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Five Players On Two-Way Deals Who Could Be Promoted

December 13th, 2024 at 10:52am CST by Rory Maher

As Luke Adams explains in our glossary entry, the two-way contract was introduced in the NBA’s 2017 collective bargaining agreement, with additional changes ratified in the 2023 CBA. Players who signed two-way deals before the season began will earn $578,577 in 2024/25, half of the rookie minimum.

There are certain stipulations for players on two-way contracts. They are not eligible for the postseason, and if a team has a full 15-man standard roster, they can only be active for up to 50 games. In cases where a team has fewer than 15 players on standard contracts, two-way players are even more restricted in how many games they’re permitted to be active.

Three players on two-way contracts have already been converted to standard deals in ’24/25 — Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jay Huff each received four-year deals from the Grizzlies, who used part of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to complete the transactions. The Knicks also promoted rookie big man Ariel Hukporti a two-year standard contract using the minimum-salary exception.

Here are five more players on two-way deals who are candidates to be promoted to standard contracts.

Ajay Mitchell, G, Thunder

Mitchell is arguably the strongest candidate to be converted to a standard deal. There’s also a straightforward pathway for Oklahoma City to complete the transaction — the team would only need to waive rookie big man Branden Carlson, who is on a non-guaranteed standard contract.

A 6’5″ guard from Belgium, Mitchell was the No. 38 overall pick of June’s draft after starring in college at UC Santa Barbara. Not only has the 22-year-old been active for every game thus far for the Thunder, who lead the Western Conference with a 19-5 record, he has also appeared in all 24 contests as a rotation regular, averaging 5.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.7 APG and 0.9 SPG, with a shooting line of .478/.418/.800 in 16.0 MPG.

Brandon Boston, G/F, Pelicans

The No. 51 overall pick of the 2021 draft, Boston spent his first three seasons on a standard deal with the Clippers, who let him walk in free agency over the offseason. He wound up signing an Exhibit 10 deal with San Antonio for training camp, was released before the season started, and was claimed off waivers by New Orleans and converted to a two-way deal.

It turned out to be a shrewd decision, as the 23-year-old has played a significant role for the injury-ravaged Pelicans, averaging 12.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.5 SPG in 23 games, including 10 starts (27.5 MPG). While Boston hasn’t been the most efficient scorer — his shooting slash line is .436/.323/.851, with a 53.8% true shooting percentage — he’s one of the few (active) players on the roster who can create offense for himself and others.

New Orleans only has 14 players on standard contracts right now and has shown a reluctance to carry a 15th man due to luxury tax concerns, so the Pelicans are unlikely to consider a promotion for Boston until he has reached his game limit or the team has ducked below the tax line with a trade.

Jamison Battle, F, Raptors

An undrafted rookie out of Ohio State, Battle has been active for 25 of Toronto’s 26 games, averaging 5.8 PPG and 2.0 RPG while shooting 44.0% from long distance in 24 appearances (13.6 MPG).

Although there’s a pathway to convert the 24-year-old sharpshooter, it would require the Raptors to cut a veteran — perhaps big man Bruno Fernando, who is on a non-guaranteed contract. There’s no rush for Toronto to make a decision on Fernando until the Jan. 7 deadline though, so if Battle does get promoted, I’d expect it to occur later in the season.

Dru Smith, G, Heat

At first glance, Smith doesn’t seem like the most obvious candidate to have his two-way contract converted. The 26-year-old missed most of last season with a torn ACL, and has only appeared in 10 games thus far in ’24/25.

However, he has played a major role off the bench lately. As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, Smith logged a career-high 34 minutes in Thursday’s victory over Toronto, including the entire fourth quarter for the third straight game, earning praise from team captain Bam Adebayo.

“He’s just making the right plays every time down the court,” Adebayo said of Smith’s impact.

The tricky part about converting Smith is the Heat have a high payroll, which is why they’re only carrying 14 players on standard contracts. They’ll likely wait until after the trade deadline so that they don’t surpass the second tax apron and limit their trade options, but if Smith keeps playing like he has been lately, it seems like a matter of when, not if, he gets promoted.

[UPDATE: The Heat’s impending trade of Thomas Bryant could open the door for Smith to be promoted sooner rather than later.

Jordan Miller, F, Clippers

Second-year forward Miller rounds out our five-player list. In 14 appearances in ’24/25, the 2023 second-round pick has averaged 7.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.3 APG in 16.3 MPG, with a shooting line of .467/.304/.773. Those numbers might not jump off the page, but Miller is a solid, versatile defender who can drive, draw fouls, and create for himself and others.

With Derrick Jones (hamstring strain) out for at least a couple weeks and Kawhi Leonard (knee) still ramping up to make his season debut, Miller has a major opportunity to make himself an indispensable part of head coach Tyronn Lue‘s rotation.

In order for Miller to be promoted, the Clips would need to either waive someone from their standard 15-man roster or make a trade. P.J. Tucker is the team’s most obvious candidate to be traded or released.

Some other two-way players to keep an eye on:

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How Injuries To Players On Non-Guaranteed Contracts Have Impacted Teams’ Caps

December 6th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Luke Adams

In most cases, an NBA team has the ability to waive a player on a non-guaranteed contract at any time before the league-wide salary guarantee date on January 7 to avoid being on the hook for the remainder of that player’s salary.

However, that equation changes if the player is injured at the time he’s placed on waivers. In that case, one of two rules applies:

  1. If the player’s contract includes Exhibit 9 language, the team incurs a cap hit of $15K when the injured player is waived.
  2. If the player’s contract does not include Exhibit 9 language and he’s waived on or before January 7, the team continues to pay the player until he has fully recovered from the injury or for the rest of the season, whichever comes first.

Cases that fall into the first category often fly under the radar unless the injury is serious or the player is a well-known veteran, since $15K isn’t enough to make a noticeable dent in a team’s overall salary. However, there were a couple notable instances this fall of players on Exhibit 9 contracts suffering injuries and counting against their respective teams’ caps for $15K.

One was Knicks guard Landry Shamet, who appeared on track to make New York’s opening night roster before he dislocated his shoulder in the preseason. The Knicks waived Shamet and took on a $15K cap hit in the process, which isn’t entirely insignificant for a team currently operating just $581K below its second-apron hard cap. That extra $15K cap charge won’t majorly alter the Knicks’ plans, but it’ll force the team to wait a couple extra days to fit a 15th man under its hard cap later in the season.

Lakers camp invitee Jordan Goodwin also sustained an injury during the preseason, resulting in a $15K cap hit. Los Angeles had been operating just $45K below the second apron, so accounting for Goodwin’s $15K cap charge moved the team to within $30K of the second apron. Again, that shouldn’t really affect the way the Lakers handle business on the trade market or in free agency during the season, but even that slight difference is notable for a team operating with such a razor-thin margin below the restrictive second apron.

Spurs camp invitee Nathan Mensah is the other player who was injured in camp and left his team with a $15K cap charge. But San Antonio is operating way below the luxury tax line and will barely notice that extra $15K.

Exhibit 9 contracts are only effect during the summer and preseason. Once the regular season begins, there are no players on contracts with Exhibit 9 language — a player like Shamet, if he had made the Knicks’ regular season roster, would have had his Exhibit 9 contract turned into a standard one-year non-guaranteed deal.

That means the second rule outlined above applies to any player on a non-guaranteed contract who suffers an injury between opening night and January 7. Pacers center James Wiseman is the most noteworthy example so far in 2024/25.

Wiseman remains on Indiana’s roster for now and his contract is still non-guaranteed, but even if the club waives him today, his full $2,237,691 cap figure will remain on the Pacers’ cap for the rest of ’24/25, since his torn Achilles tendon is expected to sideline him for the rest of the season. Indiana has to continue paying Wiseman until he recovers from his injury or until the end of the season, so waiving him will create no cap relief.

While the Pacers aren’t right up against a hard cap or an apron threshold like the Knicks and Lakers are, the $2.2MM+ cap charge for Wiseman is far more significant than a $15K hit for an Exhibit 9 player, and it could have a real impact on what Indiana can do on the trade market. Currently, the team is hovering just $500K below the luxury tax line.

The Pacers will want to avoid becoming a taxpayer this season, so their ability to take on an extra salary in a trade is now noticeably more limited than it would be if they could cut Wiseman and remove more than two-thirds of his cap hit from their books.

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NBA Waiver Order Now Based On 2024/25 Records

December 1st, 2024 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

As of December 1, the NBA’s waiver priority order is determined by teams’ current-year records, rather than the previous season’s results.

That means, starting today, the waiver order for this season is based on teams’ 2024/25 records, with the worst teams getting the highest priority. In other words, if two teams place a claim on the same player, the team lower in this season’s NBA standings will be awarded that player.

Up until today, the waiver claim order was based on which teams had the worst records in 2023/24.

Waiver claims are relatively rare in the NBA, but it’s still worth noting which teams will have the first crack at intriguing players who may be cut over the next few weeks or months.

[RELATED: 2024/25 NBA Waiver Claims]

Here’s what the teams at the top of the NBA’s waiver order look like as of today:

  1. Washington Wizards (2-16)
  2. New Orleans Pelicans (4-16)
  3. Utah Jazz (4-15)
  4. Philadelphia 76ers (4-14)
  5. Toronto Raptors (5-15)
  6. Charlotte Hornets (6-14)
  7. Chicago Bulls (8-13)
  8. Portland Trail Blazers (8-12)
  9. Detroit Pistons (9-13)
  10. Brooklyn Nets (9-11) (tie)
    Indiana Pacers (9-11) (tie)
    Sacramento Kings (9-11) (tie)

In instances where multiple teams have identical records, head-to-head record for the current season is used to break ties — the team with the worst winning percentage in head-to-head games gets the higher priority. If the tied teams have yet to face one another or if they’ve split their head-to-head matchups, a coin flip determines priority for those clubs.

If a waived player can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception, a team must use a mid-level exception (non-taxpayer or room), bi-annual exception, trade exception, a disabled player exception, or cap room to absorb his salary.

Most teams, especially those operating below the tax aprons, have at least one of those exceptions available to place a waiver claim, but it’s worth noting that a club with a top priority won’t be in position to nab just anyone who reaches waivers.

The Hornets, for example, don’t have cap space available to place a waiver claim on any player earning more than the minimum, and the only cap exception they have on hand is a small ($1,157,297) portion of the room exception. So despite their spot near the top of the waiver order, their ability to claim players will be pretty limited.

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Trade Rules For Non-Guaranteed Salaries

November 30th, 2024 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Under past NBA Collective Bargaining Agreements, up until the 2016/17 season, a player’s full cap hit was used for salary-matching purposes in trades, whether or not his salary was guaranteed. If a player had an $10MM salary with a partial guarantee of $1MM, his outgoing salary in a trade was the same as it would have been for a player who had a fully guaranteed $10MM contract.

That’s no longer the case, however. Now, only the guaranteed portion of a player’s contract counts for outgoing salary purposes in a trade, limiting the appeal of non-guaranteed salaries as trade chips.

This detail is crucial for determining how much salary a team can acquire in a trade — unless a team is under the cap, the amount of salary it sends out in a trade dictates how much salary it can take back. The amount of salary an over-the-cap team can acquire in a trade ranges from 100% to 200% of its outgoing salary, depending on exactly how much salary the team is sending out and the team’s proximity to a tax apron.

Under the old system, it might have made sense for a cap-strapped club to trade a player with a guaranteed salary for a player earning an equivalent non-guaranteed salary — the cap-strapped club could then waive that newly-acquired player to cut costs. That’s no longer a viable strategy.

Complicating matters further is the fact that a team can’t simply circumvent the new rules by trading a player before a league year ends on June 30, then having his new team waive him once his new non-guaranteed cap hit goes into effect on July 1. After the end of the regular season, a player’s outgoing salary for trade purposes is the lesser of his current-year salary and the guaranteed portion of his salary for the following season.

Here’s a practical example: During the 2024 offseason, the Warriors explored trade scenarios involving Chris Paul, who made $30.8MM in 2023/24 and had a non-guaranteed $30MM salary for ’24/25. Because the ’23/24 season was over, Paul’s outgoing salary for matching purposes would have been $0, his guarantee for ’24/25, which was (far) less than his total 2023/24 salary.

Sending out Paul without guaranteeing any portion of his salary would have been impractical for the Warriors if they hoped to take any salary back themselves, but they did have the ability to partially or fully guarantee his cap hit in order to make the trade math work. For instance, if Golden State had guaranteed $20MM of Paul’s $30MM salary, $20MM would have become his new outgoing amount for matching purposes.

Finding a sweet spot in that scenario was still a challenge. For instance, it would have worked from the Warriors’ perspective to increase Paul’s partial guarantee to $15MM and use his outgoing salary to acquire a player with a $15MM guaranteed salary. But Golden State’s trade partner would have been sending out a $15MM player and having to account for Paul’s full $30MM incoming salary (not just his partial guarantee), so the math likely wouldn’t have worked for that team. Paul was ultimately waived prior to his guarantee deadline when the Warriors couldn’t find a legal deal they liked.

During the first half of a season, the math on non-guaranteed contracts is a little trickier, since the guaranteed portion of a player’s salary increases for each day he’s on the roster.

For example, Pistons big man Paul Reed is making $7,723,000 this season and that amount is non-guaranteed. However, November 30 (the date this article is being published) is the 40th day of the regular season, meaning Reed has already earned 40/174ths of his salary. That works out to $1,775,402, which is what Reed’s outgoing amount for matching purposes would be if he were traded today.

Reed’s outgoing amount will continue to increase every day until January 10, which is the NBA’s league-wide salary guarantee date. At that point, Reed’s $7,723,000 salary would become fully guaranteed and would be his outgoing amount in any trade for the rest of the regular season.

To paint a complete picture of exactly how these new rules work, let’s assume a free agent signed a two-year, $24MM contract during the summer of 2024. His cap hit in each year is $12MM, but the first season of the contract is partially guaranteed for $3MM, while the second year is fully non-guaranteed. Here’s how it would count, for trade purposes, as outgoing salary:

  1. From the date of the signing until the one-quarter mark of the 2024/25 season:
    • $3MM
    • Note: Due to other CBA rules, the player wouldn’t become trade-eligible until at least December 15, 2024 anyway.
  2. From the one-quarter mark of the 2024/25 regular season until all salaries become guaranteed on January 10, 2025:
    • A prorated amount of the salary based on the player’s earnings to date.
    • Note: The player would earn 1/174th of his $12MM salary per day; so 60 days into the season, his outgoing salary in a trade would be $4,137,931 (60/174ths of $12MM).
  3. From January 10, 2025 until the 2025 trade deadline:
    • $12MM
  4. From the day after the team’s 2024/25 season ends until the start of the 2025/26 regular season:
    • $0
  5. From the start of the 2025/26 regular season until salaries become guaranteed on January 10, 2026:
    • A prorated amount of salary based on earnings to date.
    • Note: The player would once again earn 1/174th of his $12MM salary per day; so 10 days into the season, his outgoing salary in a trade would be $689,655 (10/174ths of $12MM).
  6. From January 10, 2026 until the 2026 trade deadline:
    • $12MM

This change to the NBA’s trade rules hasn’t stopped teams from tacking on non-guaranteed years to the end of certain players’ contracts, since those non-guaranteed salaries still provide flexibility. However, we’re not seeing teams construct contracts with non-guaranteed cap hits solely for trade purposes like we occasionally used to.

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.

A previous version of this article was published in 2023.

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2024/25 NBA Disabled Player Exceptions

November 29th, 2024 at 6:18pm CST by Luke Adams

A disabled player exception can be granted when an NBA team has a player go down with an injury deemed to be season-ending. The exception gives the club some additional spending flexibility to add a single-season replacement in the trade market or in free agency

We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions, what they’re worth, and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, a DPE allows a team to sign a player to a one-year contract, trade for a player in the final year of his contract, or place a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract. The exceptions are worth either half the injured player’s salary or the amount of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (whichever amount is less).

Because the rules related to disable player exceptions are somewhat restrictive and the exceptions themselves generally aren’t worth a lot, they often expire without being used. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on which disabled player exceptions have been granted, just in case.

We’ll use this space to break down the teams with disabled player exceptions available for the 2024/25 league year, updating it as the season progresses if more teams are granted DPEs and/or to indicate which ones have been used.

Teams have until January 15 to apply for a disabled player exception and until March 10 to actually use them.

Here’s the list so far:

Available disabled player exceptions:

Williams suffered a major right knee injury on November 23, tearing his ACL, meniscus, and other connected ligaments, bringing his season to an early end.

Charlotte still has plenty of room to operate below the luxury tax line and has already used up most of its room exception, so the disabled player exception actually could come in handy for the team.

A torn ACL abruptly ended Wagner’s season just a few days before Christmas in December. According to Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom, Orlando applied for a disabled player exception prior to the January 15 deadline and was granted one.

The Magic have the second-lowest team salary in the NBA, so they’d be in position to use this exception if an opportunity arises.

Hendricks sustained a non-contact fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle in just the third game of his second NBA season on October 28 and underwent season-ending surgery in early November. The Jazz applied for and were granted a disabled player exception worth half of his $5.8MM+ salary.

The Jazz are operating far below the luxury tax line, giving them plenty of flexibility to potentially use this exception.

Improbably, both Pacers backup centers sustained season-ending Achilles injuries within the first two weeks of the season, with Wiseman tearing his left Achilles tendon in Indiana’s October 23 season opener, while Jackson tore his right Achilles tendon nine days later.

Neither exception is substantial and the Pacers have other obstacles to consider as they weigh their roster options, including a relatively small gap between their team salary and the luxury tax line. That reduces the likelihood that even one of these DPEs will be used, let alone both.

One of the few bright spots of the Sixers’ season, McCain was the early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year before undergoing surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee. Philadelphia formally ruled McCain out for the season on January 9, allowing the team to apply for and receive a DPE, per Pincus.

Holmes’ rookie season came to an end before it began, as he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in his very first Summer League game in July. As a rookie selected relatively late in the first round (No. 22 overall), Holmes is earning a modest first-year salary of about $3.07MM, so Denver’s disabled player exception is even more modest.

While the Nuggets’ disabled player exception probably won’t do much for them on the trade market, it could have some value in the buyout market. By late February or early March, the prorated minimum salary for a veteran free agent will be well below $1,532,820, so Denver could use their DPE to offer a top target more than the vet’s minimum in an effort to beat out rival suitors.

For now though, the Nuggets have a full 15-man roster, so it remains to be seen whether they’ll be in position to be a player on the buyout market at all.

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NBA Stars Affected By Player Participation Policy In 2024/25

November 27th, 2024 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

As we outlined earlier this week in a Hoops Rumors glossary entry, the NBA’s player participation policy – instituted in 2023 – is designed to reduce instances of teams resting healthy players during the regular season.

The player participation policy is focused almost exclusively on players considered “stars” and includes rules prohibiting those stars from sitting out NBA Cup games or nationally televised games without an approved reason (including a legitimate injury). A team can also run afoul of the policy if it rests more than one star in the same game, repeatedly rests a star in road games instead of home games, or shuts down a star for an extended period of time.

For the purposes of the policy, the league defines a “star” as a player who has been named to an All-Star or All-NBA team at least once during the prior three seasons.

That means a player who earned an All-Star or All-NBA berth in 2022, 2023, and/or 2024 would be considered a “star” during the 2024/25 season and would be subject to the restrictions of the player participation policy.

Here’s the full list of the players who meet that criteria:

  1. Trae Young (Hawks)
  2. Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
  3. Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
  4. Jrue Holiday (Celtics) *
  5. LaMelo Ball (Hornets)
  6. Zach LaVine (Bulls)
  7. Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)
  8. Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers)
  9. Darius Garland (Cavaliers)
  10. Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
  11. Kyrie Irving (Mavericks)
  12. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
  13. Stephen Curry (Warriors) *
  14. Draymond Green (Warriors)
  15. Andrew Wiggins (Warriors)
  16. Fred VanVleet (Rockets)
  17. Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers)
  18. Pascal Siakam (Pacers)
  19. James Harden (Clippers) *
  20. Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
  21. LeBron James (Lakers) *
  22. Anthony Davis (Lakers)
  23. Ja Morant (Grizzlies)
  24. Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies)
  25. Jimmy Butler (Heat) *
  26. Bam Adebayo (Heat)
  27. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
  28. Damian Lillard (Bucks) **
  29. Khris Middleton (Bucks)
  30. Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)
  31. Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
  32. Julius Randle (Timberwolves)
  33. Dejounte Murray (Pelicans)
  34. Zion Williamson (Pelicans)
  35. Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
  36. Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)
  37. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
  38. Paolo Banchero (Magic)
  39. Joel Embiid (Sixers)
  40. Paul George (Sixers) **
  41. Tyrese Maxey (Sixers)
  42. Devin Booker (Suns)
  43. Kevin Durant (Suns) *
  44. DeMar DeRozan (Kings) *
  45. Domantas Sabonis (Kings)
  46. De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
  47. Chris Paul (Spurs) *
  48. Scottie Barnes (Raptors)
  49. Lauri Markkanen (Jazz)

Note: The players marked with an asterisk (*) were either 35 years old on opening night or have accumulated 34,000+ career regular minutes or 1,000 career regular season and playoff games, making them eligible for pre-approved rest nights during back-to-back sets. Players marked with two asterisks (**) are on track to surpass either the 34,000-minute or 1,000-game mark this season.

A total of 16 teams have multiple players considered “stars” for the purposes of the player participation policy in 2024/25, while just four clubs (the Nets, Pistons, Trail Blazers, and Wizards) don’t have a single player affected.

This group of players could grow following the 2025 All-Star Game. A player who isn’t one of 49 currently listed above would have his name added if he’s selected as an All-Star this season. He would be subject to player participation policy restrictions for games played after All-Star weekend.

At the time of publication, two teams have received fines worth $100K apiece as a result of player participation policy violations this season: the Sixers (Embiid) and the Hawks (Young).

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Player Participation Policy

November 26th, 2024 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

After previously implementing a “player resting policy” in 2017 in an attempt to reduce instances of teams holding healthy players out of games – particularly nationally televised games and road contests – the NBA modified those rules ahead of the 2023/24 season, introducing a new set of guidelines known as the Player Participation Policy.

The stated aim of the policy is to promote player participation over the course of the NBA’s 82-game regular season. It specifically focuses on players considered “stars,” defined by the policy as players who have made an All-Star team or an All-NBA team in any of the three prior seasons (or during the current season, once the All-Star Game has passed).

Unless a team has an approved reason for a star player not participating in a game, that team will be considered in potential violation of the player participation policy in the following scenarios:

  1. If a team rests a star player in a game that is nationally televised or in an in-season tournament (NBA Cup) game.
  2. If a team rests more than one star in the same game.
  3. If a team repeatedly rests a star in road games instead of home games (teams must maintain a balance between one-game absences occurring on the road or at home, with the preference being for rest days to occur in home games).
  4. If a team shuts down a healthy star for an extended period of time (e.g. if a tanking team stops playing one if its star players down the stretch).
  5. If a star who is being rested is not on the bench and visible to fans.

An automatic NBA investigation is triggered in the event that a star player who is not injured misses a nationally televised or NBA Cup game or if multiple non-injured star players miss the same game. An investigation is also triggered if a player, agent, or team representative – such as the general manager or head coach – makes a statement that contradicts the player’s listing on the injury report.

The league can also open an investigation at its own discretion in other instances. For example, if a star player is continually held out of road games instead of home games or begins to play a “materially reduced role,” the NBA could look into the matter.

A team found to have violated the player participation policy is subject to a fine. The amounts of those fines are as follows:

  • First violation: $100K
  • Second violation: $250K
  • Subsequent violations: $1MM more than the previous penalty (ie. $1.25MM for the third violation, $2.25MM for the fourth violation, and so on)

If the star player has a legitimate reason for being held out of action, the team won’t be penalized for violating the player participation policy. Of course, injuries are the most common reason why players miss games, but there are other exceptions the NBA allows.

For instance, a team is permitted to hold a star player out of one game in each of its back-to-back sets due to age (for a player who is 35 or older as of opening night), career workload (for a player who has logged either 34,000+ career regular season and playoff minutes or appeared in 1,000 career regular season and playoff games), or injury history (evaluated by the league on a case-by-case basis).

If one of the two games in a back-to-back set is nationally televised or is an NBA Cup game, a player who receives league approval to sit out one end of the back-to-back must play in that one. If both games meet that criteria, or if neither game does, it doesn’t matter which one the player misses.

Additionally, if a team has two stars who have been approved to sit out one end of back-to-backs, they can’t both miss the same game — one star must appear in the first one, while the other plays in the second.

Under the player participation policy, the NBA allows a star player to be held out of a game for personal reasons, such as the birth of a child or a death in the family, or in “rare and unusual circumstances,” which must be approved by the league office. The league also affords teams some end-of-season leeway. For example, a star player could be rested for the final game of the regular season if his team has already clinched a specific playoff seed.

A team may be investigated for one possible violation of the NBA’s player participation policy and end up being fined for a different violation. That occurred when the league looked into the Sixers’ decision to sit Joel Embiid for a nationally televised game near the start of the 2024/25 season.

Although the team had insisted Embiid experienced no setbacks after suiting up for the Olympics, the NBA found the big man had a legitimate knee injury and fined Philadelphia $100K for inconsistent statements about Embiid’s health that misrepresented his condition.

The NBA advises teams to “err on the side of over-communicating” with the league office to ensure they’re complying with the player participation policy, which means contacting the league ahead of time to explain a star player’s potential absence instead of waiting until after the NBA launches an investigation.

The list of stars affected by the player participation policy during the 2024/25 season can be found right here.

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used to confirm details in this post.

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Community Shootaround: 2024/25 NBA Rookie Class

November 20th, 2024 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Leading up to the 2024 NBA draft, we heard over and over again that the class didn’t feature the type of star-level talent at the top that we’d seen in recent years, when No. 1 overall picks like Victor Wembanyama and Paolo Banchero went on to earn Rookie of the Year awards. The common refrain was that some of 2024’s top prospects had the ability to eventually become impact players, but none were likely to be immediate difference-makers.

[RELATED: 2024 NBA Draft Results]

So far, that has certainly been the case for the players drafted with the top few picks in June.

Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick, is shooting just 38.6% from the field and 25.0% on three-pointers. Wizards center Alex Sarr is among the NBA’s leaders in blocked shots (2.1 per game), but the No. 2 overall pick has been ineffective on offense, with a 35.1% field goal percentage, including 20.3% from beyond the arc. No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard has found playing time hard to come by with the Rockets and has averaged a modest 3.7 points in 11.9 minutes per game.

Still, while the top 2024 picks aren’t exactly off to red-hot starts, there are a handful of rookies who have exceeded expectations this fall. A pair of non-lottery selections lead the way — Jared McCain of the Sixers and Dalton Knecht of the Lakers, who were drafted 16th and 17th respectively, are already making teams regret passing on them.

McCain has been one of the few bright spots for a 2-11 Sixers team, averaging 25.2 points per game on .482/.441/1.000 shooting in six appearances since becoming a regular rotation player. Knecht had a monster night on Tuesday to lead the Lakers over the Jazz, racking up 37 points and matching an NBA rookie record with nine three-pointers. He has now averaged 24.3 PPG on .673/.677/.857 shooting in his past four outings.

After Tuesday’s game, LeBron James was asked about Knecht and admitted that the Lakers drafting him at No. 17 was less about the scouting department finding a diamond in the rough and more about L.A. lucking out, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays.

“The other 16 teams f—ed it up,” James said. “Did anybody watch him? S–t. … You don’t ‘find’ an SEC player of the year.”

Besides McCain and Knecht, there are a few other rookies who have stood out in the early going. The Grizzlies have two of them, with lottery pick Zach Edey averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game as the team’s primary center and second-rounder Jaylen Wells chipping in 11.5 PPG with a .368 3PT% as a rotation mainstay.

Wizards guard Carlton Carrington (10.4 PPG, 5.0 APG, .389 3PT%), Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski (7.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.2 APG), and Suns defensive ace Ryan Dunn are among the other rookies who have made positive first impressions.

We want to know what you think. Have the results through the season’s first four weeks made your change your Rookie of the Year prediction? Are you concerned about any of the top picks in this year’s class or do you think it’s just a matter of time until they start making strides (and shots)? Do you expect McCain and Knecht to continue playing at – or even anywhere near – their current levels? Which player looks to you like the steal of the 2024 draft?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts on this year’s NBA rookie class!

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Cash Sent, Received In NBA Trades For 2024/25

November 19th, 2024 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

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 2024/25 NBA season, the limit is $7,240,000. 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 $7,240,000 in one trade, then receives $7,240,000 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 club acquires a second-round pick in exchange for cash, or sends out an unwanted contract along with cash – or it can be a necessity to meet CBA requirements.

For instance, when the Hornets agreed to acquire Devonte’ Graham and a second-round pick from the Spurs over the summer, San Antonio essentially just wanted to clear some salary and Charlotte just wanted that draft pick. But the Spurs had to receive something in the deal, so the Hornets sent $110K, the minimum amount that can change hands in any trade involving cash.

Teams operating above the second tax apron are prohibited from sending out cash in a trade. For the time being, that restriction applies to four teams: the Suns, Celtics, Timberwolves, and Bucks. Those teams could only send out cash if they dip below the second apron.

We’ll use the space below to track each team’s cash sent and received in trades for the 2024/25 season, updating the info as necessary leading up to the 2025 trade deadline and for the first part of the 2025 offseason next June. These totals will reset once the ’25/26 league year begins on July 1.

Note: Data from Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom was used to confirm incoming and outgoing amounts for several teams.

Atlanta Hawks

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Boston Celtics

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Note: The Celtics are ineligible to send out cash as long as they’re operating over the second apron.

Brooklyn Nets

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Charlotte Hornets

  • Cash available to send: $7,020,000
  • Cash available to receive: $0
    • Received $7,240,000 from Knicks.

Chicago Bulls

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,240,000
    • Received $2,000,000 from Kings.

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Dallas Mavericks

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,185,000
    • Received $55,000 from Jazz.

Denver Nuggets

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,130,000

Detroit Pistons

  • Cash available to send: $7,020,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Golden State Warriors

  • Cash available to send: $3,640,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,130,000

Houston Rockets

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Indiana Pacers

  • Cash available to send: $4,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Los Angeles Clippers

  • Cash available to send: $2,060,475
    • Sent $4,327,525 to Jazz.
    • Sent $852,000 to Jazz.
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Los Angeles Lakers

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,185,000
    • Received $55,000 from Jazz.

Memphis Grizzlies

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Miami Heat

  • Cash available to send: $3,176,345
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Milwaukee Bucks

  • Cash available to send: $110,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $4,740,000

Note: The Timberwolves are ineligible to send out cash as long as they’re operating over the second apron.

New Orleans Pelicans

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $6,240,000
    • Received $1,000,000 from Thunder.

New York Knicks

  • Cash available to send: $0
  • Cash available to receive: $5,240,000
    • Received $2,000,000 from Bucks.

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Cash available to send: $6,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Orlando Magic

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Philadelphia 76ers

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,130,000

Phoenix Suns

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

Note: The Suns are ineligible to send out cash as long as they’re operating over the second apron.

Portland Trail Blazers

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $4,740,000

Sacramento Kings

  • Cash available to send: $3,240,000
    • Sent $2,000,000 to Bulls.
    • Sent $2,000,000 to Spurs.
  • Cash available to receive: $7,240,000

San Antonio Spurs

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $0
    • Received $1,000,000 from Pacers.
    • Received $110,000 from Hornets.
    • Received $2,000,000 from Kings.
    • Received $4,130,000 from Bucks.

Toronto Raptors

  • Cash available to send: $5,840,000
  • Cash available to receive: $1,740,000
    • Received $3,500,000 from Heat.
    • Received $2,000,000 from Pacers.

Utah Jazz

  • Cash available to send: $7,130,000
  • Cash available to receive: $1,496,820

Washington Wizards

  • Cash available to send: $7,240,000
  • Cash available to receive: $6,240,000
    • Received $1,000,000 from Bucks.
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