No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, and they’ve become even rarer in recent years. To be eligible to negotiate a no-trade clause, a player must have at least eight years of NBA experience and four years with his current team. Even if a player qualifies, his team is unlikely to restrict its flexibility by including a no-trade clause in his deal.
Still, even though there’s not a single NBA player with an explicit no-trade clause in his contract at the moment, there are several who will have the ability to veto trades in 2021/22.
A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with an option year – is given no-trade protection. That group doesn’t include players on two-way contracts, but it does include those who accept standard (non two-way) one-year qualifying offers.
A player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team also has the ability to veto a trade for the rest of the league year.
With those criteria in mind, here are the players who must give their consent if their teams want to trade them during the ’21/22 league year:
No-trade clauses:
- None
Players whose offer sheets were matched:
- None
Players re-signing for one year (or two years, with a second-year player/team option):
- LaMarcus Aldridge (Nets)
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Nicolas Batum (Clippers)
- Bruce Brown (Nets)
- Dewayne Dedmon (Heat)
- Hamidou Diallo (Pistons)
- JaMychal Green (Nuggets)
- Blake Griffin (Nets)
- Udonis Haslem (Heat)
- Solomon Hill (Knicks)
- Note: Hill approved a trade from the Hawks to the Knicks.
- Frank Jackson (Pistons)
- Cory Joseph (Pistons)
- Frank Kaminsky (Suns)
- Rodney McGruder (Pistons)
- Mike Muscala (Thunder)
- Abdel Nader (Suns)
- Raul Neto (Wizards)
- Victor Oladipo (Heat)
- Bobby Portis (Bucks)
- Austin Rivers (Nuggets)
- Lou Williams (Hawks)
If any player who re-signed for one year approves a trade during the 2021/22 league year, he’ll have Non-Bird rights at season’s end instead of Early Bird or full Bird rights.
The only player with veto rights in 2020/21 who approved a trade was center Meyers Leonard — he signed off on a deal that sent him from the Heat to the Thunder. Leonard would’ve had full Bird rights if he’d finished the season with Miami, but would’ve only had Non-Bird rights at season’s end after the trade to Oklahoma City. Given the circumstances of his situation, Leonard was on track to be waived during the season whether or not he was traded, so he would’ve lost his Bird rights either way.
Any player who consents to a trade will retain his veto ability on his new team, and would have to approve a subsequent deal as well.
Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
I feel like Lou would waive his no trade if he could go finish his NBA career where he started it, in Philadelphia… Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey & the rights to Charles Bassey for DeAndre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu, Danilo Gallinari, Louis Williams, a 2022 2nd & a top5 protected 2023 1st sounds like a good deal for both squads
Brantley’s on a non-guaranteed deal, right? He accepted a two-way QO
Yes, partial guarantee. Had missed it because I was only looking at E10s, thanks.
Predict most likely to be put on the spot: Frank Jackson.
Ptedict least likely: Haslem