The 2025 NBA trade deadline is behind us, but that doesn’t mean teams are finished making roster moves. With two months still left in the 2024/25 regular season, there are still many roster spots to be filled around the league, as well as veterans who might not finish the year with their current teams.
The NBA’s buyout market has been active since the trade deadline and could feature several more moves in the next couple weeks.
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A veteran in an undesirable situation due to his playing time or his team’s place in the standings (or both) could ask to be released and may even be willing to give back a little money to accommodate the move. Some teams might make that decision unilaterally, opting to release a veteran to open up a roster spot for a younger player.
Over the rest of the month, we’ll use the space below to monitor the buyout market, keeping tabs on which veteran players have been bought out or released, and which have found new teams. We’ll also keep an eye on players who are potential buyout candidates. The list will be updated regularly in the coming days and weeks.
A player on an NBA contract must be waived by the end of the day on March 1 in order to retain his playoff eligibility, so that will be a key date to watch.
Here’s our breakdown of the 2025 NBA buyout market:
Last updated 2-12-25 (9:50 am CT)
Veterans who have been recently bought out or waived and are free agents:
- Mohamed Bamba, C
- Bones Hyland, G
- Reggie Jackson, G
- Josh Richardson, G/F
- Jaden Springer, G
- Daniel Theis, C
- Note: Theis is reportedly expected to sign with AS Monaco in Europe.
- Christian Wood, F/C
- Note: Wood will clear waivers on Thursday.
Not every player who has been waived this season will be mentioned here. This list is essentially just made up of players with at least a few years of NBA experience who could be of immediate interest to teams in the playoff mix.
For instance, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Jalen Hood-Schifino were among those waived since the trade deadline, but neither one has ever been a reliable rotation player. They don’t fit the profile of a traditional buyout market pickup for a contending team and won’t be listed here for that reason.
You could argue that players like Springer or Hyland also fit that bill, but they at least have specific skill sets (defense for Springer; scoring for Hyland) that might make them appealing as situational reserves to a playoff-caliber team, which is why they made our list.
It’s also worth noting that players like Richardson and Wood are listed here despite dealing with injuries that have limited their availability this season. We’re still assuming that they might be healthy enough to contribute before the end of the season, whereas that’s not the case for a recently waived player like James Wiseman, who will be out until 2025/26 due to his torn Achilles.
Veterans who have been bought out or released and joined new teams:
- Torrey Craig: Waived by Bulls; signed with Celtics.
- Ben Simmons: Bought out by Nets; signed with Clippers.
- Note: Simmons’ pre-waiver salary exceeded the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, making him ineligible to sign with a team operating over either tax apron.
- Alex Len: Waived by Wizards; signed with Lakers.
Again, we’re focusing here on players who fit the traditional buyout market profile, which means playoff teams (or at least playoff hopefuls) adding win-now help.
If a lottery-bound team signs a young player in order to audition him for the rest of this season, that signing won’t be listed here.
Other veterans who are candidates to be bought out or released:
Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) have salaries above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and would be ineligible to sign with a team operating over either tax apron.
Realistic candidates:
- Marvin Bagley III (Grizzlies)
- Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets) *
- Seth Curry (Hornets)
- Vasilije Micic (Suns)
- Patty Mills (Clippers)
- Monte Morris (Suns)
- Cam Reddish (Lakers)
- P.J. Tucker (Raptors)
- Delon Wright (Knicks)
- Cody Zeller (Rockets)
Longer shots:
- Chris Boucher (Raptors)
- Malcolm Brogdon (Wizards) *
- Bruce Brown (Pelicans) *
- Javonte Green (Pelicans)
- Tre Jones (Bulls)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Hawks)
- D’Angelo Russell (Nets) *
Not all of these players will be bought out or waived. In fact, even in the “realistic candidates” section, several are more likely to stay put than to reach free agency. There have been reports specifically suggesting that some of the “longer shots” – including Brogdon and Brown – are expected to stay where they are for the rest of the season.
Still, until March 1 comes and goes, we’re viewing these players as worth monitoring.
Teams operating in tax apron territory:
As noted above, a player whose pre-waiver salary exceeds the non-taxpayer mid-level exception is ineligible to sign with a team operating over either tax apron. The non-taxpayer MLE this season is $12,822,000, so that restriction would apply to Bogdanovic ($19,032,850) but not to Bagley ($12,500,000).
Here are the teams in tax apron territory who are ineligible to sign a player who fits that bill:
- Boston Celtics
- Denver Nuggets
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks
- Phoenix Suns