The NBA has officially moved up the free agency deadline from the customary 12:00 am ET on July 1 to June 30 at 6 p.m. in efforts to make the start of free agency friendlier for players and executives involved.
The NBA has official moved up the start of free agency to 6 PM ET on June 30
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 24, 2019
The NBA and the NBPA agreed on the change last week and signed it into law on Friday, allowing for a more reasonable time to begin negotiations.
“Teams and players will now be permitted to begin free agent negotiations at 6 p.m. ET on June 30 — six hours earlier than the previous start time of 12:01 a.m. ET on July 1.”
The league has also allowed for front office executives to arrange or schedule meetings with soon-to-be free agents as early as 24 hours before the deadline, which should only help smooth along negotiations with some of the biggest free agents.
“By league rules, teams also will be permitted to communicate with free agents or their representatives beginning at 6 p.m. ET on June 29 solely for the purpose of scheduling a meeting to take place at or after 6 p.m. ET on June 30.”
These changes will result in players meeting with teams as soon as minutes after the deadline starts, allowing free agents to survey multiple teams and hear plenty of pitches before making a decision on their future.
For others, 6 p.m. will only be the time when they put pen to paper and sign on the dotted line, considering some big-time max-level players already have their mind made up about their next destination.
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