An NBA player who has a non-guaranteed salary for a given season will, by default, receive his full guarantee if he remains under contract through January 7 of that league year. Because the league-wide salary guarantee date is January 10, a player must clear waivers before that date if a team wants to avoid being on the hook for his full salary.
However, a handful of players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts for 2023/24 have earlier trigger dates. Those players will receive either their full guarantee or a partial guarantee on certain dates before January 7, assuming they’re not waived.
These dates are fairly malleable — if a player and team reach an agreement, a salary guarantee deadline can be pushed back.
For example, if a player’s contract calls for him to receive his full guarantee on June 28, his team could ask him to move that date to the first or second week of July to get a better sense of what will happen in free agency before making a final decision. The player doesn’t have to agree, but it could be in his best interest to push back his guarantee date rather than simply being waived.
Those agreements between a player and team aren’t always reported right away, so our list of early salary guarantee dates is a tentative one. When a player’s salary guarantee date passes, our assumption is that he received his guarantee, but it’s possible he and his team negotiated a new guarantee date that simply hasn’t been made public yet. We’ll update the info below as necessary in the coming weeks and months.
Here are the early salary guarantee dates for 2023/24:
June 23
- Zach Collins (Spurs): Non-guaranteed salary ($7,700,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
June 24
- Mike Conley (Timberwolves): Partial guarantee ($14,320,000) increases to full guarantee ($24,360,000). (✅)
June 28
- Reggie Bullock (Mavericks): Partial guarantee ($5,451,200) increases to full guarantee ($10,489,600). (✅)
- Eric Gordon (Clippers): Non-guaranteed salary ($20,917,902) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
- Kelly Olynyk (Jazz): Partial guarantee ($3,000,000) increases to full guarantee ($12,195,122). (✅)
- Chris Paul (Wizards): Partial guarantee ($15,800,000) increases to full guarantee ($30,800,000). (✅)
- Note: Traded from Suns to Wizards as part of receiving his salary guarantee; will be re-routed to Warriors in July.
- Note: Traded from Suns to Wizards as part of receiving his salary guarantee; will be re-routed to Warriors in July.
- Taurean Prince (Timberwolves): Non-guaranteed salary ($7,650,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
June 29
- Mohamed Bamba (Lakers): Non-guaranteed salary ($10,300,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
- Garrison Mathews (Hawks): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Daishen Nix (Rockets): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,836,096) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
- Cedi Osman (Cavaliers): Non-guaranteed salary ($6,718,842) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Cameron Payne (Suns): Partial guarantee ($2,000,000) increases to full guarantee ($6,500,000). (✅)
June 30
- Brandon Boston Jr. (Clippers): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,836,096) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Markelle Fultz (Magic): Partial guarantee ($2,000,000) increases to full guarantee ($17,000,000). (✅)
- Gary Harris (Magic): Non-guaranteed salary ($13,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Jordan McLaughlin (Timberwolves): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,320,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Thunder): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,900,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Jarred Vanderbilt (Lakers): Partial guarantee ($300,000) increases to full guarantee ($4,698,000). (✅)
- Trendon Watford (Trail Blazers): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,836,096) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
- Thaddeus Young (Raptors): Partial guarantee ($1,000,000) increases to full guarantee ($8,000,000). (✅)
July 3
- De’Anthony Melton (Sixers): Partial guarantee ($1,500,000) increases to full guarantee ($8,000,000). (✅)
July 4
July 6
- R.J. Hampton (Pistons): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,997,238) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
July 7
- Marko Simonovic (Bulls): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,836,096) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
- Garrett Temple (Pelicans): Non-guaranteed salary ($5,401,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
July 10
- PJ Dozier (Kings): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,413,304) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
- Bruno Fernando (Hawks): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,581,522) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Royce O’Neale (Nets): Partial guarantee ($2,500,000) increases to full guarantee ($9,500,000). (✅)
July 15
- Haywood Highsmith (Heat): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,902,137) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Edmond Sumner (Nets): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,239,943) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
July 16
- Jericho Sims (Knicks): Partial guarantee ($600,000) increases to $1,200,000. (✅)
July 17
- Lamar Stevens (Spurs): Partial guarantee ($400,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,930,681). (❌)
July 18
- Luka Samanic (Jazz): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,066,585) becomes partially guaranteed ($400,000). (✅)
- Joe Wieskamp (Raptors): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,927,896) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
July 20
- Jabari Walker (Trail Blazers): Partial guarantee ($400,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,719,864). (✅)
July 21
- Tyrese Martin (Hawks): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,719,864) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
August 1
- Justin Champagnie (Celtics): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,927,896) becomes partially guaranteed ($50,000). (❌)
- Jeenathan Williams (Trail Blazers): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,719,864) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
August 20
- Jericho Sims (Knicks): Partial guarantee ($1,200,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,927,896). (✅)
September 1
- Jordan Goodwin (Suns): Partial guarantee ($300,000) increases to $963,948. (✅)
October 1
- Jason Preston (Clippers): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,836,096) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
October 21
- Jeff Dowtin (Raptors): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,019,706) becomes partially guaranteed ($900,000). (❌)
October 23
- Darius Bazley (Nets): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,165,000) becomes partially guaranteed ($200,000). (❌)
- Vernon Carey Jr. (Jazz): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,997,238) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
- Kris Dunn (Jazz): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,586,665) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
- Luke Samanic (Jazz): Partial guarantee ($400,000) increases to $600,000. (✅)
October 24
- Dalano Banton (Celtics): Partial guarantee ($200,000) increases to $1,009,853. (✅)
- Moses Brown (Trail Blazers): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $500,000. (✅)
- Carlik Jones (Bulls): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,927,896) becomes partially guaranteed ($250,000). (❌)
- Svi Mykhailiuk (Celtics): Partial guarantee ($200,000) increases to $1,173,307. (✅)
- Nerlens Noel (Kings): Partial guarantee ($300,000) increases to $600,000. (❌)
- Neemias Queta (Kings): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $500,000. (❌)
- Terry Taylor (Bulls): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,019,706) becomes partially guaranteed ($350,000). (✅)
- Trendon Watford (Nets): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,019,706) becomes partially guaranteed ($200,000). (✅)
October 25
- Orlando Robinson (Heat): Partial guarantee ($75,000) increases to $425,000. (✅)
October 26
- Danny Green (Sixers): Non-guaranteed salary ($3,196,448) becomes partially guaranteed ($200,000). (✅)
November 10
- Danny Green (Sixers): Partial guarantee ($200,000) increases to $500,000. (❌)
December 1
- Orlando Robinson (Heat): Partial guarantee ($425,000) increases to $850,000. (✅)
December 15
- Terry Taylor (Bulls): Partial guarantee ($350,000) increases to $700,000. (✅)
December 19
- Trendon Watford (Nets): Partial guarantee ($200,000) increases to $700,000. (✅)
I struggle to see how Garrison Mathews’ contract could have different guarantees this offseason (6/29) versus next (1/10/25). His ’24-’25 salary is a team option, which has to reflect the exact guarantee structure of the previous year’s…
His 2024/25 salary guarantee date is June 29, 2024.
Missing from this list (if it matters) is Kevin Porter Jr. His 2024/2025 salary goes from $1 million to $3 million guaranteed on opening night 2023.
I’d left him out because it’s a future season’s salary that’s affected, but fair point.