Because of the July Moratorium, almost no NBA free-agent agreement will become official until July 6.
At 6 p.m. ET on June 30, NBA free agents will be allowed to begin officially negotiating with teams. But aside from a few limited exceptions, no free-agent agreement can become finalized until noon on July 6 thanks to the July Moratorium.
During the moratorium, the following signings can become official:
- Teams can sign first-round picks to standard rookie-scale contracts.
- Teams can sign players to minimum-salary contracts (no longer than two years).
- Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet with another team, although their incumbent team’s 48-hour matching window does not begin until the moratorium lifts on July 6.
- Restricted free agents can accept a qualifying offer from their team, which is a one-year deal for a set amount that enables them to become an unrestricted free agent the following summer.
- Restricted free agents can sign a maximum qualifying offer, which is a five-year contract starting at the maximum salary with 8 percent annual raises.
- Teams can sign players to Two-Way contracts, convert a Two-Way contract to a standard NBA contract or vice versa.
- Teams can waive players or claim players off waivers.
- Second-round picks can sign required tenders, which are one-year contracts that teams must submit to retain their rights to said players.
Other than that, any free-agent agreement reached during the moratorium is verbal, non-binding and won’t count against a team’s salary-cap sheet.
The most infamous moratorium-related incident in recent years unfolded in 2015, when DeAndre Jordan agreed to a four-year max contract with the Dallas Mavericks in early July. A few days later, Jordan had second thoughts and decided to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers instead. (A hostage situation may or may not have influenced his choice.)
Following that debacle, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association agreed to end the moratorium on July 6 every year. That still gives free agents a few days to meet with teams and weigh career-altering decisions before finalizing anything, but it reduces the amount of time for a Jordan-esque about-face to unfold.
A number of agreed-upon trades also won’t become official until July 6 at the earliest, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ acquisition of Anthony Davis and the Utah Jazz’s acquisition of Mike Conley. While Conley’s arrival in Utah should be straightforward, the Lakers are still working to amend the terms of the Davis trade to create more salary-cap space, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks.
Even if top-tier free agents such as Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving announce where they’re signing in the first few days of July, nothing will become official until July 6 at the earliest. Whichever teams they agree to join can only hope to avoid a repeat of the Jordan saga from 2015.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Basketball Insiders.
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