We’re one day away from the start of the NBA’s 2022/23 regular season, making Monday the last day of the 2022 offseason. Today serves as the deadline for a number of contract- and roster-related decisions around the league. Here are the most important ones:
Rookie Scale Extensions
A total of 25 players entered the offseason eligible for rookie scale extensions. Eight of those players (Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Darius Garland, Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro, RJ Barrett, Keldon Johnson, and Brandon Clarke) have already signed new deals, while one (Ty Jerome) was waived. That leaves the following 16 players eligible to sign rookie scale extensions on Monday:
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Jazz)
- Darius Bazley (Thunder)
- Goga Bitadze (Pacers)
- Rui Hachimura (Wizards)
- Jaxson Hayes (Pelicans)
- De’Andre Hunter (Hawks)
- Cameron Johnson (Suns)
- Romeo Langford (Spurs)
- Nassir Little (Trail Blazers)
- Kevin Porter Jr. (Rockets)
- Cam Reddish (Knicks)
- Matisse Thybulle (Sixers)
- P.J. Washington (Hornets)
- Coby White (Bulls)
- Grant Williams (Celtics)
- Dylan Windler (Cavaliers)
The majority of these guys won’t sign new deals until the 2023 offseason, when they’re eligible for restricted free agency. But it would be a surprise if at least a couple more players from this list don’t finalize rookie scale extensions today. Hunter, Johnson, Little, Porter, Thybulle, Washington, and Williams are some of the best candidates.
The deadline for rookie scale extensions is at 5:00pm central time.
Certain Veteran Contract Extensions
A veteran player who signed his current contract at least two years ago (or three years ago if it was a five-year deal) is eligible to sign an extension. That means many veterans around the NBA are eligible to sign contract extensions today, but that number will significantly drop as of tomorrow.
Once the regular season begins, only veterans in the final year of their contracts can sign extensions — a player who has multiple years remaining is no longer extension-eligible until the following offseason.
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Let’s use the Nets as an example. Ben Simmons, Joe Harris, and Seth Curry are all eligible for extensions right now, but of those three players, only Curry is on an expiring deal.
Simmons is under contract through 2024/25, while Harris’ deal runs through 2023/24, so each of them could sign an extension today. However, starting on Tuesday, Simmons and Harris will be ineligible to sign an extension until July of 2023, with only Curry remaining extension-eligible during the season.
An extension-eligible veteran who has a player option for 2023/24 could still sign a new deal later in the ’22/23 league year, but he’d have to eliminate that option to do so. Picking up the option would make him ineligible to complete an extension between Tuesday and the start of the ’23/24 league year, since it would turn his contract into a multiyear deal, not an expiring one.
Klay Thompson, Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam, and Jamal Murray are some of the notable players who are extension-eligible today, but won’t be as of Tuesday, since they have multiple years left on their contracts.
The deadline for veteran extensions for players on non-expiring contracts is at 10:59pm CT tonight.
Regular Season Rosters
Most teams around the NBA finalized their roster cuts on Saturday for financial reasons, as we explained over the weekend. However, today is the official deadline to reduce offseason rosters to the regular season limit of 15 players on standard contracts (plus two on two-way contracts).
While it’s certainly possible there will be some additional roster shuffling today as teams tweak their back-end roster spots or fill two-way openings, only four teams – the Pistons, Rockets, Thunder, and Spurs – absolutely have to make cuts, as we detailed on Sunday.
The Pistons and Rockets are expected to waive Kemba Walker and Derrick Favors, respectively, while the Thunder’s and Spurs’ cuts haven’t yet been reported. Oklahoma City will have to release three players (one will reportedly be David Nwaba); just one cut is required for San Antonio.
The final day of the offseason is also the last day for teams to convert Exhibit 10 contracts into two-way deals.
However, after Dru Smith, Olivier Sarr, Kostas Antetokounmpo, Ty Jerome, Anthony Lamb, McKinley Wright, Moses Brown, Luka Garza, Jordan Goodwin, and Michael Foster Jr. had their Exhibit 10 deals converted into two-ways within the last week, there’s just one candidate left for this maneuver: Rockets forward Darius Days. His deal is expected to be converted before today’s deadline.
Finally, Monday is the last day for a free agent to be signed-and-traded. But there’s no indication that any sign-and-trades are in the works.
It’s a whole lot of players looking to cash in. I’m not sure where Grant Williams and the Boston Celtics are in negotiations but he’s somebody they need to lock up.