About the competition
ASU Law will host the fourth national NBA trade deadline competition for students this fall. The competition is intended to provide students with a realistic front office experience. Participating students will have the opportunity to simulate working in an NBA front office just before the NBA trade deadline and receive feedback from real NBA executives as judges. The purpose of this event is to provide students at various programs the opportunity to learn the integral parts of the industry and improve on translatable skills essential to providing value to a team. The competition will be held on November 20 -21, 2026, and will take place in person at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in Phoenix, AZ.
The competition consists of a designated trading period on November 20, during which student groups negotiate and execute trades with other teams, followed by student presentations to NBA executives on November 21. A few weeks before the competition begins, competitors will be assigned their NBA team so they have time to prepare their strategy and begin preliminary negotiations with other participants. Following the final presentations, students will have the opportunity to network with judges at the closing reception.
Competition logistics
Student groups will be assigned an NBA team prior to the event. Teams will evaluate their assigned franchise, determine trade deadline objectives and negotiate trades to improve their roster. All trades will be closely monitored for compliance with the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Teams will receive contact information for other participants in advance and are encouraged to begin discussions ahead of the competition. However, no trade will be considered official outside of the designated trade window on November 20 and November 21. To finalize a trade, at least one representative from each team must present the full details to the NTDC trade-check panel. If approved, the trade will be recorded in the official log for all teams to view.
Throughout the competition, teams will have the opportunity to consult with and interact directly with judges as they evaluate potential moves and execute trades. Following the conclusion of the official trade period, teams will present their transactions and strategic rationale to a panel of judges.
Judges will score teams based on the following categories:
- Adherence to the NBA CBA
- Evaluation of assigned NBA team
- Justifications of moves made (through analytics, scouting, cap analysis, etc.)
- Extent moves made align with the team’s short and long-term objectives
- Team’s final presentation (professionalism, composure, telling the story)
Note: An objective scorecard for the following will be released to participating groups prior to the event.
Sponsorship opportunity
Please contact Competition Co-directors Jordan Baum and Alex Propstra for all information on sponsorship packages available.
Applications now open
- November 20 - 21, 2026
- Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, ASU
- 111 East Taylor Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004
