Decisions on rookie scale options for the 2024/25 season were due on Tuesday — any team that wanted to exercise a third- or fourth-year option on a player for next season was required to do so by October 31.
As is typically the case, a huge majority of those options were picked up. Even for top picks, who are paid higher salaries due to the NBA’s rookie scale, those third- and fourth-year options are relatively team-friendly. So unless a player has fallen well short of his team’s expectations, it generally makes sense to lock in his salary for the following season at this point.
However, not every player with a 2024/25 team option had it exercised by Tuesday’s deadline. A player who had his option declined will now be on track to reach unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2024, assuming he’s not waived before then. At the end of the season, his team won’t be able to offer them a starting salary that exceed the value of his declined option.
Listed below are the players who had their options turned down, followed by the players whose options were exercised. If a player had his option picked up, his ’24/25 salary is now guaranteed and he won’t be eligible for free agency until at least 2025.
Declined options:
- James Bouknight, Hornets (fourth year, $6,064,496)
- Kai Jones, Hornets (fourth year, $4,693,735) *
- Keon Johnson, Suns (fourth year, $4,474,291) *
- Usman Garuba, Thunder (fourth year, $4,392,515) *
- Josh Christopher, Grizzlies (fourth year, $4,346,615) *
- TyTy Washington Jr., Thunder (third year, $2,431,080) *
Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) were waived.
Bouknight was the only player who was retained while his team declined his 2024/25 rookie scale option.
Even though Bouknight was the 11th overall pick in 2021, the option decision didn’t come as a surprise. The 23-year-old’s option salary was well above the veteran’s minimum, and injuries, legal issues, and on-court struggles have all diminished his stock since he entered the NBA. It wouldn’t be a shock if he’s cut before the end of the season, though the Hornets appear willing for now to wait out his recovery from meniscus surgery.
The other five players in this group were waived between the start of the 2023/24 league year in July and the beginning of the regular season — all but Jones have since found new homes on two-way deals, with Johnson reportedly set to officially sign a two-way contract with Brooklyn this week.
Like Bouknight, Jones didn’t establish himself as a rotation player in his first two NBA seasons, having been leapfrogged in the frontcourt rotation by Mark Williams in 2022/23. There also appeared to be some concerns about his maturity and mindset after he made a series of unusual social media posts this offseason — Jones wasn’t with the Hornets for training camp even before the team opted to waive him.
Of the four players Charlotte selected in the 2021 draft, only second-rounder JT Thor looks like a good bet to stick with the club beyond 2023/24.
Meanwhile, although they ended up being waived by the Thunder and Grizzlies following trades, Garuba, Christopher, and Washington were all former Rockets first-rounders. Houston selected seven players in the first rounds of the 2021 and 2022 drafts, then used cap room to bring in several veteran free agents this summer, creating a roster crunch. The young players who hadn’t already established themselves as core pieces didn’t survive that crunch.
Exercised options:
Fourth year:
Note: These players will become eligible for rookie scale extensions in July of 2024. If they’re not extended, they’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2025.
- Cade Cunningham, Pistons ($13,940,809)
- Jalen Green, Rockets ($12,483,048)
- Evan Mobley, Cavaliers ($11,227,657)
- Scottie Barnes, Raptors ($10,130,980)
- Jalen Suggs, Magic ($9,188,385)
- Josh Giddey, Thunder ($8,352,367)
- Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors ($7,636,307)
- Franz Wagner, Magic ($7,007,092)
- Davion Mitchell, Kings ($6,451,077)
- Ziaire Williams, Grizzlies ($6,133,005)
- Chris Duarte, Kings ($5,893,768)
- Moses Moody, Warriors ($5,803,269)
- Corey Kispert, Wizards ($5,705,887)
- Alperen Sengun, Rockets ($5,424,654)
- Trey Murphy, Pelicans ($5,159,854)
- Tre Mann, Thunder ($4,908,373)
- Jalen Johnson, Hawks ($4,510,905)
- Isaiah Jackson, Pacers ($4,435,381)
- Quentin Grimes, Knicks ($4,296,682)
- Bones Hyland, Clippers ($4,158,439)
- Cam Thomas, Nets ($4,041,249)
- Jaden Springer, Sixers ($4,018,363)
- Day’Ron Sharpe, Nets ($3,989,122)
- Santi Aldama, Grizzlies ($3,960,531)
Joshua Primo, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was waived by the Spurs in October 2022, so his 2024/25 option (worth $5,982,725) was declined at that time.
Third year:
Note: Teams will have to make fourth-year option decisions for 2025/26 on these players by October 31, 2024.
- Paolo Banchero, Magic ($12,160,800)
- Chet Holmgren, Thunder ($10,880,640)
- Jabari Smith, Rockets ($9,770,880)
- Keegan Murray, Kings ($8,809,560)
- Jaden Ivey, Pistons ($7,977,240)
- Bennedict Mathurin, Pacers ($7,245,720)
- Shaedon Sharpe, Trail Blazers ($6,614,160)
- Dyson Daniels, Pelicans ($6,059,520)
- Jeremy Sochan, Spurs ($5,570,040)
- Johnny Davis, Wizards ($5,291,160)
- Ousmane Dieng, Thunder ($5,027,040)
- Jalen Williams, Thunder ($4,775,760)
- Jalen Duren, Pistons ($4,536,840)
- Ochai Agbaji, Jazz ($4,310,280)
- Mark Williams, Hornets ($4,094,280)
- AJ Griffin, Hawks ($3,889,920)
- Tari Eason, Rockets ($3,695,160)
- Dalen Terry, Bulls ($3,510,480)
- Jake LaRavia, Grizzlies ($3,352,680)
- Malaki Branham, Spurs ($3,217,920)
- Christian Braun, Nuggets ($3,089,640)
- Walker Kessler, Jazz ($2,965,920)
- David Roddy, Grizzlies ($2,847,240)
- MarJon Beauchamp, Bucks ($2,733,720)
- Blake Wesley, Spurs ($2,624,280)
- Wendell Moore, Timberwolves ($2,537,040)
- Nikola Jovic, Heat ($2,464,200)
- Patrick Baldwin, Wizards ($2,448,840)
- Peyton Watson, Nuggets ($2,413,560)
For a team-by-team breakdown of this year’s rookie scale option decisions for the 2024/25 season, along with full stories on each decision, you can check out our tracker.