Author: Luke Adams

Most of 2019’s offseason signees became eligible to be traded over the weekend. However, while most players on NBA contracts can now be dealt, there are still a handful of players who remain ineligible to be traded — at least for now.

Here’s a breakdown of the players still facing trade restrictions:

Players who met the January 15 criteria:

Not every player who signed a free agent contract in the offseason had their trade restrictions lifted on December 15. For a select handful of players, that date will be January 15 instead.

These players all meet a specific set of criteria: Not only did they re-sign with their previous team this offseason, but they got a raise of at least 20%, their salary is worth more than the minimum, and their team was over the cap, using Bird or Early Bird rights to sign them.

The following players meet this criteria and will become trade-eligible on January 15:

• Ryan Arcidiacono (Bulls)
• Patrick Beverley (Clippers)
• Khem Birch (Magic)
• Thomas Bryant (Wizards)
• Alex Caruso (Lakers)
• Dorian Finney-Smith (Mavericks)
• Rudy Gay (Spurs)
• Tobias Harris (Sixers)
• Maxi Kleber (Mavericks)
• Kevon Looney (Warriors)
• Rodney McGruder (Clippers)
• Khris Middleton (Bucks)
• Darius Miller (Pelicans)
• Nene (Rockets)
• Kelly Oubre (Suns)
• Kristaps Porzingis (Mavericks)
• Daniel Theis (Celtics)
• Klay Thompson (Warriors)
• Nikola Vucevic (Magic)
• Ivica Zubac (Clippers)

Players who signed as free agents after September 15:

Technically, the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that a player who signs a free agent contract can’t be traded for three months or until December 15, whichever comes later. Most big-name free agents sign new contracts in July, so we default to December 15 in those cases. That’s not the case for everyone though, as the three-month rule applies to any player who signs after September 15.

Here are the players who signed after September 15 and remain on NBA rosters, along with the dates they’ll become trade-eligible:

• Vince Carter (Hawks): December 20
• Thabo Sefolosha (Rockets): December 23
• Marquese Chriss (Warriors): December 30
• Caleb Martin (Hornets): January 19
• Jalen McDaniels (Hornets): January 20
• Wenyen Gabriel (Kings): January 21
• Amile Jefferson (Magic): February 1

Of course, since this season’s trade deadline falls on February 6, players who signed their contracts after November 6 won’t be trade-eligible at all until after the season. The following players fit that bill as of today:

• Carmelo Anthony (Trail Blazers)
• Juwan Morgan (Jazz)

Players who recently signed veteran contract extensions:

When a player signs a veteran contract extension that exceeds the NBA’s extend-and-trade rules – which are fairly restrictive – he can’t be traded for six months.

As our extension tracker shows, nine veteran extensions have been signed so far in 2019/20. Of those nine, only one – Kyle Lowry‘s – didn’t exceed the league’s extend-and-trade rules. Of the other eight, three were signed prior to August 6, meaning those players will become trade-eligible by February 6.

Here are the trade-eligible dates for those players:

• Dwight Powell (Mavericks): January 6
• CJ McCollum (Trail Blazers): January 30
• Draymond Green (Warriors): February 3

The following players who signed extensions can’t be dealt at all this season, either because they signed their extensions after August 6 or because they signed a super-max extension.

• Eric Gordon (Rockets)
• Bradley Beal (Wizards)
• Joe Ingles (Jazz)
• Cedi Osman (Cavaliers)
• Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
  • Note: Lillard is ineligible to be traded for one year because he signed a super-max extension.

Players who can be dealt — with caveats:

The players in this group can technically be traded, so we won’t list them all. However, a variety of potential roadblocks may impact whether or not it’s actually realistic to move them this season. Here’s the breakdown:

• Players whose contracts meet certain criteria have the ability to block trades that involve them. Here’s the full list of 16 players who have that veto ability in 2019/20, including Lakers veterans Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, and Rajon Rondo.
• Players who have trade kickers in their contracts will receive bonuses if they’re traded, which can complicate some potential deals financially. The 23 players with trade kickers in their contracts, including Steven Adams and LaMarcus Aldridge, are listed here.
• A player can’t be aggregated with another player for salary-matching purposes if he has been traded to an over-the-cap team within the last two months. That restriction doesn’t apply to anyone right now, but any player traded between now and February 6 won’t be eligible to be aggregated in a second deal before the deadline.
• The “poison pill provision” applies to players who signed rookie scale extensions that will begin the following season. The poison pill provision, which we outline in greater detail in a glossary entry, can make salary-matching very difficult in trades. It currently affects nine players, including Ben Simmons and Jamal Murray.
• If a team traded a player to another team during the 2019 offseason, it can’t re-acquire that player from that team again during the season. For instance, after acquiring him from Golden State in July, the Grizzlies couldn’t trade Andre Iguodala back to the Warriors this season. This rule applies to any trade consummated since the end of the NBA Finals.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Most of the players who signed new contracts as free agents this past summer became eligible on Sunday to be traded. That list includes a number of stars — Celtics point guard Kemba Walker, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, and the Nets duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are among the players who can now be dealt.

Of course, that group of players won’t be traded this season or anytime soon. While many noteworthy players became trade-eligible on December 15, it’s merely a technicality for those ones who are untouchable.

Today then, we’re focusing on a dozen newly trade-eligible players who are noteworthy not because of their star power but because they’re viable candidates to be moved in advance of this season’s February 6 trade deadline.

Approximately 120 players became trade-eligible on Sunday, so the list below only makes up about one-tenth of that group. You can check out the full list here.

Here are 12 notable players who are now eligible to be traded:

1. D’Angelo Russell, G (Warriors): Viewed as a trade candidate since the moment he agreed to join the Warriors due to his questionable long-term fit in Golden State, Russell may not be dealt this season. But it seems like it’ll just a matter of time before the Dubs seriously consider the possibility.
2. Alec Burks, G (Warriors): A minimum-salary player like Burks or big man Willie Cauley-Stein is a more realistic short-term trade candidate for the Warriors. Moving a minimum-salary veteran without taking a player back would give the team a little added breathing room below its restrictive hard cap.
3. Marcus Morris, F (Knicks): Morris has insisted he wants to stick with the Knicks rather than being traded, but his one-year contract and impressive on-court production will make him an intriguing trade chip. He may represent New York’s best – or only – chance to net a first-round pick in a deal.
4. Taj Gibson, F/C (Knicks): While Morris is the Knicks’ best trade candidate, he’s hardly the only one. Gibson’s contract, which only has a small partial guarantee for next season, is fairly trade-friendly, and he’d be a fit with just about any contender.
5. Wayne Ellington, G (Knicks): OK, you get it — a lot of Knicks could be on the trade block this winter. Besides the three we’ve already listed, Bobby Portis, Julius Randle, Elfrid Payton, and Reggie Bullock became trade-eligible on Sunday too, and none should be considered untouchable.
6. Thaddeus Young, F (Bulls): Things haven’t gone well for the Bulls or for Young this season. There’s time to turn it around, but if that doesn’t happen, Young’s camp could encourage the Bulls to trade the veteran forward to a team willing to give him a larger role.
7. J.J. Redick, G (Pelicans): Redick is the sort of rotation player who can be plugged into any roster and be effective, so the Pelicans should expect to receive inquiries. The veteran sharpshooter still believes New Orleans can bounce back from its rough start, but if the club gets the right offer, a Redick deal isn’t out of the question.
8. Jabari Parker, F (Hawks): I made a case last month for why I think Parker might be a logical trade candidate. At the very least, he’d be way easier for the Hawks to move than the three big expiring contracts belonging to Chandler Parsons, Allen Crabbe, and Evan Turner.
9. DeMarcus Cousins, C (Lakers): Cousins likely won’t play this season, but that doesn’t mean the Lakers can’t use him as a salary-matching piece in a trade. Three Lakers players have de facto no-trade clauses, and most of the rest of the roster earns less than Cousins, making him one of the club’s most obvious trade chips by default.
10. Mike Muscala, F/C (Thunder): Like the Warriors, the Thunder could benefit financially from trading a minimum-salary veteran, then replacing him with a new player on a smaller, prorated minimum deal. Making that move with the struggling Muscala would allow Oklahoma City to sneak below the tax.
11. Stanley Johnson, F (Raptors): If the Raptors pursue a smaller-scale trade, Johnson looks like one of the team’s most expendable pieces. He’s earning $3.6MM, but has barely played at all in his first season in Toronto.
12. Dewayne Dedmon, C (Kings): Dedmon is another free agent signing that hasn’t exactly worked out as his new team planned, as Richaun Holmes has usurped him as Sacramento’s starting center. The Kings will likely be patient with Dedmon, their second-highest-paid player, but if a favorable change-of-scenery opportunity arises, they’ll surely consider it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.