The NBA and the National Basketball Player’s Association have mutually agreed to shorten this year’s free agency moratorium, cutting the period down to six days from July 1 to 6, according to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
NBA will shorten free agency moratorium after last year’s DeAndre Jordan drama, per report
The decision makes sense after last summer’s DeAndre Jordan fiasco.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The moratorium was scheduled to run July 1 to 11 this year before ending on July 12, so this new change cuts the time where NBA teams can talk but not officially sign free agents in half. Beginning on July 7 this offseason, teams can officially sign free agents.
The change comes in the wake of last summer's DeAndre Jordan debacle. After being aggressively pursued by the Dallas Mavericks, Jordan verbally agreed to sign with the team on July 5. Three days later, it was revealed that Jordan had changed his mind and planned to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers instead, since the verbal agree made before the moratorium lifted was not binding. While it was one of the biggest sports stories of the summer, the NBA would rather not repeat the situation again. Shortening the moratorium period, one that would have lasted an additional three days when compared to last season, will help.
The cap is also planning to jump at an unprecedented level, with some projections predicting it rising as high as $92-93 million for the 2016-17 season. More than half of the teams will have maximum cap space, and shortening the moratorium will make the coming offseason slightly less confusing.
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