After a few relatively quiet months in the NBA, October is filled with important roster and contract decisions. Here’s our selection of dates to watch out for this month:
Regular season roster decisions
The 2026/27 regular season ends on Tuesday, October 20, meaning teams have until 4pm CET to draw up their squads for the season Monday, October 19. To meet the regular season roster limit, a team must have no more than 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.
While teams have until Oct. 19 to make their regular season rosters, many clubs won’t make their final cuts until then October 17, Saturday. This is the last day a team can waive a player not guaranteed contract and avoid paying his salary.
(RELATED: 2026/27 Non-guaranteed team contracts)
Since a player is paid for the time he spends on holdouts, a player who was sent off on Monday, October 19th will not have his holdouts removed until Wednesday, October 21st, the second day of the regular season. This means that even if his contract is non-guaranteed, he would earn two days of his salary.
Teams looking to waive players with partially or fully guaranteed salaries are in a better position to wait until Monday before the start of the regular season. For example, if Bucks decided to reduce Karis Levertwhose $14,809,200 salary is fully guaranteed, it doesn’t matter if they do it on October 17 or 19 — he’ll get his $14,809,200 either way.
However, if the Bucks want to opt out Pete Nancewhose salary is completely unguaranteed, they will probably do it on Saturday. Waiting until Monday would have paid Nance $29,167 (2/174 of his $2,537,526 salary).
Bilateral conversions of contracts
A player on Exhibition 10 contract can turn his transaction into a bilateral contract, but only until Monday, October 19the day before the regular season begins.
If a player with an Exhibit 10 contract remains on his team’s roster through this Monday without moving to a two-way contract, his Exhibit 10 deal will become a standard non-guaranteed contract.
With most players out of their Addendum 10 contracts on or before October 17th, it’s worth keeping an eye on who remains on the roster before this Saturday — these players will be good options to move their deals to two-way deals or maybe even compete for a spot on the 15-man roster.
The only player who has a 10-plus contract transformed to a bilateral agreement in the 2026/27 season Predators security guard Malachi Smith.
Renewal of contracts
The deadline for a player to sign a rookie scale extension Monday, October 19 at 5:00 PM Central Time.
As of Thursday, four of the 23 players who were has the right to expand the scope of beginners entering this offseason have received long-term commitments from their clubs, with Spurs a great man Victor Wembanyama, Rockets security guard Amin Thompson, Pistons swingman Ausar Thompsonand Jazz security guard Keyonte George everything signing new contracts. The fifth player from this group of 23 (Cam Whitmore) was waived, leaving 18 players who can still seek extensions, which would keep them off the free agent market in 2027.
magic security guard Anthony Black, Trail Blazers security guard Scoot Henderson, Hornets forward Brandon Miller, Warriors security guard Brandin undergroundand Thunder security guard Cason Wallace are among the notable rookie scaling candidates to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
It seems safe to bet that a few more players eligible for rookie-level extensions will sign them — at least nine players have signed rookie-level extensions each offseason since 2019, including nine in 2025.
As for a veteran extension candidates, an extension-eligible player who is in the final year of his current contract may sign an extension at any time before or after the start of the regular season, up to and including June 30, 2027.
However, a player who is eligible for a veteran extension, but who is eligible no in the contract year will be eligible to sign a new deal only until Monday, October 19.
for example Networks forward Michael Porter Jr will retain the right to extend the veteran’s contract even after the start of the regular season, as he is in the final year of his current contract. But Pelicans forward Zion Williamsonwho has two years left on his warranty, can only sign an extension until October 19. He will then be ineligible to sign a new deal until next summer.
The veteran, who is eligible for an extension through 2027/28, will be eligible for an extension after the start of the season, unless his option is declined in any extension agreement and his new contract replaces the option. Player as Nix a great man Karl-Anthony Towns will fall under that umbrella as his current deal includes a player option for ’27/28.
Guaranteed pay dates
The league’s guaranteed salary date is January 7, 2027. A player with a non-guaranteed contract who is not terminated by that date and does not accept a waiver by January 10 will have a fully guaranteed salary for 2026/27.
However, some players have contracts that are partially or fully guaranteed before the start of the regular season. Ours list of early guaranteed salary dates shows which players get into that boat, with The necklaces security guard Ben Simmons, Jazz a great man Mo Bambaand Heat center Nick Richards among the candidates to make their salaries for this season fully guaranteed in the coming weeks.
In particular, Mavericks a great man Moussa Cisse will see his full salary become guaranteed if he is not denied todayprovided he and the team do not reach an agreement to move that guarantee date.
Rookie team option decisions
A team that wishes to exercise its 2027/28 third- or fourth-year option for a player on a rookie contract must do so no earlier than November 2, Monday. This deadline is usually October 31st, but this year it was pushed back a couple of days because it can’t land on a weekend. So, while it’s not technically an October 2026 deadline, it’s still worth talking about here.
How our tracker shows none of those options have been exercised yet, but those numbers will change soon as 27 teams across the league have just over a month to decide on one or more of them. Only Warriors, Pacersand Heat have no players with rookie squad options for ’27/28.
The team that keeps the player without exercising his 2027/28 option would put that player on a path to unrestricted free agency next offseason. At that point, his team wouldn’t be able to offer him a higher salary than what his option would be worth, although rival suitors could offer him more than that.
