Do NBA Coaches Have a Say in Trades?

NBA Trades happen pretty often before the deadline. Some people would wonder whether or not the NBA coaches have a say in it.

Who decides which players get traded in the NBA?

The truth is, usually, coaches don’t have a say in trades as it is the General Manager who constructs the teams. General Managers have a dedicated team of sports analysts who help them to make a decision but it will be their call after all. GMs from both teams will most likely engage in a long conversation and decide whether or not the trade is beneficial to both teams.

From there, you will see it in the news if it is confirmed. There are some high-profile coaches who do get a say in trades but it really depends on if it is included in their contract. After all, some coaches would love to join teams that give them that power.

Of course, they already have a lot to get into, and constructing trades is a lot of hard work. Besides, you can propose a trade to the other team then they may reject it then you can be back to zero. There is also the possibility of revising it a bit before it gets accepted. There is the hard work involved in needing to make the salaries match which is a very complex science and is even dedicated to so-called capologists to make the calls.

Also, if the number of players involved in the trade is not equal then you should get some players from the free agency pool. Surely, the ones the team would sign should be a good fit for the team not only as a player but as a person.

Why do players get traded?

There are times when a player gets traded not because of their plays but because of the attitude they display in front of the media. For example, some players get traded because they party a lot and that would not really be good when the fans get a hold of a stay player doing that. It would be better if everyone is wholesome but you can’t really tell someone to do what is supposed to be done because everyone has a right to make his own decision. All players have agents and they are the ones who are notified if they get traded.

There were some instances when some coaches wanted players traded but it did not happen right away. There are plenty of people in the organization who need to approve of such a deal.

How do NBA trades work

The National Basketball Association (NBA) trade process is a relatively straightforward system that is designed to facilitate deals between teams in the league. In principle, it’s an extremely simple concept; when one team wants to trade a player, they alert the relevant league office and specify which player(s) they are willing to move along with their reasons why they feel that team would be interested in making such a deal.

The other team receives the same information and has three days to respond. If they don’t, they can’t renege on the deal. Should both teams agree to proceed with the deal and finalize which players are being traded where then both teams must file documentation with the league and announce it to the public within 48 hours.

If not, both teams lose their rights to those players and can only trade them again once the season has finished or if another player is involved in a different deal for them at another point during that season. Essentially, this system was put into place because back in 2004, there were four separate trades involving 13 different players over a period of 25 days – this was deemed too much confusion for everyone involved.

Who are the real decision makers?

Of course, that group would include the ownership as they invest a lot of money into the team and they would want fans to come to see whether or not they can contend. Players always understand that they should really have no hard feelings for their team if they get trades. General Managers always do what is best for their team. After all, if the team is doing poorly then they will most likely get fired. The General Manager can trade some players or even fire the coach and see if the team’s standing would improve.

Nobody ever questions coaches about NBA trades because they don’t have a say most of the time. When they are questioned about it, the question would most likely be the new player’s fit moving forward. After all, the coach would have no choice but to make new plays for the new players.

Also, you can expect the player to not get any more questions about his old team. It would now be time to move on so the player knows it would be best if he would entertain questions about his new team and his fit there. It is evident a positive mindset is needed here because if the player does not have that then he will most likely get traded again. No player would want that because just when you are starting to adjust to a new city and culture, it will get started all over again. Making trades is not one of the responsibilities of coaches.

They already have a lot to think about when it comes to making the team win in their next game. Hence, adding to their list of responsibilities would make them stressed even more. If a team would add making trades to a coach’s list of responsibilities then the coach would most likely resign. That’s not even mentioning a coach has a team of assistant coaches and it is doubtful any of them has a say in the trades that the team makes.