Decisions On 2022/23 Rookie Scale Team Options

With the NBA set to return to its usual schedule for the start of the 2021/22 regular season, the deadline for decisions on third- and fourth-year team options for players on rookie scale contracts is back to its usual date at the end of October. Actually, because October 31 falls on a Sunday this year, the deadline will be on the Monday (November 1).

All the players whose options will be exercised or declined by November 1 are already under contract for the 2021/22 season. Their teams will have to make a decision on whether they want to lock in those players’ contracts beyond the coming season, picking up or turning down team options for the 2022/23 campaign.

For players who signed their rookie scale contracts in 2019 and have already been in the NBA for two years, teams must decide on fourth-year options for 2022/23. For players who just signed their rookie deals last year and only have one season of NBA experience under their belts, teams will already be faced with a decision on third-year options for ’22/23.

In many cases, these decisions aren’t hard ones. Rookie scale salaries are affordable enough that it usually makes sense to exercise most of these team options, even if a player isn’t a key cog on the roster. And for those players who do have a significant role on a team’s roster, the decision is even easier — it’s not as if the Hornets will consider turning down their option on LaMelo Ball, for instance.

Still, we’ll wait for a trusted reporter, the NBA, a player (or his agent), or a team itself to confirm that an option is indeed being exercised or declined, and we’ll track that news in this space.

Listed below are all the rookie scale decisions for 2022/23 team options that clubs must make by November 1. This list will be updated throughout the rest of the month as teams’ decisions are reported and announced. The salary figures listed here reflect the cap hits for each team.

Here are the NBA’s rookie scale team option decisions for 2022/23 salaries:


Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

  • None

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

  • None

Los Angeles Lakers

  • None

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

Milwaukee Bucks

  • None

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Utah Jazz

Washington Wizards


Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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