As of today, December 15, our assessment indicates that 85 NBA players who signed as free agents during the offseason can now be traded.
An extensive list of these trade-eligible players can be found here, which includes some who are unlikely to be moved this season, such as Pacers forward Pascal Siakam and Sixers forward Paul George. However, this list also highlights players like Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, whose names have come up in trade talks shortly after their signings.
In addition, two individuals on this roster are already involved in trades that have been slated, with Thomas Bryant transitioning from Miami to Indiana, and De’Anthony Melton moving from Golden State to Brooklyn. With the arrival of December 15, these arranged trades are now ready to be finalized.
Noteworthy athletes such as LeBron James, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson, Tobias Harris, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Russell Westbrook have also become trade-eligible today.
Among these players, twelve—including LeBron and Harden—are unable to be traded without their consent due to their veto power on trades this season. Both the Nuggets and Suns have multiple players in this category.
In addition, there are ten more players who have just gained trade eligibility but are on non-guaranteed contracts, including a couple from the Pacers. If any of these players are involved in a trade before the league-wide salary guarantee date of January 10, only the non-guaranteed portion of their salaries will count for matching purposes for the team trading them, while the full cap hit must be factored in by the acquiring team.
It’s worth noting that several recently signed players in the NBA are not yet eligible for trade. Many will gain that status on January 15, while others will have specific dates to keep an eye on.
Typically, teams prefer to wait until closer to the trade deadline (February 6) before making moves, rather than rushing into trades once the trade season unofficially starts on December 15. However, with two trades already arranged this year, if at least one is finalized today, it would represent the first trade on December 15 since 2010.
As trade discussions are expected to heat up in the coming days, it is anticipated that the majority of in-season trading activity will take place in January and February.
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