Knecht and Sims in the week's only reported trade framework, Wallace signs for $139MM, and the NBA board for Oct. 12–19
The Oct. 12–19 board closes three extensions, cuts the league down to 15-man rosters, and leaves the Lakers and Bucks discussing a Knecht-for-Sims deal that even its reporter doubts.
The window here is Oct. 12–19, 2026. The regular season opens Tuesday, which makes today the last day of the offseason.
Three deadlines expire in the next few hours. Rosters must be down to 15 standard contracts and three two-way deals by 2 p.m. PT. Rookie-scale extensions close at 3 p.m. PT, veteran extensions at 8:59 p.m. PT. 1
No trade closed in the seven days. What moved was everything around a trade: waivers that free a roster spot, extensions that take a player off next summer's market, and one reported framework that even its reporter doubts.
The board at a glance
| Player or lane | Status | Verified development | Contract, cap or roster mechanism | Next signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cason Wallace, Thunder | Completed | Agreed Sunday to a five-year, $139MM rookie-scale extension, first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania. 2 | $27.8MM a year, between Dyson Daniels's $25MM and Ausar Thompson's $31MM. 2 | He becomes Oklahoma City's starter next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 3 |
| Oso Ighodaro, Suns | Completed | Signed a three-year, $29MM veteran extension Sunday. 4 | Phoenix picked up his $2.5MM option for 2027/28, so the new money runs 2028/29 to 2030/31. 4 | He opens as the starting center while Mark Williams rehabs. 4 |
| Payton Pritchard, Celtics | Completed | Agreed Oct. 13 on a two-year, $44.2MM veteran extension; official Oct. 16. 5 | The maximum for a below-average-salary player: $21.2MM, then $22.9MM, plus a mutual option for 2029/30. 5 | Boston opens with 14 standard contracts. 5 |
| Dwight Powell, Mavericks | Completed, lost | Waived Monday morning after 12 seasons in Dallas, reported by Charania and confirmed by the team. 6 | A $1MM guarantee that would have grown to $1.5MM on opening night. 6 | He becomes a free agent Wednesday if unclaimed. 6 |
| Bruce Brown, Knicks | Completed, lost | Waived Saturday to get New York to 14 standard contracts; James Wiseman won the last spot. 7 | A 15th man would have pushed the Knicks over the second apron. 8 | Tyler Kolek was never shopped; no backup center ever came back. 9 |
| Pat Connaughton, Hornets | Completed, lost | Waived Friday, and Charlotte kept Tidjane Salaun and Liam McNeeley instead. 10 | His minimum was the only non-guaranteed standard deal on the roster. 10 | Charlotte sits at exactly 15 standard contracts. 8 |
| Ben Simmons, Kings | Completed, lost | Torn right Achilles in Sunday's practice, confirmed by Sacramento; surgery to follow. 11 | The minimum was non-guaranteed, but the Kings owe it in full once the injury is season-ending. 11 | A 15-man spot opens with $2.9MM of tax room. 11 |
| Dalton Knecht, Lakers | Exploratory | Reported framework: Los Angeles attaches second-round picks to move him, Milwaukee sends Jericho Sims. 12 | $4.2MM remains on his deal, and waiving him means eating it. 13 | The 2 p.m. PT roster deadline. 12 |
| Jericho Sims, Bucks | Exploratory | The other half of that framework; Milwaukee has also weighed Caris LeVert and Kevin Porter Jr. 12 | LeVert is expiring at $14.8MM and has struggled badly in the preseason. 14 | Milwaukee must shed one standard deal by 2 p.m. PT. 1 |
| GG Jackson II and Walter Clayton Jr., Grizzlies | Contested | Fischer listed both among names raised in Memphis talks; Damichael Cole reported the Grizzlies are not discussing Jackson. 12 | Memphis holds 17 standard contracts and must get to 15. 14 | Two moves by 2 p.m. PT. 1 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks | Exploratory | Windhorst reports Golden State, the Clippers and Atlanta would "probably line up to make big offers" if Towns declines his 2027/28 option. 15 | He holds a 2027/28 player option, and New York paused extension talks on Oct. 9. 15 | Windhorst still expects the two sides to settle something. 15 |
| Anthony Black, Magic | Stalled | Stein hears Orlando has no desire to trade him and expects to negotiate with him as a restricted free agent. 9 | Orlando has not gone to $22MM a year, with Podziemski's $110MM framing the talks. 15 | 3 p.m. PT Monday, then 2027 restricted free agency. 9 |
| Noah Penda, Magic | Injured | Partially torn right hamstring in Friday's preseason finale; "significant time" expected. 16 | $2.15MM this season, with no roster mechanism to replace him. 16 | No timetable has been set. 16 |
| Nic Claxton, Bulls | Injured | Still limited by a hamstring; he may be Chicago's only player unavailable for the opener. 17 | He is extension-eligible only until tonight, and Chicago sits far below the tax. 1 | Whether he dresses Tuesday. 17 |
Los Angeles and Milwaukee: the one framework on the table
Jake Fischer reported Thursday morning that the Bucks, Lakers and Grizzlies were all working the trade market to fix a roster crunch. 14 By that night he had something more specific: Los Angeles and Milwaukee had spoken to each other. 12
The shape he described has the Lakers attaching second-round picks to Dalton Knecht's contract. Milwaukee would send back center Jericho Sims, then waive Knecht once he arrived. 12
Both sides are solving arithmetic, not chasing a player. The Lakers carry 16 guaranteed contracts and Knecht has no rotation spot. 13 JJ Redick's explanation was blunt: the team changed, so the needs and the fit changed. 13
Fischer has heard "some pessimism" that it lands. The fallback is simpler: waive Knecht and swallow the $4.2MM left on his deal. 12
Milwaukee's problem is the same shape with a different cast. The Bucks hold 17 standard contracts, and Pete Nance's non-guaranteed minimum is the obvious cut. 14
They would rather keep Nance, and they worry another team would take him on a two-way before they could bring him back. 12 Stein hears multiple contenders are ready to offer Nance a two-way deal once he clears waivers. 9
Caris LeVert is the other name to watch. He is expiring at $14.8MM and was not the point of the trade that brought him to Milwaukee. 14 He scored three points on 1-of-7 shooting in 37 preseason minutes, with seven turnovers. 14
Analysis: a Sims-for-Knecht swap clears one roster spot for each team without adding salary in either direction. That is why it makes sense on paper and why neither side is eager — the Bucks give up a rotation big to solve a bookkeeping problem.
Memphis has to lose two players, and one name is disputed
Memphis is the only team carrying 17 standard contracts. 14 Jaylen Wells is expected to make the roster without a guarantee, which leaves two cuts no matter what. 14
Fischer calls Micah Peavy a strong waiver candidate and says GG Jackson II and Walter Clayton Jr. have come up in trade talks. 12 He names no team for either player. 12
Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal pushed back on the Jackson half of the report, hearing that Memphis is not in any trade discussions about him. 12 Treat Jackson as unconfirmed and Clayton as exploratory. 12
The fit logic behind the Clayton name is on the record. Golden State and Miami were both intrigued by him before last year's draft. 12
Charlotte paid the veteran. Dallas paid the kid.
Both front offices faced the same question: keep a respected veteran on a cheap deal, or keep a young player with more runway.
Charlotte picked the young players. Fischer reported the Hornets wanted Connaughton, and that keeping him might cost them Salaun, the 2024 No. 6 pick, or McNeeley. 12 On Friday they waived Connaughton instead. 10
Salaun's own trajectory made that defensible. Fischer reports he improved over the summer but now "realistically projects" as a rotation player rather than the star Charlotte once imagined. 12
Dallas went the other way, and later. The Mavericks kept Dwight Powell on the roster until Monday morning, then waived him to reach 15. 6 The official announcement framed it as a farewell to a 12-year veteran. 6
Keeping Powell would have meant moving Moussa Cisse, a 24-year-old center on $2.2MM, and Stein reports several teams were ready to claim Cisse if he came free. 6 Chicago has interest in Cisse, Atlanta could pursue him, and Philadelphia and Los Angeles would want him on a two-way if their slots opened. 9
That is the usual afterlife of deadline week. The player cut today is the player three teams call tomorrow.
Towns, 2027, and three teams already lined up
Brian Windhorst spent part of his ESPN column on how New York moves forward with Karl-Anthony Towns. His answer on the destination question was unusually direct. 15
Golden State, the Clippers and Atlanta would "probably line up to make big offers" if Towns declines his 2027/28 player option and reaches free agency. 15 Windhorst still expects New York and Towns to work something out, despite the Oct. 9 pause. 15
Nothing here is a trade conversation. Every path Windhorst describes runs through a decision Towns makes in 2027, not one the Knicks make this week. 15
Sam Amick put Towns on his list of five stars whose season he will watch closely, alongside LeBron James and Nikola Jokic. 18 Amick's honorable mentions include Ja Morant, now in Portland, and LaMelo Ball, now in Minnesota. 18
Analysis: for fantasy purposes the Towns item is a 2027 story with a 2026 symptom. The symptom is that New York has stopped negotiating, which caps his extension value in this league year and leaves the option as the only real deadline.
The extension market closed with three deals and fifteen open files
Cason Wallace was the last major deal of the weekend and the cleanest. Five years, $139MM, agreed Sunday night. 2
The number sits almost exactly between two comparables from the same defensive-ace market: Dyson Daniels at $25MM a year and Ausar Thompson at $31MM. Wallace lands at $27.8MM. 2
Oklahoma City now has all five starters signed for multiple years. 2 The bill arrives in 2027/28, when the Thunder project above the second apron. 2
Ighodaro's deal is the more instructive of the three. Phoenix paid $29MM over three years and picked up a $2.5MM option to make the timing work. 4
The option pickup matters because a player with a live team option cannot sign an extension in-season. Exercising it now kept the deal possible. 1 Spread across the four seasons after this one, the money works out to about $7.9MM a year. 4
Pritchard's extension was a deadline artifact as much as a reward. He had two guaranteed years left, so an in-season extension would have been impossible after Monday. 5
That gave him leverage, and he used it. The $21.2MM starting salary is the 140% maximum for a player earning under the league's $15.16MM average. 5
Fifteen players are still eligible to sign rookie-scale extensions today, including Anthony Black, Bilal Coulibaly, Scoot Henderson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Dereck Lively II and Brandon Miller. 1 Most of them will wait for 2027 restricted free agency. 1
One incentive is worth flagging for anyone tracking next summer. Anthony Edwards can reach a 35% super-max instead of 30% by making All-NBA this season, which makes waiting rational. 1
The veteran list is longer and quieter. Bobby Marks counts 21 players whose extension window shuts tonight, from Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and LaMelo Ball to Domantas Sabonis, Zion Williamson and Ivica Zubac. 1
Injuries that moved rosters
Ben Simmons tore his right Achilles in Sunday's practice, the third Achilles tear of the preseason around the league. 11 He had averaged 10.5 points in 17.4 minutes across two exhibition games, his first NBA action since 2025. 11
Sacramento had planned to start him beside Darius Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. 11 Precious Achiuwa started four of five preseason games and becomes the obvious replacement. 11
Orlando lost Noah Penda to a partially torn right hamstring, expected to cost him significant time. 16 Franz Wagner's right shoulder and Jase Richardson's back are also under evaluation. 16
Denver will be without Julian Strawther for at least six weeks after an MRI confirmed a left knee sprain. 19 Washington is waiting on the first overall pick, AJ Dybantsa, who rolled his left ankle in the preseason finale. 20
Golden State's scare was the one that ended well. Steve Kerr said Stephen Curry was fine after he went down at practice. 21
What the deadline actually decides
Analysis, based on the roster counts and deadline rules reported above.
Dallas resolved its crunch Monday morning, which leaves four teams over the limit: the Rockets, Lakers, Milwaukee and Memphis. 1 Houston can comply by converting an Exhibit 10 player to a two-way deal rather than cutting anyone. 1
The choice in front of the other three is a trade or a waiver, and they are not equivalent. A trade preserves an asset but needs a partner and matching salary by 2 p.m. PT. A waiver costs only the guaranteed money.
Twenty-five teams already complied, most of them on Saturday, because cutting a non-guaranteed player then lets him clear waivers before the season starts. 8 Cutting him Monday would have cost two extra days of salary. 8
Several teams will simply stay at 14. Cleveland, Indiana and Philadelphia are hard-capped and cannot add a 15th man, while New York would cross the second apron by doing so. 8
Fantasy and roster read
Analysis. These are the depth-chart consequences the reporting implies, not recommendations.
Sacramento's center rotation changed twice in two days. Achiuwa already had the preseason role, and Simmons's absence removes the ballhandler who was going to share the floor with him. 11
Phoenix has a settled starter for as long as Mark Williams is out. Ighodaro started all four playoff games last season and averaged 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in them. 4
Oklahoma City replaced Dort with Wallace in the starting five, which turns a defensive specialist into a 30-minute player. 3
New York's frontcourt thinned at the bottom rather than the top. Mitchell Robinson left for Boston, Andre Drummond arrived, and Wiseman won the final spot over Bruce Brown. 7
Chicago's center minutes are the most conditional in the league this week. Claxton is not being rushed, and Zach Collins has been cleared for full contact. 17
Next signals
- Monday, 2 p.m. PT — roster deadline. Watch Memphis for two moves and Los Angeles for Knecht's status. 1
- Monday, 3 p.m. PT — rookie-scale deadline. Fifteen players, with Black, Miller, Jaquez, Lively and Coulibaly the names to check. 1
- Monday, 8:59 p.m. PT — veteran extension deadline, 21 players eligible. 1
- Wednesday — Powell and any Monday waivers become free agents; Washington hosts Milwaukee with Dybantsa's ankle still unresolved. 620
- Nov. 27 — Strawther's six-week reevaluation. 19
- July 2027 — Towns's option decision, and Black's restricted free agency. 915
References
- 1Contract, Roster Deadlines Loom For NBA Teams
hoopsrumors.com
- 2Cason Wallace, Thunder Agree To Five-Year Extension\
hoopsrumors.com
- 3
- 4Suns, Oso Ighodaro Agree To Three-Year Extension\
hoopsrumors.com
- 5Payton Pritchard, Celtics Complete Two-Year Extension\
hoopsrumors.com
- 6Mavericks Waive Dwight Powell\
hoopsrumors.com
- 7Knicks Notes: Drummond, Shamet, M. Brown, B. Brown\
hoopsrumors.com
- 8Checking In On Roster Situations Around The NBA\
hoopsrumors.com
- 9Stein's Latest: Black, Kolek, Nance, Lundy, Cisse, Zion\
hoopsrumors.com
- 10Hornets Waive Pat Connaughton\
hoopsrumors.com
- 11Ben Simmons Suffers Torn Right Achilles Tendon\
hoopsrumors.com
- 12Fischer's Latest: Bucks, Lakers, Grizzlies, Hornets, More\
hoopsrumors.com
- 13Lakers Notes: Knecht, Grimes, Buss Dispute, Williams\
hoopsrumors.com
- 14Bucks, Lakers, Grizzlies Reportedly Exploring Trades\
hoopsrumors.com
- 15Windhorst's Latest: Seattle, Towns, A. Black, Magic\
hoopsrumors.com
- 16
- 17Bulls Notes: Giddey, Claxton, Collins, Wilson, Miller\
hoopsrumors.com
- 18And-Ones: Knox, Star Situations, Hagan, EuroLeague
hoopsrumors.com
- 19
- 20Top Pick Dybantsa Rolls Ankle In Preseason Finale
hoopsrumors.com
- 21
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