Key In-Season NBA Dates, Deadlines For 2024/25

With the 2024/25 NBA season underway, our calendar of important 2024 preseason dates and deadlines can be retired in favor of a list of the key in-season dates for the ’24/25 campaign.

Here’s a breakdown of the deadlines and events that will influence player movement for the next several months across the NBA:


October 26

  • NBA G League draft.

October 28

  • NBA G League training camps open.

October 31

November 8

  • NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament begins.

November 12

  • Emirates NBA Cup (in-season tournament) begins.

December 1

  • Priority order for waiver claims is now based on 2024/25 record, rather than 2023/24 record. Teams with the worst records receive the highest waiver priority.

December 3

  • Emirates NBA Cup group play concludes.

December 10-11

  • Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals.

December 14

  • Emirates NBA Cup semifinals.

December 15

December 17

  • Emirates NBA Cup final.

December 19-22

  • NBA G League Winter Showcase and Tip-Off Tournament championship.

December 27

  • NBA G League regular season begins.

January 5

January 7

  • Last day to waive non-guaranteed NBA contracts (including two-way contracts) before they become guaranteed for the rest of the season. Salaries officially guarantee on January 10 if players haven’t cleared waivers before that date.

January 15

February 1

  • Former first-round picks who were stashed overseas may sign rookie scale NBA contracts for the 2025/26 season.

February 6

  • Trade deadline (2:00pm CT).

February 7

February 14-16

  • All-Star weekend in San Francisco.

February 29

March 1

  • Last day a player can be waived by one team and remain eligible to appear in the postseason for another team.
  • Last day for a restricted free agent to sign an offer sheet.

March 4

March 10

March 29

  • NBA G League regular season ends.

April 1

  • NBA G League playoffs begin.

April 10

  • Last day to waive a player on an expiring contract or a player with an option for 2025/26 (4:00pm CT).

April 13

  • Last day of the NBA regular season.
  • Last day players can sign contracts for 2024/25.
  • Last day two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA contracts.
  • Luxury tax penalties calculated based on payroll as of this day.

April 14

  • Playoff rosters set (2:00pm CT).

April 15-18

  • NBA play-in tournament.

April 19

  • NBA playoffs begin.

Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and NBA.com were used in the creation of this post.

Southwest Notes: Zion, Pelicans, Kidd, Klay, Grizzlies

After missing the Pelicans‘ regular season opener on Wednesday, Zion Williamson was cleared to make his season debut on Friday in Portland, writes Anne M. Peterson of The Associated Press. Head coach Willie Green, who said it was “huge” to get Williamson back, told reporters that the star forward will be on a minutes restriction, though he didn’t share a specific target.

“It won’t be full throttle, but we’ll see how he feels once he gets on the floor,” Green said.

Williamson took Dejounte Murray‘s place in the Pelicans’ starting five after the team’s new starting point guard went down with a broken bone in his hand on Wednesday.

As Christian Clark of NOLA.com points out (via Twitter), after months of speculation about what New Orleans’ new starting lineup would look like, the Murray injury resulted in the team’s starters on Friday looking nearly identical to last season’s group, with Daniel Theis taking departed center Jonas Valanciunas‘s place. Since Murray it expected to be sidelined until at least late November – and likely into December – it will be a while before Green get a chance to get a look at his preferred starting five.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Many people within the Mavericks organization believe head coach Jason Kidd is “uniquely suited” to maximize the contributions of star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon writes. In an in-depth feature story, MacMahon explores how Kidd has gotten the most out of Doncic and Irving and how the Mavs coach will handle the new challenge of incorporating future Hall of Famer Klay Thompson this season.
  • Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Substack link) takes a closer look at Thompson’s early days with the Mavericks, detailing the steps the veteran sharpshooter has taken to fit in and get acclimated to his new NBA home. “When you’re on such a talented team, you don’t have to be a hero,” Thompson said of adjusting to his Mavs role. “That’s what attracted me to come here. I think these guys can help me get the best out of myself. And have fun. When you’re playing with a smile on your face, basketball is the best.” As we detailed earlier today, Klay had 22 points in 26 minutes in his Mavs debut.
  • The Grizzlies are missing multiple rotation players due to injuries and begin their season with six games in nine days, so head coach Taylor Jenkins plans to rely on his depth to get through that stretch and avoid leaning on any of his starters too heavily in the early going, writes Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. That approach includes using reserves like rookie Jaylen Wells, who admitted he was surprised to be one of the first players off the bench in Wednesday’s season opener. “I was not expecting that,” Wells told reporters. “I’m not even going to lie. I think they (yelled for) Scotty (Pippen Jr.). And I thought they only said, ‘Scotty!’ And then they said my name a second time. And I definitely wasn’t expecting that.”

G League Notes: Knicks, Shamet, Ryan, Bronny, Knox, More

The Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers‘ G League affiliate, announced on Friday (via Twitter) that they’ve traded the No. 2 pick in Saturday’s NBAGL draft to the Westchester Knicks in exchange for the No. 3 pick and the returning rights to two players (forwards Troy Baxter Jr. and Milhan Charles).

As a result of the deal, the Knicks’ G League team now holds the top two picks in Saturday’s draft, and Marc Stein (Twitter links) reports that there’s an expectation Westchester will use those selections to nab veteran wings Landry Shamet and Matt Ryan, both of whom are draft-eligible in the NBAGL this fall.

As Stein explains, the Knicks want Landry Shamet to be able to rehab his dislocated shoulder within the organization and have been eyeing Ryan as a potential roster addition at the NBA level. Having both players at Westchester wouldn’t stop another NBA team from poaching them, but it would put the Knicks in good position to promote one or both of them to the NBA squad at some point this season.

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), there’s still optimism within the organization that Shamet will be able to avoid surgery on his right shoulder injury.

Here are a few more G League notes ahead of Saturday’s draft:

  • Lakers guard Bronny James will travel with the team on its upcoming road trip from October 28 to November 6 and then will begin bouncing back and forth between the NBA and the G League, according to Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN, who share more details on the Lakers’ plans for the rookie. The NBAGL’s fall “Tip-Off Tournament” begins on Nov. 8.
  • The Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s affiliate, acquired the returning rights for Kevin Knox in a three-team trade with the Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers) and Westchester Knicks, per a press release. Knox had been in camp with the Warriors, but his contract didn’t include Exhibit 10 language, so it didn’t appear he was planning to join the team’s G League affiliate. Santa Cruz’s trade suggests that may happen after all.
  • The San Diego Clippers acquired Tosan Evbuomwan‘s returning rights along with the No. 31 pick in Saturday’s G League draft from the Motor City Cruise (Pistons) in exchange for this year’s No. 12 pick and a 2025 first-rounder (Twitter link). The deal ensures that Evbuomwan, who was signed and waived by the Clippers last week, will be eligible for his $77.5K Exhibit 10 bonus as a returning rights player for L.A.’s affiliate.
  • The Texas Legends (Mavericks) have traded the returning rights for guard Mike Miles to the Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves) in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick and a 2025 international draft pick, the team announced in a press release. Miles averaged 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 21.4 minutes per game across 29 appearances for the Legends last season.

NBA Teams With Most Roster Continuity, Turnover Entering 2024/25

Roster continuity is typically viewed as a positive trait for NBA teams. It's not uncommon for players to express appreciation for the opportunity to spend multiple seasons getting comfortable with the same teammates rather than having to deal with significant personnel changes from year to year.

Still, it's roster turnover - rather than continuity - that draws the most headlines during the NBA offseason and generates the most hype entering the fall. That's why we spent way more time talking about teams like the Knicks and Sixers in the weeks and months leading up to opening night than we did discussing the Cavaliers, who added exactly one new player (rookie Jaylon Tyson) to the standard roster they carried into the end of last season.

There's no set formula to NBA success -- carrying over a significant number of players from last year's team doesn’t necessarily give a club a leg up entering a new season. But continuity was a signifier of success in 2023/24.

Of the seven teams who carried over at least 13 players (including two-ways) from their end-of-season rosters in 2022/23 to the start of the '23/24 season, five improved their records and a sixth equaled its win total from the previous season. The Grizzlies were the only exception, and they were hurt far more by injuries than they were by a lack of roster changes.

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Injury Notes: Wiseman, Jackson, Ball, Jackson, Eason, Hornets

Pacers center James Wiseman underwent successful surgery on Thursday night to repair his torn left Achilles tendon, as Shams Charania of ESPN first reported (via Twitter). While Achilles tears are typically season-ending injuries, Indiana is still determining Wiseman’s recovery timeline, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, and head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters on Friday that Wiseman hasn’t been ruled out for the season yet.

“This was terrible luck,” Carlisle said in discussing the injury. “Great kid who had an amazing summer of preparation, really good preseason. Training camp was also really good. It’s just one of those things. Just a very odd circumstance. Very unlucky.”

The Pacers’ other backup center, Isaiah Jackson, missed Wednesday’s regular season opener due to a right groin strain, but he has been cleared to suit up for Friday’s game in New York, Dopirak writes in a separate story for The Indy Star. Still, with Wiseman seemingly unlikely to play again this season, Carlisle didn’t rule out the possibility of adding another center to the roster.

“I would think that our people are getting a few phone calls today from agents and stuff like that,” Carlisle said. “I’ve not been focusing on that. The good news for us is Isaiah Jackson will be back and available. That’s very good news. We will just right now focus on the guys we have on the roster that are ready to go and come out with guns blazing. That’s what you gotta do in this situation.”

The Pacers have an open 15-man roster spot, and while they don’t have a ton of breathing room below the luxury tax line, they could add a free agent big man on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract and stay out of tax territory while maintaining the flexibility to waive that player before the league-wide salary guarantee date.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

  • Lonzo Ball‘s limit of 16 minutes per game is going to remain in place “for some time,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said on Wednesday, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. But the veteran point guard came away from his regular season debut on Wednesday feeling fine and will play in Saturday’s home opener vs. Oklahoma City after sitting out the first end of Chicago’s back-to-back in Milwaukee on Friday, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links). Wednesday represented Ball’s first regular season action since January 2022 due to multiple knee surgeries.
  • Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. won’t play on Friday vs. Houston, having been ruled out due to his left hamstring strain (Twitter link). The team was said to be targeting this weekend for Jackson’s return, so we’ll see if he’s able to make his season debut on Saturday at home vs. Orlando.
  • After describing Steven Adams‘ availability as “game-to-game” as he returns from knee surgery that cost him the entire 2023/24 season, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said forward Tari Eason is in a similar boat, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Eason, who missed most of last season due to leg surgery, was active on Wednesday and isn’t on the injury report for Friday’s game vs. Memphis, but may not suit up for the second end of Houston’s back-to-back set on Saturday in San Antonio (Twitter link via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).
  • Josh Green (left Achilles soreness) and Tidjane Salaun (left finger sprain) have been upgraded to available for the Hornets‘ game in Atlanta on Friday. Neither player has made his Hornets regular season debut, but both could see action tonight.

Trade Rumors: Kuminga, Nets, Sixers, Murphy, Springer, Tucker

Jonathan Kuminga was believed to be seeking a maximum-salary or near-max contract ahead of Monday’s rookie scale extension deadline, which is why he and the Warriors didn’t agree to terms on a deal, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report said today on the B/R App. However, Fischer believes Golden State will be comfortable paying Kuminga big money if he shows this season that his impressive stretch from January to March was no fluke and continues to take strides toward stardom.

“The Warriors will be happy to pay Jonathan Kuminga that top dollar if that sample size is stretched out over the entire course of the 2024/25 season,” Fischer said.

Still, Fischer noted that Kuminga isn’t necessarily a lock to remain with the Warriors long-term and suggested two potential suitors worth keeping an eye on for the fourth-year forward (video clip).

One is no surprise: Brooklyn is currently the only team projected to have maximum-salary cap room and Fischer says Kuminga has “come up” in past trade talks between the Nets and Warriors. The Nets aren’t necessarily specifically targeting the 22-year-old, Fischer clarifies, but their cap situation makes them a potential threat when Kuminga reaches restricted free agency, especially since general manager Sean Marks has shown a willingness in the past to sign RFAs to lucrative offer sheets.

The other team worth watching, according to Fischer, is the Sixers, who would only have a chance to acquire Kuminga on the trade market. Philadelphia has conveyed a willingness to give up draft capital to add another impact player, Fischer explains, and could use KJ Martin‘s pseudo-expiring contract as a salary-matching piece.

That sort of deal may not appeal to the Warriors, and acquiring Kuminga and then paying him in free agency would result in a massive payroll in 2025/26 and beyond for the 76ers, who already have three players on maximum-salary contracts. But Fischer suggests Philadelphia has “a lot of willingness” to go deep into luxury tax territory for the right opportunity to “cement (their) title window.”

Here are a few more trade notes and rumors from around the league:

  • According to Fischer, Trey Murphy was another player believed to be on the Nets‘ and Sixers‘ radars as a potential free agent and trade target, respectively, but he’s off the table after signing a four-year, $112MM extension with the Pelicans.
  • After identifying Celtics guard Jaden Springer as a trade candidate last week, Fischer reiterated that point in his rumor round-up on Friday, noting that moving Springer at or before the February trade deadline would create tax savings for Boston and would open up a roster spot for Lonnie Walker or another player. Fischer added that the Celtics recently called a number of teams to gauge Springer’s trade value.
  • The Sixers, Heat, Bucks, and Suns are among the teams that have spoken to P.J. Tucker‘s representation about a possible trade, sources tell Kelly Iko and Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). As we relayed on Thursday, the Clippers have granted Tucker’s agent Andre Buck permission to talk to potential trade partners to try to find his client a new home, but the veteran forward’s $11.54MM cap hit will make it difficult to find a deal that works for L.A.

Raptors Push Back Bruno Fernando’s Guarantee Date

The non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract that Bruno Fernando signed with the Raptors in August initially included language stating that it would become fully guaranteed if the big man wasn’t waived on or before the first day of the regular season.

However, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links), the Raptors and Fernando agreed to amend his one-year deal when he made the opening-night roster. Rather than becoming guaranteed, the contract will remain non-guaranteed until the league-wide salary guarantee deadline in January.

If the terms of the deal had remained unchanged, Fernando would have locked in a $2,425,403 salary, while Toronto would have been on the hook for his full $2,087,519 cap hit.

Instead, the 26-year-old will earn $13,939 for every day he’s on the roster, with his full salary and cap hit becoming guaranteed if he remains under contract through at least January 7.

The Raptors had some leverage, since they could have waived Fernando if he hadn’t agreed to amend his contract, leaving him without even a partial guarantee. Now the team will have some flexibility in the first half with that 15th roster spot.

This sort of agreement is nothing new for Fernando, who began the offseason with Atlanta on a deal that called for his 2024/25 salary to become guaranteed if he wasn’t waived by June 29. He and the Hawks reached an agreement to move that date back to July 10, then pushed it back again to August 1. Atlanta waived him on July 30.

Fernando served as Jakob Poeltl‘s primary backup center in the first game of Toronto’s season on Wednesday, recording six points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes of action.

As our list of early salary guarantee dates shows, Fernando was the only player on a contract that called for his salary to become fully guaranteed if he made a regular season roster. However, Dalano Banton (Trail Blazers), Keon Johnson (Nets), and Jalen Wilson (Nets) had deals assuring them of partial guarantees for remaining under contract through opening night.

We’ll give it another day or two before updating our tracker to see if any reports trickle in indicating that one or more of those players amended their contracts like Fernando did, but for now our assumption is that Banton, Johnson, and Wilson locked in their respective partial guarantees.

Rudy Gobert Signs Three-Year Extension With Timberwolves

OCTOBER 25: Gobert’s extension with the Timberwolves is now official, the team announced today in a press release.

Gobert was permitted to sign the contract after the regular season began because it’s a veteran extension and he declined his 2025/26 player option as part of the agreement.

The deal begins at $35MM in 2025/26 and increases to $36.5MM in ’26/27, with a $38MM player option for ’27/28, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links), who adds that Gobert’s trade kicker is worth 7.5%.


OCTOBER 22: The Timberwolves and center Rudy Gobert have agreed to a three-year, $110MM contract extension, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.

The move comes on the heels of Minnesota trading away Gobert’s frontcourt partner, Karl-Anthony Towns, this offseason at the start of Towns’ max extension, which created more long-term cap flexibility for the club.

Gobert, 32, is scheduled to make $43,827,587 this season on his current deal. He had a $46,655,173 option for the 2025/26 season, which he’ll decline and replace with a smaller number in order to lock in two additional years beyond that.

The new extension will include a player option for 2027/28, as well as a trade kicker, Charania adds (Twitter link).

Minnesota will get some cap relief with Gobert declining that 2025/26 option, giving the team more flexibility to make moves next offseason. Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the team’s other main frontcourt players, could become free agents if they decline their own ’25/26 player options next summer.

Gobert is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, having won the award for a fourth time this past spring. After a rocky first season with the organization following the blockbuster deal between Minnesota and Utah, Gobert settled in last season and played an integral role on a team which reached the Western Conference Finals.

Gobert is also one of the more durable players in the league by current standards. He hasn’t appeared in fewer than 66 regular season games since the 2018/19 season.

Last season, he made 76 starts and averaged 14.0 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per night. He also started 15 postseason games, averaging 12.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG.

The Wolves had a +8.0 net rating during the regular season when Gobert was on the court, compared to a +3.0 mark when he sat. During the playoffs, that gap increased to +9.8 in the center’s minutes and -6.3 when he on the bench.

Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Paul, Sochan, Castle

Playing extended minutes for the first time since the Olympics, Victor Wembanyama admitted conditioning was a factor in Thursday’s loss at Dallas, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN. The Spurs were careful with their star big man during the preseason, limiting him to about 40 combined minutes in two games. Coach Gregg Popovich gave him a breather less than five minutes into Thursday’s contest.

“Some moments felt great,” Wembanyama said. “A little hard conditioning-wise at first, of course [as] I expected. But I think we had some good basketball moments and some really bad ones.”

Wembanyama struggled with his shooting, scoring 17 points while going 5-of-18 from the field and 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. But veteran point guard Chris Paul was encouraged that San Antonio only trailed by two points and halftime and was able to remain competitive against the defending Western Conference champions without having Wembanyama at his best.

“I love the fight we showed,” he said. “There are no moral victories, but we played against a team that went to the Finals. So, there’s a continuity they have. For me, not knowing what to expect in the preseason is one thing. The regular season is another thing. But I’m honestly so excited about the spurts that I’ve seen and what I know our team is capable of.”

There’s more on the Spurs:

  • Mavericks coach Jason Kidd doesn’t mind seeing Paul getting close to him for second place on the career assists list, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Kidd believes the new partnership with Wembanyama will make it easier for Paul to eclipse his total. “When you have a target like Victor, he shouldn’t be thinking about my spot,” Kidd said, “but maybe John (Stockton)‘s.”
  • Back at forward after last season’s ill-fated point guard experiment, Jeremy Sochan tied for the team lead with 18 points, McDonald adds. Sochan appears more relaxed now that he’s locked into his natural position. “You grow up every year, you learn some things,” he said. “My situations a little different than last year. It’s just me playing with energy, playing hard, trying to be everywhere.”
  • Popovich was happy with the competitive fire shown by lottery pick Stephon Castle, whose first NBA action included time guarding Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Popovich warned Castle about the challenge prior to the game. “I said, ‘You know, basically you’re a sophomore in college,’” Popovich told reporters. “‘At some point in the game, you’re going to guard the possible MVP of the NBA.’ It kind of hit him. It’s a little different.”

Sixers Notes: Drummond, Embiid, George, Nurse, Lowry, Yabusele

Andre Drummond knew he wouldn’t be the full-time starter when he signed with the Sixers this summer, but figured there would be plenty of chances to start given Joel Embiid‘s injury history and the need to have him ready for the playoffs. The first opportunity came Wednesday, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Drummond didn’t find out until Tuesday that Embiid would be sitting out the game, and he responded with 10 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes.

“It’s going to be a very fun year,” Drummond said. “I feel I got drafted again, like I’m the new kid on the block, and I get to showcase myself all over again.”

Drummond played a reserve role in Chicago the past two seasons and was one of the most productive backup big men in the league. He has experience playing behind Embiid, spending 49 games with Philadelphia during the 2021/22 season.

“We already know, once [Embiid] comes back, what type of offense we’re going to play,” Drummond said. “But we’ve got to have a difference between he and I when we’re out there, different styles of play. … Obviously, when [Embiid is] healthy, we need him the entire year. But being able to step up whenever he does have those moments of rest and needs to sit out, knowing that there won’t be any drop-off.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

  • Embiid and Paul George will miss at least the first three games of the season, but coach Nick Nurse remains optimistic about their progress, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. They were limited participants in Thursday’s practice, although neither of them scrimmaged, which the team would prefer to see before clearing them to play. “I think they are improving and making strides,” Nurse said. “They were in all of the beginning basic stuff and some kind of live-ish drills. The half-court for a little bit as well. So it looked like they are progressing.”
  • Tonight will mark Nurse’s third trip to Toronto since taking over the Sixers, and he told Pompey that it’s still a special experience to return to the city where he coached for 10 years. “It’s probably one of the more interesting stops along the season for me, for sure,” Nurse said. “I’ve got to go try to figure out how to win a game.”
  • Toronto is also a significant spot for Kyle Lowry, who was one of the city’s most beloved players during his nine seasons with the Raptors. He told Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) that it would mean “the world” to him to someday have his number retired in Toronto.
  • Guerschon Yabusele, who signed with Philadelphia this summer after spending five years overseas, doesn’t believe there’s a gigantic gap between the NBA and the EuroLeague, relays Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “It is too early to say because I have only played one game, but I always say that some of the best EuroLeague teams can compete with some NBA teams, for sure,” Yabusele said. “I am not saying the best teams [in the NBA]. … They are two different leagues. Being able to play for Real Madrid for three years and competing in those arenas against other teams and players, I gained a lot of experience. And feeling how it is on the court playing against tough teams helped a lot.”