After an early flurry of action on the NBA’s buyout market following this year’s trade deadline, things have slowed down significantly over the last week. With game action having resumed on Thursday night though, we still may see a little more action before the end of the month.
2019’s buyout period will come to an unofficial end in about a week, so before it does, we’re checking in on where things stand and which players may still shake loose…
When must a player be released by to retain his playoff eligibility?
Anyone who is waived by the end of the day (11:59 pm ET) on March 1 will be postseason-eligible if he subsequently signs with a new team. A player who is waived after March 1 won’t be eligible to play in the postseason, unless he was released from a 10-day – rather than a standard – contract.
Does a player also need to sign by March 1 to be playoff-eligible for his new team?
Nope. A player could sign with a new team on the very last day of the regular season and still be eligible to participate in the postseason, as long as he was waived by his previous team on or before March 1.
Which players are already off the board?
As our 2019 buyout market recap shows, a handful of intriguing veterans who were bought out or released earlier in February have already found new NBA homes.
Markieff Morris joined the Thunder; Enes Kanter signed with the Trail Blazers; Wayne Ellington landed with the Pistons; Jeremy Lin is a Raptor; and Wesley Matthews headed to the Pacers. Other veterans who hit free agency headed overseas (Michael Beasley to China) or joined a non-contender (Nik Stauskas to the Cavaliers).
So who’s still out there?
The list of remaining free agents isn’t quite as interesting as the group of players who have already signed, but there are some notable names out there. Greg Monroe, Marcin Gortat, or Zach Randolph could appeal to a team seeking frontcourt depth. Carmelo Anthony and Ben McLemore are options for clubs in need of scoring off the bench.
There are also some wild cards on the market. Alex Abrines was released by the Thunder due to an undisclosed personal situation, so he may simply take the rest of the season off. That’s what Milos Teodosic reportedly plans to do too, as he prepares for the 2019/20 campaign. Omri Casspi, meanwhile, could draw interest from some contenders, but he’ll have to make it back from a torn meniscus and prove he’s healthy before any team gets serious about signing him.
Besides the players who have been waived in recent weeks, there are some available players who were released earlier (like Michael Carter-Williams and Nick Young) or who haven’t played in the NBA at all this season (such as Trevor Booker).
Are there any other appealing targets that could become available in the next week?
Here’s the list of players we singled out in our recap as possible buyout candidates:
- Ryan Anderson, F (Heat)
- Jerryd Bayless, G (Timberwolves)
- Dragan Bender, F/C (Suns)
- Vince Carter, F (Hawks)
- Troy Daniels, G (Suns)
- Dewayne Dedmon, C (Hawks)
- Channing Frye, F/C (Cavaliers)
- Pau Gasol, C (Spurs)
- DeAndre Jordan, C (Knicks)
- Frank Kaminsky, F/C (Hornets)
- Kosta Koufos, C (Kings)
- Robin Lopez, C (Bulls)
- J.R. Smith, G (Cavaliers)
- Jason Smith, F/C (Pelicans)
- Anthony Tolliver, F (Timberwolves)
Most of these guys probably won’t reach the open market, but they’re all players on expiring – or pseudo-expiring – contracts who may not have a long-term future with their current teams. As such, they’re worth monitoring.
The most interesting names on this list, in my opinion, are Dedmon, Jordan, Kaminsky, Lopez, and Smith (J.R., not Jason). Reports have suggested that the Hawks, Knicks, Hornets, Bulls, and Cavaliers plan to keep those players for a variety of reasons — the Knicks believe Jordan could be an asset during their summer recruitment of Kevin Durant, for instance, while the Cavs could still trade Smith’s partially guaranteed 2019/20 salary during the offseason.
Still, the Hawks bought out Lin just a few days after reports indicated it likely wouldn’t happen. Things can change, particularly if these players badly want to get to a contending team and are willing to give back a substantial amount of money to make it happen. It wouldn’t be shocking if one of those five players – or a handful of others on the list above – reached the open market in the not-too-distant future.
Our 2019 buyout market recap will continue to be updated through March 1, so be sure to keep an eye on it over the next week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
So basically Lakers are waiting until all options are off the table before signing Melo.
He still makes the most sense because everyone else intruiging is a big man which they don’t need.
So it’s actually just Melo or McLemore
Or casspi may actually end up being most likely , if LeBron doesn’t get his way
Really hope Casspi is able to find a team. I have been a big fan of his going back to his Maccabi Tel Aviv days.
He will if he’s healthy.. shooters are always in demand come playoffs.
He’s also versatile and can find his fit quickly.
About Melo, he should probably be considered a big… and an effective one. Obvsly there are perceptions about him to deal with.
those players should’ve been moved for anything
The Nets need to bring back Trev Booker. I used to love when he would grab a board and then take it up the court(albeit wildly) as if he was a point forward. It usually worked out in the other teams favor but nonetheless entertaining.
Cousins is like that now. He’s kind of lumbering at this point, and angry about it, but will not give up what he remembers he can do. He made a coast-to-coast run sort of work vs Houston tonight, drawing a foul at the end, all kind of disheveled when it was over. Had to laugh!