Wednesday Is Deadline For Teams To Stretch 2020/21 Salaries

Wednesday, December 9 is the last day that NBA teams can waive players and stretch their 2020/21 cap hits across three seasons, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter).

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Stretch Provision]

In a normal NBA league year, the last day to stretch a player’s current salary would be August 31, but that deadline was pushed back along with most of this year’s other key NBA dates due to the league’s schedule changes.

After Wednesday, players who are released for the rest of the season can have their cap hits in 2021/22 and future seasons stretched, but their ’20/21 cap charges will remain unchanged unless they reach a buyout agreement.

As Marks observes, only three players – Nicolas Batum (Hornets), Dewayne Dedmon (Pistons), and Zhaire Smith (Pistons) have been waived and stretched since the start of the 2020/21 league year, which is tied for the lowest mark in any season since the stretch provision was introduced in 2011.

However, there are still some situations worth keeping an eye on in advance of today’s deadline, especially for clubs over the luxury tax line. John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link) points to the Pacers (Jalen Lecque) and Sixers (Vincent Poirier) as two teams to watch.

Stretching Lecque’s modest $1.52MM salary would allow Indiana to sneak below the luxury tax line, while stretching Poirier would reduce Philadelphia’s projected tax bill.

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