The coronavirus outbreak has not only put the 2019-20 NBA season to a screeching halt but also created plenty of complications if and when the campaign resumes. Besides a stockpile of draft picks, the Golden State Warriors could also enjoy a $17.2 million trade exception acquired in the Andre Iguodala trade, but only if the deadline to use it is delayed.
Warriors president Bob Myers expects the league will make changes to this deadline so that the Warriors can use it in free agency, considering they've been kept from making use of it by the hard cap.
The trade exception was slated to expire on July 7, but considering that the season could push back the start of free agency, the league could push that date to a more reasonable one.
“I don't know this, but maybe similar to a post-lockout moratorium period where you're kind of hit with these dates,” said Myers in a conference call with reporters, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. “I think it will crunch everything into a tighter space. Sometimes that's good. Sometimes when you're forced to make decisions in a five-day window instead of a three-week window, it's still possible to do. It just has to be done faster.
“Me personally, I'm not crying about free agency or the draft or whatever happens right now. Maybe I'll get there. Probably will. But right now it's more about let's just stay healthy, let's try to do the right thing, try to remember our place in all this. And when the work deadlines come, and we're told we can do what we do, we don't complain about that, either.”
There is certainly a precedent for deadline dates being moved to accommodate delays in business operations which puts the Warriors at a good spot.
While there aren't expected to be any permanent changes to the CBA, sources said there will be transition rules for transactions, similar to the ones that were instituted following the 2011 lockout. For example, teams with traded player exceptions that expired during the lockout period saw those expiration dates bumped back.
Iguodala's trade exception is quite hefty, and the Warriors could be looking forward to using that in free agency after playing with a roster full of G League and free-agent talent in 2019-20.
Golden State hasn't been shy of wheeling and dealing this season, and they're expected to make moves in the summer — including a daunting draft process that could decide if they can re-ignite their reign of terror.
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