NBA:Waivers
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There is no direct release. To remove a player you put him on waivers, and every other team has 48 hours to claim him.
The sequence
1. Post the waiver in the NBA: Waiver System forum — name, salary, contract length, and the cap hit you will take if he is unclaimed.
2. Immediately, on posting:
| Effect | |
|---|---|
| Active roster spot | Frees in full |
| Cap | 60% frees. The 40% hit is assumed from this moment |
Neither waits out the 48 hours.
3. The 48-hour claim period runs.
4a. Claimed — he and his contract go to the claiming team and you owe nothing. Contested claims are settled by priority.
4b. Unclaimed — he is released into the free agent pool and your cap hit stands.
TAB confirms the move.
What it costs
40% of salary, per year, through the last year you committed to.
| Salary | Hit per year |
|---|---|
| $495,000 | $198,000 |
| $500,000 | $200,000 |
| $1,420,400 | $568,160 |
| $6,200,000 | $2,480,000 |
| $10,100,000 | $4,040,000 |
Which years
Your last committed year is your last guaranteed year, or the last option you have exercised, whichever is later. The hit stops at the first option you have not decided.
Two things follow:
- A hit always covers at least the current season — you cannot be carrying a player without having committed to the season you are in.
- Options are exercised one season at a time, so a player on year-by-year options is only ever one year of exposure, however many option years his contract shows.
Mark Eaton,
$495,000 (2025, ~2029x). Going into 2026-2027 the 2026x and 2027x options have been picked up; 2028x is undecided. Waived now the hit is $198,000 (2027) — not 2025, not 2029.
Anchored to the 2026-2027 season:
| Contract | Committed through | Hit |
|---|---|---|
$495,000 (2025, ~2029x) — 2027x exercised
|
2027 | $198,000 (2027) |
$1,420,400 (2028, 2029x) — guaranteed to 2028
|
2028 | $568,160 through 2028 |
$10,100,000 (2028) — no options
|
2028 | $4,040,000 through 2028 |
Exercising an option extends your exposure by exactly one season. Weigh that at the option deadline.
Exceptions
| Case | Effect |
|---|---|
| Draft-and-stash player waived before he comes over | One-year hit — his contract has no end date to calculate against. Once he has arrived, the normal rule applies |
| Re-signed player | Normal hit, and the re-sign tag stays spent until the contract would have expired. Trading him returns the tag; waiving does not. See Re-Signing |
Waiver priority
Priority settles contested claims.
| Period | Order |
|---|---|
| Through week 4 | Reverse of last season's final standings |
| After week 4 | Reverse of the current season's standings |
Last season's order means the standings themselves, not the lottery-adjusted draft order.
Conditional waivers
A waiver you make because a signing or trade needed the roster spot. Post it after that move goes through.
Bidding while at roster capacity, you state how you will create the spot — that declaration is what makes the bid valid (Free Agency). Win the bid, then post the waiver. The move you named is the one you must honor.
Do not waive speculatively for a bid you have not won: a losing bid leaves you a real cap hit for nothing.
Automatic waivers
Above 15 active players in-season, your most recently acquired player goes on waivers by default — you do not choose who. Roster limits do not apply in the off-season, so this only bites once the season starts. See Rosters.
How to post
A topic in the NBA: Waiver System forum stating:
- the player's name, salary and contract length
- the cap hit and through which year, if he is unclaimed
Waive Jeff Malone (WAS - SG) $4,000,000 (2027) Will take a cap hit of $1,600,000 (2027) if unclaimed.
The year is the last year you committed to, not the guaranteed year printed on the contract:
Waive Mark Eaton (UTA - C) $495,000 (2025, ~2029x) Will take a cap hit of $198,000 (2027) if unclaimed.
Then update your roster — the player comes off, and if he clears, the hit goes in your Cap Hits section. See Rosters.
See also
- Salary Cap — how dead money sits against the cap
- Rosters — roster counts and posting your cap hits
- Contracts — reading salary and option years
- Free Agency — bidding with space freed by a waiver
- Re-Signing — why waiving does not return a tag