Traded First-Round Picks For 2022 NBA Draft
The 2022 NBA draft is still over nine months away, but a number of teams have already traded away their first-round picks for ’22, and more clubs may do so before this season’s trade deadline.
We’ll use the space below to keep tabs on each team’s first round pick for 2022, continually updating it as necessary throughout the year.
We’ve listed all 30 teams here, so even if a team hasn’t traded its first-round pick, that will be noted. We’ll also provide details on the protections for each traded pick, including what happens to the pick in 2023 if it doesn’t change hands in 2022.
Here’s the full breakdown on the status of each 2022 first round pick:
Atlantic
- Boston Celtics: Traded to Spurs (top-four protected).
- If this pick lands in its protected range, the Celtics would owe the Spurs their 2023 first-round pick (top-four protected).
- Brooklyn Nets: Traded to Rockets or Heat.
- Houston will receive the two most favorable picks of the Nets’, Heat’s, and Rockets’ first-rounders; Miami will receive the least favorable of the three, unless the Heat’s pick is in the top 14, in which case it would be protected and Houston would receive the Nets’ first-rounder and their own first-rounder.
- Houston will receive the two most favorable picks of the Nets’, Heat’s, and Rockets’ first-rounders; Miami will receive the least favorable of the three, unless the Heat’s pick is in the top 14, in which case it would be protected and Houston would receive the Nets’ first-rounder and their own first-rounder.
- New York Knicks: Own pick.
- Philadelphia 76ers: Traded to Nets.
- The Nets have the option to defer this traded pick to 2023.
- Toronto Raptors: Traded to Spurs (top-14 protected).
Central
- Chicago Bulls: Own pick.
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Traded to Pacers (top-14 protected).
- If this pick lands in its protected range, the Cavaliers would owe the Pacers their 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected).
- Detroit Pistons: Traded to Thunder (top-16 protected).
- If this pick lands in its protected range, the Pistons would owe the Thunder their 2023 first-round pick (top-18 protected).
- Indiana Pacers: Own pick.
- Milwaukee Bucks: Own pick.
Southeast
- Atlanta Hawks: Own pick.
- Charlotte Hornets: Traded to Hawks (top-18 protected).
- If this pick lands in its protected range, the Hornets would owe the Hawks their 2023 first-round pick (top-16 protected).
- Miami Heat: Own pick or Rockets‘ pick or Nets‘ pick.
- Houston will receive the two most favorable picks of the Nets’, Heat’s, and Rockets’ first-rounders; Miami will receive the least favorable of the three, unless the Heat’s pick is in the top 14, in which case it would be protected and Houston would receive the Nets’ first-rounder and their own first-rounder.
- If the Heat keep their own first-round pick, they would instead send the Rockets a 2022 second-round pick (Denver’s or Philadelphia’s, whichever is least favorable).
- Houston will receive the two most favorable picks of the Nets’, Heat’s, and Rockets’ first-rounders; Miami will receive the least favorable of the three, unless the Heat’s pick is in the top 14, in which case it would be protected and Houston would receive the Nets’ first-rounder and their own first-rounder.
- Orlando Magic: Own pick.
- Washington Wizards: Own pick.
Northwest
- Denver Nuggets: Own pick.
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Own pick.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Traded to Hawks (top-14 protected).
- If this pick lands in its protected range, the Thunder would instead send their own 2024 and 2025 second-round picks to Atlanta.
- Portland Trail Blazers: Traded to Bulls (top-14 protected).
- If this pick lands in its protected range, the Blazers would owe the Bulls their 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected).
- Utah Jazz: Traded to Grizzlies (top-6 protected).
- If this pick lands in its protected range, the Jazz would owe the Grizzlies their 2023 first-round pick (top-3 protected).
Pacific
- Golden State Warriors: Own pick.
- Los Angeles Clippers: Traded to Thunder.
- Los Angeles Lakers: Traded to Pelicans or Grizzlies.
- New Orleans will receive this pick if it lands in the top 10; Memphis will receive it if it falls between 11-30.
- If the Pelicans get the pick, they’ll send the Grizzlies two future second-round picks (Cleveland’s 2022 second-rounder and New Orleans’ own 2025 second-rounder). If the Grizzlies get the pick, the Pelicans won’t get anything.
- Phoenix Suns: Traded to Thunder (top-12 protected).
- If this pick lands in its protected range, the Suns would owe the Thunder their 2023 first-round pick (top-10 protected).
- Sacramento Kings: Own pick.
Southwest
- Dallas Mavericks: Own pick.
- Houston Rockets: Own pick.
- Memphis Grizzlies: Own pick.
- New Orleans Pelicans: Traded to Trail Blazers (top-four protected) or Hornets (top-14 protected).
- New Orleans will keep this pick if it lands in the top four; Portland will receive it if it falls between 5-14; Charlotte will receive it if it falls between 15-30.
- If this pick lands in the top four or between 15-30, the Pelicans would owe the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected) to Portland.
- If this pick lands in the top 14, the Pelicans would instead send their own 2022 and 2024 second-round picks to Charlotte.
- New Orleans will keep this pick if it lands in the top four; Portland will receive it if it falls between 5-14; Charlotte will receive it if it falls between 15-30.
- San Antonio Spurs: Own pick.
Information from RealGM was used in the creation of this post.
G League’s Mexico City Team To Play In U.S. In 2021/22
As expected, the Mexico City Capitanes will indeed be joining the NBA G League for the 2021/22 season, but they won’t be playing their home games in Mexico, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As Charania explains, ongoing restrictions on international travel related to the coronavirus will prevent the Capitanes from playing in Mexico City in ’21/22. The Raptors found themselves in a similar situation last season, forced to play their home games in Tampa instead of Toronto due to the governmental rules on travel between the U.S. and Canada.
The Capitanes will be based in Fort Worth, Texas for practice and housing purposes in 2021/22, according to Marc Stein of Substack (Twitter link). League sources tell Stein that the team will play all its games in “existing league markets.”
It’s unclear if that means the Capitanes will simply play all their games at their opponent’s arenas, or if they’ll host their home games at nearby arenas if and when they’re available. The Texas Legends (Frisco), Austin Spurs (Austin), and Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Edinburg) are among the other NBAGL teams based in Texas. The Oklahoma City Blue’s home arena also isn’t too far from Fort Worth.
The NBA has yet to formally confirm its plans for the Mexico City Capitanes in 2021/22, but with the G League season inching closer, an official announcement should be coming soon and should provide more clarity on where the club’s home games will take place.
The addition of the Capitanes to the G League for the 2021/22 season means the NBAGL will have 30 teams for the first time — 28 of them are affiliated with NBA clubs. We provided more info on those affiliations last week.
Ryan Arcidiacono To Work Out For Warriors
The Warriors continue to take a look at free agent guards, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Ryan Arcidiacono will work out for the team this week.
Arcidiacono, 27, has spent the last four seasons with the Bulls, averaging 4.8 PPG, 2.2 APG, and 2.0 RPG with a .431/.373/.807 shooting line across 207 total games (17.6 MPG). He signed a two-way deal with the team in 2017, a one-year contract in 2018, and a three-year pact in 2019. Chicago turned down Arcidiacono’s third-year team option in July, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Warriors currently have 16 players on standard contracts, but only 13 are fully guaranteed. While one player without a fully guaranteed contract (Damion Lee) is a safe bet to make the 15-man regular season roster, neither of the other two (Mychal Mulder or Gary Payton II) is a lock.
As Slater observes, Golden State appears to be on the lookout for different options – primarily point guards – who could compete for that 15th roster spot in training camp and the preseason. The Warriors worked out Darren Collison a couple weeks ago.
Sixers, Charles Bassey Remain At Impasse In Contract Talks
On the morning of the July 29 draft, the Sixers sent $2MM to the Pelicans in order to acquire the No. 53 pick, which they used later that night on Western Kentucky big man Charles Bassey. However, a month-and-a-half later, Bassey is one of the only 2021 draft picks who remains unsigned.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported two weeks ago that Bassey planned to sign his one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-salary tender from the 76ers. He hasn’t officially accepted that deal yet, leaving the door open for the two sides to come to a longer-term agreement. However, as Derek Bodner of The Athletic details, the Sixers and Bassey remain at an impasse in their negotiations.
Bassey isn’t upset about being selected by Philadelphia or concerned about a possible lack of playing time behind veteran centers Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond, according to Bodner, who says the dispute between the rookie and the team is “purely contractual.”
As Bodner writes, Bassey and his camp made it clear to teams before the draft that he wasn’t interested in signing a two-way contract, and that he’d be seeking a multiyear deal with a two-year guarantee. Sources tell The Athletic that there was one team willing to meet that asking price if Bassey had gone undrafted, which the 76ers and other teams were aware of at the time of the draft.
While the Sixers are willing to give Bassey a spot on their 15-man roster and not just a two-way deal, they’ve only been willing to guarantee his salary for one season on their three-year offer, says Bodner.
In short, Bassey is seeking a contract that matches the offer he believes he would’ve received if he had gone undrafted, while Philadelphia believes it’s offering a deal that’s more than fair for a player drafted at No. 53.
A multiyear guarantee is rare for a player selected that late in the draft — No. 51 pick Brandon Boston did get a two-year guarantee from the Clippers this year, but everyone else picked in that range, including Luka Garza (No. 52), Sandro Mamukelashvili (No. 54), and Aaron Wiggins (No. 55) signed two-way contracts. Besides Boston, no player selected after No. 43 this year has received a full multiyear guarantee. A year ago, the lowest draftee to receive a two-year guarantee was another Sixer: No. 49 pick Isaiah Joe.
According to Bodner, Bassey has been working out at the Sixers’ training facility and has impressed the coaches and front office personnel who have seen him in action, so he should be in the team’s plans for 2021/22 whether he accepts his one-year tender or works out a longer-term agreement.
If he signs the one-year tender, Bassey would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2022, which would give him the opportunity to bet on himself at that point. If he were to accept Philadelphia’s current offer instead, the 20-year-old would be under team control for two more years, but with no real security, since his salaries for those years would be non-guaranteed.
Thunder Sign Paul Watson To Two-Way Contract
After opening up one of their two-way contract slots by waiving Josh Hall, the Thunder have filled that opening by signing Paul Watson to a two-way deal, reports Kelsea O’Brien of BasketballNews.com (Twitter link).
Watson, 26, made his NBA debut with Atlanta, but spent most of the last two seasons with the Raptors, having signed a two-way contract with Toronto in January of 2020. The former Fresno State standout had that deal converted to a standard contract for the 2020/21 season, then was released last month before his ’21/22 salary became guaranteed.
During his time with Toronto, the 6’6″ swingman appeared in 35 games, averaging 4.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .475/.466/.706 shooting in 10.5 minutes per contest. He spent most of his time in 2019/20 with the Raptors 905 in the G League, putting up an impressive 19.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 1.9 APG on .495/.423/.648 shooting in 30 NBAGL games (35.3 MPG).
Watson and Aaron Wiggins are now Oklahoma City’s two-way players. The team has 18 players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed salaries and three on non-guaranteed deals, leaving a pair of openings on the 20-man training camp roster.
Lakers Trade Marc Gasol, Second-Rounder, Cash To Grizzlies
4:57pm: The trade is official, according to a Grizzlies press release (Twitter link).
1:38pm: The Grizzlies remain active on the trade market, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Memphis has agreed to acquire Marc Gasol, a 2024 second-round pick, and cash from the Lakers in exchange for the draft rights to 2016 second-rounder Wang Zhelin.
The swap will send Gasol back to the team with whom he earned three All-Star berths and a Defensive Player of the Year award, but the reunion will be short-lived. As Wojnarowski explains, the Grizzlies and Gasol have already agreed that he’ll be waived in order to allow him to remain in Spain with his family.
Gasol told reporters following Spain’s elimination from the Olympics last month that he intended to continue his NBA career and play out the last year of his contract with Los Angeles. However, there had been increasing chatter in recent weeks that suggested the veteran center had played his last game as a Laker. As Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group tweets, the “writing was on the wall” for Gasol following L.A.’s signing of DeAndre Jordan on Thursday.
It’s unclear if Gasol is set to retire as a player or if he simply won’t seek a new team right away after being released by the Grizzlies. Either way, the move will open up a roster spot for the Lakers and save them some money, even after accounting for the cash they send to Memphis in the deal.
Taking into account Gasol’s $2.69MM salary and the accompanying luxury-tax penalty, Wojnarowski estimates that L.A. will recoup about $10MM. The Lakers will have 13 players on guaranteed contracts once the deal is finalized, leaving two spots open on the 15-man roster, though the club may only fill one of them for the start of the regular season.
Los Angeles also gets the rights to Wang, the 57th pick in the 2016 draft. However, it looks like he was just included to make the deal legal — he seems unlikely to sign an NBA contract anytime soon.
As for the Grizzlies, this will be their seventh trade of the summer, including the Juan Hernangomez deal with Boston that’s not yet official. Like many of Memphis’ other trades, this one won’t move the needle much, but allows the team to acquire a minor asset in the form of a 2024 second-rounder. That pick will be the Lakers’ own and is unprotected, per Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link).
Until that Hernangomez deal is done, the Grizzlies have an open spot on their 20-man offseason roster, so they’ll likely look to complete the acquisition of Gasol and then release him before finalizing their deal with Boston, in order to avoid having to cut anyone.
The Grizzlies can acquire Gasol without matching salaries because he was signed using the minimum salary exception last offseason and can be acquired using the same exception. The Lakers will create a small trade exception worth Gasol’s outgoing salary ($2.69MM).
Cash Sent, Received In NBA Trades For 2021/22
During each NBA league year, teams face limits on the amount of cash they can send out and receive in trades. Once they reach those limits, they’re no longer permitted to include cash in a deal until the following league year.
For the 2021/22 NBA season, the limit is $5,785,000. If a team is including cash in a deal, the minimum amount required is $110,000.
The limits on sending and receiving cash are separate and aren’t dependent on one another, so if a team sends out $5,785,000 in one trade, then receives $5,785,000 in another, they aren’t back to square one — they’ve reached both limits for the season and can’t make another deal that includes cash.
Adding cash to a deal can serve multiple purposes. It can be a sweetener to encourage a team to make a deal in the first place – like when a team acquires a second-round pick in exchange for cash – or it can be a necessity to meet CBA requirements.
For instance, when the Knicks agreed to turn their signing of Evan Fournier into a sign-and-trade deal to allow the Celtics to create a trade exception, New York acquired two extra second-round picks (one was heavily-protected) along with Fournier. Since the Celtics had to receive something in the deal besides just creating their trade exception, the Knicks agreed to send Boston $110K, the minimum amount that can change hands in any trade involving cash.
We’ll use the space below to track each team’s cash sent and received in trades for the 2021/22 season, updating the info as necessary leading up to the 2022 trade deadline and for the first part of the 2022 offseason next June. These totals will reset once the ’22/23 league year begins next July.
Note: Data from Basketball Insiders and various media reports was used in the creation of this post.
Atlanta Hawks
- Cash available to send: $4,950,411
- Sent $834,589 to Knicks.
- Cash available to receive: $3,785,000
- Received $2,000,000 from Warriors.
Boston Celtics
- Cash available to send: $0
- Cash available to receive: $5,675,000
- Received $110,000 from Knicks.
Brooklyn Nets
- Cash available to send: $0
- Sent $5,785,000 to Pistons.
- Cash available to receive: $3,675,000
Charlotte Hornets
- Cash available to send: $5,785,000
- Cash available to receive: $3,785,000
- Received $2,000,000 from Pelicans.
Chicago Bulls
- Cash available to send: $4,585,000
- Sent $1,200,000 to Pelicans.
- Cash available to receive: $4,685,000
- Received $1,100,000 from Rockets.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Cash available to send: $4,035,000
- Sent $1,750,000 to Kings.
- Cash available to receive: $5,785,000
Dallas Mavericks
- Cash available to send: $5,785,000
- Cash available to receive: $5,785,000
Denver Nuggets
- Cash available to send: $5,585,000
- Sent $200,000 to Spurs.
- Cash available to receive: $5,785,000
Detroit Pistons
- Cash available to send: $5,785,000
- Cash available to receive: $0
- Received $5,785,000 from Nets.
Golden State Warriors
- Cash available to send: $3,785,000
- Sent $2,000,000 to Hawks.
- Cash available to receive: $5,785,000
Raptors Cleared To Return To Toronto For 2021/22
After spending the 2020/21 season playing their home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Raptors will be returning home for the 2021/22 campaign.
The franchise’s preseason schedule, which was formally announced today, includes a pair of home games at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. A team spokesperson confirmed to The Canadian Press (link via Sportsnet.ca) that the Raptors have received government clearance to play at home this season.
The move had been expected due to the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines in both the United States and Canada, as well as the loosening of restrictions at the border. Other Toronto-based sports franchises, including the Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) and Toronto FC (MLS), had resumed hosting U.S. teams at their respective home fields in recent months.
It remains unclear how many fans will be permitted to attend NBA games in Toronto to start the season, according to The Canadian Press. The Raptors’ spokesperson said the club is optimistic about holding full-capacity events at Scotiabank Arena, but those discussions are presumably ongoing.
The team spokesperson also stated that anyone entering Scotiabank Arena as a spectator or media member will be required to show proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a medical exemption.
The Raptors’ first regular season home game will be on October 20 vs. Washington. It will be the first time the club has played a regular season game at Scotiabank Arena in nearly 20 months.
Saturday Is Deadline For Teams To Stretch 2021/22 Salaries
Saturday, September 11 is the last day that NBA teams can waive players and use the stretch provision to spread their 2021/22 cap hits across three seasons, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter). The stretch provision allows teams to gain some short-term relief at the cost of reduced long-term flexibility.
[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 by 11 days to account for the fact that free agency began at the start of August rather than the start of July.
After Saturday, a player who is released between September 12 and the end of the season can have his cap hit(s) in 2022/23 and future years stretched, assuming he’s owed guaranteed money beyond this season. But his ’21/22 cap charge will remain unchanged unless he reaches a buyout agreement with his team.
As Marks observes, this may end up being the first time since it was introduced in 2011 that not a single NBA team utilizes the stretch provision between the start of the league year and the late-summer deadline.
In every other recent offseason, at least three players have had their cap hits stretched after being waived (Twitter link via Marks). This year, teams like the Thunder (Kemba Walker) and Pistons (DeAndre Jordan), who waived players with pricey cap hits for the next two years, could have stretched out the dead money, but opted to keep those salaries confined to the next two seasons rather than spreading them across five years.
However, there are still some situations worth keeping an eye on in advance of Saturday’s deadline, especially for clubs over the luxury tax line.
For instance, we haven’t heard yet whether the Nets plan to stretch Jahlil Okafor‘s $2.13MM cap hit after cutting him on Thursday. Doing so would result in a projected $6.7MM in tax savings for Brooklyn in 2021/22, Marks tweets. However, the team will likely be well over the tax line for multiple years and may prefer to just eat Okafor’s dead money this season rather than having to account for $710K cap hits for three years.
Outside of Brooklyn, the NBA’s current projected taxpayers are the Warriors, Clippers, Bucks, Jazz, Lakers, Sixers, Celtics, and Trail Blazers. If any of those teams intends to waive a player who is owed guaranteed money for 2021/22, now might be the time to do it, in order to spread out that player’s cap hit and reduce this season’s tax bill.
Pacific Notes: Jordan, CP3, Haliburton, Warriors
When DeAndre Jordan signed with the Nets as a free agent in 2019, his friendships with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were key factors in his decision. Having departed Brooklyn this offseason, he made it clear that he remains close with Durant and Irving, but that the time was right for he and the Nets to move in different directions after he fell out of the team’s rotation at the end of last season.
“It was just both parties wanted to figure out something that was best for both of us,” Jordan said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And I feel like they gave me that respect as a veteran player to be able to understand that I wanted to be able to compete. … It just worked better for both of us.”
Jordan isn’t necessarily as close with anyone on his new team (the Lakers) as he was with Durant and Irving, but he said on Thursday that he’s looking forward to getting the opportunity to team up with several veterans that he has matched up against frequently over the years.
“Just to be able to be with a team like this with guys that you respect and guys that you’ve competed against for the past — going into my 14th season has been great in seeing, ‘I wonder what it would be like to play with this guy,'” Jordan said. “And you always think about that, whether you tell people or not.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Suns point guard Chris Paul called it an “easy decision” to return to Phoenix as a free agent this offseason, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “Not only did I love the basketball aspect, I’m close to family (in Los Angeles) and Phoenix is a family, too,” Paul said. “I’m excited to be back there.”
- Tyrese Haliburton‘s name has popped up in trade speculation this offseason, though multiple reports have stated the Kings don’t intend to include him in any offer for Ben Simmons. For his part, Haliburton laughed off those trade rumors, as James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “I kind of just laugh about it,” Haliburton said during an appearance on J.J. Redick‘s The Old Man and the Three podcast. “I don’t really think it’s that realistic. I don’t see it happening.”
- Seth Cooper, who had been a player development coach in Golden State, will be the head coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League this season, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Kris Weems, who was the head coach in Santa Cruz, will join the NBA team as a player development coach, Slater adds.