As we noted when we passed along word earlier today that the Pistons have officially signed Aaron Estrada to an Exhibit 10 contract, that signing was initially reported months earlier — 101 days ago, to be specific.
That’s not an uncommon pattern during the offseason, especially if an agreement between a team and a player is an Exhibit 10 deal primarily designed to secure the player’s G League rights and/or to ensure he’ll receive a bonus by spending at least 60 days with the club’s NBAGL affiliate. The two sides could agree to terms relatively early in the offseason but be in no rush to officially complete that deal until the fall.
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That’s likely what’s happening with Estrada. If the Pistons intended to have him vie for a spot on their 18-man regular season roster, they probably would’ve brought him to training camp last week and given him every opportunity to compete in those practices and scrimmages. So his deal is presumably more about his G League rights and his Exhibit 10 bonus.
Estrada won’t be the last Exhibit 10 recipient to join an NBA team this fall. Those signings will continue all the way up until October 19, which is the last day that a player on a non-guaranteed contract can be waived without counting against a team’s salary cap for the 2024/25 season.
With that in mind, here are several of the non-guaranteed training camp contracts reported over the course of the offseason that have not yet been finalized but still could be completed within the next couple weeks:
- Brooklyn Nets: Mark Armstrong (story)
- Brooklyn Nets: KJ Jones (story)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Darius Brown II (story)
- Denver Nuggets: Charles Bediako (story)
- Indiana Pacers: Jahlil Okafor (story)
- Los Angeles Lakers: Sean East II (story)
- New Orleans Pelicans: Elfrid Payton (story)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Buddy Boeheim (story)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Javonte Cooke (story)
- Orlando Magic: Robert Baker (story)
- Phoenix Suns: Boo Buie (story)
It’s entirely possible that one or more of these deals was reported erroneously or has since fallen through. That usually happens at least a handful of times every year.
But in all likelihood, most or all of these signings will still be completed by October 19. We haven’t seen any reporting indicating they’ll no longer happen. And in some cases, the teams’ G League affiliates have acquired the returning rights for these players, signaling that those players remain very much in those teams’ plans.
We’ll be keeping an eye out in the coming days and weeks to see if these moves are announced by teams or if they show up in the NBA’s transaction logs. If they don’t happen before opening night, it’s safe to assume they’re not going to get done after all.