Hoops Rumors Originals

Checking In On Top Remaining Free Agents

While many of the NBA’s top free agents reach agreements on new contracts shortly after they become eligible to on June 30, plenty of interesting names are still available three-plus weeks into free agency, including a handful of players on our top-50 FA list for 2023.

Here are some noteworthy players who have yet to sign new deals (along with the teams they finished last season with):

Washington’s case is unique in that he’s a restricted free agent (all the others are unrestricted), and negotiations with Charlotte reportedly haven’t been very productive so far. However, almost no teams have cap room remaining, so if he were to join a new club this summer, it would almost certainly have to come via sign-and-trade.

Wood has been linked to the Lakers, Bulls, Heat and Cavaliers, while Oubre has drawn some interest from the Mavericks and Cavs. We haven’t seen many rumors about the other players listed above, though Jones has also been linked to the Mavs.

There’s also a group of players who didn’t start the summer as free agents, but saw their non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts waived this offseason and have yet to find new teams:

Veteran forward Rudy Gay is in his own category, as the Thunder waived his guaranteed $6.48MM contract to create roster space. OKC acquired him in order to add to its draft capital. He’ll clear waivers today.

Lastly, as is the case every summer, there are several longtime veterans who haven’t found new clubs. That group includes players like Blake Griffin, John Wall, Goran Dragic, Danny Green, Terrence Ross, Justise Winslow, T.J. Warren, George Hill, Will Barton, JaMychal Green, Gorgui Dieng, and Bismack Biyombo, among many others.

You can find our lists of current free agents by position and team right here.

NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2023/24

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $136,021,000 threshold once their cap room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury tax line of $165,294,000 as well — the Clippers, Warriors, and Suns are among the clubs that project to have massive tax bills this season as a result of their spending.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows clubs like L.A., Golden State, and Phoenix to build a significant payroll without violating NBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped.

The league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement has carried over the hard cap rules from the 2017 CBA while also expanding them, adding new scenarios in which teams can face hard caps and creating a second salary level that certain teams can’t exceed. These rules will continue to evolve in 2024/25, since they’re being implemented over the course of two years.

In 2023/24, the guidelines are as follows:

  1. A team becomes hard-capped at the first tax apron ($172,346,000) if it makes any of the following moves:
    • Acquires a player via sign-and-trade.
    • Uses the bi-annual exception.
    • Uses more than the taxpayer portion (up to two years, with a starting salary of $5MM) of the mid-level exception.
    • Takes back more than 110% of the salary it sends out in a trade (when over the cap).
  2. A team becomes hard-capped at the second tax apron ($182,794,000) if it uses any portion of the mid-level exception.

Over half of the NBA’s teams have been willing to hard-cap themselves so far in 2023/24. Some teams will have to be hyper-aware of that hard cap when they consider any roster move for the rest of the season, but for others it’s just a technicality that won’t affect their plans in any meaningful way.

Listed below are the hard-capped teams for the 2023/24 league year, along with how they created a hard cap. In some instances, a team made multiple moves that would have imposed a hard cap (ie. acquired a player via sign-and-trade and used the bi-annual exception) — only the first of those transactions is noted below.


Hard-capped at first tax apron

These teams will be prohibited from exceeding $172,346,000 in team salary.

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

  • Took back more than 110% of Terry Rozier‘s outgoing salary via trade.

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Detroit Pistons

  • Took back more than 110% of Isaiah Livers‘ outgoing salary via trade.

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Took back more than 110% of Patty Mills‘ outgoing salary via trade.

Philadelphia 76ers

  • Took back more than 110% of Marcus Morris‘ outgoing salary via trade.

Portland Trail Blazers

San Antonio Spurs

  • Took back more than 110% of Doug McDermott‘s outgoing salary via trade.

Toronto Raptors

Utah Jazz

  • Took back more than 110% of Ochai Agbaji‘s outgoing salary via trade.

Washington Wizards


Hard-capped at second tax apron

These teams will be prohibited from exceeding $182,794,000 in team salary.

Denver Nuggets


This list, which could continue to grow, will be updated throughout the 2023/24 league year as necessary. It can be found anytime in the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” menu on our mobile site.

What’s Next For 2023 NBA Offseason

The 2023 draft is over. Nearly all of this year’s notable free agents are off the board. And now Summer League is behind us too.

In the past, the next two months would have been dead quiet for the NBA, as players, coaches, and executives enjoyed some vacation time and prepared for training camps at the end of September.

The modern NBA has become a 12-month event though, so while the news cycle will be slower in the coming weeks than it was in late June and early July, there are still several big stories worth keeping an eye on. Here are some that we’ll be watching:


The Damian Lillard and James Harden trade markets

Lillard and Harden asked their respective teams to move them right around the start of free agency, but nearly three weeks later, it doesn’t appear that there’s been a whole lot of movement on either front.

Lillard is focused on ending up with the Heat, but Miami lacks the sort of rising young player who would appeal to Portland as the centerpiece of a package and can only currently offer two unencumbered first-round picks.

The Trail Blazers‘ ideal scenario is that another team makes an aggressive play for Lillard, betting that he won’t refuse to report to camp with four years left on his contract and a ton of money at stake. With a compelling alternative available, Portland could go back to Miami with more leverage to convince the Heat to put their very best offer on the table.

Harden, meanwhile, appears focused on ending up with the Clippers. But like the Heat, the Clips don’t necessarily have the sort of assets that would appeal to their would-be trade partner. And even if they did, finding a match between two teams with title aspirations is trickier than a contender making a deal with a rebuilding franchise.

The Sixers are seeking win-now pieces in any Harden deal, but are finding it difficult to extract a ton of value for a player on a pricey expiring contract (which can’t be extended) entering his age-34 season.

It’s still more likely than not that at least one – and maybe both – of Lillard and Harden are playing elsewhere this fall, but it might take some time for a deal to materialize. For what it’s worth, last year’s Donovan Mitchell blockbuster wasn’t agreed upon until the first day of September.


The other trade candidates

Lillard and Harden are the two big names, but plenty of other talented players continue to pop up in trade rumors deep into the offseason. Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has been linked to the Hawks, Pacers, and Magic. The Mavericks have reportedly been eyeing players like Hawks center Clint Capela and Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic.

Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas, and Heat sharpshooter Tyler Herro are a few of the other players who could end up on new teams by the time the season begins.


Jaylen Brown‘s super-max negotiations

When superstars like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid have become eligible in recent years for super-max contract extensions that start at 35% of the salary cap, the negotiations have been quick and painless. After all, for perennial MVP candidates, even super-max deals can turn out to be relative bargains.

But when a player like Brown gains super-max eligibility, as he did this spring by earning a spot on the All-NBA Second Team, those extension negotiations are more challenging. Brown is the No. 2 option on the Celtics‘ roster behind Jayson Tatum. Is Boston really eager to give him what would be – for now, at least – the biggest contract in NBA history, worth upwards of $300MM over five years?

The Celtics are reportedly engaged in discussions with Brown on a super-max deal, but it sounds like it’s not as simple as giving him whatever he wants. While details about the gap between the two sides have been scarce, it’s possible Brown is seeking a fifth-year player option or a trade kicker and Boston is resisting. It’s also possible the Celtics aren’t willing to offer the full super-max amount in guaranteed money, preferring to include incentives that would give Brown the opportunity to max out his earnings if he or the team achieve certain benchmarks.

Reports out of Boston have repeatedly expressed optimism that a deal will get done, and this early in the offseason, there’s no reason to believe that’s not the case — the deadline isn’t until the day before the regular season begins. But the longer the talks drag on, the more interesting it will be to see what the eventual deal looks like, assuming they agree to one.


The other extension candidates

Like Lillard and Harden on the trade market, Brown is the headliner to watch on the contract extension front. But he’s far from the only extension candidate to monitor in the coming weeks and months.

Some teams, like the two in Los Angeles, will face decisions on whether to recommit to their injury-prone veteran superstars on lucrative new extensions — Clippers forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and Lakers big man Anthony Davis are among the players who are either already extension-eligible or will be able to sign extensions before the season begins.

Other teams will have to decide whether to invest long-term in players who are entering the final year of their rookie contracts. Hawks forward Saddiq Bey, Mavericks wing Josh Green, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, and Spurs swingman Devin Vassell are among the most intriguing candidates for rookie scale extensions, though there are many more.


Filling out – and paring down – rosters

We should get some occasional spurts of major news during the next couple months, including resolution on top remaining free agents like Christian Wood and Hornets RFA forward P.J. Washington.

However, the day-to-day headlines will be more about under-the-radar moves, like minimum-salary signings, two-way deals, and Exhibit 10 agreements, as teams work on filling out their 21-man rosters in advance of training camp.

Certain clubs may actually have to pare down their rosters in the coming weeks in order to prepare for camp. The Thunder, for example, are currently carrying 20 players on standard contracts (18 guaranteed) and one on a two-way deal.

Technically, the Thunder don’t need to make any cuts until right before the regular season begins. But they’ll want to start clearing that logjam in advance of training camp so that they can replace some veterans who won’t be on their regular season roster with younger players who they expect to remain in the organization at the G League level. Victor Oladipo, Rudy Gay, Davis Bertans, Usman Garuba, and TyTy Washington are among the players recently acquired by Oklahoma City in salary-dump trades whose spots on the regular season roster are far from assured.

The Hawks, Clippers, Grizzlies, Spurs, and Wizards are also each carrying more than 15 players on standard contracts.

12 Two-Way Restricted Free Agents Remain Unsigned

The action on the NBA’s free agent market has slowed since the start of July, but there are still many FAs seeking new deals, including a notable group of under-the-radar players whose situations will need to be resolved in the coming days, weeks, and months.

A total of 12 two-way restricted free agents are still available, as our up-to-date list shows. Those players are as follows:

That group doesn’t include a 13th player, Neemias Queta, who is also a restricted free agent after finishing last season on a two-way deal. Although he remains eligible to sign another two-way contract, Queta was ineligible for a two-way qualifying offer after having played on a two-way with the Kings for consecutive seasons — his QO is a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a small ($75K) partial guarantee.

For the rest of these players, their qualifying offer is simply another one-year, two-way deal, which limits their leverage to negotiate a more lucrative standard contract.

Some two-way RFAs have managed to earn standard deals this offseason. A.J. Green of the Bucks was one. Julian Champagnie of the Spurs was another. Ty Jerome (Warriors) and Jack White (Nuggets) received standard contract offers from the Cavaliers and Thunder, respectively, that their former teams were unwilling to match, so Golden State and Denver simply withdrew their respective qualifying offers, making Jerome and White unrestricted free agents.

Offer sheets for two-way restricted free agents essentially never happen though. And in general, unless a team has earmarked a 15-man roster spot for a two-way free agent, it’s an uphill battle for these players to earn offseason promotions.

As a result, the majority of the dozen restricted free agents listed above will likely end up accepting their qualifying offers and hoping that their play in 2023/24 forces their clubs to find 15-man roster spots for them later in the season.

Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on this group to see if any of them can do better than another two-way — and to see how long some of them might be willing to wait in the hope of earning that opportunity.

2023/24 NBA Roster Counts

Although NBA rosters are limited to 15 players during the regular season, teams are allowed to carry up to 21 players during the offseason. Expanded offseason rosters allow clubs to bring in players on contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed, giving those players a chance to earn a regular season roster spot or getting a closer look at them before sending them to their G League affiliate.

In addition to the usual 15-man rosters, NBA teams are permitted to carry up to three players on two-way contracts. Two-way deals essentially give clubs the NBA rights to three extra players, though they often spend much of the season in the G League rather than with the NBA team. While two-way players don’t count toward the 15-man regular season roster limit, they do count toward the 21-man offseason limit.

Over the course of the 2023 offseason and 2023/24 season, we’ll keep tabs on how many players are on each NBA team’s roster, breaking them down into a few groups. Here are the various categories you’ll find in our list:

  • Official: These players are officially under contract with a given team. The total number of players under contract is listed, with the number of players on fully guaranteed contracts noted in parentheses. So a team with 12 guaranteed contracts, one partially guaranteed contract, and two non-guaranteed deals will be listed as “15 (12).”
  • 10-day: These players are signed to 10-day contracts. The expiry dates of those contracts are noted in parentheses.
  • Two-way: These are players signed to two-way contracts. Unless otherwise noted, these deals are official. You can find a specific team’s two-way players right here.
  • Reported: These are players whose contract agreements have been reported but haven’t been made official. We’re expecting them to be finalized, though it’s possible that some will fall through or were reported erroneously.
  • Total: A team’s total roster count, taking into account all of the above. In some cases, this number will exceed 18, since not all of the players in the categories above are officially under contract.

Here are the NBA’s roster counts for 2023/24, which we’ll continue to update through the rest of the offseason and regular season:

Updated 4-23-24 (12:45pm CT)


Atlanta Hawks

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Boston Celtics

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Brooklyn Nets

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Charlotte Hornets

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Chicago Bulls

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Dallas Mavericks

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Denver Nuggets

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Detroit Pistons

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Golden State Warriors

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Houston Rockets

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Indiana Pacers

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Los Angeles Clippers

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Los Angeles Lakers

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Memphis Grizzlies

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Miami Heat

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Milwaukee Bucks

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

New Orleans Pelicans

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

New York Knicks

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Orlando Magic

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Philadelphia 76ers

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 1
  • Total: 16

Phoenix Suns

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Portland Trail Blazers

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Sacramento Kings

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

San Antonio Spurs

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Toronto Raptors

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Utah Jazz

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 3
  • Total: 18

Washington Wizards

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Eight 2023 Draft Picks Have Yet To Sign NBA Contracts

Of the 58 players who were selected in last month’s draft, 50 have signed their first NBA contracts during the first two weeks they’ve been permitted to do so.

As our tracker shows, the breakdown is as follows:

  • First-round picks signed using the rookie scale exception: 29
  • Second-round picks signed using the new second-round pick exception: 13
    • Note: Of these 13 players, 12 received four-year contracts, while one (Rayan Rupert) signed a three-year deal.
  • Second-round picks signed to two-way contracts: 8

That leaves eight players from the 2023 draft class who have yet to sign with their respective NBA teams. Those players are as follows:

  1. Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Mavericks
  2. James Nnaji, Hornets
  3. Tristan Vukcevic, Wizards
  4. Sidy Cissoko, Spurs
  5. G.G. Jackson, Grizzlies
  6. Mojave King, Pacers
  7. Jordan Miller, Clippers
  8. Tarik Biberovic, Grizzlies

Not all of these players will sign an NBA contract in 2023/24. King and Biberovic are each expected to spend at least one season playing overseas before coming stateside. Vukcevic is another candidate to become a draft-and-stash prospect.

It’s also unclear whether the Hornets plan to sign Nnaji right away or let the 18-year-old big man continue developing his game in Europe. For now, Charlotte only has 12 players on guaranteed contracts for 2023/24, but depending on which restricted free agents (P.J. Washington, Theo Maledon) and players on non-guaranteed deals (JT Thor, Kobi Simmons) return, there might not be a spot for Nnaji, who remains under contract with FC Barcelona and – as a No. 31 overall pick who would require an international buyout – wouldn’t be a candidate for a two-way deal.

Prosper is the only unsigned first-rounder in this year’s class, but the delay doesn’t seem like anything to worry about. The Mavericks, who continued this past week to explore the trade market and consider how to fill out their roster, have taken their time getting around to signing a handful of players, with deals for free agents like Seth Curry and Dante Exum only becoming official on Friday. I’d expect Prosper’s contract to be finalized soon.

That leaves Cissoko, Jackson, and Miller, each of whom look like candidates to receive two-way contracts. Some of the other players drafted in their range, including No. 41 pick Amari Bailey and No. 46 pick Seth Lundy, have received two-way deals, and the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers all have roster logjams, meaning there may not be room on their 15-man rosters for their unsigned second-rounders.

The Spurs will have 17 players on standard contracts once they officially re-sign Tre Jones and Sandro Mamukelashvili. The Grizzlies also have 17 players under contract and would have a full 15-man roster even if they trade or waive Josh Christopher and Isaiah Todd. The Clippers have 16 players on standard contracts (15 guaranteed). However, all three teams have at least one two-way slot available.

How Teams Are Using 2023/24 Bi-Annual Exceptions

The bi-annual exception is one of the tools available to NBA teams who are over the cap, giving those clubs the flexibility to offer free agents more than the minimum salary. In 2023/24, the bi-annual exception is worth $4,516,000 and can be used to offer a deal worth up to $9,257,800 over two years.

However, the bi-annual exception isn’t available to every team. Clubs that go below the cap in order to use cap room lose access to the exception. Additionally, using the BAE imposes a hard cap of $172,346,000 (the first tax apron) on a team. So if a club has surpassed the tax apron – or wants to retain the flexibility to do so – it can’t use the bi-annual exception.

Finally, as its name suggests, the bi-annual exception can’t be used by a team in consecutive years. In 2022/23, two teams used the BAE — the Sixers (Danuel House) and Heat (Kevin Love). As such, the exception isn’t available to those clubs during the 2023/24 league year. They’ll be able to use it again next summer.

With all those factors in mind, here’s a breakdown of how teams are using – or not using – their respective bi-annual exceptions in 2023/24:


Available Bi-Annual Exceptions:

Unused:

  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • New York Knicks
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • Washington Wizards

Although all of these teams technically have the ability to use their bi-annual exceptions at some point in 2023/24, it’s more plausible for some than others.

For instance, the Timberwolves still have their full $12MM+ mid-level exception available and are aren’t far from the luxury tax line, so I wouldn’t expect them to use the BAE this season. If they need to offer more than the veteran’s minimum to sign a player, it will likely come out of their MLE.

Used:

  • Cleveland Cavaliers
    • Used: $2,439,025 (Ty Jerome)
    • Available: $2,076,975
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Toronto Raptors

Typically, about two to four teams in a given league year use the bi-annual exception, and this season has yet to buck that trend.

The Lakers and Raptors are the only two teams to use their entire bi-annual exceptions to date, so they won’t have it available in 2024/25. Neither will the Cavaliers, even though they’ve only used a little over half of the BAE so far this season.


Unavailable Bi-Annual Exceptions:

Went under cap:

  • Detroit Pistons
  • Houston Rockets
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Orlando Magic
  • Sacramento Kings
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Utah Jazz

These eight teams forfeited their right to the bi-annual exception when they went under the cap and used space this offseason.

Over (or near) tax apron:

  • Boston Celtics
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Phoenix Suns

In theory, cost-cutting moves by these teams could put them in position to use their bi-annual exceptions. In actuality though, that’s a long shot, especially for clubs like the Clippers, Warriors, and Suns, whose team salaries are well beyond the second tax apron.

Used last year:

  • Miami Heat
  • Philadelphia 76ers

As noted in the intro, these are the two teams that used their bi-annual exceptions in 2022/23 and, as a result, won’t have them again until 2024/25.

How Teams Are Using 2023/24 Mid-Level Exceptions

In addition to receiving approximately $136MM in cap room and being allowed to surpass that threshold in order to sign players using Bird Rights or the minimum salary exception, each NBA team also receives a mid-level exception. The value of this exception varies depending on a club’s total team salary.

A team that goes under the cap to use its available cap room, for instance, receives a form of the MLE known as the room exception. An over-the-cap team receives the full mid-level exception, unless that team is also over the first tax apron, in which case it gets a modest taxpayer version of the MLE. A team whose salary is over the second tax apron isn’t permitted to use its mid-level at all.

We detailed the exact values of each form of mid-level exception earlier this offseason, but here’s a quick breakdown:

  • Room exception: Can be used for contracts up to three years, with a starting salary worth up to $7,723,000.
  • Taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to two years, with a starting salary worth up to $5,000,000.
  • Full/non-taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to four years, with a starting salary worth up to $12,405,000.
    • Note: Though its name suggests otherwise, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception doesn’t mean a team can’t or won’t be above the tax line ($165,294,000) at season’s end; it simply means the team’s total salary can’t surpass the first tax “apron” ($172,346,000).

Now that most of the NBA’s teams have used up their cap space, it’s worth keeping an eye on which teams still have part or all of their mid-level exceptions available, which we’ll do in the space below.

This list will be kept up to date throughout the 2023/24 league year, with new MLE deals added once those signings are officially completed and we confirm the contract details.

Note: After the 2024 trade deadline, the value of the exceptions below will begin to prorate downward.

Here’s where things currently stand:


Mid-Level Exception:

Non-taxpayer: $12,405,000
Taxpayer:
$5,000,000

Atlanta Hawks

  • Used: $0

Boston Celtics

  • Used: $0
  • Note: The Celtics are limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception, at best.

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

  • Used: $0

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

  • Used: $3,000,000 (Dante Exum); $4,000,000 (Seth Curry); $1,000,000 (A.J. Lawson)
  • Note: The Mavericks used $10.5MM of their mid-level exception to sign Matisse Thybulle to an offer sheet, but it was matched by the Trail Blazers, freeing up Dallas’ MLE.

Denver Nuggets

  • Used: $5,000,000 (Reggie Jackson)
  • Note: The Nuggets are limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception.

Golden State Warriors

  • Used: $0
  • Note: The Warriors are over the second tax apron and don’t have the mid-level exception available.

Los Angeles Clippers

  • Used: $0
  • Note: The Clippers are over the second tax apron and don’t have the mid-level exception available.

Los Angeles Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

  • Used: $0
  • Note: The Heat aren’t expected to have the mid-level exception available due to their proximity to the second tax apron.

Milwaukee Bucks

  • Used: $0
  • Note: The Bucks are over the second tax apron and don’t have the mid-level exception available.

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

  • Used: $0
  • Note: The Suns are over the second tax apron and don’t have the mid-level exception available.

Portland Trail Blazers

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards


Room Exception:

Available: $7,723,000

Detroit Pistons

  • Used: $0

Houston Rockets

  • Used: $0

Indiana Pacers

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

  • Used: $0

Sacramento Kings

San Antonio Spurs

  • Used: $0

Utah Jazz

  • Used: $500,000 (Kenneth Lofton Jr.); $500,000 (Darius Bazley)
  • Note: The Jazz used their room exception to sign Paul Reed to an offer sheet, but it was matched by the Sixers, freeing up Utah’s exception.

Hoops Rumors’ 2023 NBA Free Agent Tracker

With most of the free agent signings reported in late June and early July now official and updates on new contract agreements still coming in, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason.

To this end, we present 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 be based on what’s been reported to date, so in some cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
  • Players who have reportedly agreed to training camp/Exhibit 10 deals won’t be added to the tracker until those deals are official.
  • A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet won’t be included in the tracker right away. We’ll wait to hear whether the player’s original team will match or pass on that offer sheet before we update our tracker, in order to avoid any confusion.
  • If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.

Our 2023 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.

2023/24 NBA Contract Extension Tracker

A number of 2023 free agents, such as Jerami Grant and Fred VanVleet, did very well for themselves on the open market this summer. However, the most lucrative contracts signed since the new league year began weren’t free agent deals at all — they were contract extensions.

Extensions, of course, don’t involve adding a new player to the roster. By extending a contract, a team ensures that a current player will remain locked up for multiple years to come. Although a contract extension may not change the club’s outlook on the court, it can have a major impact on that team’s salary cap situation for the next several seasons.

Rookie scale extensions are one form of contract extension. Former first-round picks who are entering the fourth and final year of their rookie deals are eligible to sign those up until the day before the 2023/24 regular season begins. It’s common for at least four or five players eligible for rookie scale extensions to sign them, and that number is often much higher — there were 11 rookie scale extensions signed in both 2021 and 2022.

[RELATED: Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2023 Offseason]

While they used to be rarer than rookie scale extensions, veteran extensions are happening more frequently these days. The league’s 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement expanded the rules for eligibility and created some additional incentives for star players to sign new deals before they reach free agency, and the 2023 CBA has further incentivized veteran extensions. During the 2022/23 league year, a total of 23 veteran extensions were signed, more than doubling the amount of rookie scale extensions completed during that same window.

The deadline for a veteran extension for a player who isn’t in the final year of his current contract is the day before the regular season tips off. However, a player eligible for a veteran extension who is on an expiring deal can sign a new contract throughout the league year, all the way up to June 30, the day before he becomes a free agent.

Listed below are the players who have finalized contract extensions so far in 2023/24. This list, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site (or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu), will be kept up to date throughout the ’23/24 league year, with more extension details added as we learn them.

Note: Projected values for maximum-salary extensions are based on a $141,000,000 salary cap for 2024/25 and a 10% increase for 2025/26. Those contracts are based on a percentage of the cap, so their values would fluctuate depending on exactly where the ’24/25 and ’25/26 caps end up.


Rookie scale contract extensions:

  • LaMelo Ball (Hornets): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $204,450,000. Projected value can increase to $245,340,000 if Ball meets Rose Rule criteria. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $204,450,000. Projected value can increase to $245,340,000 if Edwards meets Rose Rule criteria. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $204,450,000. Projected value can increase to $245,340,000 if Haliburton meets Rose Rule criteria. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Desmond Bane (Grizzlies): Five years, $197,230,450 (story). Includes $8,669,550 in incentives. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Devin Vassell (Spurs): Five years, $135,000,000 (story). Includes $11,000,000 in incentives. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Jaden McDaniels (Timberwolves): Five years, $131,000,000 (story). Includes $5,000,000 in incentives. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Onyeka Okongwu (Hawks): Four years, $62,000,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Isaiah Stewart (Pistons): Four years, $60,000,000 (story). Includes $4,000,000 in incentives. Includes fourth-year team option. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Deni Avdija (Wizards): Four years, $55,000,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Josh Green (Mavericks): Three years, $41,000,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Cole Anthony (Magic): Three years, $39,100,000 (story). Includes third-year team option. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Aaron Nesmith (Pacers): Three years, $33,000,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Zeke Nnaji (Nuggets): Four years, $32,000,001 (story). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Payton Pritchard (Celtics): Four years, $30,000,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.

Veteran contract extensions:

  • Jaylen Brown (Celtics): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $286,230,000 (super-max). Includes trade kicker (lesser of 7% or $7,000,000). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks): Three years, maximum salary (story). Third-year player option. Projected value of $175,883,400. Starts in 2025/26.
  • Anthony Davis (Lakers): Three years, maximum salary (story). Third-year player option. Projected value of $175,883,400. Starts in 2025/26.
  • Domantas Sabonis (Kings): Four years, $175,616,000 (story). Includes renegotiation (2023/24 salary increased by $8,600,000 to $28,000,000). $184,216,000 in total new money. Includes $10,400,000 in incentives (plus $2,600,000 in existing incentives in 2023/24). Extension starts in 2024/25.
  • Kawhi Leonard (Clippers): Three years, $149,650,000 (story). Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Jrue Holiday (Celtics): Four years, $134,400,000 (story). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Dejounte Murray (Hawks): Four years, $111,102,208 (story). Includes $9,015,993 in incentives. Includes fourth-year player option. Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Josh Hart (Knicks): Four years, $80,915,820 (story). Includes fourth-year team option. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Grayson Allen (Suns): Four years, $70,000,000 (story). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Kristaps Porzingis (Celtics): Two years, $60,000,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Jarred Vanderbilt (Lakers): Four years, $48,000,000 (story). Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2024/25.
  • Zach Collins (Spurs): Two years, $34,821,696 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Jordan Clarkson (Jazz): Two years, $28,378,291 (story). Includes renegotiation (2023/24 salary increased by $9,227,629 to $23,487,629). $37,605,920 in total new money. Includes $1,134,081 in incentives. Extension starts in 2024/25.
  • Kelly Olynyk (Raptors): Two years, $26,250,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Richaun Holmes (Wizards): Two years, $25,929,058 (story). Second year partially guaranteed ($250K). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Mike Conley (Timberwolves): Two years, $20,750,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.
  • Miles McBride (Knicks): Three years, $13,000,000 (story). Starts in 2024/25.

Note: Multiple veterans, including Nikola Vucevic (Bulls), Naz Reid (Timberwolves) and Harrison Barnes (Kings), signed extensions less than a week before the 2023/24 league year began. Those deals are listed in our 2022/23 extension tracker.