Brooklyn, Denver, Golden State, Indiana, L.A. Clippers, Memphis, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma City, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto and Washington – are not mentioned at all.
All salary information is taken from this website’s own salary pages. All figures taken from the day of publication – if subsequent trades/signings are made, then adjust accordingly.
It is vital – VITAL – that you understand what a “cap hold” is before you read this. An explanation can be found here.
Players with asterisks by their names are not under contract with the team, and cap holds are separated from active contracts by the use of a simple link break.
Atlanta Hawks
Committed salary for 2014/15: $48,416,058 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $10,839,436
Atlanta has made only one signing in free agency, facilitated by one trade, and the money jointly spent on Thabo Sefolosha and John Salmons is actually less than the money they were due to spend on Louis Williams. They started with cap space, added more possibly unnecessarily, and still haven’t used up the extra bit, let alone dip into the reserves. I say “possibly unnecessarily” because it does not appear as though they have looked to do much with it, got shot down when they did, and the list of candidates is really running out. Here is their current position:
Al Horford – $12,000,000
Paul Millsap – $9,500,000
Jeff Teague – $8,000,000
Kyle Korver – $6,253,521
Thabo Sefolosha – $4,150,000
DeMarre Carroll – $2,442,455
Dennis Schroder – $1,690,680
John Jenkins – $1,312,920
Pero Antic – $1,250,000
John Salmons* – $1,000,000
Mike Muscala – $816,482
Elton Brand* – $4,800,000
Gustavo Ayon* – $2,850,000
Adreian Payne* – $1,546,100
Shelvin Mack* – $1,148,163
Mike Scott* – $1,115,243
Cartier Martin* – $915,243
Renouce Ayon, Brand and Martin, and that’s $10,839,436 to spend in cap space. But what on?
They need an extra big and an extra scoring guard. Which they could have had in Lou Williams and Lucas Nogueira. Which they traded for a chance at star power. Which they got absolutely no bites on. The decent but low ceilinged Hawks need a great infusion of talent, something they don’t have and stand no obvious chance of getting, despite the spending power. They could at least give it a go with Eric Bledsoe, however inevitable a matched offer sheet is. As it is, the Hawks gave up two of their very few assets for what has amounted to no returning assets. Kent Bazemore and Thabo Sefolosha don’t count. Could a deal to create space not have been worked out after they had found someone to use it on? It’s what Cleveland did.
Charlotte Hornets
Committed salary for 2014/15: $39,858,252 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: None, or maybe only a bit
As can be seen, the Hornets at the moment have plenty of cap space remaining:
Al Jefferson – $13,500,000
Gerald Henderson – $6,000,000
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – $5,016,960
Cody Zeller – $4,030,560
Bismack Biyombo – $3,873,398
Kemba Walker – $3,272,091
Gary Neal – $3,250,000
Jeffrey Taylor – $915,243
Noah Vonleh* – $2,103,500
P.J. Hairston* – $958,100
Roster charge – $507,336
Roster charge – $507,336
Total – $43,934,524 = $19,130,476 in cap space.
It won’t last, though. Agreements with Lance Stephenson (three years and $27.5 million), Marvin Williams (two years and $14 million) and Brian Roberts (two years and $5.5 million) will gobble up the remainder. This might be revisited once figures for Williams and Stephenson are in – if Roberts subsequently takes the room exception, Charlotte might have room for one more.
Chicago Bulls
Committed salary for 2014/15: $46,703,593 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $11,358,463
The Bulls have amnestied Carlos Boozer, traded Greg Smith and Anthony Randolph, and waived the trio of Mike James, Ronnie Brewer and Lou Amundson. That has cleared up the cap a ton:
Derrick Rose – $18,862,876
Joakim Noah – $12,700,000
Taj Gibson – $8,000,000
Mike Dunleavy – $3,326,235
Jimmy Butler – $2,008,748
Tony Snell – $1,472,400
Richard Hamilton* – $333,334
Kirk Hinrich* – $5,276,700
Doug McDermott* – $1,898,300
Nikola Mirotic* – $1,075,300
Daequan Cook* – $915,243
Jimmer Fredette* – $915,243
Nazr Mohammmed* – $915,243
Vladimir Radmanovic* – $915,243
Brian Scalabrine* – $915,243
There are still many free agent cap holds there, but they can all be renounced quite readily. (Hinrich, the only one who might command more than the minimum, is said to have already agreed to take the room exception.) Renounce them all, tack on four roster charges, and the Bulls have $11,358,463 in cap space. And in some form, it’s going to Mirotic and Pau Gasol.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Committed salary for 2014/15: $56,030,677 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: Dregs
LeBron James – $20,644,400
Anderson Varejao – $9,704,545
Kyrie Irving – $7,070,730
Anthony Bennett – $5,563,920
Tristan Thompson – $5,138,430
Dion Waiters – $4,062,000
Brendan Haywood – $2,213,688
Carrick Felix – $816,482
Matthew Dellavedova – $816,482
Andrew Wiggins* – $4,592,200
Roster charge – $507,336
Roster charge – $507,336
Adding up all of that totals $61,637,549, offering up $1,427,451 in cap space. That number can be increased by waiving the unguaranteed contract of Dellavedova, although he has done nothing to deserve it. Mike Miller has agreed to sign, albeit for more than that amount, and thus likely for the room exception. Ray Allen is the other target, but that amount is less than his minimum. It seems more likely that this amount is used on second-round picks Joe Harris and Dwight Powell, getting them three year contracts.
Dallas Mavericks
Committed salary for 2014/15: $58,171,433 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: Effectively none
Tyson Chandler – $14,846,888
Chandler Parsons – $14,700,000
Monta Ellis – $8,360,000
Dirk Nowitzki – $7,974,482
Brandan Wright – $5,000,000
Raymond Felton – $3,793,693
Greg Smith – $948,163
Jae Crowder – $915,243
Ricky Ledo – $816,482
Gal Mekel – $816,482
DeJuan Blair* – $915,243
Devin Harris* – $915,243
Bernard James* – $915,243
Petteri Koponen* – $911,400
Total – $61,828,562 – $1,236,438 in cap space
Koponen and James mean nothing, but Blair is to be signed and traded to the Wizards (presumably for Melvin Ely and some obligatory other minor consideration), a transaction which requires a small amount of cap space to complete. And even though a decent amount of space will be opened up after than and the renouncements/expunging of the other two, it’s all going to Harris.
Detroit Pistons
Committed salary for 2014/15: $51,413,230 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $1,935,635
The Pistons have signed three players – Jodie Meeks, D.J. Augustin and Caron Butler – which has been pretty much the end of their cap space. They still have agreements to fulfil with Aaron Gray and Cartier Martin, but the minimum salary and room exception ought cover it. Greg Monroe’s cap hold is the culprit here, and that’s not going to change.
At least, not for now. Someone on this list may come in for Monroe – Atlanta seems like they ought – which could offer a testing contract for a player whom they ideally need value from but who just isn’t fitting. And various connotations of the Josh Smith to Sacramento trade, should it go down, might open up some space. As of right now, the cap space has pretty much been used up, with the dregs potentially earmarked for Gray (either that or the room exception). But never say never.
Josh Smith – $13,500,000
Brandon Jennings – $8,000,000
Jodie Meeks – $6,000,000
Caron Butler – $4,500,000
Jonas Jerebko – $4,500,000
D.J. Augustin – $3,000,000
Will Bynum – $2,915,908
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – $2,772,480
Andre Drummond – $2,568,360
Luigi Datome – $1,750,000
Kyle Singler – $1,090,000
Tony Mitchell – $816,482
Greg Monroe* – $10,216,135
Houston Rockets
Committed salary for 2014/15: $56,156,175 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $11,147,981
After whatever, this is the current situation:
Dwight Howard – $21,436,271
James Harden – $14,728,844
Trevor Ariza – $8,579,089
Alonzo Gee – $3,000,000
Terrence Jones – $1,618,680
Donatas Motiejunas – $1,483,920
Scotty Hopson – $1,450,878
Josh Powell – $1,310,286
Patrick Beverley – $915,243
Isaiah Canaan – $816,482
Robert Covington – $816,482
Troy Daniels – $816,482
Jordan Hamilton* – $2,109,294
Clint Capela* – $991,000
Francisco Garcia* – $915,243
The figure above assumes the waivings of Gee, Hopson and Powell, all unguaranteed and used only as contractual pieces. Covington is only $150,000 and could be waived, although this would mean only a $150,000 saving once a roster charge is accounted for and thus likely not worth it, and while Beverley’s deal is fully unguaranteed, he is not being waived. The above figure also assumes the renouncements of Hamilton and Garcia (who can always get minimum contracts post-cap space if needs be), and the removal of Capela’s cap hold. Houston have supposedly agreed to sign Kostas Papanikolaou, Joey Dorsey and Nick Johnson, which will cut into that figure. But if they and Ariza are the haul….
L.A. Lakers
Committed salary for 2014/15: $46,403,492 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: A dollop, maybe (see below)
After striking out on the big names, the Lakers acquired Jeremy Lin and signed their draft pick, Julius Randle. That will frankly be the bulk of their business. The situation they have is thus:
Kobe Bryant – $23,500,000
Steve Nash – $9,701,000
Jeremy Lin – $8,374,646
Julius Randle – $2.997,360
Kendall Marshall – $915,243
Robert Sacre – $915,243
Jordan Hill* – $6,770,840
MarShon Brooks* – $2,179,354
Ryan Kelly* – $1,016,482
Kent Bazemore* – $915,243
Andrew Goudelock* – $915,243
Xavier Henry* – $915,243
Wesley Johnson* – $915,243
Nick Young* – $915,243
Those contracts and cap holds total $60,946,383. Hill and Young are going to re-sign with the team, but the Lakers have only non-Bird rights on Young, which would limit them to a contract starting at only 120% of the minimum were they to use them, which is not nearly enough for this purpose. So they will have to re-sign Young using the cap space they have remaining, and any more they open up.
They will open up a shred more through renouncements alone, albeit not huge amounts, since only Hill has a big hold. They can re-sign Hill with Bird rights, but only if they don’t renounce him, thus his cap hold must sustain. In practice, Bazemore’s cap hold will be removed when he joins Atlanta, Brooks and Goudelock will be renounced, and then Young will be re-signed. That leaves this:
Kobe Bryant – $23,500,000
Steve Nash – $9,701,000
Jeremy Lin – $8,374,646
Julius Randle – $2,997,360
Kendall Marshall – $915,243
Robert Sacre – $915,243
Jordan Hill* – $6,770,840
Ryan Kelly* – $1,016,482
Xavier Henry* – $915,243
Wesley Johnson* – $915,243
Roster charge – $507,336
Roster charge – $507,336
Total = $57,035,972 = $6,029,028
Let’s say Young’s four year $21 million reported agreed contract starts at $4.9 million with maximum 4.5% raises totalling $20,923,000. Take the $4.9 million out of that $6,029,028, then add back the amount of one less roster charge. That leaves $1,636,364 in cap room. You could add $200,000 to that amount by rescinding Kelly’s QO, $509,146 by rescinding Kelly’s QO and also renouncing him, and $407,907 for renouncements of each of Henry and Johnson. If all free agents other than Hill are renounced, then, the Lakers could re-sign Young for $4.9 million, have $2,961,324 more in cap space for someone else, and then still have the cap room mid-level exception to offer someone else. And they could do all this before re-signing Hill and adding Ed Davis at the minimum salary.
At least one more small move left in the gun, then. Potentially one big move in the gun if the stretch provision is used on Nash, but that’s not conducive to a 2015 plan and ought not be expected.
Miami Heat
Committed salary for 2014/15: $39,458,485 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: None
The Heat have not signed all their agreed-upon deals, but they’ve done six of them, and it’s left them here:
Dwyane Wade – $15,000,000
Luol Deng – $9,714,461
Josh McRoberts – $5,305,000
Mario Chalmers – $4,000,000
Danny Granger – $2,077,000
Norris Cole – $2,038,206
Justin Hamilton $816,482
James Ennis – $507,336
Chris Bosh* – $20,644,400
Shabazz Napier* – $1,032,200
Chris Andersen* – $915,243
Roster charge – $507,336
All that totals an amount that is not coincidentally exactly $507,336 below the salary cap, so now we know why Deng signed for that bizarrely specific amount. Bosh, Napier and Andersen will sign soon in moves that will put the Heat over the cap, and thereafter they are limited to the room exception and the minimum salary. Waiving the unguaranteed Hamilton would add very little, given that he would have to be replaced with a roster charge.
Milwaukee Bucks
Committed salary for 2014/15: $51,841,965 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $11,223,035
The only roster move Milwaukee have made so far was signing Jabari Parker. That has left them this:
Larry Sanders – $11,000,000
O.J. Mayo – $8,000,000
Ersan Ilyasova – $7,900,000
Zaza Pachulia – $5,200,000
Jabari Parker – $4,930,560
Brandon Knight – $3,553,917
Carlos Delfino – $3,250,000
John Henson – $1,987,320
Giannis Antetokounmpo – $1,873,200
Miroslav Raduljica – $1,500,000
Khris Middleton – $915,243
Chris Wright – $915,243
Nate Wolters – $816,482
Ekpe Udoh* – $11,173,870
Ramon Sessions* – $6,500,000
Jeff Adrien* – $915,243
Marquis Daniels* – $915,243
Middleton and Wright are both fully unguaranteed, but Middleton definitely won’t be waived. The figure above was determined by assuming that neither will, while all four free agents (who are actually keeping them over the cap at the moment) are renounced. Udoh is a mere minimum salary player, albeit a potentially useful one, and the Bucks have made no noise about re-signing Sessions. Indeed, they are said to be signing Jerryd Bayless to a two year, $6 million contract, which would both replace Sessions and push Wolters down the depth chart. You weren’t expecting an offer sheet for Eric Bledsoe, surely.
New Orleans Pelicans
Committed salary for 2014/15: $65,831,445 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: None
The Pelicans had cap space, but it’s gone now. They used their last vestiges of it on Russ Smith, thereby creating this situation:
Eric Gordon – $14,898,938
Tyreke Evans – $11,265,416
Jrue Holiday – $10,404,495
Ryan Anderson – $8,491,500
Omer Asik – $8,374,646
Anthony Davis – $5,607,240
Austin Rivers – $2,439,840
Omri Casspi – $1,063,384
Alexis Ajinca – $981,084
Luke Babbitt – $981,084
Jeff Withey – $816,482
Russ Smith – $507,336
Darius Miller* – $915,243
Some bonus minutiae coming up.
Unable to clear the cap space for Asik – it seems they were unable to meet whatever demands other cap space teams had for taking on Rivers’s contract – the Pelicans had to trade for him without using cap space. And as explained here, that means matching salaries, which wasn’t easy without using Rivers, in whom fellow cap space pursuers Houston had no interest. But they managed it. They used their own unguaranteed contract of Melvin Ely ($1,316,809), then acquired the ones of Alonzo Gee ($3,000,000) and Scotty Hopson ($1,450,878) in two separate trades with Cleveland, the first costing only a top 55 protected second rounder, the latter only cash. They were then able to aggregate those three salaries to send to Houston, their $5,767,687 aggregated salary is within the 150% + $100,000 range of Asik’s, and thus were able to send them, albeit in different directions, to accommodate him. It mattered not how recently Hopson and Gee had been received in trades, because the two months prohibition on a player’s retradeability after being acquired by trade applies only if the retrading team had been over the cap when they first acquired them, which the Pelicans were not. Smith was signed before the Asik trade – he, Gee and Hopson just about fit within the Pelicans’s cap space pre-Asik trade, even with Miller’s cap hold, thus they were able to give Smith the third year on his minimum salary contract that they could not have done had they been armed with only the cap room mid-level exception and the minimum salary exceptions, both of which have a maximum of two seasons on them. (Additionally, Casspi, who was also received in the Asik trade, was on the second year of a two year minimum salary contract and thus absorbable via the MSE, and needed not be included in the trade aggregation.)
It cost them much less than clearing out Rivers would have done, so, well done there. They also got the decent enough Casspi for their troubles. Here’s hoping they don’t waive him, even though they will.
Orlando Magic
Committed salary for 2014/15: $50,081,737 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $11,157,904
As was said in the opening, we’ll bear no judgement on the messed up methods by which Orlando got to this point. Instead, we will look only at what “this point” consists of. The results:
Channing Frye – $8,579,088
Glen Davis* – $6,600,000
Victor Oladipo – $4,978,200
Ben Gordon – $4,500,000
Aaron Gordon – $3,992,040
Al Harrington* – $3,804,900
Nikola Vucevic – $2,751,260
Elfrid Payton – $2,397,840
Tobias Harris – $2,380,594
Jameer Nelson* – $2,000,000
Maurice Harkless – $1,887,840
Anthony Randolph* – $1,825,359
Andrew Nicholson – $1,545,840
Evan Fournier – $1,483,920
Willie Green – $1,448,490
Kyle O’Quinn – $915,243
Dewayne Dedmon – $816,482
Fran Vazquez* – $1,898,300
E’Twaun Moore* – $915,243
Jeremy Richardson* – $915,243
(NB – Davis’s amount is not certain but is certainly no higher than this.)
Orlando could renounce the long redundant cap hold on Richardson quite easily, and would do if they had any incentive, and the once promising E’Twaun Moore has no place on the roster any more in light of the rest of the guard reshuffle. Vasquez’s cap hold is easily gotten rid of if needs be, be it by agreeing to expunge it for a year or just getting rid of it for good. Dedmon is unguaranteed, although there seems no reason to waive him. And Al Harrington’s contract has the right of set-off outstanding, which will further reduce it should he sign somewhere else soon. The above figure was arrived at assuming the removal of the three cap holds only, but it’s enough for a decent chunk of change.
As for what they could do with this extra space? Well, there’s surely some mediocre veteran out there who needs overpaying. Seems to have been the MO so far. Luke Ridnour is about to join, getting two years and $5.5 million to be only slightly better than Ronnie Price, so presumably there is one more deal of such type left in the gun. Probably for a centre.
Actually, Vasquez is a centre, and is long since passed being required to sign for the rookie scale. He’s a veteran now, and plays a position with a hole on the depth chart. Give it all to him. For a laugh.
Philadelphia 76ers
Committed salary for 2014/15: $31,341,130 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $28,034,170
Philly’s entire offseason thus far has been the draft, where they acquired five new players, none of whom they have yet signed, and none of whom might contribute to the team next year. This of course was the plan, but signing absolutely no one at all thus far, not even a draftee, has given them a ton of space that’s pretty much going to waste. The current situation reads thusly:
Thaddeus Young – $9,410,869
Jason Richardson – $6,601,125
Nerlens Noel – $3,315,120
Michael Carter-Williams – $2,300,040
Eric Maynor* – $2,106,720
Tony Wroten – $1,210,080
Arnett Moultrie – $1,136,160
Elliot Williams – $981,084
Henry Sims – $915,243
Jarvis Varnado – $915,243
Brandon Davies – $816,482
Hollis Thompson – $816,482
Casper Ware – $816,482
Joel Embiid* – $3,689,700
Dario Saric* – $1,803,400
Charles Jenkins* – $915,243 $947,276 Two year veteran’s minimum
Byron Mullens* – $915,243 $947,276 Two year veteran’s minimum
Adonis Thomas* – $816,482
The Sixers could make even more room for themselves than this. The renouncements of Jenkins, Mullens and Thomas are meaninglessly routine, and Saric could sign the paperwork agreeing not to join the NBA next season (since he won’t), thereby expunging his cap hold. All of Ware, Thompson, Davies, Varnardo, Sims and Williams are on unguaranteed contracts and could be waived to open up more space (albeit remembering to add a roster charge of $507,633 for each empty roster spot up to and including 12 places), and you could even take it even further and utilise the stretch provision on Jason Richardson, thereby thirding his cap number. The figure arrived at above assumes no such stretching and no waivings, but does include the renouncements of the three FAs and the expunging of Saric’s cap hold, and yet they could go so much bigger.
However, much of that is not likely to happen. The Sixers it seems have no desire to use this cap space. This accords with their MO of last year, when they sat on an oodle of it for many months and eventually used it all to acquire six second-round picks on one day. The strategy, it seems, is to do much the same again. But it is a strategy with a problem – there are a lot more teams who can take on salary other teams want to shed than there is salary needing to be shed. The Sixers couldn’t turn their tons of cap space into a single first-round pick last deadline, when there were fewer competitors on the market, so their chances of doing it again are automatically limited. And when there was one available just now with Jeremy Lin, they seemingly didn’t want it.
There must be a plan somewhere, but none of it has come to fruition yet, and it is starting to get bizarre. It is not due to an obligation to meet the salary floor that I say this – there is no obligation – but because the cap space is not yielding anything of value at all right now, at a time when others (Lin trade to Lakers, Anthony Randolph to Orlando) are managing to make theirs work for them. Hinkie it seems is all in on something, but God knows what it is this time. I hereby predict a trade of for Gerald Wallace at the deadline, and submit as my corroborating evidence absolutely nothing whatsoever.
Phoenix Suns
Committed salary for 2014/15: $34,878,911 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $18,647,161
Even after acquiring Isaiah, the Suns still have plenty to spend. Eric Bledsoe will get a big contract, but his cap hold is sufficiently small that the Suns can boast big time free agency space before signing him to it. The same is true on a smaller scale of P.J. Tucker, whose meeting of the starter criteria boosted the value of his qualifying offer higher but still not to the same level as the contract he is going to re-sign for. That leaves the pleasingly cheap Suns as follows:
Goran Dragic – $7,500,000
Isaiah Thomas – $7,238,606
Alex Len – $3,649,920
Gerald Green – $3,500,000
Markieff Morris – $2,989,239
Marcus Morris – $2,943,221
T.J. Warren – $1,953,520
Shavlik Randolph – $1,227,985
Miles Plumlee – $1,169,880
Archie Goodwin – $1,112,280
Dionte Christmas – $816,482
Michael Beasley* – $777,778
Eric Bledsoe* – $6,566,183
P.J. Tucker* – $2,875,130
Tyler Ennis* – $1,325,600
Leandro Barbosa* – $915,243
The remaining space figure listed above is arrived at by assuming the waiving of Randolph, the renouncement of Barbosa, and the continued wait on signing all three of Ennis, Bledsoe and Tucker. There may not be that many candidates worthy of this much money any more, but by virtue of their tons of space and their young, exciting and quality team, Phoenix may have the pick of the litter. (Well, until they run out of roster spots.) Anthony Tolliver will soon be signing, it is said, for a total of two years and $6 million, which means you can knock about $3 million off of that figure. But that’s still basically maximum contract space. Any takers?
Utah Jazz
Committed salary for 2014/15: $54,428,296 (view full forecast)
Remaining cap space: $8,636,704
After matching Hayward’s offer sheet, the Jazz are actually technically over the cap at the moment, having been beneath it earlier in order to complete the Steve Novak trade. However, when Marvin Williams (see above) signs with Charlotte, his $11,250,000 cap hold will disappear, creating the following situation:
Gordon Hayward – $14,746,000
Derrick Favors – $12,950,000
Enes Kanter – $5,694,674
Dante Exum – $3,615,000
Steve Novak – $3,445,947
Alec Burks – $3,034,356
Trey Burke – $2,548,560
Jeremy Evans – $1,794,872
John Lucas III – $1,600,000
Rodney Hood – $1,290,360
Rudy Gobert – $1,127,400
Malcolm Thomas – $948,163
Ian Clark – $816,482
Erik Murphy – $816,482
Lucas, Murphy, Thomas and Clark are all fully unguaranteed and could be waived to open up further cap space. However, in light of having already signed Exum and Hood to their rookie deals, and having made no attempt at big time free agents since about 2003, there is no strong likelihood of big cap space usage any time soon. Much of what is left will be used on Trevor Booker, who has agreed to but not yet signed a two year, $10 million deal. Thereafter, unless there is another Novak-like trade to come, they are probably just turning over the non-rotation players.
