Why a Four-Team NBA Trade Is Stuck in Limbo Until Thursday

The NBA’s free agency moratorium lifted Monday at noon, and a wave of deals became official within hours. One trade wasn’t in that wave. The four-team swap involving the Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls still isn’t done. And it won’t be until July 9.

The holdup comes down to a player most casual fans haven’t heard of: Mouhamadou Gueye. The Bulls sent Gueye to the Timberwolves as part of the trade, but he signed his current contract on April 9. League rules say a player can’t be traded for three months after signing, so Gueye isn’t eligible to move until July 9. That date pushes the entire trade back.

This deal includes some big names. LaMelo Ball, Julius Randle and Naz Reid are all involved, along with draft picks and fillers. But the trade can’t be finalized until Gueye’s restriction lifts. The Timberwolves, Bulls, Hornets and Nets all agreed to wait it out rather than restructure.

For the Nets, the delay might work in their favor. Brooklyn traded Nic Claxton and the No. 33 pick in 2026 for Randle and the No. 28 pick — which they used to select Joshua Jefferson. The Nets also plan to sign Moe Wagner using the room mid-level exception. That leaves Brooklyn with just under $25 million in cap space.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The Nets can use that cap room now, while they’re still below the cap, then complete the Randle trade after Thursday as an over-the-cap team. That flexibility gives them a short window to do something else before the deal goes through.

Brooklyn could sign another free agent, though the pickings are thin at this point. LeBron James and Jalen Duren are out there, but they’re not realistic targets for a rebuilding team. The Nets could also use their cap space to absorb a bad contract from another team in exchange for draft picks. That’s a more likely move for a front office that’s collecting assets.

The clock is ticking. If Brooklyn wants to use this cap space creatively, they have to act before Thursday. Otherwise they just wait for Gueye’s restriction to lift and the trade to go through as planned. Not exactly a blockbuster delay, but for a rebuilding team, a few days of cap flexibility can matter more than most fans realize.