Unless he is part of a sign-and-trade agreement, an NBA free agent who signs a new contract cannot be traded right away. The collective bargaining agreement states that the newly signed free agent cannot be traded until Dec. 15 or until the end of his contract within three months, whichever is later.
Under this rule, the majority of free agents who signed new contracts in July, August and the first half of September will become trade-eligible on December 15th (a smaller group of free agents who meet certain criteria will not become trade-eligible until January 15).
Pa our circleat least 88 players are now on track to become eligible to move on December 15th. This does not include players signed on Exhibition 9 or Exhibition 10 contracts that could earn spots on the regular season roster since they are not included in our list (they will be added if not waived by opening night).
However, with the exception of camp invitees who unexpectedly stay for the regular season, that list will not expand to include additional names after Tuesday, which is exactly three months from Dec. 15. A free agent who signs a new contract after September 15th will be eligible for a trade for a full three months instead of December 15th.
For example, a player who signed up on September 22nd will be eligible for a draw on December 22nd; whoever signs up on October 4th will start trading on January 4th, and so on.
For most players, it won’t make much of a difference whether they become eligible for a trade on December 15th or a few weeks later, since most trades are made a few days before February anyway. But it’s not entirely unusual for the trades to end on December 15th or shortly after, once restrictions are lifted for some players. That Dec. 15 trade won’t be possible this season for any free agent signing after Tuesday.
It should also be noted that a player traded after December 16 cannot receive his salary aggregated with another player’s salary in a separate deal before the trade deadline. This rule will further limit the flexibility teams have in transfers this winter involving signings in late September or October.
Finally, it’s worth noting that November 11th is an important date in this discussion, as this is the trade deadline season land on February 11. A player who signs a free agent contract on or after November 12 will not be eligible for a deal during the 2026/27 season.
Once the season starts next month, we will have a better understanding of which players have signed contracts after earned regular season roster spots on September 15th, we will publish a new list of these players’ unique trade eligibility dates to complement our December 15 and January 15 raids
