How do NBA pick swaps work? Usage, rules & more

The Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns have finalized the Bradley Beal trade with a plethora of draft picks and pick swaps headed to Washington. In addition to Chris Paul, who has been re-routed to the Golden State Warriors, and Landry Shamet, the Wizards will receive six second-round draft picks and four first-round pick swaps, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who tweeted:

"Washington and Phoenix have finalized the Bradley Beal trade, landing the Wizards six second-round draft picks and four first-round pick swaps, sources tell ESPN. Suns are sending seconds in 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2030. Pick swaps in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030."

Check out Adrian Wojnarowski's tweet below:

With the blockbuster deal now finalized, take a look at how swapping picks works below.

How do NBA pick swaps work?

Pick swaps provide teams with a loophole around the Stepien rule, which states that teams are not allowed to trade their first round pick in back-to-back seasons. They provide franchises on the receiving end of the pick swap with the opportunity to choose between the better of the two selections.

While swapping picks has become far more popular over the past decade, Zach Kram of The Ringer recently reported that their value does not match that popularity, stating:

"The results suggest that pick swaps aren’t anywhere near as important as they might seem. Historically, a first-round pick swap has been only about as valuable as the no. 36 overall pick. That’s worth repeating: The average first-round pick swap returns second-round value! And several team executives agree that—within the league itself, and especially in the public view—swaps are overvalued in a trade for a star."

Their have only been 12 pick swaps exercised in NBA history. The most successful instance came in the 2017 NBA Draft when the Boston Celtics exercised their swap rights with the Brooklyn Nets and wound up landing Jayson Tatum. It is the only instance where the value acquired was equivalent to a lottery pick.

While there were several teams with the option to swap picks in the 2023 NBA Draft as the result of past trades, no team exercised that option. As is generally the case, the three teams that traded their star player and received the option to swap picks wound up worst than the teams who acquired the talent. With teams now swapping picks nearly a decade down the line, the value these moves could change in the future.