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Hoops Rumors’ 2026 NBA Trade Deadline Primer
Deadline day is finally here. NBA teams will have until today at 2:00 pm Central time to finalize trade agreements. Anyone not traded by that time will be ineligible to be moved until after his team’s season comes to an end this spring.
After a slow start to trade season, we’ve already seen a ton of fireworks this week. Prior to February 1, only one trade had been completed since opening night, but since Sunday, 10 deals have been finalized and seven more have been agreed upon.
And it’s not as if we’re just getting a bunch of salary dumps. Unlikely buyers like the Jazz and Wizards have pulled off blockbuster moves, with Utah acquiring Jaren Jackson Jr. from Memphis in an eight-player, three-pick trade, while Washington agreed to acquire Anthony Davis from Dallas in a deal that will reportedly involve eight players and five draft picks.
The Cavaliers and Clippers got in on the fun by completing a swap of multi-time All-Stars – James Harden and Darius Garland – while players like Coby White, Keon Ellis, De’Andre Hunter, Jaden Ivey, Jared McCain, Kevin Huerter, and Collin Sexton have also been on the move, with Nikola Vucevic, Anfernee Simons, Kristaps Porzingis, Jonathan Kuminga, Lonzo Ball, and Chris Paul set to join them in pending deals.
[RELATED: 2025/26 In-Season NBA Trades]
Those deals took many of this season’s most noteworthy trade candidates off the board, but there are still plenty of storylines to keep an eye on as Thursday’s deadline nears, starting with whether or not the Bucks will actually move two-time Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Rival teams have been skeptical that Milwaukee will pull the trigger on a Giannis trade this week instead of waiting until the offseason, when more teams might enter the mix and current suitors could potentially improve their offers.
It sounds like at least one of the teams involved in the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes isn’t counting on a Thursday deal — when Golden State agreed to trade Kuminga to Atlanta, it marked the “unofficial end” of the team’s pursuit of the Bucks star, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania.
While Sam Amick, Nick Friedell, and Fred Katz say that Warriors team sources haven’t entirely closed the door on the possibility of an Antetokounmpo trade, those same sources added that the Bucks weren’t prepared to accept a Golden State offer centered around Kuminga, Draymond Green, four first-round picks, and a pick swap. An “extended lack of communication” from Milwaukee this week has made the Warriors and other teams believe an Antetokounmpo move won’t be happening at this time, per The Athletic.
Even if Antetokounmpo stays put, we could still see plenty of last-minute action on Thursday. Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant is among the most notable trade candidates still on the market; the Nets still have a chunk of cap room available to help teams accommodate deals; the Timberwolves and Heat could pivot to alternative options if they don’t expect to land Giannis; and potential sellers like the Kings and Pelicans still have plenty of trade chips available to move.
As those Jazz and Wizards trades show, you also never know when two teams will decide to make a move that none of us saw coming.
We’ll be keeping tabs on all the latest news and rumors all day long on Hoops Rumors, leading up to 2:00 pm CT.
In the meantime, here are some of our features and trackers to help you prepare for today’s action:
- Trades completed so far during the 2025/26 season.
- Players with the ability to veto trades.
- Players with trade kickers.
- Players who are ineligible to be traded.
- Teams with traded player exceptions available.
- Hoops Rumors Glossary:
- Explaining salary aggregation.
- Explaining the Ted Stepien rule.
- Explaining tax aprons and the restrictions that apply to teams above those aprons.
- Traded 2026 first-round picks.
- Traded 2026 second-round picks.
- Cash sent and received in NBA trades in 2025/26.
- Teams with hard caps for 2025/26.
- NBA roster counts.
Note: The majority of these trackers are being updated as trades become official, so pending moves won’t be reflected yet.
Community Shootaround: Pistons’ Trade Deadline Approach
The Pistons extended their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference on Monday by pulling out a one-point victory over the No. 2 Celtics. At the midway point of the season, Detroit holds a 31-10 record and is ahead of Boston by five-and-a-half games in the standings.
Still, even with the conference title seemingly up for grabs, the common refrain out of Detroit in recent months has been that the Pistons aren’t operating with any urgency and are unlikely to make an all-in move prior to this season’s trade deadline. That’s still the case, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who likened this year’s Pistons to the 2023/24 Thunder on the most recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link).
Although that Oklahoma City team ended up winning 57 games, it wasn’t a big-time buyer at the trade deadline. The Thunder made a February deal for veteran forward Gordon Hayward, but also helped accommodate the Mavericks’ acquisition of Daniel Gafford by making a draft-pick trade with Dallas that netted OKC a 2028 first-round swap. It wasn’t until the subsequent offseason that the Thunder made moves for Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso that set up their ’24/25 championship run.
“(The Pistons) are very much in a patient, methodical mindset,” MacMahon said. “… Opportunistic, but they’re talking more, ‘Hey, we’ve got that (Dennis) Schröder (trade) exception (worth $14MM+). We could use that to facilitate a deal, get another asset, probably a first-round pick or something like that.’ They’re more in that mindset than they are, ‘Oh, gotta get the finishing piece now.’ Part of that is they want to give the guys that they have a chance to prove who they are – or who they’re not – come playoff time.”
MacMahon also observed that the Pistons will have to sign center Jalen Duren to a lucrative new contract during the 2026 offseason when he reaches restricted free agency, so any moves they make now will be made with a long-term view of their cap situation in mind.
While ESPN’s Tim Bontemps didn’t dispute his colleague’s reporting, he made it clear he’d like to see the Pistons be a little more aggressive, given the fact that they have a potential path to the NBA Finals. Pointing out that Detroit could use another ball-handler to help take the pressure off of Cade Cunningham, Bontemps identified a specific player he views as an ideal fit.
“The guy I really want the Pistons to get – who they probably can’t get and I don’t know what his health status would be – the guy they need is Kyrie Irving,” Bontemps said. “If I was (Pistons president of basketball operations) Trajan Langdon, I would want to know where Kyrie’s health is at and what the chances of him playing are. That’s the call that I’d be making.
“… The realized version of Kyrie Irving, playing next to Cade like he played next to Luka (Doncic), like he played next to LeBron (James) as a proven playoff scorer — that’s who they need.”
Irving is making his way back from a torn ACL. It’s unclear whether or not he’ll play this season, and there has been no indication that the Mavericks have any interest in moving him anyway, so the idea of the Pistons making a trade for the nine-time All-Star is probably a long shot.
Who else could fill that backcourt need for Detroit? Former No. 5 overall pick Jaden Ivey is the most obvious in-house candidate.
Ivey appeared well on his way to a breakout season a year ago before a broken leg prematurely ended his season in early January. The fourth-year guard is back in action this season, but has averaged a career-low 17.0 minutes per game and is contributing just 8.4 points per night. In other words, it’s hard to count on him in the short term to fill that role as a secondary ball-handler and scorer for a Pistons team with aspirations of making a deep playoff run.
Armed with some expiring salary, all their future first-round picks, a $14MM+ trade exception, and plenty of breathing room below the luxury tax line, the Pistons are in position to consider a wide range of trade candidates. Bontemps hopes they’ll do so, but acknowledges they’re far from desperate.
“If the Pistons don’t do anything, I’ll understand it,” Bontemps said. “And to be clear, I do not think they should make some rash trade and trade two or three first(-round picks) for some mediocre player to fit in. I brought up Kyrie for a reason. He’s on a short-term deal, he’s the exact skill set they need. If he was healthy and available and they could get him (and) you plug him into that team, I would tell you, I think Detroit could win the title. I wouldn’t bet on it, but right now their offense isn’t good enough to win the title, I don’t think, against the elite teams.”
We want to know what you think. How should the Pistons approach the trade deadline and how aggressive should they be? Are they the favorites to come out of the East even without making a deal? If not, what sort of move would get them there? And are there any other spots on their depth chart they should consider addressing outside of the backcourt?
Head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts!
Community Shootaround: Next Steps For Warriors
Monday’s victory over Miami should have represented a new high point for the 2025/26 Warriors, who registered their fourth consecutive win and moved to six games above .500 (25-19) for the first time this season.
Instead, they’re facing an uncertain second half without star wing Jimmy Butler, who suffered a torn right ACL that will bring his season to an early end and limit the short-term ceiling of this Golden State team.
Even before Butler’s injury, there were questions about the Warriors’ ability to legitimately contend for a title this season. They’ve hovered around .500 for most of the season, and despite their recent hot streak, they still rank just eighth in the West.
Still, if the club had stayed healthy and been able to turn trade candidate Jonathan Kuminga (and maybe a draft pick or two) into another quality rotation player, it wasn’t hard to envision the Warriors securing a playoff spot and becoming a tough out in the postseason. That’s a more difficult outcome to imagine with Butler sidelined the rest of the way.
With 16 days left until February 5, the Warriors will now have to reevaluate their approach to this season’s trade deadline. Kuminga is at the center of those plans. A deal involving the former No. 7 overall pick had long seemed like a foregone conclusion, even before he demanded a change of scenery upon becoming trade-eligible last week.
But with Butler out, could there be a pathway to Kuminga reentering the rotation? The fifth-year forward has been held out of 16 games in a row and has played fewer than 10 total minutes since December 6, but head coach Steve Kerr said on Monday that he’d “absolutely” consider using Kuminga going forward.
According to Nick Friedell of The Athletic, Kuminga declined comment when approached after Monday’s game, but when Kerr was asked if the 23-year-old would be ready to play, the Warriors’ coach simply replied, “Yeah.”
Appearing on SportsCenter (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania acknowledged the possibility of Kuminga rejoining the rotation, but cited sources who say the relationship between the forward and Kerr is “fractured beyond repair.” Noting that the Kings are still interested in Kuminga after pursuing him as a restricted free agent over the summer, Charania wonders if the Warriors will instead try to use Kuminga as a trade chip to acquire a replacement for Butler, such as Sacramento’s DeMar DeRozan.
While some teams would transition from buyers to sellers after losing a maximum-salary star to a season-ending injury, that would probably be a last resort in Golden State. The Warriors want to do all they can to make the most of the time they have left with Stephen Curry, who will turn 38 in March.
Besides Kuminga, the Warriors could make players like Buddy Hield ($9.2MM cap hit) and Moses Moody ($11.6MM) available in trade talks, and they have the ability to trade multiple first-round picks and/or swaps — only their 2030 pick is partially constricted (it’ll be sent to Washington if it falls outside of the top 20).
Still, Golden State is currently operating within $300K of its second-apron hard cap and will have limited financial flexibility in trade discussions. Additionally, Butler’s contract ($54.1MM this season; $56.8MM in 2026/27) will be problematic — he won’t have any value on the trade market following his ACL tear, but building a roster capable of winning playoff series will be extremely difficult as long as his contract remains on the books and he remains off the court.
We want to know what you think. What’s next for the Warriors after Butler’s injury? Will we see Kuminga on the floor as a Warrior again? What should Golden State do at the trade deadline?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions!
Hoops Rumors’ 2026 NBA 10-Day Contract Tracker
On January 5, NBA teams became eligible to sign players to standard 10-day contracts, and many of the signings that take place between now and the end of the regular season in April will be of the 10-day variety. Hoops Rumors maintains a database that allows you to keep on top of those deals, tracking every 10-day signing all season long.
Besides featuring all of this year’s 10-day deals, our 10-Day Contract Tracker includes information on all 10-day contracts signed since the 2006/07 season. The search filters in the database make it easy to sort by team, player, and/or year.
For instance, if you want to see all the 10-day contracts that the Lakers have signed since 2007, including Kobe Bufkin’s current deal, you can do so here. If you want to view Bufkin’s history of 10-day deals, that list is here.
You can also see whether a player and team signed a second 10-day contract or if those short-term deals led to an agreement that covered the rest of the season. Additionally, our tracker notes which 10-day deals remain active, saving you the hassle of having to figure out whether a particular contract ends on, say, Wednesday or Thursday.
A link to our 10-Day Contract Tracker can be found at any time in the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site. On our mobile site, you can find it on our “Features” page. We’ll be keeping it up to date for the rest of the season, so be sure to check back to keep tabs on the latest signings as they become official.
Eleven More Players Become Trade-Eligible
Today is Thursday, January 15, which means that a total of 11 players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.
Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:
- The player re-signed with his previous team.
- He got a raise of at least 20%.
- His salary is above the minimum.
- His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.
These are the 11 players who met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Thursday:
Santi Aldama (Grizzlies)- Josh Giddey (Bulls)
- Quentin Grimes (Sixers)
- Isaiah Jackson (Pacers)
- Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors)
- Tre Mann (Hornets)
- Sam Merrill (Cavaliers)
- Davion Mitchell (Heat)
- Paul Reed (Pistons)
- Naz Reid (Timberwolves)
- Ryan Rollins (Bucks)
Most of the players on standard 15-man rosters around the NBA are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt.
That group includes Kings guard Russell Westbrook, who becomes trade-eligible on Friday, Hawks guard Keaton Wallace (trade-eligible on January 18), Pelicans center DeAndre Jordan (Jan. 23), Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (Feb. 1), Lakers guard Luka Doncic (Feb. 2), Kings forward Precious Achiuwa (Feb. 4), and Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (Feb. 4).
Additionally, there are several players who won’t become trade-eligible at all prior to this season’s February 6 deadline, including reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be traded.
Checking In On Open NBA Roster Spots
With the NBA’s league-wide salary guarantee date for 2025/26 behind us, it’s worth checking in once again on which teams have open spots on their 18-man rosters.
As our roster count tracker shows, these are the teams that don’t currently have full rosters consisting of 15 players on standard rest-of-season contracts and three on two-way deals:
Teams with standard roster openings:
- Boston Celtics
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Denver Nuggets
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers *
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers *
- Miami Heat
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
The Pacers and Lakers, marked with asterisks, technically have full 15-man standard rosters at the moment, but are carrying just 14 players on full-season contracts, with one player on a 10-day deal. Tony Bradley‘s deal with Indiana will expire this weekend while Kobe Bufkin‘s with Los Angeles will expire next week, at which point each club will re-open its 15th roster spot.
Most teams in this group likely won’t sign a player to a rest-of-season or multiyear contract until sometime after the trade deadline, when they know they won’t need to use that 15th roster spot to accommodate a trade in which they acquire more players than they send out.
Some of them literally can’t sign a 15th man right now. Barring cost-cutting moves, the Lakers will have to wait until January 28 to squeeze a rest-of-season free agent addition under their first-apron hard cap, while the Knicks won’t be able to fit a non-10-day free agent under their second-apron hard cap before April 2.
In between now and the February 5 trade deadline, some of these clubs could join the Pacers and Lakers in signing free agents to 10-day contracts. However, 12 of the 15 teams listed here project to be taxpayers, so they likely won’t be eager to bring in a 15th man unless he’s actually going to play.
The Pacers, Heat, and Wizards are the three teams in this group not currently operating over the luxury tax line.
Teams with two-way openings:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Milwaukee Bucks
- New York Knicks
Each of these three teams waived a two-way player just ahead of last week’s league-wide salary guarantee deadline, so they haven’t had an open slot for long.
The deadline to sign a player to a two-way contract won’t arrive until March 4, meaning there’s no urgency for these clubs to fill their openings right away. Still, the prorated portion of a two-way salary is such a minor financial commitment for an NBA franchise that we may see one or more of these teams bring in a new two-way player sooner rather than later, even if they’re not certain he’ll hold that spot for the rest of the season.
Community Shootaround: 65-Game Eligibility Rule
Imagine All-NBA teams without Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama and Stephen Curry.
No need to tax your brain. There’s a real possibility that each of those superstars, as well as several others, won’t be eligible for postseason awards this season.
The 65-game rule built into the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits players who don’t take the court for at least that many regular season games from most postseason honors.
The spirit of the rule, if you will, was to discourage load management and tanking. However, the frequency of injuries across the league could severely impact those awards, which include Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, the All-NBA teams and the All-Defensive teams.
Jokic will almost certainly not qualify this season, as he’s currently rehabbing a knee injury that will keep him out a month.
Doncic has already missed seven games. Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama are teetering on the brink, having missed 14 games apiece. Edwards (8) and Curry (10) are also in danger of failing to meet the criteria, considering the season is just approaching the halfway point.
There are some minor exceptions to the rule – for example, a player who falls short of the 65-game minimum can also file an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” in an effort to regain his award eligibility. But it’s likely that if a player doesn’t suit up for 65 games, they’ll be disqualified for those coveted awards.
There are also, of course, some financial implications regarding the awards, such as qualifying for super-max extensions.
The flip side is that the league wants to give its paying customers the best product possible. All too often, fans are paying big bucks, only to see their favorite players sitting in street clothes due to a minor ailment or load management.
That brings us to today’s topic: Do you like the 65-game rule for postseason awards? If not, what would be a fairer system for eligibility – should the rule be tweaked or scrapped altogether?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
2025/26 In-Season NBA Trades
As we did with 2025’s offseason trades and the in-season swaps from 2024/25, we’ll be keeping track of all the NBA trades completed this season, updating this article with each transaction. This post can be found anytime throughout the season on our desktop sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or in our mobile menu under “Features.”
Trades are listed here in reverse chronological order, with the latest on top. So, if a player has been dealt multiple times, the first team listed as having acquired him is the one that ended up with him. Trades listed in italics have been agreed upon but are not yet official. For our full story on each trade, click the date above it.
For more information on the specific conditions dictating if and when draft picks involved in these deals will actually change hands, be sure to check out RealGM.com’s breakdown of the details on traded picks.
Here’s the full list of the trades completed during the 2025/26 NBA season:
- Nets acquire Hunter Tyson and the Nuggets’ 2032 second-round pick.
- Nuggets acquire either the Clippers’ or Hawks’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
- Note: The 2026 second-rounder being sent to Denver technically has more complicated most/least favorable terms, which can be found here.
- Hornets acquire Xavier Tillman Sr. and cash ($3.5MM).
- Celtics acquire the Hornets’ 2030 second-round pick (top-55 protected).
- Nets acquire Josh Minott.
- Celtics acquire cash ($110K).
- Bulls acquire Nick Richards.
- Bucks acquire Ousmane Dieng, Nigel Hayes-Davis, and cash ($4.5MM; from Suns).
- Suns acquire Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey.
- Knicks acquire Jose Alvarado and the draft rights to Latavious Williams.
- Pelicans acquire Dalen Terry, either the Magic’s, Bucks’, or Pistons’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable), either the Pacers’, Heat’s, Rockets’, or Thunder’s 2027 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable), and cash ($389K).
- Raptors acquire Trayce Jackson-Davis.
- Warriors acquire the Lakers’ 2026 second-round pick.
- Timberwolves acquire Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips.
- Bulls acquire Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, either the Nuggets’ or Warriors’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable); the Cavaliers’ 2027 second-round pick; either the Timberwolves’ or Warriors’ 2031 pick (whichever is most favorable); and either the Suns’ or Rockets’ 2032 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable).
- Lakers acquire Luke Kennard.
- Hawks acquire Gabe Vincent and the Lakers’ 2032 second-round pick.
- Pacers acquire Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown.
- Clippers acquire Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, the Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected; 10-30 protected), the Pacers’ 2029 first-round pick, and the Mavericks’ 2028 second-round pick.
- Note: If the Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick falls in its protected range, the Clippers will instead receive the Pacers’ 2031 first-round pick.
- Wizards acquire Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum.
- Mavericks acquire Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Marvin Bagley III, Tyus Jones, either the Thunder’s, Rockets’ (top-four protected), or Clippers’ 2026 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable); the Warriors’ 2030 first-round pick (top-20 protected); the Suns’ 2026 second-round pick; the Bulls’ 2027 second-round pick; and the Rockets’ 2029 second-round pick.
- Hornets acquire Malaki Branham.
- Warriors acquire Kristaps Porzingis.
- Hawks acquire Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.
- Grizzlies acquire Eric Gordon and the right to swap their 2032 second-round pick for the Sixers’ 2032 second-round pick.
- Sixers acquire the draft rights to Justinian Jessup.
- Jazz acquire Chris Boucher, the Nuggets’ 2027 second-round pick, and cash ($871K).
- Celtics acquire John Tonje (two-way).
- Bulls acquire Guerschon Yabusele and cash ($500K).
- Knicks acquire Dalen Terry.
- Celtics acquire Nikola Vucevic and the Nuggets’ 2027 second-round pick.
- Bulls acquire Anfernee Simons and either the Pelicans’, Trail Blazers’, Timberwolves’, or Knicks’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable).
- Jazz acquire Lonzo Ball, the Cavaliers’ 2028 second-round pick, and the Cavaliers’ 2032 second-round pick.
- Cavaliers acquire cash ($110K).
- Raptors acquire Chris Paul.
- Nets acquire Ochai Agbaji, the Raptors’ 2032 second-round pick, and cash ($3.5MM; from Clippers).
- Clippers acquire the draft rights to Vanja Marinkovic.
- Hawks acquire Jock Landale.
- Jazz acquire cash ($3MM).
- Hornets acquire Tyus Jones, either the Magic’s or Celtics’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable), and the Magic’s 2028 second-round pick.
- Magic acquire cash ($110K).
- Hornets acquire Coby White and Mike Conley.
- Bulls acquire Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng, the Nuggets’ 2031 second-round pick, and the Knicks’ 2031 second-round pick.
- Note: The Hornets also sent the Bulls either a “least favorable” Nuggets/Hornets 2029 second-round pick in the original version of this trade, but the two teams agreed to remove that second-rounder after White’s physical exam revealed a calf issue.
- Thunder acquire Jared McCain.
- Sixers acquire either the Thunder’s, Rockets’ (top-four protected), or Clippers’ 2026 first-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable); either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Pacers’, or Heat’s 2027 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable); the Thunder’s 2028 second-round pick; and the Bucks’ 2028 second-round pick.
- Thunder acquire the draft rights to Balsa Koprivica.
- Jazz acquire cash ($750K).
- Cavaliers acquire James Harden.
- Clippers acquire Darius Garland and the Cavaliers’ 2026 second-round pick.
- Hornets acquire Ousmane Dieng and either the Hawks’ or Heat’s 2029 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable).
- Thunder acquire Mason Plumlee.
- Pistons acquire Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, and the right to swap their 2026 first-round pick for the Timberwolves’ 2026 first-round pick (top-19 protected).
- Bulls acquire Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley.
- Timberwolves acquire cash ($1.1MM; from Pistons).
- Jazz acquire Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Vince Williams Jr., and Jock Landale.
- Grizzlies acquire Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang, Taylor Hendricks, Walter Clayton, the Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick (top-four protected); either the Cavaliers’, Timberwolves’, or Jazz’s 2027 first-round pick (whichever is most favorable); and the Suns’ 2031 first-round pick.
- Trail Blazers acquire Vit Krejci.
- Hawks acquire Duop Reath, the Hawks’ 2027 second-round pick, and the Knicks’ 2030 second-round pick.
- Note: The Hawks’ 2027 second-round pick was previously traded to the Trail Blazers.
- Cavaliers acquire Keon Ellis, Dennis Schröder, and Emanuel Miller (two-way).
- Kings acquire De’Andre Hunter.
- Bulls acquire Dario Saric, the Nuggets’ 2027 second-round pick (from Cavaliers), and either the Pistons’, Bucks’, or Knicks’ 2029 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Kings).
- Wizards acquire Trae Young.
- Hawks acquire CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
Recap Of 2025/26 Salary Guarantee Decisions
Entering this week, there were 32 players who were signed to standard, full-season contracts but whose salaries for the 2025/26 campaign weren’t fully guaranteed.
The deadline for teams to waive those players and avoid having their full ’25/26 salaries become guaranteed was on Wednesday, January 7 at 4:00 p.m. CT.
Although their salaries won’t technically become guaranteed until January 10, those players would still receive their full-season guarantees if they’re cut today or tomorrow, since they wouldn’t clear waivers before Saturday’s guarantee deadline.
Here’s a roundup of the decisions teams made with those 32 players:
Players on standard contracts who will have their salaries guaranteed:
Each player’s salary is noted here. His cap hit is identical to his salary unless otherwise indicated.
- Terry Rozier (Heat): $26,643,031
Dean Wade (Cavaliers): $6,623,456- Bismack Biyombo (Spurs): $3,634,153 *
- Russell Westbrook (Kings): $3,634,153 *
- Thomas Bryant (Cavaliers): $3,287,409 *
- Landry Shamet (Knicks): $3,080,921 *
- Amir Coffey (Bucks): $2,874,436 *
- Javonte Green (Pistons): $2,874,436 *
- Bones Hyland (Timberwolves): $2,461,463 *
- Lindy Waters III (Spurs): $2,461,463 *
- Precious Achiuwa (Kings): $2,453,285 ^
- Justin Champagnie (Wizards): $2,349,578
- Jordan Goodwin (Suns): $2,349,578
- Vit Krejci (Hawks): $2,349,578
- Keon Ellis (Kings): $2,301,587
- Keaton Wallace (Hawks): $2,296,274
- Moussa Diabate (Hornets): $2,270,735
- Brandon Williams (Mavericks): $2,270,735
- Mouhamed Gueye (Hawks): $2,221,677
- Trayce Jackson-Davis (Warriors): $2,221,677
- Craig Porter Jr. (Cavaliers): $2,221,677
- Gui Santos (Warriors): $2,221,677
- Jordan Walsh (Celtics): $2,221,677
- Jalen Wilson (Nets): $2,221,677
- Tyrese Martin (Nets): $2,191,897
- N’Faly Dante (Hawks): $2,048,494
- Ariel Hukporti (Knicks): $1,955,377
- Isaac Jones (Pistons): $1,955,377
- Micah Potter (Pacers): $1,527,805
- Mohamed Diawara (Knicks): $1,272,870
(*) cap hit of $2,296,274
(^) cap hit of $2,111,516
Besides Rozier and Wade, whose deals already featured significant partial guarantees, each player on a non-guaranteed contract who was retained through January 7 is earning his minimum salary for the season, so the financial impact of keeping those players is relatively minor for their respective teams.
Still, open roster spots are valuable at this time of year. At least one or two of these players on this list were probably fortunate not to be let go by a club prioritizing flexibility ahead of the trade deadline. Many others have played regular rotation minutes during the first half or hold long-term value and were never candidates to be cut.
Players on standard contracts who were waived before their salaries became guaranteed:
Each player’s salary is noted here. His cap hit is identical to his salary unless otherwise indicated.
- Tony Bradley (Pacers): $1,335,225
- Mo Bamba (Raptors): $194,770
Both Bradley and Bamba were on minimum-salary contracts, but Bradley had been with Indiana since before the start of the season, while Bamba was signed by Toronto last Monday, which is why his cap hit is so much smaller than Bradley’s.
After Bradley cleared waivers on Wednesday, Bamba will do so today. The Raptors’ dead-money cap hit for Bamba would disappear if he’s claimed off waivers by a new team, but that club would have to commit to guaranteeing his salary for the rest of the season, so it’s unlikely.
There were several other players with partially or non-guaranteed salaries who were cut earlier in the regular season. That group consists of the following players, listed in the order they were waived (with their accompanying cap hits):
Jaden Springer (Pelicans): $70,732- James Wiseman (Pacers): $1,000,000
- Note: Wiseman was later re-signed to a 10-day contract that increased his overall Pacers cap hit to $1,131,970.
- Mac McClung (Pacers): $177,731
- Monte Morris (Pacers): $321,183
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Pacers): $325,365
- Note: Robinson-Earl previously signed a pair of 10-day contracts that increase his overall Pacers cap hit to $589,305.
- Garrison Mathews (Pacers): $297,356
- Note: Mathews previously signed a pair of 10-day contracts that increase his overall Pacers cap hit to $561,296.
These moves didn’t go down to the wire like the others listed above, having occurred well in advance of the salary guarantee deadline.
Players on two-way contracts who were waived before their salaries became guaranteed:
Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the league-wide salary guarantee date of January 10 also applies this season to players on two-way contracts. Prior to 2024, the guarantee date had been Jan. 20 for two-way salaries.
Two-way salaries are only worth half of the rookie minimum and don’t count against the salary cap, so many teams likely weren’t feeling a ton of pressure to make rest-of-season decisions on their two-way players by Wednesday. Two-way contracts can be signed until March 4, so there will be many clubs that make changes between now and then.
Still, there were seven players on two-way contracts who were waived between the start of January and Wednesday’s waiver deadline. Those players, who subsequently won’t receive their full two-way salaries this season, are as follows:
- Tosan Evbuomwan (Knicks)
- Trentyn Flowers (Bulls)
- Mark Sears (Bucks)
- Tyler Smith (Rockets)
- Malik Williams (Hawks)
There are currently three open two-way slots around the NBA, belonging to the Hawks, Bucks, and Knicks.
The full list of players who are still on two-way contracts and earned full guarantees can be found right here.