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ESPN Senior Writer- Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series
- Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers
- Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE system
While the NBA offseason is still a couple months away, free agency actually started immediately after the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline.
Spencer Dinwiddie was seen sitting behind the Dallas Mavericks' bench in New York, hours after being waived by the Toronto Raptors. The next night in Los Angeles, Dinwiddie was being courted by Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. Dinwiddie would eventually sign a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Lakers.
Dinwiddie, who had been traded from the Brooklyn Nets, joined Kyle Lowry, Thaddeus Young, Danilo Gallinari and Delon Wright as players who were waived after the deadline and signed with a playoff contender: Lowry with his hometown Philadelphia 76ers, Young with the Phoenix Suns, Gallinari to the Milwaukee Bucks and Wright with the Miami Heat.
Those five players will be eligible to play in the playoffs with their new teams, since they were waived by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 1. Players do not have to sign with a team before March 1, but do have to be waived before then (except for players on a 10-day contract, who are playoff eligible, even if the contract expires after March 1).
Who else could join those five players? ESPN insiders Bobby Marks and Kevin Pelton break down the second free agency period (better known as the post-trade deadline waiver period), starting with how a change in the collective bargaining agreement has impacted high spending teams.