In the first annual season of the NBA 2K League, there were a total of 17 teams. The league will be expanded to 21 teams by adding four new expansion teams. The four new expansion teams will be located in Atlanta, Brooklyn, Los Angeles (Lakers), and Minnesota.
Each of the original 17 teams must pick two players from the year one roster in order to be protected from the expansion draft. The 34 players (two from each of the 17 original teams) will be excluded from being selected as a pick in the expansion draft. All other players who are not protected will be eligible to be selected by any of the four teams in the expansion draft.
Only one player can be selected from the original teams, but as many as two of the unprotected players can be brought back to their original team at the cost of picks in the traditional draft. Click here to see the rest of the expansion draft rules.
Teams will be allowed to make adjustments by making trades with other teams. Each team will be allowed to make a total of two trades and they must be during the two designated trade periods. The first trade period is from September 27-October 10 and the second trade period is during the 2019 NBA 2K League season. All trades must have a 1:1 ratio (i.e., a player or a 2019 draft pick). Teams cannot trade two picks for one player or vice versa. Only players and 2019 draft picks can be traded.
The Atlanta Hawks organization welcomes their new NBA 2K team, Hawks Talon GC, to the league by winning the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA 2K Draft Lottery. Brooklyn will pick second, Minnesota will pick third and Los Angeles will be the final team to pick in the first round of the expansion draft.
The expansion draft will take place as a snake draft meaning that the draft order will be reversed at the start of each round. Therefore, the Hawks Talons GC will begin the draft with the first overall pick in the first round; however, they will have the last pick of the second round and the first pick again in the third round.
The Expansion Draft order goes as followed:
First Round
1.) Atlanta, Hawks Talon GC
2.) Brooklyn, Nets Gaming Club
3.) Minnesota, Twolves Gaming Club
4.) Los Angeles, Lakers Gaming
Second Round
5.) Los Angeles
6.) Minnesota
7.) Brooklyn
8.) Atlanta
With the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA 2K League Expansion Draft, the Hawks Talon GC select Dat Boy Shotz, who played with the Blazer5 in year one. Nets Gaming Club picked NateKahl with the second pick. Twolves Gaming Club used the third pick on oLARRY despite the rumored trade sending him to the Cavs Legion GC for Hood. The Lakers Gaming selected Mootyy with the final pick of the first round.