How does it work when the league expands?
To supply an expansion team with its initial complement of players, the league holds an expansion draft prior to that year’s NBA draft. Existing teams are allowed to protect up to eight players (including restricted free agents) from being selected in the expansion draft, but every team must expose at least one player who can’t possibly become a free agent as the result of the exercise or non-exercise of an option or ETO. Unrestricted free agents can neither be protected from nor selected in the expansion draft, and are essentially ignored. Restricted free agents (see question number 36) may be selected, but become unrestricted free agents upon selection (with the caveat that they cannot then re-sign with the team from which they came). No team may lose more than one player in an expansion draft. Some players may become unrestricted free agents due to the invocation or non-invocation of an option or ETO (see question number 50). The league uses their status on the day of the expansion
To supply an expansion team with its initial complement of players, the league holds an expansion draft prior to that year’s NBA draft. Existing teams are allowed to protect up to eight players (including restricted free agents) from being selected in the expansion draft, but every team must expose at least one player who can’t possibly become a free agent as the result of the exercise or non-exercise of an option or ETO. Unrestricted free agents can neither be protected from nor selected in the expansion draft, and are essentially ignored. Restricted free agents (see question number 34) may be selected, but become unrestricted free agents upon selection (with the caveat that they cannot then re-sign with the team from which they came). No team may lose more than one player in an expansion draft.
