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NBA Buyout Playoff Eligibility: Rules and Deadline
Buyout season is upon us in the NBA. Contenders are looking to fill roster holes with the trade deadline behind them and only a few weeks to add to their teams. What follows is a look at the NBA's buyout rules and deadlines as things begin to ramp up.
What are the NBA's buyout rules?
For a buyout to happen, a player and team must negotiate a payout of the player's remaining salary. A player usually gives up a percentage of what he's owed in exchange for the right to become a free agent.
Once that occurs, the player is put on waivers and for the next 48 hours any team that claims him will take on his current contract. If the player clears waivers, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.
The team that agrees to the buyout still suffers a salary cap hit from the transaction, paying the remaining salary minus the amount surrendered in the buyout agreement. If a player is on a multi-year deal, the remaining salary can be spread out over multiple years for cap purposes.
Playoff eligibility for players after buyout
To be eligible to play for a new team in the postseason, a player must agree to a buyout and be waived by March 1. The player can sign with any team at any time but can't play in the playoffs if he's waived after March 1.
Do buyout players make an impact?
Players who have been bought out have become incredibly valuable to their new teams. In 2012, the then-Charlotte Bobcats bought out Boris Diaw, allowing the San Antonio Spurs to sign him. While they lost in the Western Conference finals that season, Diaw helped San Antonio reach the NBA Finals in each of the following two seasons, winning a title in 2014. He wound up playing in 400 games for the Spurs after getting picked up.
Diaw is just one example. Markieff Morris became a key contributor to the Los Angeles Lakers' championship run in 2020, Joe Johnson provided a boost to the Miami Heat in 2016, Blake Griffin had a great run with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021, and there are plenty more success stories.
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Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.