Some of the largest contracts issued in July won't be to free agents but rookie-scale players entering the fourth year of their contracts. Only first-round picks sign rookie-scale contracts, like Ja Morant and Darius Garland, who seem destined to receive a sizable pay raises. As Jordan Poole breaks out with the Golden State Warriors, [Read More]
When can NBA players extend their contracts, and for how much? As with most questions about the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, the answer is "it depends." Is the player a first-round pick coming off their first contract? How long was the initial agreement? How many years are left on the deal? Did the player [Read More]
Bird Rights are a vital team-building component, enabling NBA franchises to re-sign players for larger and larger salaries. Named after Hall-of-Fame forward Larry Bird, Bird Rights come in three flavors based on how many consecutive seasons a player stays with the same team (in most cases, rights transfer with the player via trade). Non-Bird [Read More]
Out of Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Michael Porter Jr., only Young qualified for a higher maximum salary following the 2021-22 NBA season's annual awards. Young was named to the All-NBA Third Team. had any of the others won Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player [Read More]
Fans love to play general manager, willing their team to a championship via a flurry of fake trades. But not every player is trade eligible—an understandable area of confusion for fans, especially after a player receives a contract extension. The following cheat sheet to help clean that up! When Can Players Be Traded, In [Read More]
