NBA buyout market: 4 best players likely available after deadline day

Now that the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone, the buyout market will emerge.

Some teams took on expiring contracts in trades to acquire draft capital or salary cap relief while others released players to make room for their new acquisitions ahead of the deadline.

The fallout leads to talented players potentially being bought out of their current contracts and hitting the open market, allowing them to sign with contending teams. CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn puts it perfectly when he says: “If the NBA trade deadline is dinner, the buyout market is dessert.” 

However, the new collective bargaining agreement agreed to by the NBA and NBPA last season made it much more difficult for teams with expensive payrolls to explore the buyout market:

Nevertheless, these four players have or are likely to become available on the NBA buyout market after the deadline day madness. 

NBA Buyout Market: 4. Killian Hayes

The Detroit Pistons were one of the more active teams leading up to the trade deadline.

They sent out six players: Monte Morris, Alec Burks, Bojan Bogdanovic, Kevin Knox, Marvin Bagley, and Isaiah Livers.

Conversely, they brought in 10 new players: Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, Simone Fontecchio, Shake Milton, Troy Brown Jr., Danuel House, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono.

As a result of the roster overhaul and bringing in more players than they traded, 2020 seventh-overall pick Killian Hayes was waived, per Shams Charania and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

Hayes had requested a trade amid ongoing lineup changes that resulted in him being out of the rotation, essentially getting his wish granted.

Now, Hayes will be able to have his pick of the litter because his pre-existing salary was less than $12.4 million and in accordance with the new CBA rules.

Still only 22 years old, Hayes was a top-10 pick a few years ago. While he hasn’t lived up to the expectations that come with being selected seventh overall, he still has plenty of time to remind people why he was so highly regarded during his pre-draft process.

Hayes’ offensive skillset leaves much to be desired but at 6-5, he offers good positional size for a point guard, which could enable him to thrive as a versatile defender.

Not to mention, Hayes is a solid playmaker who has shown flashes of being a capable floor general, averaging 5.2 assists per game during his four-year tenure with the Pistons.

Overall, Hayes has a lot of untapped potential and is worthy of a flier. It’d make a lot of sense for a young rebuilding team to take a chance on him and see if he can resurrect his career with a change of scenery.