Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill will hold a live chat Thursday at 11 am Central time (noon Eastern) exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Use the link below to ask a question in advance, participate in the live event and read the transcript afterward.
There are currently 53 entries on our list of traded player exceptions available to teams around the league. The vast majority of those exceptions - which allow a team to take on a certain amount of salary without sending out equivalent matching salary - won't expire until after the 2026 trade deadline, but the majority of them will also expire without being used.
In many cases, it's impractical for a team to use a trade exception. The exception might be too small to be legitimately useful, or the team might not be in position to add more salary to its books due to its position relative to the luxury tax line or the tax aprons.
In some instances, the best a team can do with an exception is to roll it over for another year. For instance, if a club holds a $10MM trade exception and ends up swapping one $10MM player for another, it could use the exception to acquire the new player, creating a new $10MM TPE for the outgoing player.
However, there are a handful of trade exceptions across the league that could be genuinely valuable at this year's trade deadline, allowing teams to absorb salary without sending out any themselves. We're taking a closer look in the space below at those exceptions, which will be worth monitoring in the coming months.
When ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news in September that Cam Thomas had accepted his qualifying offer from Brooklyn, he noted within his report that the Nets guard should be better positioned in free agency next summer -- not just because he'll be unrestricted, but because there are "at least 10 teams are set to have cap space."
While it's true that unrestricted free agency should be more favorable to navigate for Thomas than restricted free agency was, it feels premature to assume that there will be double-digit teams with cap room next offseason.
For one, some of the teams projected to operate under the cap in 2026 could make in-season trades that add salary to their books for next season and beyond. Additionally, even if those clubs don't take on any future salary in the coming months, they may not end up having cap room available, depending on what happens with their own free agents.
In the space below, we're taking a closer early look at the teams best positioned to have cap room in 2026 and weighing how realistic it is that they'll take that path.
Let's dive in...
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included Ja Morant's future with the Grizzlies, Patrick Williams' improvement in Chicago, the Pelicans' disastrous start, the chances of a Pacers' tank job and more!
Our latest Front Office mailbag covers questions about the Mavericks' backcourt, the Raptors' slow start to the season, and what an RJ Barrett trade might look like. The questions have been lightly edited for clarity.
Ben asks:
With Kyrie Irving out for most (if not all) of the season, Dallas is a bit lacking in the ball-handling department, which probably coaxed them into experimenting with Cooper Flagg at point guard. It's early, but this doesn't seem to be working out particularly well. How much patience do you expect coach Jason Kidd to have with this setup before the lineup gets adjusted, and do you expect the Mavericks to target any point guards before the deadline?
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Bulls' options amid their 4-0 start, the Heat's dispute with the Hornets over the Terry Rozier trade, the likelihood of Jayson Tatum playing this season, how Austin Reaves' stardom will affect the Lakers financially and more!
This week's Front Office mailbag covers a blockbuster trade idea. The question has been lightly edited for clarity.
Greg asks:
Do you see any logic at the deadline of a three-team deal like this:
- Bucks receive: Karl-Anthony Towns, Jerami Grant, Miles McBride, their picks back from Portland and second-rounders from Knicks.
- Knicks receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma, Gary Trent Jr.
- Trail Blazers receive: Mikal Bridges
- Note: Bridges can't be traded until February 1, 2026.
In this case the Bucks can stay competitive for a few years and have control of their picks from '28 and beyond. Portland gets off Grant deal. Thoughts?
Before I get into whether I see the logic in this blockbuster trade idea, let's first take a quick look at the mechanics involved.
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the prevalence of gambling ads on NBA games, Victor Wembanyama's MVP potential, the Rockets' need for a lead guard, Jonathan Kuminga's future with the Warriors and more!
We've finally arrived at the last day of the 2025 NBA offseason. In less than 36 hours, the 2025/26 season will tip off with the defending champion Thunder hosting former OKC star Kevin Durant and the Rockets.
Durant is one of three players - along with a pair of Trail Blazers - who worked out a contract extension with his new team on Monday. With the deadline looming for players to sign rookie scale extensions in 2025, we're using the space below to examine which players from the 2022 draft class are most likely to finalize new deals of their own in the coming hours.
We're also taking a closer look at some of the players who got Exhibit 10 bonuses below the max, revisiting the Nets' decision to cut Kobe Bufkin, and explaining why the waiver wire is worth watching on Monday.
Let's dive in...
With the 2025/26 season about to get underway, Hoops Rumors is starting a weekly mailbag for Front Office members. Our first mailbag covers a couple of teams in the Southwest Division.
Ben asks:
Memphis' center depth is looking fairly shady coming into the season with all of the injuries they're facing. Do you see them sticking with the status quo, or could you envision transactions being made to address this issue? Might a trade with Houston, who could use backcourt help in the wake of the VanVleet injury make sense, or would a trade between contending division rivals be unlikely?
In case you missed it, the Grizzlies announced toward the end of September that three key big men -- all of whom play center at times -- would likely miss several weeks of action.
- At the time, Memphis said 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., who is recovering from July surgery for a turf toe injury, was expected to return one-to-three weeks from now. He appears to be ahead of schedule -- he played 22-plus minutes in Wednesday's preseason loss to Charlotte.
- Second-year center Zach Edey, who is recovering from offseason ankle surgery, could be back sometime in November.
- Key reserve Brandon Clarke will reportedly be out until at least November after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure to address synovitis in his right knee. The team said this issue was not a result of the March PCL sprain which cut Clarke's '24/25 season short.