We’re one day away from the start of the NBA’s 2025/26 regular season, making Monday the last day of the 2025 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 22 players entered the offseason eligible for rookie scale extensions.
Six of those players – Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., Keegan Murray, and Nikola Jovic -have already signed new deals, a seventh (Shaedon Sharpe) has agreed to an extension that will be officially completed today, and an eighth (Blake Wesley) was waived earlier in the offseason.
That leaves the following 14 players eligible to sign rookie scale extensions on Monday:
Ochai Agbaji (Raptors)- Malaki Branham (Wizards)
- Christian Braun (Nuggets)
- Dyson Daniels (Hawks)
- Ousmane Dieng (Thunder)
- Jalen Duren (Pistons)
- Tari Eason (Rockets)
- Jaden Ivey (Pistons)
- Walker Kessler (Jazz)
- Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers)
- Jeremy Sochan (Spurs)
- Dalen Terry (Bulls)
- Peyton Watson (Nuggets)
- Mark Williams (Suns)
The majority of these guys won’t sign new deals until the 2026 offseason, when they’re eligible for restricted free agency. But it would be a surprise if at least one or two more players from this list don’t finalize rookie scale extensions today.
Braun, Daniels, Duren, Eason, Ivey, Kessler, Mathurin, and Williams are among the notable names in this group, but finding a price point that works for them and their respective teams will be a challenge in some cases.
The deadline for rookie scale extensions is at 5:00 pm 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.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Veteran Contract Extension]
Let’s use the Heat as an example. Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, and Norman Powell are all eligible for veteran extensions right now, but Herro still has two guaranteed years left on his contract. That means his extension eligibility window will close after Monday and won’t reopen until next July, whereas Rozier and Powell, who are on expiring contracts, could sign extensions anytime between now and June 30, 2026.
An extension-eligible veteran who has a player option for 2026/27 – such as Wiggins – could still sign a new deal later in the ’25/26 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 ’26/27 league year, since it would turn his contract into a multiyear deal, not an expiring one. This rule also applies to team options.
Here are the players who have a Monday deadline to sign a veteran extension if they want to lock in a new deal before next July:
- RJ Barrett (Raptors)
- Dillon Brooks (Suns)
- Brandon Clarke (Grizzlies)
- Donte DiVincenzo (Timberwolves)
Darius Garland (Cavaliers)- Josh Green (Hornets)
- Tyler Herro (Heat)
- De’Andre Hunter (Cavaliers)
- Cameron Johnson (Nuggets)
- Keldon Johnson (Spurs)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- John Konchar (Grizzlies)
- Kyle Kuzma (Bucks)
- Ja Morant (Grizzlies)
- Aaron Nesmith (Pacers)
- Jordan Poole (Pelicans)
- Michael Porter Jr. (Nets)
- Max Strus (Cavaliers)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)
- Grant Williams (Hornets)
- Zion Williamson (Pelicans)
While Jokic is the most worthy candidate for an extension in this group, word broke early in the offseason that he’s not expected to sign this year because he would qualify for more years and more money if he waits until 2026.
Outside of Jokic, the best candidates for new deals might be Herro and Nesmith, but there’s no guarantee that anyone from this group will extend today, since they’ll all have at least one more eligibility window down the road.
The deadline for veteran extensions for players on non-expiring contracts is at 10:59 pm CT tonight.
Regular Season Rosters
Nearly every NBA team finalized its 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 three on two-way contracts).
While there will could very well be some additional roster shuffling today as teams tweak their back-end roster spots or fill two-way openings, only one team – the Bucks – absolutely has to make a move. Milwaukee appears likely to waive 2024 second-round pick Tyler Smith in order to set its regular season roster.
[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Roster Counts]
The two other teams that made it through Saturday with more than 15 players on standard contracts – the Nets and Wizards – got down to 15 by making cuts on Sunday.
The Bucks’ roster move is due by 4:00 pm CT.
The final day of the offseason is also the last day for teams to convert Exhibit 10 contracts into two-way deals, but there are no real candidates left after Ron Harper Jr., Caleb Houstan, Moussa Cisse, Jahmyl Telfort, Jahmir Young, Johnny Juzang, Chris Youngblood, and Colin Castleton were all converted within the past few days.
The only player still on an Exhibit 10 deal who is eligible for a two-way contract is Knicks forward Mohamed Diawara, and the expectation is that he’ll make New York’s regular season roster in order to ensure the team’s salary remains below its hard cap.
It remains possible that a player on an Exhibit 10 contract who was cut on Saturday could be claimed off waivers and immediately converted to a two-way deal later today.
Finally, Monday is the last day for a free agent to be signed-and-traded during the 2025/26 league year. However, there have been no indications that any sign-and-trades are in the works.