The annual NBA free agency period is as chaotic, in terms of changing the league’s landscape for years, as it is to understand. Here is how it works.
Free agency refers to the freedom of taking actions on one’s own. Every NBA player works under a contract with a team. These contracts eventually end, giving the players the agency to sign a new contract and do whatever they want. This is when they are known as free agents. They can either sign up with the same team or a new one. Read on to understand the NBA free agency rules in more detail.
NBA Free Agency Rules: How Does It Work?
Teams and players begin negotiating deals on Monday 2nd August at 6pm. The deals which come as a result will become official when this Moratorium Period ends on August 6 at 12.01pm ET. The players can decide whether they want to stay with the same team for another year or become an unrestricted free agent. This is known as the Player Option. On the other hand, the Team Option gives a team the right to keep a player for another year.
While an Unrestricted Free Agent is free to sign with any team, a Restricted Free Agent can sign an offer sheet with any team, but the team that they are under contract with can retain match that offer and retain them.
As for the NBA’s Salary Cap, it limits the amount of money teams can spend. This helps keep league-wide parity. Though there are a lot of exceptions, some teams have more cap space than others, depending on the amount of money owed to players under contract. Similarly, players can only earn a certain amount as well, depending upon how long they have been in the league.
Some of the big free agents of this offseason include Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, Mike Conley, John Collins, Lonzo Ball, Norman Powell, Kyle Lowry and many more.
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