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.
Contract Details: Rookie Extensions, Wallace, Cooke, Nesmith
There are no surprises in the official terms of the last few rookie scale extensions signed ahead of Monday’s deadline, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. The salary figures reported for Nuggets guard Christian Braun (five years, $125MM), Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (four years, $100MM), and Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (four years, $90MM) were all accurate down to the dollar, with no player or team options, trade kickers, or partial/non-guarantees.
While the extensions for Braun and Sharpe are structured with 8% annual raises and increase from year to year, Daniels’ deal with Atlanta is worth a flat $25MM per season. It’s the same structure the team used a year ago when it signed Jalen Johnson to a five-year, $150MM rookie scale extension that has annual cap hits of $30MM. In each case, the Hawks appear happy to sacrifice a little short-term cap flexibility for greater maneuverability down the road.
Here are more details of some of the contracts recently signed around the NBA:
- Keaton Wallace‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Hawks is partially guaranteed for $318,217, Hoops Rumors has learned. Wallace would be assured of earning his full $2,296,274 salary if he remains under contract through January 7.
- Javonte Cooke‘s new two-way contract with the Trail Blazers covers two years, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Portland had Cooke in camp on an Exhibit 10 contract and could’ve converted him directly to a one-year, two-way deal, but chose to waive him and re-sign him in order to tack on that extra year.
- Aaron Nesmith‘s two-year, $40.4MM extension with the Pacers includes a 7.5% trade kicker, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Hawks Convert Wallace To Standard Contract, Houstan To Two-Way
5:44 pm: The Hawks have officially promoted Wallace from a two-way contract to a standard deal and converted Houstan from an Exhibit 10 deal to a two-way contract, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.
3:17 pm: Point guard Keaton Wallace and forward Caleb Houstan have both made the Hawks‘ regular season roster, but their contract situations will change before opening night.
Wallace is having his two-way contract converted into a one-year standard deal, his agents at Excel Sports Management tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Houstan, meanwhile, will have his Exhibit 10 contract turned into a two-way deal, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).
Players on two-way contracts can’t be active for more than 50 games and aren’t postseason-eligible, whereas no such restrictions exist for standard roster players, so the decision suggests that Atlanta is prioritizing Wallace’s availability from game to game over Houstan’s, at least to open the season.
Wallace, who appeared in 31 games with the Hawks on a two-way contract last season, made his case for a promotion by averaging 5.5 points, 5.0 assists, and 1.5 steals in 16.6 minutes per game across four preseason outings. He did struggle with his shot this month, knocking down just 30.8% of his attempts from the floor, including 8.3% of his three-pointers.
The Hawks don’t really have a traditional point guard backing up star Trae Young, with Dyson Daniels and Luke Kennard among the players excepted to take on ball-handling responsibilities, so there could be a path for Wallace to earn some minutes for the club.
As for Houstan, the former Magic sharpshooter has three years of NBA service under his belt, so this will be his final season of two-way eligibility. He joins Eli Ndiaye and Jacob Toppin as Atlanta’s two-way players.
Keaton Wallace Signs Two-Way Contract With Hawks
Keaton Wallace has signed his two-way qualifying offer with the Hawks, reports Lauren Williams for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
Wallace had been extended a two-way qualifying offer earlier in the summer, which is equivalent to a one-year, two-way deal with $85,300 in guaranteed money.
Wallace, the older brother of the Thunder’s Cason Wallace, played 31 games for Atlanta last season and averaged 5.4 points and 2.6 assists in 16.2 minutes per night. In the five games he started, he averaged 13.8 points, 8.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 steals, though he shot 29.4% from three in those games and 32.9% from three for the season.
The Hawks have had a productive offseason, bringing in a multitude of contributors, including Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luke Kennard, and rookie Asa Newell, but while the team has become very deep on the wing, Wallace provides some needed depth at the point guard spot behind Trae Young and Kobe Bufkin.
Suns’ Gillepsie, Lakers’ Koloko Among Two-Way Players Receiving QOs
A series of players who finished the 2024/25 season on two-way contracts have received qualifying offers from their respective teams, making them free agents, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac. Those players are as follows (all links go to Twitter):
- Isaiah Crawford, Kings (link)
- Collin Gillespie, Suns link)
- Harrison Ingram, Spurs (link)
- Daniss Jenkins, Pistons (link)
- Spencer Jones, Nuggets (link)
- Christian Koloko, Lakers (link)
- Riley Minix, Spurs (link)
- Jacob Toppin, Hawks (link)
- Luke Travers, Cavaliers (link)
- Tristan Vukcevic, Wizards (link)
- Keaton Wallace, Hawks (link)
In each case, the player’s qualifying offer is equivalent to another one-year, two-way deal, with a small portion (approximately $85K) guaranteed.
While a rival team could technically sign any of these players to an offer sheet during free agency, we essentially never see that happen with two-way free agents. Most of them end up either accepting their two-way QOs or agreeing to new standard contracts with their current teams.
Gillespie, who turned 26 on Wednesday, is among the players who made a strong case for a promotion to a standard contract this past season. He averaged 5.9 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game for Phoenix across 33 appearances (nine starts) and made 43.3% of his three-point tries.
Koloko (2.4 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 37 games), Vukcevic (9.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and .496/.373/.776 shooting in 35 games), and Wallace (5.4 PPG and 2.6 APG in 31 games) also played rotation minutes for their respective clubs in 2024/25.
Sunday is the deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to players who are eligible for restricted free agency.
Southeast Notes: Suggs, Johnson, Wallace, Ball, Miller
Magic starting guard Jalen Suggs missed Sunday’s game against Utah due to a lower back strain. He seems certain to sit out their road game against the Knicks on Monday as well, according to coach Jamahl Mosley. “Backs can be tricky. So, it’s like on and off a little bit. He’s just going to continue to be evaluated over these next few days,” he told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Suggs is averaging 16.4 points and 3.7 assists per game.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Jalen Johnson has become Trae Young‘s co-star in the Hawks‘ offensive attack. They are increasingly relying on Johnson in their quick-passing, fast-breaking offense, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger notes how Johnson ranks among the top five in the league in passes made per game and that he also ranks the top 10 in frontcourt touches for non-centers. Johnson is averaging a career-best 5.3 assists per game.
- Two-way Hawks player Keaton Wallace has spent the majority of his time with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate, but he also saw action in four late December games with the NBA club. Wallace, a 25-year-old rookie, doesn’t mind going back and forth between the two teams, he told Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I’ve been feeling all right,” he said. “This is part of the process of being converted to a two-way (contract). I’m just accepting everything that comes with it.”
- LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller were back in the Hornets lineup against Cleveland on Sunday. They hadn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 26. Ball was battling left ankle soreness and right wrist soreness, while Miller had a left ankle injury.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Mann, Hawks, Nance, Brogdon
The Hornets thought they were moving past their injury woes two weeks ago when LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams were in the lineup together for the first time in nearly 12 months, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. However, that quartet didn’t last a full game, and the injuries have continued ever since. Ball, Miller and Cody Martin were all on the sidelines tonight as Charlotte lost at home against Oklahoma City.
“It’s difficult — obviously we’ve had more injuries than we’ve wanted,” Josh Green said. “But at the end of the day, I feel like that’s also the NBA. There’s always injuries and for us to be successful, it doesn’t take three guys. The whole team needs to be ready to play. Yeah, it’s very unfortunate we haven’t had our starting group. I think maybe one game we’ve had them. But we become a better team when we can win without them. And when we get them back, we become an even better team. That’s the way I look at it.”
The Hornets entered the season hoping to contend for a play-in spot with first-year coach Charles Lee guiding a solid collection of young talent. But whether injuries or other factors are to blame, Charlotte seems headed for another high lottery pick, going 1-15 since November 23 and falling into a tie with Toronto for 13th place in the East.
“Everyone’s journey is different,” Lee said. “There’s no quit in this team and there’s a ton of fight, which is what I love. Because that’s what it’s going to take. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. Life doesn’t feel sorry for you. The world keeps spinning, and so you’ve got to figure out how do I just kind of reset and refocus and come with the right attitude to try to make a change? And a lot of that has got to be your actions.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets got some encouraging news on Saturday as Tre Mann was able to work out before the game, Boone adds. The reserve guard has missed the past 16 games with disc irritation in his lower back. “I think that he’s made some positive steps,” Lee said. “I was joking with him (Friday). It looked like he had a little more pep in his step, and so I was glad to see that.”
- The Hawks were also short-handed in Saturday’s win over Miami, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Dyson Daniels was unavailable due to illness, and Bogdan Bogdanovic was sidelined with a left lower leg contusion. Vit Krejci replaced Daniels in the starting lineup, and two-way player Keaton Wallace logged more than 13 minutes after being called up from the G League. “A lot of guys found themselves in some different situations,” coach Quin Snyder said.
- Hawks big man Larry Nance Jr. suffered a hand injury during the game, the team announced (via Twitter). Additional details and a timeline for his return will be shared later.
- It’s hard to be optimistic about a team with a 5-24 record, but veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon believes the Wizards are moving in the right direction, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “This team is actually just getting better every day,” Brogdon said after Saturday’s overtime loss to New York. “… We won that one game — maybe that was Denver, or whatever game that was — and we’ve seen ourselves, even with the losses after that game, get better every day, every practice, every game.”
Hawks’ Bogdanovic, Bufkin, Krejci Will Be Out Multiple Weeks
Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic will be sidelined for at least a month, the team announced in a press release on Tuesday.
Bogdanovic underwent a non-surgical procedure on Monday. He missed the team’s game on Sunday with what the team labelled right hamstring tendinopathy. He will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks.
The team also provided updates on three other players.
Guard Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder subluxation) has begun treatment and rehabilitation. Like Bogdanovic, he will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks. Bufkin suffered a partially dislocated shoulder in practice last week.
Guard/forward Vit Krejci sustained a right adductor strain during Monday’s game against Washington. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Guard Dyson Daniels has a right hip flexor strain, which also occurred on Monday. He’s out for Wednesday’s game at Washington and will continue to receive treatment.
The news regarding Bogdanovic, who is in the second year of a four-year, $68MM contract, is the most significant. He averaged a career-best 16.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals last season while appearing in 79 games. He’s one of the top three-point shooters in the league, making 38.4% for his career.
The injuries on the backcourt and wing will mean more playing time for Garrison Mathews and Keaton Wallace.
Southeast Notes: Valanciunas, Sarr, Carrington, Wallace, Salaun
Adding a physical center like Jonas Valanciunas should make life easier for rookie big man Alex Sarr, but that’s not the only reason the Wizards acquired him, writes Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network. Regardless of who else is on the court, Valanciunas will handle the traditional center duties of rebounding, setting screens and providing a rugged presence on defense.
“I think it allows optionality for our whole team,” coach Brian Keefe said. “He’s an anchor down there on both ends, this is why we wanted his presence and his physicality. It’s not just for Alex, it’s for our whole team.”
Hughes notes that Valanciunas was previously in a similar situation in Memphis, where he played alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. early in Jackson’s career. Valanciunas gives Keefe an opportunity to exploit size advantages, depending how he decides to handle his lineup. That should help alleviate a rebounding problem that plagued the team last season.
“That’s why we got him. He’ll bring that physicality, bring that toughness,” Keefe said. “Then, his ability to make plays, too, and pass. He’s a professional. He’s been doing this for a long time. We’re thrilled to have him.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Sarr’s defense is far ahead of his offense, Hughes adds in an overview of the Wizards‘ Summer League performance. The big man registered 10 blocks in four games and altered many other shots with his relentless effort. Although he often struggled with his shot, Sarr looks “NBA ready” on defense, according to Hughes. Fellow lottery pick Carlton Carrington was a standout in Las Vegas, averaging 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals in five games. It’s the fourth-highest rebounding figure for a rookie point guard in Summer League history, Hughes adds.
- Keaton Wallace “impacts winning,” assistant coach Ryan Schmidt posted on Twitter after the Hawks signed the free agent guard to a two-way contract, per Lauren Williams of The Journal-Constitution. Wallace is hoping to take advantage of the opportunity after spending the past three seasons in the G League. “I feel like I still have more to show,” he said. “I can always be better in a lot of categories of my game. But I do feel like my work has paid off and it’s just a blessing. I think it could be great for me just trying to learn and be better and get advice from other guys and just leaning on my teammates to get better.”
- Hornets rookie Tidjane Salaun only appeared in two Summer League games, but he has displayed a strong work ethic to go along with his physical talents, observes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. As the first draft pick under new president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson and head coach Charles Lee, Salaun is the type of self-starter they’re looking to build the organization around. “For me, it’s playing confidence,” Salaun said. “That makes the difference. That’s always been the key for me, always been the key for me, because when you have confidence even if the shot is hard with my confidence I know I’m going to make it.”
Hawks Sign Keaton Wallace To Two-Way Deal
JULY 15: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JULY 13: The Hawks are signing free agent guard Keaton Wallace to a two-way contract, agents Max Lipsett and Marcus Monk tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Wallace, 25, spent four years at the University of Texas at San Antonio prior to going undrafted in 2021. He has spent the past three seasons playing in the NBA G League for the Clippers’ and Hawks’ affiliate teams, briefly spending time on a two-way contract with the Clips in 2022/23.
Wallace has yet to make his NBA regular season debut. He is currently playing for Atlanta’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas. In the team’s first game on Friday, a six-point loss to the Wizards, Wallace put up 10 points (on 4-of-8 shooting), four rebounds, six assists (one turnover), two steals and one block in 23 minutes.
In 16 Showcase Cup games with the College Park Skyhawks last season, the 6’4″ Wallace averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.1 APG and 1.6 SPG on .438/.370/.789 shooting (30.0 MPG). He had an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 3-to-1, a solid mark for a guard.
If he stays on a two-way deal for the entire ’24/25 season, Wallace will earn a little under $579K. He will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2025, assuming his contract is for one year and he isn’t released before then.
As our two-way contract tracker shows, the Hawks had a pair of two-way openings before Wallace’s addition was reported, so they will soon have just one vacancy. Atlanta has a roster crunch for players on standard contracts, with 15 players on guaranteed deals plus the non-guaranteed salary of Bruno Fernando.