Near the start of the 2019/20 campaign, we looked ahead and identified several dates and deadlines to watch on the NBA calendar throughout the rest of the season. While that list covered the general highlights, it’s worth taking a closer look at some of those key dates to keep an eye out for in January, which should be a busy month.
Let’s dive in…
Non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed
January 10 is the date that all non-guaranteed NBA contracts for 2019/20 will officially become guaranteed, but January 7 is really the day to watch. If a team wants to avoid having a salary become guaranteed, the player must clear waivers before January 10, which means he needs to be cut by January 7, at the latest.
Many players without fully guaranteed salaries are in no danger of being waived within the next week, but some teams will take the opportunity to save a little money and open up a roster spot.
Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts
Around the same time that some NBA clubs will be opening up a roster spot by waiving a player on a non-guaranteed salary, teams will also be able to use those newly-created openings to sign players to 10-day contracts. Those 10-day deals, which can be signed as of January 5, give teams the opportunity to pick up a short-term injury replacement, or perhaps to get a brief look at a standout G League player.
We extensively outlined the details of 10-day contracts and explained how they work in our glossary entry on the subject.
More players become trade-eligible
A huge percentage of the NBA’s offseason signees became eligible to be traded back on December 15, but there are still many players who can’t be dealt. By the end of next month, that list of players ineligible to be traded will shrink further, since there are 25 players currently on track to have those restrictions lift between now and January 31.
January 15 is the key date, with 20 players becoming trade-eligible as of that Wednesday. That group is primarily made up of players who almost certainly aren’t going anywhere, such as Klay Thompson and Kristaps Porzingis. However, a handful of players on that list could be involved in trade rumors in 2020, including Nene and Rudy Gay.
A few other offseason signees have unique trade-eligible dates in January, since they were signed sometime after September 15 or inked an offseason extension. Those players are Dwight Powell (January 6), Caleb Martin (January 19), Jalen McDaniels (January 20), Wenyen Gabriel (January 21), and CJ McCollum (January 30).
Two-way contract deadlines
NBA teams will face a pair of key deadlines relating to two-way contracts in January. The first of those dates arrives on January 15, which is the last day that a team can sign a player to a two-way contract this season.
Most teams have already filled both of their two-way slots. Still, it’s safe to assume that a number of clubs will make changes at those spots within the next couple weeks, while the one team with a two-way opening – the Suns – will likely fill it.
On January 20, all players on two-way contracts will have their G League salaries for the season become fully guaranteed.
Other odds and ends
There are a few other dates in January that are worth mentioning, despite the fact that they’ll likely come and go without much fanfare.
On January 10, mid-level and room exceptions – along with other cap exceptions like the bi-annual exception – will start to prorate for the year, meaning a team with its full room exception available would no longer be able to offer the full $4.767MM amount to a free agent. Exceptions will decline in value by 1/177th per day, starting on January 10.
January 15 is the last day that teams can apply for a disabled player exception to replace an injured player who is deemed unlikely to return this season. A disabled player exception can give a club extra cap flexibility, though that team may still have to open up a roster spot to add a player using its DPE.
Our glossary entry explaining the disabled player exception can be found right here, while our list of 2019/20 DPEs is here. The Wizards, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Lakers, and Nets have been granted DPEs this season.
A series of modest trade exceptions created in trades last January will expire within the next month. Two small Rockets TPEs will expire on January 7 and January 22, while the Mavericks will lose the smaller of their two TPEs on January 31 if it goes unused.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
A question on non-guaranteed contracts. If a non-guaranteed player is waived, this week, for instance, does the money already paid to him count towards team salary, or does his entire salary come off the cap total? Thanks.
A prorated amount of his salary would still count against the cap, all the way through the day he clears waivers.
So, since today is day 71 of the season, a non-guaranteed player waived today (who clears waivers on Thursday) would still count against the cap for 73/177th of his salary.
Thanks!