The All-NBA selections announced in mid-May will have long-term ramifications around the league, including in Milwaukee or Portland -- where the largest contract in NBA history could be awarded next summer.
Anthony Davis became supermax eligible last May, when he was voted All-NBA for a second consecutive season, but players such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Klay Thompson, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Kemba Walker and Draymond Green will play the waiting game.
All-NBA not only provides financial incentives for certain players, but it also has important cap ramifications. Consider this: The Washington Wizards could end up with a $90 million backcourt in 2021-22 if Beal earns All-NBA.
Let's take a look at everything at stake with the All-NBA voting, plus which players have bonuses that are pending or early earned.
The $30 million question
Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves
Similar to Joel Embiid last season, Towns' rookie extension will increase from $158 million to $189 million if he earns All-NBA this year. But unlike Embiid, Towns only needs to make at least the third team for the criteria to be met.
With Embiid and Nikola Jokic penciled in for first- and second-team center spots, the choice for voters will come down to Towns and Davis:
Towns struggled in the first six weeks of the season (43.2 field goal percentage, 18.2 points per game), and Davis saw his minutes drastically decline following his failed trade request. Will Davis be punished in the media vote?
That answer could result in an extra $31 million for Towns.
The same criteria that saw Booker not selected for the All-Star Game will also see him miss out on All-NBA. The guard will pay the financial price for a Suns team on the verge of losing 60 games for a second consecutive season, leading to Booker being labeled one-dimensional by some around the league.
Despite a career season on the offensive end -- 26.5 PPG (ninth overall in scoring), 35.2 MPG, 46.2 FG% and 6.7 APG -- Booker is a minus on the defensive end (-2.63 in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus) with a career-worst 114.5 defensive rating.
Booker could have earned raises up to $189 million (first team), $180.2 million (second team) and $173.8 million (third team) by earning an All-NBA slot. The missed opportunity will see his first-year cap hit in 2019-20 remain at $27.2 million.
Supermax eligible in 2019
Damian Lillard | Portland Trail Blazers
This will be the second year in a row that Lillard earns All-NBA, making him eligible to sign a four-year, $194.3 million contract in July. But will he?
Bypassing an extension should not signal that Lillard wants to be traded. Because he has reached the criteria in back-to-back seasons, Lillard also is eligible to sign a $251.5 million extension in 2020. The contract would be the richest in NBA history.
Unlike Davis -- who can opt out of his contract after the 2019-20 season -- Lillard's five-year extension signed in 2015 does not have a player option. The Blazers know at the minimum that Lillard will be under contract for two seasons. Even if Lillard continues to play at a high level, it is unlikely Portland or another team would sign him to a starting salary of $57.2 million, which is what he would make in the final year of that massive 2020 extension.
Supermax: Three players for one spot
Klay Thompson | Golden State Warriors
Kemba Walker | Charlotte Hornets
Bradley Beal | Washington Wizards
Penciling in Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook as All-NBA guards -- along with Stephen Curry, James Harden and Lillard -- leaves these three competing for the final nod. Each player presents a compelling argument.
Thompson would be a lock if we were looking at his numbers since Jan. 1. Over his past 33 games, Thompson has averaged 23.4 points while shooting 45.9 percent from 3 with a plus-5.7 net rating when he is on the court -- massive improvements from the first three months.
Walker has single-handedly kept the Hornets alive for a postseason berth, even though he cooled off some since his incredible start to the season. If either Thompson or Walker gets the spot, he'll be eligible for a five-year, $221 million contract with his current team.
And that leads us to Beal, who is having the most efficient season of his career. Not only is he on pace to play 82 games for a second consecutive season, but since John Wall went out with an injury, Beal has averaged 38.6 minutes, 28.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists while ranking No. 3 in offensive RPM among off guards and shooting 48.1 percent from the field.
Because he has two years left on his contract, Beal would be eligible for a four-year, $194 million extension.
All-NBA guard candidates: Curry, Harden, Lillard, Irving and Westbrook
All-Star but not All-NBA
Nikola Vucevic | Orlando Magic
Vucevic will see a significant pay raise in free agency this offseason from his $12 million salary.
However, despite an All-Star season that saw him rank No. 2 among all centers (and No.7 overall) in real plus-minus, Vucevic will fall short of All-NBA and won't qualify for a supermax contract.
All-NBA center candidates: Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert
Wait until 2020
Draymond Green | Golden State Warriors
Green will get two cracks at reaching the supermax criteria: All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year voting. Because the All-NBA forward race is loaded, Green's best chance is a second DPOY award -- but the odds are stacked against him there as well.
For one, the Warriors' defense has dropped to 15th in the league. Green has also slipped to No. 15 in defensive RPM this season while ranking No. 61 in RPM wins.
Even if Green were to win DPOY, there is no assurance that Golden State would even entertain signing him to a $251 million contract.
Defensive Player of the Year candidates: Rudy Gobert, Paul George, Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo
All-NBA but not eligible to sign until 2020
Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks
Antetokounmpo will qualify for a supermax extension once he earns All-NBA, but he will need to wait until the summer of 2020 to sign a new contract since he hasn't logged seven years of service time. Due to the supermax rules, Giannis would be eligible whether or not he earns All-NBA in 2019-20.
The Antetokounmpo extension will be worth five years, $251.5 million, making it the largest contract in NBA history -- including a first-year salary-cap hit of $43.3 million in 2021-22.
Met the criteria without All-NBA in 2018-19
Anthony Davis | New Orleans Pelicans
As a result of earning All-NBA in 2016-17 and 2017-18, Davis already has met the supermax criteria. He is eligible for a $240 million extension with the Pelicans and is not supermax eligible if he is traded in the offseason.
In the unlikely event that he is not traded, Davis would need to earn All-NBA in 2019-20 to become supermax eligible again in 2020.
$1 million for 50 wins
Jusuf Nurkic | Portland Trail Blazers
Give credit to the Blazers for how they structured the four-year, $48 million Nurkic contract. The team-friendly deal also adds a financial incentive for regular-season success. Nurkic will earn $1.25 million if Portland wins 50 games this season, something the Blazers have not done since 2014-15. The bonus was deemed unlikely before the season.
FiveThirtyEight currently projects Portland to win 51 games.
Reaching 50 wins would come with a financial cost to the Blazers: The tax bill in Portland will increase from $13.82 million to $16 million.
For future years, the Nurkic cap hit will be adjusted to $13.2M, $14.1M and $13.2M.
Note: Despite his season-ending injury, Nurkic has played 70 games and will still earn the bonus if Portland wins 50 regular-season games.
The financial benefits of the postseason
Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap | Denver Nuggets
The starting frontcourt earned a bonus when Denver reached the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13. Jokic will earn an extra $431,035 and Millsap will get $150K.
If Denver advances past the second round, Jokic will earn an additional $431,035, raising his salary to a true max ($25.46 million).
Millsap can earn an additional $200K for each round the Nuggets advance. The forward also has a statistical bonus worth $150K if his per-36-minutes defensive rebounds tops 7.0. His current average is 5.0.
Clint Capela | Houston Rockets
Capela will earn a $1 million bonus if Houston reaches the West finals -- something that looked unlikely during the Rockets' slow start but is looking more likely as they rise up the West standings.
Because the bonus was deemed likely before the season as a result of the Rockets' past success, Capela's projected cap hit for future years will remain unchanged if the incentive is reached.
Not only do the Raptors have to advance to the East finals for Lowry to receive a $500K bonus, but the point guard also has to appear in 65 games during the regular season. Lowry has played 60 and must appear in five out of the remaining six games to reach Part 1 of the criteria.
The All-Star also will receive $500K for advancing to the NBA Finals and an additional $500K if the Raptors win the championship. Each bonus would cost Toronto $1.25 million toward the luxury tax and will be applied to Lowry's $33.5 million salary in 2019-20. In addition, Lowry will receive $200K for being selected to the All-Star Game once the games criteria is met.
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Kelly Olynyk (Miami Heat): $400k for appearing in the first round (the Heat will save $600K toward the luxury tax if they do not reach the postseason)
Tony Snell (Milwaukee Bucks): Up to $450K, depending on how far the Bucks advance in the playoffs
Evan Fournier (Orlando Magic): $100K for the Magic appearing in the first round
Minutes played
Kelly Olynyk | Miami Heat
Besides a $400K bonus for the Heat reaching the first round, Olynyk can earn an additional $1 million for playing 1,700 total minutes. After averaging 16 MPG in January, the minutes criteria trended toward unlikely. But since Feb. 5, Olynyk has played in all 23 games, averaging a career-high 28 MPG. Barring an injury, Olynyk will reach the incentive for a second consecutive season.
If the Heat miss the playoffs and Olynyk does not play 1,700 minutes, Miami will fall under the luxury tax and save $2.1 million toward the tax -- while also receiving $3 million from the taxpaying teams.
Solomon Hill | New Orleans Pelicans
Hill reached the 1,000 minutes criteria in 2016-17, his first season in New Orleans. That bonus earned him $468,385. After missing the criteria last season, Hill is now 248 minutes short with seven games to play.
The bonus for the 2018-19 season is $510,539.
Statistical achievements
Jrue Holiday | New Orleans Pelicans
For a second consecutive season, the Pelicans point guard has earned $765K for minutes played (2,075), games played (66) and RPG (3.15). Holiday has also earned a $255K bonus that he missed out on last year for assists per game (7.3). Because the bonus was deemed unlikely before the season, Holiday's cap hit starting in 2019-20 will be adjusted to $26,231,111.
TJ Warren | Phoenix Suns
A career-high 42.8 percent from 3 might be enough for Warren to earn a $255K bonus. Sidelined since January with a sore right ankle, Warren is stuck on 180 3-point attempts -- five short of reaching the second part of his bonus criteria. The first part has already been achieved, with Warren shooting better than 37 percent from deep.
Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio | Utah Jazz
The Jazz teammates are three of nine players on the roster who have bonus criteria in their contracts. Besides a $500K bonus for first team All-Defense -- something Gobert earned last year -- the center has an additional $250K for RPG (divided by minutes) and $250K for posting a defensive rating below 100. Gobert will likely reach the All-Defense and RPG criteria. If he does, his cap hit for 2019-20 will increase to $25,008,427.
Rubio has a total of $225K in bonuses broken up into three categories: free throw attempts (3.2), field goal percentage (40%) and free throw percentage (85.6%). Rubio will hit the FT% mark and miss the FTA criteria. It will take until the final game to determine the FG% bonus, as he's currently at 40.3 percent.
Favors has already earned $400K for games played and could see an additional $750K because of complex statistical criteria in his contract. The three sets of bonuses -- ranging from $100K to $400K -- are for assists, blocks and rebounds divided by minutes.
Bonuses earned
Tony Snell (Milwaukee Bucks): $100K for Milwaukee winning 50 games
Nikola Vucevic (Orlando Magic): $500K for being selected to the All-Star Game
Dewayne Dedmon (Atlanta Hawks): $900K for statistical achievements
JaMychal Green (LA Clippers): $200K for first round of the playoffs
Deemed likely before the season but will not reach
Maurice Harkless | Portland Trail Blazers
One of the more watched bonuses in recent years, Harkless will fall short of shooting 35 percent from 3 for the first time since 2015-16. The Blazers will save $875K toward the luxury tax, and the cap hit for Harkless will be reduced to $11,011,234 in 2019-20.
John Henson | Cleveland Cavaliers
A left wrist injury to Henson will keep the Cavaliers out of the luxury tax this season. Because Henson had $750K in likely bonuses for games played, Cleveland will now receive a credit and remain under the luxury tax by $722,507. Henson's cap hit for 2019-20 is now $9,732,396.
Clint Capela | Houston Rockets
Capela has two more sets of incentives in his contract -- FT% (65) and defensive rebounding rate (30 percent) -- that he is unlikely to reach. While the $500K free throw bonus was deemed unlikely before the season, Capela's 26.8 defensive rebounding rate will lead to his already team-friendly deal declining by $500K.