79 NBA Players Newly Eligible To Be Traded

As of December 15, 79 NBA players who signed as free agents this offseason have officially become eligible to be traded. The list includes notable names such as Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Myles Turner, Julius Randle, and Fred VanVleet.

While some players like Lillard are unlikely to be moved, others, such as Chris Paul, have already been involved in trade speculation. Paul, who has unofficially parted ways with the Clippers, is now eligible to be dealt. Additionally, 14 players on the list, including Lillard, Harden, and VanVleet, have the ability to veto trades this season, meaning they cannot be moved without their consent.

Six newly trade-eligible players are still on non-guaranteed contracts, including two from the Spurs. If traded before the league-wide salary guarantee date of January 10, only the non-guaranteed portion of their salary counts for matching purposes for the team trading them away, though the acquiring team must account for the full cap hit.

It is also noted that many recently signed players remain ineligible to be traded, with some becoming eligible on January 15 and others on unique dates. While teams typically wait until closer to the trade deadline (February 5) to make moves, trades have occurred as early as December 15 in the past, such as last season when two deals were finalized on that date.

A player traded on or before December 16 can be "re-aggregated," meaning their salary can be combined with another player's salary for matching purposes in a second deal before the trade deadline. This was demonstrated last season when the Warriors acquired Dennis Schröder on December 15 and later included him in a trade to Detroit at the deadline.