2026 NBA Trade Deadline Guide: Part I
This comprehensive NBA trade deadline guide is the ultimate primer for understanding objectives for all 30 teams and over 120 players who could factor into the trade market.
Today is December 15, the unofficial start of the NBA trade season. The likelihood of trades increases because most players who were free agents in the 2025 offseason can now be traded. So Third Apron is releasing its first trade deadline guide detailing player preliminary team objectives and over 125 players who could shape the trade market. Most trades aren’t consummated until the deadline, but we could see a deal or two between now and mid-January.
The NBA also acknowledges December 15 as the start of trade season in the CBA. The 2023 CBA now limits the number of minimum-salaried players that can be aggregated with each other or with non-minimum-salaried players. None of those restrictions will apply between December 15 and the February 5 trade deadline, so that will open up trade possibilities.
We’re kicking off the start of trade season with our first annual trade deadline draft. In this episode, we do a snake draft of players who could be traded ahead of the February 5 trade deadline with different categories to choose from.
As the title of this guide suggests, this will be part 1 of 2. It’s still early, and a lot will change over the next two months. Also, some players cannot be traded until January 15 or later. So there will be a sequel guide released in mid-January with analysis reflecting updates to the trade market and the hierarchy of the best players potentially available.
On a broader note, Third Apron just celebrated it’s one year anniversary. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, now is one of the best times of the year to join. We’ve been consistently posting, but you can expect an uptick between now and the end of free agency with the increase in transactions.