Thursday, February 5, is the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline. Teams have just under two months to strike a deal. Monday, December 15, was a milestone in the trade season.
League insider Marc Stein reported that 82 players became newly eligible for trade on Monday morning. These are all players who signed as free agents with their respective teams this offseason. Several names have already been floated on the trade market. That includes Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, Myles Turner, and others.
Who will be the first player traded in 2025-26?
Names like Chris Paul, James Harden, Fred VanVleet, Myles Turner, and more are now eligible to be traded 👀
Which players could be on the move? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/uAh3JLQBUT
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 15, 2025
This offseason, Chris Paul signed a one-year contract as a homecoming with the Clippers. Paul announced it will be his final year in the NBA. In 2025-26, the veteran PG saw a limited role with Los Angeles. Additionally, there were reports that Paul was butting heads with the coaching staff.
That led to the team unofficially parting ways with Paul. He was sent home by the team and became trade eligible on Monday, December 15. Paul is a candidate to be signed on the buyout market if the Clippers cannot find a trade partner.
Chris Paul is one of the 82 players who became eligible to be traded this season. NBA insider Marc Stein reported that 14 of those 82 players cannot be traded without consent. That includes Damian Lillard, James Harden, and Fred VanVleet. Additionally, Stein shared an important change to the CBA that many are not discussing.
“There’s an important rule in the new CBA that says, anyone who is trade by [Tuesday December 16th]… is eligible to be repackaged in a subsequent trade on deadline day”
– @TheSteinLine on why he believes a trade will happen THIS Monday or Tuesday pic.twitter.com/uQjiAhbAs5— ALL NBA Podcast (@ALLCITY_NBA) December 15, 2025
Marc Stein reported that any player trade by Tuesday, December 16, can then be repackaged in a subsequent package on deadline day. Knowing that, Stein believes there will be a trade on either Monday or Tuesday of this week. We saw something similar happen last season in a trade between the Nets and Warriors. Brooklyn traded Dennis Schroder on December 15.
At the 2024-25 trade deadline, the Warriors moved Schroder to the Pistons to acquire Jimmy Butler in a multi-team deal. Typically, teams wait until close to the deadline on February 5. However, this unique rule in the CBA allows teams to trade a player they acquired on December 15 or 16. Who will be the first player traded in 2025-26?
