A week before the NBA trade deadline, sources told Yahoo Sports that NBA veteran Tony Snell is unlikely to find a home for the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign while several teams are keeping roster spots open for transaction flexibility.
The official deadline for Snell to sign with one of the league's 30 teams for the rest of the season is 11:59 pm ET. It would have allowed Snell to earn a 10th year of service beyond his current single eligibility — which provides health care coverage for his entire family, including his two sons, Carter, 3, and Kenzo, 2. Both were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
For many teams with open roster spots around the league, signing Snell to a standard contract would have had additional luxury tax implications.
There's a notable difference in the game, where a year's service for other salary purposes — such as players' eligibility to sign two-way contracts or the percentage of the salary cap they're allowed to sign — is usually credited by serving just one day. on an NBA roster. League sources told Yahoo Sports that several teams would have signed Snell to a 10-day contract this week if that was what it took to satisfy Snell's 10th season. But the pension benefits plan, written into the collective bargaining agreement, has a strict requirement that a player be on an NBA roster for the entire season or have played 50% of the season by Feb. 2. Games.
Union members first receive pension and medical benefits after three years of NBA service. After completing the seventh season, players like Snell are offered bigger plans with premium benefits.
Snell is a veteran with the Maine Celtics, Boston's affiliate, where he shot 4-of-6 from distance for 12 points on Wednesday.
With Charles Barkley discussing Snell's situation on TNT Thursday evening and various clubs willing to offer him a 10-day contract extension, with all the national interest that has grown from Snell's story, there is hope that Snell will find himself in an NBA. List at the start of the 2024-25 campaign.