Thunderous Intentions
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OKC Thunder team by team primer of players eligible for trade as of December 15

By Tamberlyn Richardson

OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Now that the calendar has passed December 15th a host of players become eligible for trade. OKC Thunder GM will be pouring over a similar list to this full primer of newly trade eligible players.

After the Russell Westbrook trade to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and draft picks the OKC Thunder has laid low in terms of roster tweaks. Then again, virtually every team has been in the on hold position since this trade.

That’s because almost a third of the NBA talent switched teams this past summer either through free agency or trades. And, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement restrictions apply to new signings which means teams can’t trade those new additions.

The waiting period is a minimum of three months (or at the earliest December 15th). Not all players will be eligible to be traded as of today but those are the exceptions rather than the rule.

Those exceptions apply to just under 60 players and fall into three areas:

  • Date related – waiting period falls later than December 15th. There are eight different dates when players will be eligible for trade later than today. In all 27 players have different dates that occur prior to the deadline but after December 15th.
  • In some cases that date extends beyond the trade deadline typically because the signing date was too late (see Carmelo Anthony for example who signed with Portland just recently). Or the contract falls under the *poison pill scenario. There are 15 players who are in this grouping.
  • The player has negotiated the right to approve all trades. Again Carmelo Anthony is a great example since OKC fans are familiar with when he joined the Thunder he had to approve coming here prior to the trade occurring with the Knicks. There are 15 players who have the trade approval caveat in their contract including Nerlens Noel of the Thunder.

Poison Pill Contract explanation:

*Poison Pill contracts typically the rookie extension of a player. Since the initial contracts for rookies are much less these extensions are dramatically higher. For example, Pascal Siakam is earning $2,35 million this season, but next year when his extension kicks in he’ll earn $29 million and the total value of his four-year extension is $129.9 million.

All trades have to recognize equivalent salaries switching sides but the poison pill complicates the situation. So, the Raptors would be sending out Siakam at his $2.35 million valuation, but the receiving team would value him at $29.3 M (an average of his 4-year deal plus this season divided by the 5-years of his salary).

In other words, there would be a $26 million discrepancy between teams on Siakam’s valuation for trade matching purposes. Ultimately the poison pill makes a trade virtually impossible, the reality is these types of deals occur with a player the team typically expects to keep for the long term and as part of their core so they are the “untouchables” on your squad if you will.

This will likely be the scenario Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finds himself in next fall when Presti negotiates his extension. Shai would still be earning his rookie scale and then the following season will take a massive jump in salary.

Team by team players now available for trade:

Of note – players who can approve contracts are noted, as are poison pill contracts and any player who won’t be eligible on December 15th but will prior to the trade deadline is noted with the specific tradeable date.

Atlantic Division:

Boston Celtics:

Brooklyn Nets:

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Toronto Raptors

Southeast Divison:

Atlanta Hawks:

Charlotte Hornets:

Miami Heat:

Orlando Magic:

Washington Wizards:

Central Division:

Chicago Bulls:

Detroit Pistons:

Indiana Pacers

Milwaukee Bucks

Pacific Division:

Golden State Warriors

LA Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Phoenix Suns

Sacramento Kings

Southwest Division:

Dallas Mavericks

Houston Rockets

Memphis Grizzlies

New Orleans Pelicans

San Antonio Spurs

Northwest Division:

More from Thunderous Intentions

Denver Nuggets

Minnesota Timberwolves

OKC Thunder

Portland Trail Blazers

Utah Jazz

There you have it. That brings you up to speed on the newly available players for trade, ones who’ll be available shortly, poison pill contracted players and those individuals who have the right to veto any deal.

Next. Choices loom for Thunder – buy or sell, lottery or playoffs. dark

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll dive in more deeply to potential trades Sam Presti may consider and teams who may be reaching out to the OKC Thunder for players to add to their roster.

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