Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[SleepingHero]

Forgive me if this is a dumb question but what stops a free agent that doesn’t want team to match offer to talk to team two about a 1 +1 player option deal. If first team matches they risk losing you for nothing after a year, then you can sign with the team that you wanted in the first place. The player option in year two protects you if you have a bad season or get injured.

I believe an "offer sheet" (which is the type of contract that is given to a restricted free agent), must be at least 2 guaranteed years. So a 1+1 isn't legal for an RFA.

But a 1+1 is also incredibly risky for a player. If they have a bad year and/or injured, it significantly hurts their chances at a big contract. Might as well sign for as big of a deal as you can as early as you can, so that you can fully maximize your earnings.

The only players that really ever successfully utilized a 1+1 type of deal are Lebron and KD.