3 teams severely impacted by non-Bird rights in 2024 NBA offseason
With the NBA offseason underway, terms like Early Bird Rights and Non-Bird rights have been thrown around quite a bit. While these terms may be confusing to some fans, the concept behind Non-Bird rights can be explained very simply.
When a player signs with a team, so long as they remain on an NBA roster with a standard contract, the team gets Non-Bird rights the following offseason.
When teams have Non-Bird rights, they are able to re-sign those players at 120% of the player's minimum salary the following year. For teams who are dancing around the salary cap, they are limited in their options to retain players with Non-Bird rights when doing so would put them over the salary cap.
For example, last offseason, after winning the NBA Finals, the Denver Nuggets had to let Bruce Brown walk. Because of his Non-Bird rights, they were only able to offer him 120% of his previous $6.4 million deal. On the flip side, the Indiana Pacers were able to sign Brown by offering him $22 million a year.
As offseason action heats up, let's take a look at three teams who will be limited to Non-Bird rights this offseason, and could lose some big pieces as a result.
Three NBA teams who will be impacted by Non-Bird rights this offseason
#3 Milwaukee Bucks - Malik Beasley
Malik Beasley joined the Milwaukee Bucks this season after the LA Lakers declined his team option heading into last offseason. After hitting the open market, he signed a one-year minimum contract with the Milwaukee Bucks for this season worth $2.7 million.
As a result, the team will only be able to offer him 120% of the amount, while other teams will be able to entice the three-point contestant with larger offers.
#2 Dallas Mavericks - Derrick Jones Jr.
Last offseason, Derrick Jones Jr. opted to hit free agency rather than stay with the Chicago Bulls, eventually signing a one-year minimum deal with the Dallas Mavericks. As we saw throughout the regular season and into the postseason, Jones Jr. was an absolute difference-maker for Dallas.
With the team already over the salary cap, they likely won't be able to compete with other teams who make Jones Jr much larger offers.
#1 Philadelphia 76ers - Kelly Oubre Jr.
Kelly Oubre Jr. signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers back in September.
While he struggled to find consistency at various points of the season, over 68 games played, Oubre averaged 15.4 points per game. Given that, he's expected to draw some interest in free agency.
Unless the 76ers decide to use cap room to sign him, they will be limited to using his Non-Bird rights and re-signing him at 120% of his $2.9M deal.