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The NBA quietly changed trade rules over the offseason to allow teams to simultaneously owe two picks with a "two years after" language attached.

In the past, a team could owe only one such pick.

The Los Angeles Clippers, for example, can trade a 2021 or 2022 first round pick despite owing a lottery protected pick to the Raptors and a first round pick that goes to the Celtics "two years after" the pick to Toronto is conveyed.

Due to the Stepien rule, teams cannot trade first round picks in consecutive years.

Via Zach Lowe/ESPN

I'm not following how the rule has changed.

Can someone explain?

mastermixer wrote:I'm not following how the rule has changed.

Can someone explain?

From the reading. Due to the Stephien rule you can't trade 1sts in back to back years so you have include "two years after" in trading additional first to satisfy the Stephien rule. It was limited to one "two year after" trade. Now, you can do it twice. At least, that is my understanding.

Wait, you can't trade 1sts in back to back drafts? Then how do you explain the Nets?

Snotbubbles wrote:

mastermixer wrote:I'm not following how the rule has changed.

Can someone explain?

From the reading. Due to the Stephien rule you can't trade 1sts in back to back years so you have include "two years after" in trading additional first to satisfy the Stephien rule. It was limited to one "two year after" trade. Now, you can do it twice. At least, that is my understanding.

To try to build off of this last response, the Stepien rule makes it so a team can't owe two CONSECUTIVE first round picks. So, for example, if a team traded their 2016 1st rounder, they can't trade their 2017 or if they trade 2017, they can't trade their 2018.

In the case of the Clippers, that the article gave, they owe the Raptors first, so in 2017 their pick would go to Toronto.
Boston would then get the Clippers 1st rounder in 2019 because the Clippers can't trade their 2018 pick (Stepien rule). The article then states that the Clippers can trade either their 2021 or 2022 because the Clippers can't trade their 2020 pick.
So if you picture the Clippers' picks in a timeline it looks like this:
2017 (Raptors), 2018 (Clippers), 2019 (Celtics), 2020 (Clippers), 2021 (Clippers), 2022 (Clippers)
You can notice the pattern and it can make more sense seeing it visually. 2021 is the earliest they can offer a pick.

Essentially, a team can trade first round picks as long as they are two years apart, and the team receiving the pick knows that they have to wait for their turn. So if the Clippers offered a 1st Rounder in any trade going forward, the team receiving the pick would be aware that they wouldn't get it until 2021 (at the earliest) because they owe Toronto and Boston first and they HAVE to keep the pick after it is given Boston.

You can view it as an "IOU" so that they can make a trade now.

Hope this clarified things.

Tofubeque wrote:Wait, you can't trade 1sts in back to back drafts? Then how do you explain the Nets?

That's a good question.

My only thought behind that would be that the Nets offered all those picks to one team.
So Boston got three consecutive picks (or whatever number it was) because it all goes to them.

I think the rule refers to trading consecutive 1st rounders to different teams.

Hence the Clippers example (Raptors & Boston).

Now because of the rule, the Nets can't trade the 1st rounder they have after the Boston deal.
So for ex if Boston gets Nets 2017 pick, the Nets can't trade the 2018 pick because of the rule.
However, the Nets can trade the 2019 pick and the 2020 pick together if it's with one team.

What I'm trying to get at is that It has to alternate years if you're making separate trades or possibly separate teams.
This is just a theory based on the information in the article and the Nets history.

JCruz6 wrote:

Tofubeque wrote:Wait, you can't trade 1sts in back to back drafts? Then how do you explain the Nets?

That's a good question.

My only thought behind that would be that the Nets offered all those picks to one team.
So Boston got three consecutive picks (or whatever number it was) because it all goes to them.

I think the rule refers to trading consecutive 1st rounders to different teams.

Hence the Clippers example (Raptors & Boston).

Now because of the rule, the Nets can't trade the 1st rounder they have after the Boston deal.
So for ex if Boston gets Nets 2017 pick, the Nets can't trade the 2018 pick because of the rule.
However, the Nets can trade the 2019 pick and the 2020 pick together if it's with one team.

What I'm trying to get at is that It has to alternate years if you're making separate trades or possibly separate teams.
This is just a theory based on the information in the article and the Nets history.

I said if it's with "one team", but I meant if it's part of one trade.
If there's a three team trade where one team gives up 2 consecutive picks, they can do that, but the next time they trade they can offer a pick that's 3 years away at the earliest.

If 2017 & 2018 are offered, the team keeps 2019 (rule), can then offer pick in 2020 and forward (at the earliest).

My guess is that the Nets and Celtics get a pick swap in the between year to prevent trading consecutive picks.

Tofubeque wrote:Wait, you can't trade 1sts in back to back drafts? Then how do you explain the Nets?

There is no rule against Pick Swapping , the Nets gave the Celtics the right to swap picks to get around the Stepien rule.

RaptorRed wrote:

Tofubeque wrote:Wait, you can't trade 1sts in back to back drafts? Then how do you explain the Nets?

There is no rule against Pick Swapping , the Nets gave the Celtics the right to swap picks to get around the Stepien rule.

This. The rule is only that a team can't trade out of the first round in consecutive years (having no 1st round picks consecutively). If they own another team's pick, it is as good as their own, which includes pick swaps. If a team owns another team's 1st round pick in each of the next 7 years, they could trade all of their own picks consecutively without violating the rule.

Snotbubbles wrote:

mastermixer wrote:I'm not following how the rule has changed.

Can someone explain?

From the reading. Due to the Stephien rule you can't trade 1sts in back to back years so you have include "two years after" in trading additional first to satisfy the Stephien rule. It was limited to one "two year after" trade. Now, you can do it twice. At least, that is my understanding.

The Lakers did a 'two years after' trade with the Nash and Howard trades. Orlando would receive a 1st round pick 2 years after the picks for Nash were traded away. The Lakers sent 1st round picks to Phoenix spaced two years apart per the "Stepien Rule," in 2013 and 2015, but the 2nd pick was top 3 protected through 2017. If not conveyed by '17 it would be unprotected in 2018. The Lakers then traded for Howard, sending their 2017 1st round pick, but since that could conflict with the conditions of the 2015 pick sent to Phoenix, it was to be sent two years after that 2015 pick was finally sent. The Lakers made that pick to Orlando conditional though, so it would become only second round picks if the pick to Phoenix would not be conveyed by 2017. The scenario where the Lakers would end up in the top three picks three years in a row probably seemed unlikely at the time (and more unlikely now), so Orlando probably expected to get a 1st round pick out of the deal. The 'two years after' trade made it impossible for the Lakers to make another 'two years after' trade, so they could have for example traded their 2019 pick as a 'two years after' the pick to Orlando would be conveyed. With the rule change, that kind of deal is now possible.