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As of the 2024/25 league year, the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, room exception, and bi-annual exception can all be used to acquire players via waiver claims, giving teams new ways to land other clubs’ roster casualties whose salaries don’t exceed the MLE (approximately $14.1MM in ’25/26)

[RELATED: Values Of 2025/26 Mid-Level, Bi-Annual Exceptions]

In the past, in order to claim a player off waivers, a team generally had to be able to fit the player’s entire salary into cap room, a traded player exception, or a disabled player exception.

Despite the new options available to teams eyeing a player who has recently been cut, waiver claims will likely continue to be infrequent going forward. Once the draft and the early part of the free agent period have passed, many teams around the NBA aren’t in position to take on additional salary or don’t have excess roster spots available for newcomers. Plus, most of the players who end up on waivers are being cut because their current contracts aren’t considered great values.

With all that in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise that the players most frequently claimed on waivers are those on minimum-salary deals, since any club is eligible to place a claim on those players using the minimum salary exception.

Even for minimum-salary claims, there are some caveats — the minimum salary exception can only be used to sign players for up to two years, so the same rules apply to waiver claims. If a player signed a three-year, minimum salary contract, he can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception, even if he’s in the final year of his deal. And if a player received more than the minimum salary in an earlier season, he can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception.

Essentially, the minimum salary exception can only be used to claim a player whose current contract could have been signed using the minimum salary exception.

Taking into account all the factors that reduce the odds of a waiver claim, it makes sense that nearly all of the players who get released ultimately clear waivers. The 2021/22 and ’22/23 league years each featured just six waiver claims each, for instance, while there were only three in ’23/24. Last season’s seven waiver claims were the most in a single league year since 2019/20.

Despite how infrequent they are, we still want to track all the waiver claims that take place during the 2025/26 league year, since you never know which claim may end up being crucial. Last season, for example, the Pelicans claimed Brandon Boston Jr. off waivers from San Antonio in October and he became a regular – and reasonably effective – rotation player for the banged-up team.

We’ll track this year’s waiver claims in the space below, updating the list throughout the season to include the latest moves. Here’s the current list:

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• Suns claim Jordan Goodwin from Lakers (July 23) (story)
  • Goodwin was a valuable role player for the Lakers during the second half of the 2024/25 season, but when Los Angeles needed to create room below its first-apron hard cap to sign Marcus Smart, he was the odd man out due to the fact that his minimum-salary contract ($2.35MM) was only partially guaranteed for $25K. As it turns out, the Lakers won’t even be on the hook for that $25K after the Suns took on Goodwin’s contract via waivers. The veteran guard is expected to compete for a spot on Phoenix’s roster with Jared Butler, who is also coming to camp on a non-guaranteed deal.
• Pistons claim Isaac Jones from Kings (November 6) (story)
  • In search of reliable veteran frontcourt depth to help make up for an early-season Keegan Murray injury, the Kings waived second-year forward Isaac Jones in order to sign Precious Achiuwa. Jones, who gave Sacramento pretty solid minutes in a limited role as a rookie in 2024/25, didn’t make it through waivers. The Pistons, who had an open spot on their 15-man roster, placed a claim and made him their 15th man, at least for now — Jones’ minimum salary is non-guaranteed until January 7, so Detroit has a couple months to decide whether or not he’s a keeper.

Friday, August 29 is the last day that an NBA team will be able to waive a player who has a fully or partially guaranteed salary for 2025/26 and stretch that player’s ’25/26 salary across multiple seasons.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Stretch Provision]

The stretch provision deadline has historically been August 31, and while that’s technically still the case, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement tweaked the wording of the rule. In order to apply the stretch provision to a player’s current-season salary, a team must now ensure the player clears waivers on or before August 31 rather than simply requesting waivers on him by August 31.

The adjusted wording is similar to the CBA language related to the league-wide salary guarantee date in January. In that case, a team must place a player on waivers on or before January 7 in order to have him clear waivers ahead of the league-wide Jan. 10 guarantee date. In the case of the stretch provision rule, a player whose salary is being stretched now must be waived by August 29 at 4:00 pm Central time to ensure he has cleared waivers prior to September 1.

A player who clears waivers between September 1 and the end of the 2025/26 season can still have his cap hit(s) for 2026/27 and subsequent seasons stretched across multiple years, assuming he’s owed guaranteed money beyond this season. But his ’25/26 cap charge would remain unchanged in that scenario, unless he reaches a buyout agreement with his team.

The stretch provision allows teams to gain some short-term relief at the cost of reduced long-term flexibility. It’s used most frequently by teams in the luxury tax who want to lower their projected tax bill (or duck out of tax territory entirely) or by teams who want to create extra cap room to accommodate a specific roster move.

While the stretch provision typically isn’t used all this frequently, it has been deployed this offseason in two very noteworthy instances. The Bucks stretched the two years and $112,583,016 remaining on Damian Lillard‘s contract, while the Suns stretched the two years and $96,915,050 left on Bradley Beal‘s deal after he agreed to a buyout.

Like Beal, Cole Anthony (Grizzlies) and Vasilije Micic (Bucks) agreed to buyouts with their respective clubs and then had the stretch provision applied to their leftover salaries — $11.1MM for Anthony and $2MM for Micic. Both players had just one season of guaranteed salary remaining.

Since the stretch provision allows a team to spread the player’s remaining salary across twice the remaining years on his contract, plus one additional year, the new cap hits for those four players are as follows:

• Lillard (Bucks): $22,516,603 for five seasons (through 2029/30)
• Beal (Suns): $19,383,010 for five seasons (through 2029/30)
• Anthony (Grizzlies): $3,700,000 for three seasons (through 2027/28)
• Micic (Bucks): $666,667 for three seasons (through 2027/28)

The Suns’ moves significantly reduced their projected luxury tax payment and moved them well below the second tax apron, while the Bucks’ and Grizzlies’ moves helped create the cap room necessary for other transactions.

We likely won’t see a flurry of cuts today and tomorrow in order to take advantage of this rule, but the deadline is still worth keeping in mind for the possibilities it will take off the table. Any player on a guaranteed expiring contract who is waived after August 29 without a buyout agreement or a waiver claim will have his remaining salary count entirely against his team’s ’25/26 books.

While decisions on player and team options for veteran NBA contracts are typically due in June, the deadline to exercise third- and fourth-year team options for players on rookie scale contracts arrives each fall. This year’s deadline for teams to pick up rookie scale options is October 31, 2025.

All the players whose options will be exercised or declined by Oct. 31 are already under contract for the 2025/26 season. Their teams will have to make a decision on whether they want to lock in those players’ contracts beyond the coming season, picking up or turning down team options for the 2026/27 campaign.

For players who signed their rookie scale contracts in 2023 and have already been in the NBA for two years, teams must decide on fourth-year options for 2026/27. For players who just signed their rookie deals last year and only have one season of NBA experience under their belts, teams will already be faced with a decision on third-year options for ’26/27.

In many cases, these decisions aren’t difficult ones. Rookie scale salaries are affordable enough that it usually makes sense to exercise these team options, even if a player isn’t a key cog on the roster. And for those players who do have a significant role on a team’s roster, the decision is even easier — it’s not as if the Spurs will consider turning down their option on Stephon Castle, for instance.

Still, we’ll wait for a trusted reporter, the NBA, a player (or his agent), or a team itself to confirm that an option is indeed being exercised or declined, and we’ll track that news in this space.

Listed below are all the rookie scale decisions for 2026/27 team options that clubs must make by Oct. 31. This list will be updated through the deadline as teams’ decisions are reported and announced. The salary figures listed here reflect the cap hits for each team.

Here are the NBA’s rookie scale team option decisions for 2026/27 salaries:

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Atlanta Hawks

• Zaccharie Risacher (third year, $13,826,040): Exercised
  

Boston Celtics

• Baylor Scheierman (third year, $2,744,040): Exercised

Brooklyn Nets

• Kobe Bufkin (fourth year, $6,904,203): Waived
• Noah Clowney (fourth year, $5,414,034): Exercised
• Dariq Whitehead (fourth year, $5,366,911): Waived

Charlotte Hornets

• Brandon Miller (fourth year, $15,104,626): Exercised
• Tidjane Salaun (third year, $8,237,880): Exercised
• Nick Smith Jr. (fourth year, $4,890,067): Waived

Chicago Bulls

• Matas Buzelis (third year, $5,715,360): Exercised

Cleveland Cavaliers

• Jaylon Tyson (third year, $3,658,560): Exercised

Dallas Mavericks

• Dereck Lively II (fourth year, $7,239,130): Exercised
• Olivier-Maxence Prosper (fourth year, $5,259,383): Waived

Denver Nuggets

• Julian Strawther (fourth year, $4,826,931): Exercised
• DaRon Holmes (third year, $3,372,120): Exercised

Detroit Pistons

• Ausar Thompson (fourth year, $11,117,925): Exercised
• Ron Holland (third year, $9,069,600): Exercised
• Marcus Sasser (fourth year, $5,198,983): Exercised

Golden State Warriors

• Brandin Podziemski (fourth year, $5,679,458): Exercised

Houston Rockets

• Amen Thompson (fourth year, $12,258,609): Exercised
• Reed Sheppard (third year, $11,108,880): Exercised

Indiana Pacers

• Jarace Walker (fourth year, $8,478,541): Exercised
• Ben Sheppard (fourth year, $5,031,668): Exercised

Los Angeles Clippers

• Kobe Brown (fourth year, $4,792,058): Declined

Los Angeles Lakers

• Dalton Knecht (third year, $4,201,080): Exercised

Memphis Grizzlies

• Zach Edey (third year, $6,332,760): Exercised

Miami Heat

• Jaime Jaquez Jr. (fourth year, $5,939,141): Exercised
• Kel’el Ware (third year, $4,654,920): Exercised

Milwaukee Bucks

• None

Minnesota Timberwolves

• Rob Dillingham (third year, $6,889,320): Exercised
• Terrence Shannon Jr. (third year, $2,801,640): Exercised

New Orleans Pelicans

• Jordan Hawkins (fourth year, $7,021,895): Exercised
• Yves Missi (third year, $3,512,760): Exercised

New York Knicks

• Pacome Dadiet (third year, $2,983,680): Exercised

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Cason Wallace (fourth year, $7,420,806): Exercised
• Nikola Topic (third year, $5,429,760): Exercised

Orlando Magic

• Anthony Black (fourth year, $10,106,315): Exercised
• Jett Howard (fourth year, $7,337,938): Declined
• Tristan Da Silva (third year, $3,991,200): Exercised

Philadelphia 76ers

• Jared McCain (third year, $4,422,600): Exercised

Phoenix Suns

• Ryan Dunn, Suns (third year, $2,784,240): Exercised

Portland Trail Blazers

• Scoot Henderson (fourth year, $13,585,523): Exercised
• Donovan Clingan (third year, $7,519,920): Exercised
• Kris Murray (fourth year, $5,315,004): Exercised

Sacramento Kings

• Devin Carter (third year, $5,158,080): Exercised

San Antonio Spurs

• Victor Wembanyama (fourth year, $16,868,246): Exercised
• Stephon Castle (third year, $10,015,920): Exercised

Toronto Raptors

• Gradey Dick (fourth year, $7,131,510): Exercised
• Ja’Kobe Walter (third year, $3,811,800): Exercised

Utah Jazz

• Taylor Hendricks (fourth year, $7,805,900): Exercised
• Keyonte George (fourth year, $6,563,925): Exercised
• Cody Williams (third year, $6,015,600): Exercised
• Brice Sensabaugh (fourth year, $4,862,237): Exercised
• Isaiah Collier (third year, $2,763,960): Exercised

Washington Wizards

• Alex Sarr (third year, $12,370,680): Exercised
• Bilal Coulibaly (fourth year, $9,240,012): Exercised
• Cam Whitmore (fourth year, $5,458,310): Exercised
• Bub Carrington (third year, $4,900,560): Exercised
• AJ Johnson (third year, $3,237,120): Exercised
• Kyshawn George (third year, $3,108,000): Exercised
• Dillon Jones (third year, $2,884,440): Waived

The most notable dates of the 2025 NBA offseason are behind us now that we’re well clear of the draft and the free agent period. However, there are still a number of dates and deadlines to keep an eye on in the coming weeks and months before teams take the court for the 2025/26 regular season.

Here’s the breakdown:

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August 27 – September 14

• FIBA EuroBasket 2025.

August 29

• Last day for teams to waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2025/26 salaries.

September 5-6

• Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend for the 2025 class.

September 23

• Media day for the Nets, Knicks, and Pelicans.

September 24

• Training camps open for the Nets, Knicks, Sixers, Pelicans, and Suns.
• Media day for the Suns.

September 26

• Media day for the Sixers.

September 29

• Media day – and training camps open – for the other 25 teams.

October 1

• Last day for a restricted free agent to sign his qualifying offer (unless his team agrees to push back the deadline).

October 2

• Preseason begins.

October 17

• Preseason ends.

October 18

• Last day for players on fully non-guaranteed contracts to be waived and not count at all against a team’s 2025/26 cap. They must clear waivers before the first day of the regular season.

October 20

• Last day of the 2025 offseason.
• Roster limits decrease from 21 players to 18 (4:00 pm CT). Teams will be limited to carrying 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals as of this deadline.
• Last day for teams to sign a player to a rookie scale extension (5:00 pm CT).
  [RELATED: Players eligible for rookie scale extensions]
• Last day for teams to sign an extension-eligible veteran player with multiple seasons left on his contract (such as Tyler Herro) to an extension. An extension-eligible veteran player on an expiring deal (like Kevin Durant) can still be extended after October 20.
• Last day for teams to complete sign-and-trade deals.
• Last day for teams to convert an Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way contract.

October 21

• 2025/26 regular season begins.
  [RELATED: 2025/26 schedules by team]

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Information from NBA.com was used in the creation of this post.