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Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, draft picks have become more valuable than ever. As Mark Deeks wrote yesterday in a piece for SBNation.com, first-round picks are harder and harder to come by in trades, since teams love the appeal of being able to acquire cost-controlled young talent. Second-round picks, meanwhile, can sometimes be even more coveted than first-rounders, since teams don’t necessarily have to guarantee money to their second-round players, many of whom sign for the minimum salary or close to it.

Draft picks also allow NBA teams to select a player and stash him overseas, ensuring that he develops for another professional team and comes stateside when he’s NBA-ready. In other words, whether a club signs a player immediately or just hangs onto his rights for a couple years, draftees are among the most valuable assets for NBA teams.

It’s no surprise then that nearly 10% of the players on NBA rosters this year were selected in the 2013 draft. 41 players from this year’s draft class are currently on NBA teams, while the other 19 draftees will hone their craft overseas or in the D-League.

Of the 30 players selected in the first round, only Lucas Nogueira (Hawks) and Livio Jean-Charles (Spurs) are playing overseas, for Estudiantes in Spain and Asvel Villeurbanne in France, respectively. However, the career paths for this year’s second-rounders are a little more diverse. With the help of Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival, here’s a breakdown of where 2013’s second-round picks are currently playing (draft position in parentheses):

NBA:

• Allen Crabbe, Trail Blazers (31)
• Carrick Felix, Cavaliers (33)
• Isaiah Canaan, Rockets (34)
• Glen Rice Jr., Wizards (35)
• Ray McCallum, Kings (36)
• Tony Mitchell, Pistons (37)
• Nate Wolters, Bucks (38)
• Jeff Withey, Pelicans (39)
• Jamaal Franklin, Grizzlies (41)
• Ricky Ledo, Mavericks (43)
• Ryan Kelly, Lakers (48)
• Erik Murphy, Bulls (49)
• Peyton Siva, Pistons (56)

Overseas:

• Alex Abrines, Thunder (32): Barcelona (Spain)
• Mike Muscala, Hawks (44): Obradoiro (Spain)
• Marko Todorovic, Rockets (45): Barcelona (Spain)
• Erick Green, Nuggets (46): Montepaschi (Italy)
• Raul Neto, Jazz (47): Lagun Aro (Spain)
• James Ennis, Heat (50): Perth Wildcats (Australia)
• Colton Iverson, Celtics (53): Besiktas (Turkey)
• Arsalan Kazemi, 76ers (54): Petrochimi (Iran)
• Joffrey Lauvergne, Nuggets (55): Partizan (Serbia)
• Deshaun Thomas, Spurs (58): Nanterre (France)
• Bojan Dubljevic, Timberwolves (59): Valencia (Spain)
• Janis Timma, Grizzlies (60): Ventspils (Latvia)

D-League:

• Grant Jerrett, Thunder (40): Tulsa 66ers.
• Pierre Jackson, Pelicans (42): Idaho Stampede
• Romero Osby (51): Fort Wayne Mad Ants. NBA rights no longer held by Magic.
• Lorenzo Brown (52): Springfield Armor. NBA rights no longer held by Timberwolves.

Free Agent:

• Alex Oriakhi, Suns (57): Recently parted ways with Limoges.

A 10-day contract is a chance for a player to either establish his NBA career or to revive it. Still, even if they’re able to stick once the 10 days are over, most of the guys who sign the shortest of contracts don’t manage more than a brief foray into the Association.

Only nine of the 32 players who signed at least one 10-day contract last year remain in the NBA as the new season gets underway. Another 11 were in training camps last month but failed to make their teams. The largest subgroup comprises a dozen players who are no longer in the league and didn’t take part in an NBA camp at all.

Perhaps the most successful 10-day signee from last season is Chris Andersen, whose energetic play off the bench helped the Heat to the championship. He remains much a part of the team, unlike many of his peers. Kenyon Martin is the only other 2012/13 10-day signee who seems to be part of an NBA rotation right now. Maalik Wayns may only be in the league because he’s injured and the Clippers would have to guarantee his salary if they cut him loose before he heals.

Below is a look at each player to sign a 10-day contract last season, categorized by their proximity to the NBA as 2013/14 begins. For information on 10-day signings dating back to the 2006/07 season, check out the Hoops Rumors Ten Day Tracker.

On rosters:

• Chris Andersen, Heat
• Josh Harrellson, Pistons
• Mike James, Bulls
• Shelvin Mack, Hawks
• Kenyon Martin, Knicks
• Jannero Pargo, Bobcats
• Henry Sims, Cavaliers
• Donald Sloan, Pacers
• Maalik Wayns, Clippers

Camp cuts:

• Josh Akognon, Grizzlies
• Louis Amundson, Clippers
• Lazar Hayward, Pelicans
• Damion James, Nuggets
• Chris Johnson (Dayton), Nets
• Chris Johnson (LSU), Timberwolves
• Kris Joseph, Magic
• Dominic McGuire, Jazz
• Scott Machado: Jazz
• Jarvis Varnado, Heat
• D.J. White, Bulls

Not in camp:

• Justin Dentmon
• Mickael Gelabale
• Terrel Harris
• Juwan Howard
• Travis Leslie
• Jerel McNeal
• Jeremy Pargo
• Shavlik Randolph
• DaJuan Summers
• Malcolm Thomas
• Terrence Williams
• Chris Wright (Georgetown)

Even when NBA rosters expand to a 20-player maximum during the offseason, there are only a limited number of openings for all the NBA hopefuls worldwide. Given how hard it is to earn a roster spot in the Association, many talented players ultimately end up on teams in Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia.

At Hoops Rumors, we focus primarily on NBA roster moves, or at least players that have recently been on NBA rosters, passing along only the more noteworthy international transactions. But we were still interested in following player movement in those non-NBA leagues this offseason, which is why we introduced our International Player Movement Tracker.

Working with Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival, we created a database of thousands of players, tracking which teams they played for last season, and where they’re playing for the coming 2013/14 campaign. Using our tracker, you can search and sort players by the team they played for (or the country they played in) either last season or this season, as well as the college they attended (or their home country).

For instance, if you’re curious about which former Kansas players are on roster overseas, you can use this link to check on the statuses of Keith Langford, Julian Wright, Aaron Miles, Josh Selby, and others. If you’d like to see players currently on the CSKA roster in Russia, you can search by current team and find this list.

Like our Free Agent Tracker, our International Player Movement Tracker will no longer be updated now that the NBA season, along with many other leagues’ seasons, is underway. We’ll continue to pass along word of new deals for notable former NBA players or camp invitees, but our tracker will stand as a record of this offseason’s movement, and won’t follow in-season changes.

Our 2013 International Player Movement Tracker can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar.

No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA. Only four of the most decorated players have them — Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki. Garnett retains his no-trade power even though he waived it this summer to facilitate his move to the Nets. It’s much more common that a player will gain a de-facto no-trade clause through a quirk in the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

Bird rights, Early Bird rights and Non-Bird rights are all mechanisms that allow teams to go above the salary cap to retain their own players. Trades usually have no effect on those rights, but that’s not the case with players on one-year contracts. A team that acquires a player on a one-year deal via trade can’t use any form of Bird rights to re-sign that player the following offseason. The player often stands to lose financially in such a case, so the NBA allows players on one-year contracts to block trades. Despite this, some players allow trades to go through anyway, as Marreese Speights did last year when the Grizzlies sent him to the Cavaliers.

The no-trade rule includes players signed to two-year deals that include a team or player option on the final year. For the purposes of the no-trade rule, option seasons don’t count until they’re exercised, and options on non-rookie scale contracts generally aren’t exercised until the end of the season, well past the trade deadline.

Clubs retain Bird rights on players they re-sign even if they had renounced their rights before re-signing them. In other words, a player’s “Bird clock” doesn’t reset if a team renounces his rights, as long as he re-signs with that team. For instance, Jannero Pargo spent last season with the Bobcats, who renounced his rights this past summer before signing him to a new one-year contract. Pargo will be eligible for Early Bird rights next offseason, even though the Bobcats renounced his non-Bird rights this summer. So, the ‘Cats would need his consent to trade him this year.

Similarly, the Mavericks waived Bernard James this summer and re-signed him, but, just as with Pargo, his “Bird clock” did not reset, so the Mavs can’t trade James and his new one-year contract without consent.

This rule is also one reason why teams will often tack a non-guaranteed season onto the contract of an end-of-the-bench player they sign at midseason. Partial seasons count toward Bird eligibility just as much as full seasons do. Also, non-guaranteed seasons don’t function like option seasons, so their existence doesn’t invoke the trade-consent rule.

There’s one other situation that would require a team to have a player’s consent before trading him. A restricted free agent who signs with a new team only to have his original team match the offer sheet has the power to veto trades during the first year of his deal. Jeff Teague of the Hawks, who signed an offer sheet with the Bucks in the offseason, is the lone player who falls under the rule this year.

One additional note: No player signed this offseason can be traded until December 15th, at the earliest.

Here’s a team-by-team breakdown of players who can block trades this season. All these players gained their veto power based on the Bird rights stipulation unless otherwise noted:

Atlanta Hawks

• Jeff Teague (matched offer sheet)

Boston Celtics

• None

Brooklyn Nets

• Kevin Garnett (no-trade clause)
• Andray Blatche

Charlotte Bobcats

• Josh McRoberts
• Jannero Pargo

Chicago Bulls

• Nazr Mohammed

Cleveland Cavaliers

• None

Dallas Mavericks

• Dirk Nowitzki (no-trade clause)
• Bernard James

Denver Nuggets

• None

Detroit Pistons

• None

Golden State Warriors

• None

Houston Rockets

• Aaron Brooks
• Francisco Garcia

Indiana Pacers

• None

Los Angeles Clippers

• Ryan Hollins

Los Angeles Lakers

• Kobe Bryant (no-trade clause)

Memphis Grizzlies

• None

Miami Heat

• Chris Andersen

Milwaukee Bucks

• None

Minnesota Timberwolves

• None

New Orleans Pelicans

• Al-Farouq Aminu

New York Knicks

• Kenyon Martin

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Derek Fisher

Orlando Magic

• None

Philadelphia 76ers

• None

Phoenix Suns

• None

Portland Trail Blazers

• None

Sacramento Kings

• None

San Antonio Spurs

• Tim Duncan (no-trade clause)

Toronto Raptors

• None

Utah Jazz

• Jamaal Tinsley

Washington Wizards

• Garrett Temple

ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.

Success has bred stability for the San Antonio Spurs. They have the league’s longest-tenured head coach, its fourth-longest-tenured GM, three players leftover from their championship squad from more than 10 years ago, and a Western Conference-leading dozen players back from last year’s Finals. That’s more than any other team in the league except the Heat, who also bring back 12 of the guys who edged the Spurs for the championship in June.

The Nuggets have 11 returnees from the end of last season, just one fewer than the Spurs, but nearly every other part of Denver’s basketball operations is new, including GM Tim Connelly and coach Brian Shaw. The Thunder hemorrhaged more talent this summer, losing Kevin Martin just months after trading away James Harden, but they, too, kept 11 of the players from last year’s disappointing playoff exit.

The Rockets made the offseason’s most noteworthy addition in Dwight Howard, but they’ve otherwise remained relatively stable, keeping 10 players. All four Western Conference teams with 10 or more holdovers made the playoffs last season, in contrast to the Eastern Conference, where three of the four teams who returned at least 10 players were in the lottery.

A pair of Western teams that didn’t make the playoffs were particularly active in turning over their rosters. The Mavericks bring back just six guys from the team that made a late-season run at a playoff berth last year, while the Suns have only five players left from their worst season in 44 years. Five is also the number of trades new Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough has pulled off since he assumed his post in May.

Here are each Western Conference team’s holdovers from the end of last season. We also ran down the Eastern Conference returnees earlier this week.

Spurs (12): Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Nando De Colo, Patty Mills, Cory Joseph, Aron Baynes

Nuggets (11): JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Andre Miller, Timofey Mozgov, Ty Lawson, Anthony Randolph, Evan Fournier, Kenneth Faried, Jordan Hamilton, Quincy Miller

Thunder (11): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison, Serge Ibaka, Jeremy Lamb, Reggie Jackson, Hasheem Thabeet, Perry Jones III, Derek Fisher

Rockets (10): Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, Francisco Garcia, James Harden, Aaron Brooks, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Chandler Parsons, Greg Smith, Patrick Beverley

Grizzlies (9): Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tayshaun Prince, Tony Allen, Jerryd Bayless, Ed Davis, Quincy Pondexter, Jon Leuer

Kings (9): John Salmons, Marcus Thornton, Chuck Hayes, Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Travis Outlaw, Jimmer Fredette, Patrick Patterson, Isaiah Thomas

Pelicans (9): Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Smith, Austin Rivers, Lance Thomas, Darius Miller, Brian Roberts

Clippers (8): Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford, Willie Green, Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins, Maalik Wayns

Timberwolves (8): Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, Nikola Pekovic, Jose Barea, Ricky Rubio, Alexey Shved, Dante Cunningham, Chase Budinger

Trail Blazers (8): LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, Damian Lillard, Joel Freeland, Meyers Leonard, Victor Claver, Will Barton

Warriors (8): Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Kent Bazemore

Jazz (7): Marvin Williams, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Jeremy Evans, Jamaal Tinsley

Lakers (7): Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill, Jodie Meeks, Robert Sacre

Mavericks (6): Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Bernard James

Suns (5): Goran Dragic, Channing Frye, Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris, P.J. Tucker

As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Hoops Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, you can also easily follow all our updates on your favorite player.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on LeBron James as he plays a potential contract year, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest trade rumors involving Evan Turner, you can find Turner’s page right here.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find your player of choice by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post where he’s discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, LeBron’s page is located at hoopsrumors.com/lebron-james.

In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags we use at the bottom of posts. Items related to the NBA D-League, for instance, can be found on this rumors page. If you want to follow early updates on the 2014 NBA draft, those are all available here.

The Heat finished with the league’s best record and won their second straight title last season, while the Bobcats and Magic were the two worst teams in the league. Yet somehow, those three clubs and the Wizards are the only ones in the Eastern Conference to bring back 10 or more players from last season.

Miami kept 12 of the 15 players it carried at the end of the regular season and in the postseason as it made its run to the championship. There was no reason to mess with a winning formula, and aside from the amnesty waiving of Mike Miller, Juwan Howard‘s transition from player to assistant coach, and the team’s decision to cut Jarvis Varnado last week, everyone’s back to try for a three-peat.

The Bobcats made a splash in free agency, signing Al Jefferson, but they elected to bring back 11 players from the roster that went 21-61 last season, re-signing Josh McRoberts, Gerald Henderson and Jannero Pargo while failing to make any offseason trades. The Magic largely stood pat, too, though one of the 10 players they kept from the end of last season isn’t really around anymore. The team has told Turkoglu to stay home while they attempt to trade him, and it’s clear he won’t put on a Magic uniform again, even though he remains on the roster.

The Bucks were the Eastern Conference’s least-stable team, gutting the squad that finished with a losing record but slipped into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed. Every other Eastern team had about the same level of stability, keeping between seven and nine players.

Here’s the complete list of players who remain on the Eastern Conference teams with which they finished last season. We’ll follow with the Western Conference soon:

• Heat (12): LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, Joel Anthony, Shane Battier, Ray Allen, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Norris Cole, Chris Andersen
• Bobcats (11): Ben Gordon, Ramon Sessions, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Josh McRoberts, Gerald Henderson, Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker, Brendan Haywood, Jeff Adrien, Jeff Taylor, Jannero Pargo
• Magic (10): Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Arron Afflalo, Glen Davis, Maurice Harkless, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Kyle O’Quinn, E’Twaun Moore, Doron Lamb
• Wizards (10): Nene, Trevor Ariza, John Wall, Bradley Beal, Jan Vesely, Kevin Seraphin, Martell Webster, Chris Singleton, Trevor Booker, Garrett Temple
• Bulls (9): Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler, Marquis Teague, Nazr Mohammed
• Raptors (9): Rudy Gay, Landry Fields, Amir Johnson, Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, DeMar DeRozan, Aaron Gray, Terrence Ross, Quincy Acy
• Knicks (8): Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Pablo Prigioni, Kenyon Martin
• Nets (8): Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Mirza Teletovic, Reggie Evans, Andray Blatche, Tornike Shengelia, Tyshawn Taylor
• Pacers (8): Roy Hibbert, Danny Granger, David West, George Hill, Ian Mahinmi, Paul George, Lance Stephenson, Orlando Johnson
• 76ers (7): Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes, Jason Richardson, Evan Turner, Lavoy Allen, Kwame Brown, Arnett Moultrie
• Hawks (7): Al Horford, Kyle Korver, Lou Williams, Jeff Teague, John Jenkins, Mike Scott, Shelvin Mack
• Celtics (7): Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee, Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger, Jordan Crawford
• Cavaliers (7): Anderson Varejao, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, Alonzo Gee, C.J. Miles, Tyler Zeller
• Pistons (7): Rodney Stuckey, Charlie Villanueva, Jonas Jerebko, Will Bynum, Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond, Kyle Singler
• Bucks (4): Ersan Ilyasova, Ekpe Udoh, Larry Sanders, John Henson

With the NBA regular season scheduled to get underway in just over an hour, be sure to check out Hoops Rumors’ 2013 Free Agent Tracker to refresh your memory on the offseason’s player movement. Using our tracker, you can quickly browse the summer’s contract agreements, sorting by team, position, contract length, total salary, and a handful of other variables.

For instance, if you want to see all the Clippers’ offseason signings, you can sort by team and find all of the club’s free agent additions listed here. If you’re curious to see how many players signed contracts of four years or more, you can sort by contract length and bring up that list right here.

A few additional notes on the tracker:

• While the years and dollar figures listed in the tracker are close to 100% accurate, based on the numbers that have been reported, we’re still waiting on numbers for a few recent signings, such as Brandon Davies‘ deal with the Sixers.
• Contract amounts aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed, and are based on what’s been reported.
• Training-camp invites are included in the tracker. For our purposes, we’re considering these so-called “summer contracts” to be any deal with no guaranteed money. Fully guaranteed and partially guaranteed contracts aren’t listed as summer contracts, which are marked with a † symbol.

Our Free Agent Tracker is designed to monitor offseason player movement, so it won’t be updated going forward — at least not until we unveil the 2014 version next summer. However, it will continue to stay active as a resource. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

It’s October 29th, which means the offseason has finally ended, and the 2013/14 NBA regular season is officially upon us. The schedule kicks off tonight with a trio of games, but before it does, we wanted to make sure we were on the record with our predictions for the coming season.

As we did last year, when our predictions ranged from the good to the bad to the ugly, we’ve forecast the top eight seeds in each conference, along with the Finals teams and the winners of each of the league’s major awards. Hoops Rumors writers Alex Lee, Zach Links, Spencer Lund, Chuck Myron, Jonathan Nehring, Michael Pina, Ryan Raroque, and I have made our picks.

Click below to peruse our choices, and feel free to join the discussion in the comments section if you have thoughts on our picks or want to share predictions of your own.

Hoops Rumors Writers’ 2013/14 NBA Predictions