Welcome to the after-party, everyone! It’s time to rally.
That’s right, it’s buyout time: When the NBA’s unwanted veterans and other assorted riff-raff get released from contracts with their current teams to pursue new deals with a more favorable one.
It’s become a pretty big market, actually, thanks to the surge of activity leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline. Those transactions left some teams with mismatched rosters, others with too few players and others with too many. Now it’s time for a round of speed dating to fill in the back end of everyone’s rosters. This is a particularly eventful time for contenders, who generally have their pick of the best buyout candidates, but nearly everyone gets involved to some level.
Virtually all these players will sign the same contract: a minimum deal for the rest of the season. In rare cases, minor bidding wars ensue using pieces of leftover midlevel exception money. More often, any competition for players comes down to playing time and the chance to be part of a playoff run.
We have one other wrinkle, too: Seven teams are outlawed from signing certain players in the buyout market because they are over the first apron. Those teams — the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers — can’t sign any player who was making more than the nontaxpayer midlevel exception before being waived. This year, that means they’re unable to add four notable buyout candidates: Ben Simmons, Bruce Brown, Malcolm Brogdon and Bojan Bogdanović.
With that said, let’s take a look at the buyout market from top to bottom. Note that not all these players will necessarily be bought out and that several of the top seven players, in particular, might not hit the market.
TIER I: Guys who might genuinely make a difference
1. Bruce Brown, Pelicans
The 28-year-old Brown is clearly the best player who potentially would be available and definitely has the deepest collection of cowboy and western gear. Having put together a solid string of games in Toronto before being sent to the Pelicans in the Brandon Ingram trade, he’s re-established some of his value after struggling with knee injuries the last two years.
It’s not entirely clear if the Pelicans would buy him out, given that the Pels might want to keep him beyond this season and his early Bird rights would allow them to do so without needing cap space or exception money. On the other hand, New Orleans is deep into the Tanking Zone at 12-30.
Also, note again that a reunion with the Nuggets is not possible due to their being over the first apron.
2. D’Angelo Russell, Nets
Russell is helping a tanking team win slightly too often for everyone’s tastes, so one wonders if the Nets might look to give him his wings. On the other hand, they may value having his Bird rights into the offseason. Notably, he’d be a strong candidate to sign a balloon contract as Plan B for the Nets’ surfeit of cap space this summer.
3. Malcolm Brogdon, Wizards
Brogdon has an expiring deal, and the Wizards are rebuilding; his shooting and secondary shot creation would be particularly appealing to teams light in backcourt. On the other hand, he’s constantly injured. Also, it isn’t clear if Washington would actually buy him out; the Wizards did a similar thing with Tyus Jones a year ago, keeping him on after not trading him at the deadline.
TIER II: Back-end rotation guys
4. Chris Boucher, Raptors
We don’t really know if the Raptors are coming or going, and it’s not clear the Raptors do either right now. However, if Toronto is serious about chasing ping-pong balls and doesn’t want or need to bring back the deep-shooting big man, he could help a contender’s frontcourt rotation.
5. Tre Jones, Bulls
Jones isn’t a great shooter or an elite shot-creator, but as a game manager who can defend, pass and avoid mistakes, he’s proven quite solid over his five-year career. Added to the De’Aaron Fox trade as matching salary, he’s an iffy fit in Chicago. It’s possible the Bulls could keep him around as a sometimes backup point guard in their “chase” for the Play-In, and they have his Bird Rights this summer. On the other hand, never underestimate what the Bulls might do for a chance to save some money.
6. Larry Nance Jr., Hawks
Nance has an expiring deal, but his Bird rights could be valuable to Atlanta; the Hawks have dropped hints about keeping him around beyond this season. However, he’s also currently out of the mix as the third center behind Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu and might yearn to play more meaningful basketball.
Larry Nance Jr. has found himself buried on the Atlanta depth chart. (Brett Davis / Imagn Images)
7. Ben Simmons, Nets
The Nets are apparently working on a buyout with Simmons now and can finally dispense with trying to generate trade value for his stinker of a contract and get on with their lives. Simmons isn’t worth $40 million, but he’s a versatile player who can guard multiple positions, and on a minimum deal, he could help a lot of teams.
8. Mo Bamba, waived by Jazz
The 26-year-old 2018 lottery pick is a frustrating player, but he can hit 3s, block shots and is still more productive than any of the other frontcourt options below. The Clippers threw him into the P.J. Tucker salary-dump trade, and he was given his wings by Utah.
9. Javonte Green, Pelicans
A low-key useful energy guy on a one-year deal, Green might be an interesting target if the Pelicans don’t allow Brown to hit the market. A buyout would give the Pels some additional room below the luxury tax to fill roster spots with players who might have more of a future beyond this season.
TIER III: Guys who have been there
10. Daniel Theis, waived by Thunder
Salary dumped by New Orleans to get the Pelicans under the tax line, Theis has value as a third center because of his IQ and ability to hit an occasional 3. If players such as Nance and Boucher don’t wriggle free, he’s likely to be the top center on the buyout market.
11. Torrey Craig, waived by Bulls
Waived by the Bulls to accommodate incoming salary in the Zach LaVine trade, Craig is reportedly Boston-bound. He’s only played nine games this year, but the 34-year-old was pretty consistent as a back-end rotation guy in the previous three campaigns for three different teams. Historically the veteran forward’s coaches have liked him more than the numbers, but forwards in this size bracket are relatively scarce.
12. Monte Morris, Suns
This one is more speculative, but Morris has vanished from the Suns’ rotation and might be interested in a different landing spot. He has taken DNPs in five of the last seven Suns games and has slumped to 30.4 percent from 3 on the season, but his overall level of play hasn’t been that bad. A lot of teams could use him as a third point guard, if nothing else.
13. Seth Curry, Hornets
Curry is 34 and the Hornets are rebuilding, but the Charlotte native might not mind sticking around. He’s badly undersized but offers a knockdown shooter who can thrive next to an elite distributor.
14. Bojan Bogdanović, Nets
He’s 35 and hasn’t played all season following offseason foot surgery, but Bogdanović had been targeting a return around the All-Star break. The veteran forward is a major defensive liability, but he can still get buckets.
15. P. J. Tucker, Raptors
Tucker is 39, has been chilling on his couch all year and was the league’s lowest-scoring player the last time he played regularly. However, a team might still value his defense and toughness in a limited role. That team is surely not lottery-bound Toronto, where he was sent via the Clippers and Utah this week, but his former employers in Miami and Milwaukee might be curious.
16. Reggie Jackson, waived by Wizards
Jackson is 34 and might be nearing the end of the line after falling out of Philadelphia’s rotation and being included in a salary dump with Washington. However, never underestimate the allure of a veteran guard to a team in need of an extra point guard.
17. Delon Wright, Knicks
Wright fell out of the Bucks’ guard rotation after his offense cratered this year, shooting an abysmal 26.8 percent. However, he’s still a sneaky ball hawk with good size for a combo guard, and that shooting percentage might be a small-sample mirage. If the 32-year-old makes a few more shots, he can still fill a role. Sent to New York in the Jericho Sims trade, it’s not clear if he’ll stick there or move on.
Delon Wright grabs a rebound against the Wizards. (Benny Sieu / Imagn Images)
18. Patty Mills, Clippers
Mills has the Clippers’ 14th roster spot, for the moment, but LA might need it to sign a more desirable player from this list … especially since the 15th spot is likely earmarked for promoting Jordan Miller from his two-way contract. Mills can offer some shooting gravity, but his PERs of 7.2 and 6.1 the last two seasons indicate the 36-year-old is at or near the end of the line.
TIER IV: Young guys worth tracking
19. Jaden Springer, waived by Rockets
Springer is an NBA-caliber defender who unfortunately has never shot consistently enough to carve out a role. While his career has moved in fits and starts on contending teams in Philadelphia and Boston that couldn’t spare on-court minutes for him, Springer had some decent outings for the Celtics just before the deadline. Alas, he was waived in a move to trim Boston’s luxury-tax bill. He has a good chance of landing on a rebuilding roster, one would think, especially if it’s a team that believes in its shooting coach.
20. Bones Hyland, Hawks
It seems Hyland might be getting a chance to run the show as a backup when the Clippers sent him to Atlanta, but the Hawks GM not mentioning him in the press release announcing the trade is kind of a red flag that he might not be long for this roster. Hyland has shot-creation skill that the Hawks roster could use but has never been able to mesh that with acceptable defense or limited mistakes.
21. Wendell Moore, Jr., waived by Pistons
I’d have Moore pretty high on my reclamation project list if I were a rebuilding team. He hardly got a chance in two years in Minnesota, and his 219 minutes in Detroit this year were pretty respectable across the board. Shooting looms as an issue, but Moore is a solid athlete with a strong frame, and he’s also two-way eligible.
22. Cam Reddish, Hornets
Are we still allowed to call Reddish a young guy? He’s 25. Anyway, it seems more likely that a rebuilding Charlotte team will take a look under the hood here on the 2019 lottery pick rather than immediately move on from Reddish, especially since they would have early Bird rights this summer if he made an impression.
23. David Roddy, waived by Hawks
The rugged third-year forward shot better in Atlanta than in his previous two stops, but he wasn’t impactful enough to make up for his defensive shortcomings and lack of shot creation. The 2022 first-round pick is likely still a roster candidate someplace because of the scarcity of combo forwards and a two-way option at worst.
24. MarJon Beauchamp, Clippers
The third-year forward will likely have to prove himself on a two-way deal after failing to make an impression as a 2022 first-rounder by the Bucks. He’s currently on the Clippers’ roster, but nobody expects that to be the case for long.
25. Johnny Davis, Grizzlies
I don’t expect Davis to be in Memphis’ plans, with his roster spot likely taken by one of the players on the list above before long. A bust as a Wizards lottery pick in 2022, Davis is two-way eligible. Also, his minutes in Washington this season were at least moderately encouraging.
26. Colby Jones, Wizards
Jones seems more likely to be keeper for the Wizards through the rest of the season before they evaluate whether to pick up his guarantee for 2025-26. A second-round pick in 2023, Jones’ anemic offense prevented him from gaining traction in Sacramento, and he was thrown into a deadline deal for Memphis’ Jake LaRavia.
27. Jalen Hood-Schifino, waived by Jazz
After being traded by the Lakers as a sidebar to the Luka Dončić shocker, Hood-Schifino was waived by the Jazz to make room for their next set of trades. He’s only 21 and was a first-round pick in 2023, which means another team is likely to take a flier as soon as he’s healthy (he’s been out with a hamstring injury since December). However, he may be more likely to latch on with a two-way than on a roster contract.
28. Caleb Houstan, Magic
Houstan has a $2.2 million team option for next season, but here’s the rub: The Magic have a full roster. Thus, if the Magic want to get anybody from the buyout market, they have to waive somebody first. (That also applies if they want to promote two-way energizer Trevelin Queen, by the way.) Houstan seems the most likely candidate, having posted an abysmal 5.4 PER in 35 games and playing the same position as Orlando’s last two first-round picks.
29. Sidy Cissoko, SF, waived by Wizards
As with Hood-Schifino above, Cissoko is a 2023 draftee who washed out quickly but is so young (just 20) that he is likely to get another shot as a reclamation project. The Wizards let him go after he was traded from San Antonio to Sacramento to Washington. He’s a strong, athletic wing, but shooting has been a problem. Most likely, a rebuilding team will try him on a two-way.
30. Patrick Baldwin, waived by Spurs
A stretch four who hasn’t shot consistently enough to make it tolerable to live with his lack of physicality and rebounding, Baldwin is likely another 2022 draftee who will try to rebuild his value via a two-way.
Expect Patrick Baldwin to rebuild his value somewhere on a two-way deal. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)
TIER V: Everyone else
31. Josh Richardson, Jazz
Richardson has struggled with injuries the last two years and only played eight games for Miami this season; his minimum deal was sent to the Jazz to help the Heat clear some room below the first apron for … more buyout guys! Reports indicate that Utah plans on waiving him. The veteran guard is still on the shelf with a troublesome heel injury and might be a more logical signing in the offseason once he can get right physically.
32. Alex Len, Wizards
The veteran giant definitely lost some athletic juice this year, with his rebound rate slumping to just 13.7 percent and his usage rate to 9.5. One presumes the Wizards would like to see his roster spot filled by somebody a decade or so younger, so he’ll likely be on the market sooner or later.
33. Chris Duarte, waived by Bulls
A 2021 first-round pick, Duarte is 27 and probably needs to head to Europe, getting only 74 minutes from the Bulls in his fourth season before being waived to create roster spots for incoming salary in the LaVine trade.
34. Vasilije Micić, Suns
Micić got an extensive audition in Charlotte due to the Hornets’ injuries, and … yeah, let’s not do that again. He has a team option for $8.1 million next year that the Suns will likely decline and will presumably head back to Europe.
35. Cody Zeller, C, waived by Rockets
Zeller never showed up in Atlanta but still got to collect $3.5 million. What a league.
(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Matthew Stockman, Sean Gardner / Getty Images; Juan Ocampo / NBAE via Getty Images)
