NBA Playoff Eligibility Waiver Deadline: Predictions for 2024 Buyout Candidates

The NBA buyout market is nearing its expiration date.

March 1 is the final day a player can be waived by one team and remain eligible to appear in the playoffs for another.

To be clear, the buyout market seldom supplies a significant lift. It can, however, help a team address a specific niche or two, and sometimes that's enough to provide a postseason spark.

Last season, Kevin Love was bought out by the Cleveland Cavaliers and signed with the Miami Heat, quickly snagging a starting spot he held for the majority of their NBA Finals run. In 2020, Markieff Morris linked up with the Los Angeles Lakers after being bought out by the Detroit Pistons and wound up becoming a rotation regular for the eventual champions.

So, while we could caution anyone against expecting a major impact from players who change locker rooms over the coming days, we also have to note that occasionally these players leave an impact felt across the league.

Let's look at five potential pickups—some bought out already, others buyout candidates—and predict where (if anywhere) they may sign.

Killian Hayes was the No. 7 pick of the 2020 draft and started the majority of the games he played for the Pistons over the past three-plus seasons. Prior to being waived to clear roster space for Detroit's trade-deadline dealing, he made 42 appearances this season and started 31 of them—including both of his last two trips to the hardwood.

Now, the fact he went from the top 10 of the draft to the waiver wire in less than four years suggests he's encountered plenty of turbulence to this point. The 6'5" lead guard can capably serve as both a point-of-attack defender and a decision-maker who limits mistakes, but his downfall has been a lack of scoring punch.

He can be hesitant to fire, but it's not like his career 38.2/27.7/77.5 shooting slash offers much encouragement to let it fly. Among the 1,731 players to log 5,000-plus career minutes, he ranked 1,470th with just 11.2 career points per 36 minutes. He fared even worse among that group in true shooting percentage, where his career 45.6 percent mark landed in the 1,623rd spot.

Clearly, there are limitations in his offensive game, and they may be too glaring for a win-now suitor to overlook. All of that said, it doesn't feel as if the entire Association should be out on a 22-year-old with his draft pedigree and established skills as a high-level playmaker (career 5.2 assists against 2.0 turnovers per game) and capable defender.

The point guard-starved, future-focused San Antonio Spurs feel like a perfect fit. A pass-first point guard can look pretty good when passing to a transcendent talent like Victor Wembanyama (just ask Tre Jones), and the Spurs need more players to set the table for their phenomenal freshman.

Prediction: Hayes signs with San Antonio.

There was a (brief) time in which Danuel House Jr. ranked among the better three-and-D wings in basketball. He was at his best for the 2018-19 Houston Rockets, starting 52 times for that 53-win team while converting 41.6 percent of his long-range looks and holding his own in most perimeter assignments on defense.

His shooting has cooled considerably since (35.4 percent since the start of 2019-20), and since that's essentially all he ever offered on offense, his minutes dried up along the way. He was getting just 15 a night for the Philadelphia 76ers this season before they dealt him to Detroit at the deadline. The Pistons waived him the same day.

Is it telling that he hasn't found his next gig yet? Maybe. Then again, he might just be taking his time while deciding on the right fit. House was said to be "weighing his options between several Eastern Conference contenders," per the Pat Bev Pod, run by NBA veteran Patrick Beverley, a teammate of House in Philadelphia.

House should have a decent chance of finding his way into a playoff wing mix, even if only as a depth option. He remains a serviceable defender (71st percentile in defensive estimated plus/minus) who can finish at the rim (69.4 percent shooting inside of three feet) and convert catch-and-shoot threes (34.3 percent).

Some win-now shopper should give him a job, and the Boston Celtics could be that team. They added frontcourt depth (Xavier Tillman) and a backcourt project (Jaden Springer) at the deadline, but the wing rotation remains shallow behind Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser.

Prediction: House signs with Boston.

Marcus Morris Sr. was traded twice this season, first heading from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Philadelphia 76ers in the James Harden deal and then being sent from the Sixers to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the Buddy Hield swap.

Morris hasn't played for the rebuilding Spurs, though, and he presumably never will. In fact, as soon as the Hield deal went down, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the Spurs were "likely to buyout" Morris.

That subtraction hasn't come across the transaction log just yet, likely due to some negotiating between the franchise and player on his buyout amount. That obstacle feels unlikely to prove insurmountable, though, especially since Morris has a good chance to not only latch on with a contender but also potentially play significant minutes for them.

The versatile swingman's numbers were down this season (6.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17.2 minutes), but just last season, he was a nightly starter and double-digit scorer on a Los Angeles Clippers club that snagged the No. 5 seed in the West. He has loads of playoff experience (67 contests), an above-average outside shot (career 37.7 percent from three), an ability to create his own offense in a pinch and enough defensive versatility to tackle most frontcourt assignments.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been mentioned as a possible landing spot, and so have the Dallas Mavericks. Frankly, he'd be a fit virtually anywhere, though his market is limited a bit since the new collective bargaining agreement prevents teams above the first apron in the salary cap from adding bought-out players whose previous salary was above $12.4 million (Morris' is $17.1 million).

The Wolves feel like the right choice, though. They need more shot-makers, and they wouldn't shy away from adding someone with postseason experience, since several of their key contributors don't have much of it.

Prediction: Morris signs with Minnesota.

Robin Lopez is more than a mascot mauler and courtside reader. He's also a typically rock-solid center with nearly 1,000 regular-season appearances under his belt.

Granted, his games and minutes played have plummeted the past few seasons, but even then, he was usually capable when called upon. Things really didn't spiral until this campaign, though it's hard to glean much (if any) valuable information from a 65-minute sample size.

That's all the exposure the Milwaukee Bucks afforded him this season before dumping his contract onto the Sacramento Kings at the deadline. The 35-year-old was waived almost immediately after that trade, and his NBA outlook has been murky ever since. His track record and experience (including 38 playoff outings) suggest someone should snatch him up, though it's hardly surprising that a near-36-year-old reserve hasn't set the waiver-wire world on fire.

Teams lacking size, though, could certainly talk themselves into the 7'1", 281-pounder. Between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, he was still a per-36-minutes supplier of 14.5 points (on 57.7 percent shooting), 7.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 blocks. He can hold down an interior role on either end, and he understands how to stay within his limits on offense.

The Philadelphia 76ers could use more help to cover for Joel Embiid's absence. The Golden State Warriors' lack of size has been a talking point all season. Ultimately, though, the Oklahoma City Thunder feel like the right spot, as they need a bigger body up front and they have plenty of young players who'd benefit from any hoops wisdom Lopez could share amid his 16th NBA season.

Prediction: Lopez signs with Oklahoma City.

Otto Porter Jr. played a key supporting role on the Golden State Warriors' run to the 2021-22 title. Since then, he's been in a near-constant battle with the injury bug, continuing an unfortunate career theme for the No. 3 pick of the 2013 draft.

This season, he managed to make just 15 appearances for the Toronto Raptors, who routed him to the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline. He is, however, reportedly "fully healthy and ready to play" now, per The Athletic's Tony Jones, who shared that Porter has "returned home to evaluate his options for the remainder of the season."

That doesn't necessarily mean a buyout is imminent, but given Utah's forward-focused deadline activity, it doesn't seem real likely Porter will suit up in Salt Lake City. However, this could come down to how much of his $6.3 million salary he's willing to sacrifice in a buyout.

Should he hit the open market, he could draw interest from a number of contenders—provided, of course, they are confident in his health. When he has made it to the hardwood in recent seasons, he's still the same shape-shifting defender who can mostly hold up against any of the three frontcourt positions while adding modest offensive value as a shot-maker and willing passer.

Porter fits in plenty of places—a return to Golden State seems feasible—but the Los Angeles Clippers might offer him the best opportunity in terms of both contending for a title and filling a somewhat regular role. He may not handle nightly minutes in Hollywood, but if he's healthy, he could give them a lot of the frontcourt flexibility and three-and-D play they hoped to squeeze out of P.J. Tucker.

Prediction: Porter signs with the Clippers.

Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on X, @ZachBuckleyNBA.