NBA Trade Court
Build a real NBA trade. We'll tell you whether it's legal — and then whether it's intelligent. Those are not the same question.
How the courtroom works
Free. No login. No mercy.Build the trade
Pick two to four real teams. Tap players and picks straight off their actual cap sheets. Add cash if the deal needs greasing.
Watch the CBA fight you
Every edit is checked against the real 2023 rules — salary matching, both aprons, the Stepien rule, the December freeze. When it's illegal we tell you which team, which rule, and by how much.
Take it to court
Seven dimensions, scored separately and never added up. A trade can be a win now and a disaster in three years — that tension is the whole argument, and a single grade would throw it away.
Let the public decide
Share the verdict. The link unfurls with your trade on a card — and whoever opens it gets your trade loaded into their own courtroom, to fix.
What the trade court does
Build a real NBA trade between any teams — players, draft picks, cash — and we'll check it against the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement as you go: salary matching, the tax line, both aprons, pick ownership, the Stepien rule, and the trade restrictions that keep July signings frozen until December.
Legality is the easy part, and every trade machine stops there. Trade Court goes on to the question you actually care about: is this trade intelligent? Seven dimensions — win-now, long-term, fit, financial, asset balance, risk, and the fantasy fallout — argued out as a court case, with a Prosecution, a Defence, and a verdict. Then you can share it, and let everyone else deliver theirs.
How it works
- Pick two to four teams. Tap players and picks to put them on the table; add cash if a deal needs greasing.
- The legality strip checks the CBA on every edit and tells you exactly which rule you broke and by how much — including when you're one minimum contract away from it working.
- Take it to court. You'll get seven dimensions scored separately (never summed into one number, because a trade can be a win now and a disaster in three years), a Prosecution and a Defence, and a verdict.
- Share the verdict. The link unfurls with the trade card, and anyone who opens it gets your trade loaded into their own courtroom to fix.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account?
No. Trade Court is free and needs no login — build, judge, and share as much as you like.
Is the salary cap data real?
Yes. Every contract, option, guarantee and draft pick is from a curated cap sheet reconciled against published team payrolls, and the CBA rules are the real 2023 ones — matching bands, both aprons, the Stepien rule, the December 15 trade freeze. We're open about what we don't model: trade bonuses, base-year compensation, sign-and-trades and existing trade exceptions, all listed under 'How we judged this' on every verdict.
Why isn't there a single trade grade?
Because it would be the least honest number on the page. A trade can be a clear win now and a clear disaster in three years — that tension is the whole argument, and averaging it into a 7.4/10 throws away the only interesting thing about the trade. We show seven dimensions and let you decide which ones you care about.
Can I check a trade that's already been reported?
Yes — build it exactly as reported and see what the court makes of it. That's most of the fun.
Trade Court is completely free and needs no account. If you want the same engine pointed at your own fantasy league — projections, trades, waivers — that's what the rest of the site does.