This Thursday, less than two months before the trade deadline scheduled for February 9, will mark a first major step for all NBA boards seeking to modify their workforce. Indeed, most players who signed a new contract this summer can now be included in transfers, which widens the field of possibilities for GMs looking for good operations.
On February 9, 2023, everything stops, on December 15, 2022, everything begins.
This is how we could sum up the transfer market in the Great League. Because if, in absolute terms, nothing prohibits franchises from making exchanges before December 15, it is no longer the same when a whole slew of players, and not the least, suddenly become transferable. Well, generally, the big signings of the summer are unlikely to be reforged in stride (with the notable exception of Blake Griffin, sent to Detroit in 2018 just a few months after his extension to the Clippers), so we don’t risk not to see – except huge surprise – Jalen Brunson or James Harden move in the coming weeks. On the other hand, other names like Goran Dragic, TJ Warren, Juancho Hernangomez, JaVale McGee or even Andre Drummond could interest certain contenders wishing to add a quality role player to their roster.
The list of players who can be transferred from December 15, 2022
All free agents who signed a new contract this summer will not be eligible for a transfer as of December 15, however. Indeed, several of them, according to criteria which include in particular the fact that the player in question has resigned with the franchise with which he was at the end of his contract (with a salary increase of 20% or more in return signature), will only become transferable from January 15, 2023. Again, a nice little list since we find among others Nicolas Batum, Luguentz Dort, Jusuf Nurkic, Nic Claxton, Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton (who has the ability to prevent a transfer) or even Bradley Beal (who has the ability to prevent a transfer) and Zach LaVine. We will carefully monitor the case of certain players, in particular Ayton, whose extension to the Suns was not a given when the market opened last summer.
The list of players who can be transferred from January 15, 2023
This Thursday, December 15 therefore marks a first step towards one of the major events of the NBA season, namely the February trade deadline. With a large portion of the players who signed a new contract this summer now eligible for a trade, we can expect to see some player movement in the coming days/weeks.
Source lists: HoopsRumors