Deadline day for waived NBA players to be eligible for playoffs

In order to retain postseason eligibility for a new NBA team, a player must be waived on or before March 1. That means that any player who remains on an NBA roster after Tuesday won’t be eligible to suit up in the playoffs for a new team, though there’s at least one key exception to that general rule.

A player who is currently on a 10-day contract will retain his playoff eligibility going forward. For instance, once Willie Cauley-Stein‘s 10-day deal with the Sixers expires this weekend, he’d still be able to re-sign with Philadelphia or join a new team and be eligible to play in the postseason, since he’s not being placed on waivers after March 1.

Here’s the list of players currently on 10-day contracts who will retain their playoff eligibility when their current deals expire:

• Drew Eubanks, Trail Blazers (runs through 3/3)
• Malik Fitts, Celtics (3/4)
• Kelan Martin, Celtics (3/4)
• Willie Cauley-Stein, Sixers (3/5)
• Tim Frazier, Cavaliers (3/7)
• Haywood Highsmith, Heat (3/7)
• D.J. Wilson, Raptors (3/9)
• Note: Alize Johnson is reportedly signing a 10-day contract with the Pelicans, but it’s not yet official. Like the players above, he’ll still be playoff-eligible.
   

It’s also worth clarifying that a player doesn’t have to sign with a new team by March 1 to be playoff-eligible — he simply has to be placed on waivers by 11:59 pm ET on Tuesday. As long as a player who fits that bill signs with a new team by the final day of the regular season (April 10), he can play in the postseason.

The buyout market in 2022 hasn’t featured as many notable names as it has in some recent years, but we’ve still seen a handful of potential rotation players become available since the trade deadline. Goran Dragic, Tristan Thompson, Tomas Satoransky, Jevon Carter, DeAndre’ Bembry, and D.J. Augustin are among the veterans who have been waived since February 10 and who have since found new teams.

All of those players will be playoff-eligible for their new clubs, but anyone on a standard contract who is waived after Tuesday won’t be. We know that the Lakers will officially release DeAndre Jordan Tuesday — we’ll keep an eye out for any other veterans who might hit waivers in the next 15 hours or so.