The NBA trade deadline was a transaction period for the ages. Now, here are prime candidates to get bought out.

Jones seems more likely to be keeper for the Wizards through the rest of the season before they evaluate whether to pick up his guarantee for 2025-26. A second-round pick in 2023, Jones’ anemic offense prevented him from gaining traction in Sacramento, and he was thrown into a deadline deal for Memphis’ Jake LaRavia.

Status: Currently rostered by the Pelicans after he was traded by the Raptors. He is not able to sign with any team currently a team in the luxury tax apron. He is not currently considered a buyout candidate, per Jake Fischer.

Simmons was already going to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but his $40 million contract this season made it impossible for the Nets to trade him for even the tiniest

It looked like Ben Simmons’ days as an NBA player were numbered. After missing the entire 2021-2022 season with a back injury following his trade from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Brooklyn Nets, Simmons returned to play only 43 games during the 2022-23 season and just 15 games during the 2023-24 campaign last year.

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, but that doesn't mean we're done with player movement this season. Several veterans on expiring contracts

Likewise, if he agrees to a buyout with the Nets this winter, something that is reportedly in the works according to Shams Charania, he'll immediately have multiple suitors. In fact, the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers are already circling, per Charania.

Unfortunately, then, that immediately disqualifies the following teams: Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets. The Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks are also very close to the first apron and could struggle to sign him as well.

Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets are working on a contract buyout now that the 2025 NBA trade deadline has passed, according to ESPN's Shams

After a deadline that shifted the balance of many dynamics in the NBA, teams now shift focus to the buyout market to potentially improve around the margins. For clarity's sake, a contract buyout is when a player and franchise mutually agree for the player to surrender a portion of their salary to be released.

The NBA's trade deadline can be quite the transformative period. Just ask Dallas Mavericks fans. Importantly, though, it is only a trade deadline, and not a roster deadline. Signings, waivers and waiv