NBA Sets 2026 Trade Deadline for Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. ET
nba-2026-trade-deadline-feb-5
The NBA has scheduled the trade deadline for the 2025-26 season for Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, according to the league’s newly released calendar of key dates.
The timing aligns with the regular-season tip-off on October 21, 2025, but this is the first time the league has formally listed the deadline on NBA.com.
The announcement immediately affects players considering veteran contract extensions. Under collective bargaining rules, certain extensions trigger a six-month trade moratorium. Because six months from today’s date—August 6, 2025—lands on February 6, any qualifying extension signed between now and the deadline would keep the player off the trade market for the remainder of the season.
A veteran extension creates a six-month trade block if at least one of these conditions applies:
- The player’s existing contract plus the extension covers more than four total seasons;
- The first-year salary in the extension exceeds 120% of the final-year salary in the current deal (or 120% of the league’s estimated average salary for players earning below that figure);
- The extension includes a raise of more than 5% between the first and second years or in any later season;
- The current contract is renegotiated as part of the extension.
One recent example is New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges, whose August 1 extension runs five total seasons, starts above 120% of his 2025-26 salary, and features 8% annual raises. Bridges cannot be traded until February 1, four days before this season’s deadline.
Imagem: Luke Adams via hoopsrumors.com
The restriction does not apply to rookie-scale extensions, which remain immediately tradable, though the poison-pill provision can complicate such deals. Veteran extensions that avoid all of the above criteria are also trade-eligible right away. Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, who signed a three-year extension last month that tops out at four total years with 5% raises and a 120% starting salary, falls into this category.
Another date to monitor is November 5, 2025; any free agent signed after that day will be ineligible for trade during the 2025-26 campaign.
Source: Hoops Rumors
