The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching, so we thought it would be a good time to clarify any confusion. The trade deadline is a pivotal time of almost every NBA season, with plenty of moves and sometimes big names being dealt to different teams.
Here is all the information about this season's deadline.
When is the 2018 NBA trade deadline?
This season's NBA trade deadline is Feb. 8, 2018 at 3 p.m. ET.
Isn't this earlier than previous trade deadlines?
Yes. The trade deadline used to be the Thursday after the All-Star Game. This season it was moved to 10 days before the All-Star Game to avoid the disruption of adding new players just as practices and games are resuming after the break.
According to commissioner Adam Silver: "[There] was the sense that it was more unsettling to have a player traded right after the All-Star break, that the All-Star break would have been an opportunity for the player to move himself, his family, get his family readjusted and get readjusted to the new team when they have that four- or five-day period to do that."
Why are trades still announced after the 3 p.m. ET deadline?
As long as the paperwork is filed to the league office before the 3 p.m. ET deadline, the trade is considered valid. Because there is often a backlog of trades that come in at the last minute, there are sometimes trades that are not made official until well after the deadline has passed.
Can a player be traded after the trade deadline has passed?
No. Unlike leagues such as the MLB, teams cannot trade players after the deadline, even if they clear waivers. Teams can resume trading after they have played their last regular-season game.
