In addition to the limitations they face in the trade market and free agency, NBA teams that finish the season with a payroll greater than the second tax apron also have a future first-round pick “frozen,” meaning it becomes untradeable.
This restriction applies to conscription after seven years. For example, a team that finished the 2024/25 season as a second-round club would freeze 2,032 first-round players, a team that finished above the second round in 2025/26 would freeze 2,033 first-round players, etc.
A team can “unfreeze” that first-round pick by finishing below the second apron in at least three of the next four seasons. For example, if a team that finished above second place in the 2024/25 season was frozen at 2032 in the first round, that club would regain the option to trade that pick in the 2028 offseason if it remained below the second place threshold in 2025/26, ’26/27 and ’27/28.
On the other hand, if that team continues to operate in second-round territory for at least two of the next four seasons, not only will that pick be permanently frozen, but the club will also face what the Collective Bargaining Agreement calls a “pick penalty” — the frozen pick is carried over to the very end of the first round, regardless of where the team finished in the standings in the season preceding that draft.
The 2024/25 Championship season was the first season to see this new penalty applied, so only a small handful of selections have been ‘frozen’ so far and not enough time has passed for any to ‘unfreeze’.
We’ll use this space as a permanent tracker for picks covered by this rule, keeping track of which first-rounders are frozen and noting when and if they’re unfrozen — or when they’re permanently frozen and move to the end of the first round.
Because this penalty only applies to teams that to finish season below the second apron, a club operating in a second apron area before or during the season can still avoid this by moving below the second apron threshold before the spring. As a result, our tracker will only be updated at the end of each season.
Here’s the current breakdown:
Frozen 2032 First Round Picks
These teams are done Season 2024/25 over the second apron.
- Boston Celtics
- Below the second apron in 2025/26? ✅
- Below the second apron in 2026/27? ✅ *
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Below the second apron in 2025/26? ✅
- Below the second apron in 2026/27? ✅ *
- Phoenix Suns
- Below the second apron in 2025/26? ✅
- Below the second apron in 2026/27? ✅ *
Frozen 2033 First Round Picks
This team is done Season 2025/26 over the second apron.
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Below the second apron in 2026/27? ✅ *
Note: asterisk
indicates that a team is hard-capped at first or second tax for the current league year and cannot exceed that threshold, ensuring they finish below it.
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