Hoops Rumors Originals

Waiver claims are something of a rarity in the NBA. In order to claim a player off waivers, a team generally must be able to fit the player’s entire salary into cap room, a traded player exception, or a disabled player exception.

Given those limitations, the players most frequently claimed on waivers are those on minimum-salary deals, since any club is eligible to place a claim on those players using the minimum salary exception.

Even then though, there are some caveats — the minimum salary exception can only be used to sign players for up to two years, so the same rules apply to waiver claims. If a player signed a three-year, minimum salary contract, he can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception, even if he’s in the final year of his deal.

Taking into account all the rules that reduce the odds of a waiver claim – not to mention the limited roster spots available for NBA teams – it makes sense that nearly all of the players who get released ultimately clear waivers. The 2021/22 and ’22/23 league years each featured just six waiver claims, for instance.

Despite how infrequent they are, we still want to track all the waiver claims that take place during the 2023/24 league year, since you never know which claim may end up being crucial. Last season, for instance, the Spurs claimed Julian Champagnie and Sandro Mamukelashvili off waivers — both players eventually re-signed with the team as free agents in the summer and remain on San Antonio’s roster this fall.

We’ll track this year’s waiver claims in the space below, updating the list throughout the season to include the latest moves. Here’s the list:

• Trail Blazers claim Ish Wainright from Suns (October 21) (story)
  • The victim of a roster crunch in Phoenix, Wainright was waived by the Suns before the regular season as the team trimmed its roster from 17 players on standard contracts to 15. Portland was willing to take a flier on Wainright, whose minimum-salary deal won’t become guaranteed until January. That timeline gives the Blazers the flexibility to evaluate the forward for a couple months before deciding whether to lock in his full-season cap hit.
• Pelicans claim Matt Ryan from Timberwolves (October 22) (story)
  • A restricted free agent this summer, Ryan re-signed with Minnesota on a new two-way contract, but the Timberwolves decided to convert Daishen Nix to a two-way deal before the season began, cutting Ryan to make room. The Pelicans, whose roster was hit hard by preseason injuries, had an open two-way contract slot and viewed the third-year sharpshooter as the sort of NBA-ready player who could step into a rotation role immediately, so they decided to claim his two-way contract off waivers.
• Suns claim Theo Maledon from Hornets (December 17) (story)
  • The Suns were the only NBA team to carry just a pair of two-way players – instead of three – for the first seven-plus weeks of the regular season. That gave them the flexibility to pounce when someone they liked hit the waiver wire — they placed a claim on Maledon after was cut by a Charlotte team seeking more frontcourt help. The timing worked out well for the Suns, who had just lost Bradley Beal to an ankle sprain and added Maledon to fortify their backcourt depth chart.

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

• All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
• Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
• Notifications. For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
• Commenting. You can read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
• Customer service. If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
• Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!

In a pair of previous articles, we took a closer look at the trade restrictions placed on two groups of players who signed free agent contracts this past offseason. The smaller of the two groups featured players who can’t be traded by their current teams until January 15, having re-signed on contracts that met a set of specific criteria. The other offseason signees we examined aren’t eligible to be traded until December 15.

In addition to those two groups, there are a few other subsets of players who face certain trade restrictions this season. They either can’t be traded until a certain date, can’t be traded in certain packages, or can’t be traded at all prior to February’s deadline.

Listed below are the players affected by these trade restrictions. This list, which we’ll continue to update throughout the season as needed, can be found on our desktop sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or in our mobile menu under “Features.”

Players who recently signed as free agents or had their two-way contracts converted:

A player who signs a free agent contract typically becomes trade-eligible either three months after he signs or on December 15, whichever comes later. That means a player who signs on September 1 would become trade-eligible on Dec. 15, but one who signs on Sept. 22 wouldn’t be eligible to be dealt until Dec. 22.

Similarly, players who have two-way pacts converted to standard contracts can’t be dealt for three months after that happens.

Here are the affected players, who signed free agent contracts or were converted from two-way deals after Sept. 15, along with the dates their trade restrictions lift. Players marked with an asterisk (*) have the ability to veto trades:

December 16:

• Markieff Morris (Mavericks) *

December 19:

• Boban Marjanovic (Rockets)

December 25:

• Lamar Stevens (Celtics)

December 26:

• Kelly Oubre (Sixers)

January 1:

• Cameron Payne (Bucks)

January 4:

• Reggie Bullock (Rockets)

January 21:

• Dru Smith (Heat)

January 24:

• Ish Smith (Hornets)

February 8:

• Kevin Knox (Pistons)

Players who sign free agent contracts or have their two-way deals converted to standard contracts after November 8 this season won’t become trade-eligible prior to the 2024 trade deadline, which falls on February 8. That restriction applies to the following players, listed in alphabetical order:

• Joshua Primo (Clippers)
• Daniel Theis (Clippers)
• Vince Williams (Grizzlies)

Players who recently signed veteran contract extensions:

A player who signs a veteran contract extension can’t be dealt for six months if his new deal includes a raise greater than 5% and/or puts him under contract for more than three total years (including his current contract). An extension that meets either of those criteria would exceed the NBA’s extend-and-trade limits.

A player can sign a veteran extension and remain trade-eligible as long as his new deal doesn’t include a raise of more than 5% and doesn’t lock him up for more than three total seasons. Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, for instance, remained eligible to be traded after signing a two-year extension that featured a pay cut in the first year and a 5% raise in the second.

Here are the players whose recent veteran extensions exceed the extend-and-trade limits, along with the dates their trade restrictions lift:

December 27:

• Naz Reid (Timberwolves)

December 28:

• Nikola Vucevic (Bulls)

December 29:

• Harrison Barnes (Kings)

January 6:

• Domantas Sabonis (Kings)

January 7:

• Jordan Clarkson (Jazz)

January 9:

• Dejounte Murray (Hawks)

February 6:

• Anthony Davis (Lakers)

Ineligible to be traded before this season’s February 8 deadline:

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
• Zach Collins (Spurs)
• Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
• Josh Hart (Knicks)
• Miles McBride (Knicks)
• Jarred Vanderbilt (Lakers)

Additionally, when a player signs a super-max contract extension, he becomes ineligible to be traded for one full year.

That means Celtics wing Jaylen Brown won’t become trade-eligible prior to the 2024 deadline despite signing his extension in July. Brown is the only player who signed a super-max (designated veteran) contract this summer.

Players who were recently traded:

Players who were recently traded can be flipped again immediately. However, unless they were acquired via cap room, they can’t be traded again immediately in a deal that aggregates their salary with another player’s for matching purposes.

For instance, after acquiring Marcus Morris from the Clippers on November 1, the Sixers could turn around and trade Morris and his $17.1MM salary right away for another player earning about the same amount. But if Philadelphia wants to package Morris and, say, Robert Covington ($11.7MM) for salary-matching purposes in a deal for a big-money player, the team would have to wait two months to do so.

There are a total of five trades that currently fall within the aggregation restriction window. Here are the dates when the players involved in those deals can once again have their salaries aggregated in a second trade:

November 27:

• Damian Lillard (Bucks)
• Deandre Ayton (Trail Blazers)
• Toumani Camara (Trail Blazers)
• Grayson Allen (Suns)
• Nassir Little (Suns)
• Jusuf Nurkic (Suns)

December 1:

• Jrue Holiday (Celtics)
• Malcolm Brogdon (Trail Blazers)
• Robert Williams (Trail Blazers)

December 17:

• Victor Oladipo (Rockets)

January 1:

• James Harden (Clippers)
• P.J. Tucker (Clippers)
• Nicolas Batum (Sixers)
• Robert Covington (Sixers)
• Kenyon Martin Jr. (Sixers)
• Marcus Morris (Sixers)
• Filip Petrusev (Kings)

Any player who is traded after December 8 (without being acquired via cap room) won’t be eligible to be flipped before the trade deadline in a second deal that aggregates his salary with another player’s.

Note: Only players on standard, full-season contracts are listed on this page. Players who sign 10-day contracts can’t be traded. Players who sign two-way deals can’t be traded for up to 30 days after signing.

As we did with 2023’s offseason trades and the in-season swaps from 2022/23, we’ll be keeping track of all the NBA trades completed this season, updating this article with each transaction. This post can be found anytime throughout the season on our desktop sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or in our mobile menu under “Features.”

Trades are listed here in reverse chronological order, with the latest on top. So, if a player has been dealt multiple times, the first team listed as having acquired him is the one that ended up with him. Trades listed in italics have been agreed upon but are not yet official. For more details on each trade, click the date above it.

For more information on the specific conditions dictating if and when draft picks involved in these deals will actually change hands, be sure to check out RealGM.com’s breakdown of the details on traded picks.

Here’s the full list of the trades completed during the 2023/24 NBA season:

February 8

• Kings acquire Robin Lopez and cash.
• Bucks acquire the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis.

February 8

• Thunder acquire Gordon Hayward.
• Hornets acquire Davis Bertans, Vasilije Micic, Tre Mann, the Rockets’ 2024 second-round pick, the Sixers’ 2025 second-round pick, and cash ($1.5MM).

February 8

• Trail Blazers acquire Dalano Banton and cash ($3MM).
• Celtics acquire either the Trail Blazers’ or Pelicans’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; top-55 protected).

February 8

• Celtics acquire Jaden Springer.
• Sixers acquire either the Bulls’ or the Pelicans’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable).

February 8

• Clippers acquire the draft rights to Ismael Kamagate.
• Nuggets acquire cash ($2,686,253).

February 8

• Timberwolves acquire Monte Morris.
• Pistons acquire Shake Milton, Troy Brown, and the Timberwolves’ 2030 second-round pick.

February 8

• Bucks acquire Patrick Beverley.
• Sixers acquire Cameron Payne and the Bucks’ 2027 second-round pick.

February 8

• Suns acquire Royce O’Neale and David Roddy.
• Nets acquire Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin, either the Pistons’, Bucks,’ or Magic’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Suns), the Grizzlies’ 2028 second-round pick (from Suns), the Grizzlies’ 2029 second-round pick (from Suns), and the draft rights to Vanja Marinkovic (from Grizzlies).
• Grizzlies acquire Yuta Watanabe, Chimezie Metu, and the right to swap their own 2026 first-round pick for either the Suns’, Magic’s, or Wizards’ 2026 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable).

February 8

• Mavericks acquire Daniel Gafford.
• Wizards acquire Richaun Holmes and either the Thunder’s, Clippers’, Rockets’ (top-four protected), or Jazz’s (top-10 protected) 2024 first-round pick (whichever is second-least favorable).

February 8

• Mavericks acquire P.J. Washington, the Celtics’ 2024 second-round pick, and either the Hornets’ or Clippers’ 2028 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
• Hornets acquire Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and the Mavericks’ 2027 first-round pick (top-two protected).

February 8

• Sixers acquire Buddy Hield.
• Pacers acquire Doug McDermott, Furkan Korkmaz, the Raptors’ 2024 second-round pick, the Trail Blazers’ 2029 second-round pick, and cash ($1.18MM; from Sixers).
• Spurs acquire Marcus Morris, the Clippers’ 2029 second-round pick, and cash (from Sixers).
• Note: The 2024 second-rounder technically has “most favorable” language, but there’s essentially no chance it won’t be Toronto’s pick.

February 8

• Pacers acquire Cory Joseph, the Hornets’ 2025 second-round pick (top-55 protected) and cash ($5.8MM)
• Warriors acquire the least favorable of the Pacers’ 2024 second-round picks.
• Note: In all likelihood, the 2024 pick will be the least favorable of the Bucks’ and Cavaliers’ second-rounders.

February 8

• Knicks acquire Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
• Pistons acquire Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Quentin Grimes, Ryan Arcidiacono, the Knicks’ 2028 second-round pick, the Knicks’ 2029 second-round pick, and cash ($3MM).

February 8

• Raptors acquire Spencer Dinwiddie.
• Nets acquire Dennis Schröder and Thaddeus Young.

February 8

• Mavericks acquire either the Thunder’s, Clippers’, Rockets’ (top-four protected), or Jazz’s (top-10 protected) 2024 first-round pick (whichever is second-least favorable).
• Thunder acquire the right to swap first-round picks with the Mavericks in 2028.

February 8

• Raptors acquire Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji.
• Jazz acquire Otto Porter, Kira Lewis, and either the Thunder’s, Clippers’, Rockets’ (top-four protected), or Jazz’s (top-10 protected) 2024 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable).

February 8

• Pistons acquire Danuel House, the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick, and cash ($1,634,922).
  
• Sixers acquire the Pistons’ 2028 second-round pick (top-55 protected).

February 8

• Pistons acquire Simone Fontecchio.
• Jazz acquire Kevin Knox, either the Wizards’ or the Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), the draft rights to Gabriele Procida., and cash ($766,095).

February 7

• Celtics acquire Xavier Tillman.
• Grizzlies acquire Lamar Stevens, the Hawks’ 2027 second-round pick, and the Mavericks’ 2030 second-round pick.

February 1

• Rockets acquire Steven Adams.
• Grizzlies acquire Victor Oladipo, the Thunder’s 2024 second-round pick, either the Nets’ 2024 second-round pick (55-58 protected) or the Warriors’ 2024 second-round pick (56-58 protected) (whichever is most favorable), and either the Rockets’ 2025 second-round pick or the Thunder’s 2025 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable).

January 23

• Heat acquire Terry Rozier.
• Hornets acquire Kyle Lowry and the Heat’s 2027 first-round pick (top-14 protected).

January 17

• Pacers acquire Pascal Siakam.
• Raptors acquire Bruce Brown; Kira Lewis; Jordan Nwora; the Pacers’ 2024 first-round pick (top-three protected); either the Thunder’s, Clippers’, Rockets’ (top-four protected), or Jazz’s (top-10 protected) 2024 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable); and the Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected).

January 17

• Pacers acquire Kira Lewis and either the Pelicans’ or Bulls’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
• Pelicans acquire cash ($110K).

January 14

• Pistons acquire Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala.
• Wizards acquire Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick.
  • Note: The 2025 second-round pick will be the least favorable of the following two picks:
    • The Pistons’ second-rounder
    • The more favorable of the Wizards’ and Warriors’ 2025 second-rounders.
  • Note: The 2026 second-round pick will be the least favorable of the following two picks:
    • The more favorable of the Timberwolves’ and Knicks’ second-rounders.
    • The more favorable of the Pelicans’ and Trail Blazers’ picks.

December 30

• Knicks acquire OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn.
• Raptors acquire RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and the Pistons’ 2024 second-round pick.

November 1

• Kings acquire Filip Petrusev and cash ($1,218,747).
• Clippers acquire the draft rights to Luka Mitrovic.

November 1

• Clippers acquire James Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Filip Petrusev.
• Sixers acquire Marcus Morris; Nicolas Batum; Robert Covington; Kenyon Martin Jr.; the Clippers’ 2028 first-round pick (unprotected); either the Rockets’ (top-four protected), Clippers’, or Thunder’s 2026 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Thunder); the right to swap their own 2029 first-round pick for the Clippers’ 2029 first-round pick (top-three protected); a 2024 second-round pick (details below); the Clippers’ 2029 second-round pick; and cash ($2MM; from Clippers).
  • Note: The 2024 second-round pick acquired by the Sixers will be either the Raptors’, Pacers’, Jazz’s, or Cavaliers’ pick (whichever is most favorable). If either the Jazz’s or Cavaliers’ pick is the most favorable, Philadelphia would instead receive the second-most favorable of the four.
• Thunder acquire the right to swap either their own 2027 first-round pick or the Nuggets’ 2027 first-round pick (top-five protected) for the Clippers’ 2027 first-round pick (unprotected) and cash ($1.1MM; from Clippers).

At Hoops Rumors, we track virtually every kind of transaction, including free agent signings, trades, contract extensions, and many more. One form of roster move that has become increasingly common in recent years is the two-way conversion, involving a player either being converted from an Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, or from a two-way deal to the standard roster.

We’re going to track all of the two-way conversions (either to or from the standard roster) in 2023/24 in the space below.

Let’s dive in…

Exhibit 10 contracts to two-way contracts:

When a player signs a contract during the offseason that includes Exhibit 10 language, he gives his new team the ability to unilaterally convert his deal into a two-way contract. The deadline to convert such a deal is the day before the season begins — this year that was Monday, October 23.

A player who signs a training camp contract that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language could still sign a two-way deal with his club as long as his camp contract doesn’t include a guarantee exceeding $75K. However, he’d have to clear waivers before inking that new two-way contract.

Here are the players who had their Exhibit 10 contracts converted into two-way deals in 2023/24:

• Charles Bediako (Spurs) (story)
• Marques Bolden (Bucks) (story)
• Charlie Brown Jr. (Knicks) (story)
• Greg Brown (Mavericks) (story)
• Dexter Dennis (Mavericks) (story)
• Jordan Ford (Kings) (story)
• Justin Minaya (Trail Blazers) (story)
• Daishen Nix (Timberwolves) (story)
• Trevelin Queen (Magic) (story)
• Javonte Smart (Sixers) (story)
• Cole Swider (Heat) (story)
• Jacob Toppin (Knicks) (story)
• Stanley Umude (Pistons) (story)
• Jeenathan Williams (Rockets) (story)

The majority of these players were invited to training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts and ultimately earned two-way slots based on their performances in camp and the preseason.

No additional names will be added to this list for the rest of the 2023/24 season, since players can’t be converted to two-way deals after the regular season begins.

Two-way contracts to standard contracts:

A player who is on a two-way contract can have his deal unilaterally converted a one-year, minimum-salary contract by his team (or a two-year, minimum-salary contract if the player’s two-way deal covers two years, but this is rare).

Generally though, the team’s preference is to negotiate a longer-term contract with the player in order to avoid having him reach free agency at season’s end.

When converting a player from a two-way contract to the standard roster, the team can use cap room or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to negotiate a deal of up to four years; the room exception for a deal up to three years; or the taxpayer mid-level exception, bi-annual exception, or minimum salary exception for a two-year deal.

The player must agree to any deal that is worth more than the minimum or exceeds the number of years left on his two-way pact.

Here are the players who have been converted from two-way deals to standard contracts so far in 2023/24, along with the terms of their new contracts, in chronological order:

• E.J. Liddell (Pelicans): Three years, minimum salary (story). First two years guaranteed. Third-year team option. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
• Dru Smith (Heat): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year partially guaranteed ($425K). Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Dylan Windler (Knicks): One year, minimum salary (story). Non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Skylar Mays (Trail Blazers): One year, minimum salary (story). Partially guaranteed ($850K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Joshua Primo (Clippers): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed ($1MM). Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Vince Williams (Grizzlies): Four years, $9,144,340 (story). First three years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using mid-level exception.
• GG Jackson (Grizzlies): Four years, $8,511,167 (story). First three years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Keon Ellis (Kings): Three years, $5,105,710 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed. Third-year team option. Signed using room exception.
• Lindy Waters III (Thunder): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Craig Porter Jr. (Cavaliers): Four years, $8,019,739 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed ($1MM). Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Duop Reath (Trail Blazers): Three years, $6,221,677 (story). First two years guaranteed. Third-year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Pelicans): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second-year team option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Lester Quinones (Warriors): One year, minimum salary (story). Fully guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception (straight conversion).
• Stanley Umude (Pistons): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second-year team option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Onuralp Bitim (Bulls): Three years, $4,613,534 (story). First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Trent Forrest (Hawks): One year, minimum salary (story). Fully guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception (straight conversion).
• Eugene Omoruyi (Wizards): Two years, $3,096,970 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Jalen Wilson (Nets): Three years, $4,963,534 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed ($75K). Third-year team option. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Javon Freeman-Liberty (Raptors): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed ($100K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Dominick Barlow (Spurs): One year, minimum salary (story). Fully guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception (straight conversion).
• A.J. Lawson (Mavericks): Four years, $7,912,032 (story). First year guaranteed. Second, third, and fourth years non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Kendall Brown (Pacers): Three years, $5,522,280 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed. Third-year team option. Signed using room exception.
• Luka Garza (Timberwolves): One year, minimum salary (story). Fully guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception (straight conversion).
• Jeff Dowtin (Sixers): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second-year team option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Jared Butler (Wizards): Three years, $5,828,471 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed. Third-year team option. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Neemias Queta (Celtics): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second-year team option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Ricky Council (Sixers): Four years, $7,384,092 (story). First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Matt Ryan (Pelicans): Three years, $6,078,471 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed. Third-year team option. Signed using mid-level exception.
• Usman Garuba (Warriors): One year, minimum salary (story). Fully guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception (straight conversion).

Players on two-way contracts can be converted to standard deals until the last day of the regular season, so this list won’t be considered complete until mid-April.

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.

The NBA’s transaction wire has been relatively quiet since the regular season got underway on Tuesday, but we can still expect one last flurry of moves in October. The deadline for teams to exercise their 2024/25 team options on rookie scale contracts arrives on Tuesday (October 31), and several of those decisions have yet to be reported or announced.

Unlike player or team options on veteran contracts, third- and fourth-year options on rookie scale contracts for former first-round picks must be exercised a year in advance. For instance, when the Hawks picked up Jalen Johnson‘s fourth-year option last Sunday, they were locking in his salary for the 2024/25 season — his ’23/24 salary became guaranteed last October when the team exercised his third-year option.

As our tracker shows, a number of teams still have to pick up or turn down options for players who were first-round picks in 2021 and 2022. Some of those option decisions are no-brainers — the Pistons haven’t yet exercised Cade Cunningham‘s $13.94MM option for 2024/25, but there’s no doubt they’ll do so.

Other decisions are less cut-and-dried. For example, the Hornets must decide whether they want to pick up James Bouknight‘s $6.06MM third-year option for ’24/25. Given that Bouknight has yet to secure a regular rotation spot and has had some legal troubles in the past, it’s far from a given that Charlotte will want to lock in that cap hit.

Here’s the list of option decisions that have yet to be officially made:

Charlotte Hornets

• James Bouknight (fourth year, $6,064,496)
• Mark Williams (third year, $4,094,280)

Chicago Bulls

• Dalen Terry (third year, $3,510,480)

Detroit Pistons

• Cade Cunningham (fourth year, $13,940,809)
• Jaden Ivey (third year, $7,977,240)
• Jalen Duren (third year, $4,536,840)

Golden State Warriors

• Jonathan Kuminga (fourth year, $7,636,307)
• Moses Moody (fourth year, $5,803,269)

Houston Rockets

Note: These four options will reportedly be exercised, but haven’t been officially picked up yet.

• Jalen Green (fourth year, $12,483,048)
• Jabari Smith (third year, $9,770,880)
• Alperen Sengun (fourth year, $5,424,654)
• Tari Eason (third year, $3,695,160)

Los Angeles Clippers

• Bones Hyland (fourth year, $4,158,439)

Milwaukee Bucks

• MarJon Beauchamp (third year, $2,733,720)

New York Knicks

Note: This option will reportedly be exercised, but hasn’t been officially picked up yet.

• Quentin Grimes (fourth year, $4,296,682)

Philadelphia 76ers

• Jaden Springer (fourth year, $4,018,363)

Washington Wizards

• Corey Kispert (fourth year, $5,705,887)
• Johnny Davis (third year, $5,291,160)
• Patrick Baldwin (third year, $2,448,840)