Hoops Rumors Originals

In mid-June, I published an article explaining why sign-and-trades had become a rarity in the NBA in recent years, noting that only four such deals had been completed over the previous four offseasons and that none of those four sign-and-trades involved star players.

A month later, after the dust had settled on free agency, NBA teams and player agents had done their best to prove that hypothesis wrong, with a total of 10 free agents having been signed-and-traded. On top of that, approximately half of those signed-and-traded players were among the very best free agents on the market this summer.

One offseason doesn’t necessarily signal the start of a new trend, but it’s worth examining the factors that caused the sign-and-trade deal to re-emerge so emphatically in 2019. Here are a few of those factors worth considering:

1. Teams with restricted free agents showed more willingness to sign-and-trade them.

If a team has a restricted free agent who is drawing serious interest from a rival suitor, that team would typically face two possibilities if the RFA signs an offer sheet: Either let him go for nothing or match an offer sheet that probably won’t be particularly team-friendly.

During the summer of 2019, clubs were more inclined to pursue a third path, negotiating sign-and-trade agreements that allowed the RFA’s new suitor to acquire him outright — as long as that suitor was willing to give up a couple draft picks.

The Pacers‘ acquisition of Malcolm Brogdon from the Bucks was the most notable example of this kind of transaction. Milwaukee landed a lottery-protected first-round pick and a pair of second-round picks in exchange for Brogdon. Other sign-and-trades involving RFAs for draft picks included the Bulls acquiring Tomas Satoransky, the Timberwolves acquiring Jake Layman, and the Mavericks securing Delon Wright.

I could see other teams going down this avenue in the future — if both sides are willing to play ball, working out a sign-and-trade can be a win-win solution, whereas the aftermath of an offer-sheet battle can leave both teams unhappy.

Still, it’s worth noting that specific sets of circumstances might’ve played a part in this year’s increase in RFA sign-and-trades. The Wizards and Grizzlies had new management groups in place, meaning they may not have been as attached to Satoransky and Wright as the old decision-makers were. The Bucks and Trail Blazers, meanwhile, would’ve been on the hook for substantial tax payments if they had ponied up to retain Brogdon and Layman.

2. Capped-out teams losing top free agents positioned themselves to get something back from the teams signing away their stars.

There were two noteworthy instances this summer of this scenario playing out. One occurred when Kevin Durant agreed to sign with the Nets, while the other happened after Kemba Walker‘s commitment to the Celtics.

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We’re over two months into 2019’s NBA free agent period, and with news of contract agreements and signings continuing to trickle in, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason.

To this end, we continue to update our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.

A few notes on the tracker:

• Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect tentative agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
• Similarly, contract years and dollars will sometimes be based on what’s been reported to date, so those amounts could be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
• Our tracker will continue to be updated with the latest moves right up until opening night. Signings completed after the season begins won’t be included.
• If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.

Our 2019 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. On our mobile site, it can be found in our menu under “Free Agent Lists.”

The tracker will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.

Once the first wave of NBA free agency is over in mid-July, many free agents who sign with teams for the rest of the summer and into the fall receive Exhibit 10 contracts. As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year, non-guaranteed deals that essentially function as training camp invitations for veterans and rookies alike.

Exhibit 10 contracts appeal to NBA teams for a handful of reasons. Notably, they don’t count against a club’s cap during the offseason and preseason, meaning hard-capped teams like the Warriors and Heat can still fill out their camp rosters with players on Exhibit 10 deals.

Additionally, the Exhibit 10 clause is versatile enough to allow teams to make a variety of moves with players once the preseason ends. Here’s a breakdown of the options teams will have with those players this fall:

1. Carry the player on the team’s 15-man regular season roster

If a team is counting on a camp invitee to make the regular season roster, it will usually try to sign him to a multiyear contract, perhaps sweetening the deal with a partial guarantee. Still, it’s not unheard of for a player on an Exhibit 10 contract to make a strong impression in the preseason and earn himself a spot on a club’s 15-man squad.

In that scenario, the Exhibit 10 deal would begin counting against the team’s cap as of opening night, and would be treated as a standard one-year, minimum-salary contract. If the player remains under contract through January 10, his full salary would become guaranteed. He’d subsequently be eligible for free agency in 2020, and if he has fewer than four years of NBA experience under his belt, he’d be restricted.

2. Convert the player to a two-way contract

Not every team will have room on its 15-man roster for an Exhibit 10 player who looks great in camp, but some of those teams with full rosters might have a two-way contract slot open. Teams can unilaterally convert Exhibit 10 deals into two-way contracts without having to put the player through waivers, where he could be claimed by a rival franchise.

It appears that some teams will invite a handful of Exhibit 10 players to camp and have them compete for two-way deals. The Heat, who have yet to fill either of their two-way slots, are definitely taking this route. The other teams without a two-way player under contract – the Raptors and Rockets – may take a similar approach, and there are nine more teams with a single two-way opening.

One added perk of using this option? Once the player is on a two-way contract, he and the team can subsequently negotiate a new standard contract – even a multiyear deal – without going through the waiver process. Those negotiations aren’t possible if the player is still on an Exhibit 10.

3. Designate the player as a G League affiliate player

Teams can carry 20 players on their offseason rosters, but just 15 – plus a pair of two-way players – in the regular season. As such, many players signed to Exhibit 10 deals will be the odd men out at the end of the preseason and will be released.

Still, that doesn’t necessarily bring a player’s time with the organization to an end. Up to four players waived by teams prior to the season can be designated as “affiliate players” and assigned to their G League squads (assuming the player is on board). Exhibit 10 contracts go hand-in-hand with this arrangement, since they entitle a player of a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and subsequently spends two months with his team’s G League affiliate.

Many NBA clubs will sign players to Exhibit 10 contracts for the sole purpose of eventually getting those players on their NBAGL rosters and making sure the players get some bonus money in the process.

For players coveted by more than one team, this process can be a complicated one. It’s not uncommon for an undrafted free agent to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with one NBA team, be released by that team early in the preseason, than sign a new Exhibit 10 deal with a second team before being waived again at the end of the preseason.

In that scenario, the player may have originally committed to play for one organization’s G League affiliate before changing course when a better opportunity arises. Assuming his NBAGL returning rights aren’t already held by a team, the NBA club that signs him last would be the one eligible to make him an affiliate player.

It’s also worth noting that the affiliate option doesn’t apply to teams without their own G League teams. The Nuggets and Trail Blazers can sign players to Exhibit 10 contracts, but can’t offer them a $50K bonus to play in the NBAGL, since neither Denver nor Portland has its own affiliate.