Not just James Lillard! The 12 players have the right to veto the deal in the new season: Harden VanVleet is on the list

On July 30, the 2025-26 season, only James and Lillard in the league have clear trade veto power, but it is not only the two who have the right to veto the trade this season.

Let's first talk about the clear trade veto rights that James and Lillard have. The qualification requirements are very high. To be qualified to negotiate the trade veto terms, the player must meet: have at least 8 years of NBA age; play for the current team for at least 4 years (not necessarily the last 4 years); sign a free agent contract, not a contract renewal.

A year ago, James and Bill had the terms of the deal veto, but Bill gave up this clause when he reached a buyout agreement with the Suns this offseason.

Although James and Lillard are the only players in the current contract with clear trade veto, there are still several players in the 2025-26 season with "implicit trade veto", which gives them the right to veto the trade next season. Specific circumstances include:

players who renew a 1-year contract with the original team or a 2-year contract (including player/team option year) will automatically obtain the trade veto protection unless they agree to waive this protection when signing. This group does not include two-way contract players, but includes players who accept standard (non-two-way) 1-year qualification quotes.

After signing the invitation contract, the original team matches the players of the contract and has the right to veto the transaction for an entire calendar year.

Combined with the above conditions, in the 2025-26 season, if their team wants to trade them, they must obtain their consent -

Players with clear trade veto power:

LeBron James (Lakes)

Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)

Players whose contract is matched by the original team:

No

Players renewed 1-year contract (or 2-year contract with option year):

Nicolas Batum (Clippers)

Colin Gillespie (Suns)

James Harden (Clippers)

Aaron Holiday (Rockets)

Jo Ingles (Timberwolves)

Kyle Lowry (76ers)

Jerico Sims (Bucks)

Jashaun Tate (Rockets)

Fred VanVleet (Rockets)

Moritz Wagner (Magics)

Related Supplementary Notes -

If the above-mentioned player who renews the 1-year contract agrees to be traded in the 2025-26 season, he will only have the "non-Bird clause" rights at the end of the season, not the "early Bird clause" or the complete "Bird clause" rights.

Any player who agrees to be traded will still retain the veto power on the new team and will agree to any subsequent transactions in the 2025-26 season.

However, some players have waived this right. Although the following players have renewed their 1-year contract (or 2-year contracts with option years), they have agreed to waive the veto rights of the transaction in the 2025-26 season -

Eric Gordon (76ers)

Jeff Green (Rockets)

Jackson Hayes (Lakes)

Chris Livingston ( The option of giving up the trade veto was added to the 2023 labor agreement in 2023.