NBA sets October 16 as draft date, 18th for free-agent talks

The NBA has confirmed October 16 as the date for this year’s draft and clubs can begin talking to free agents two days later.

Published : Jun 20, 2020 21:42 IST

The NBA season has been on pause since March 11 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The NBA season has been on pause since March 11 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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The NBA season has been on pause since March 11 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The NBA has firmed up the schedule for what will be a hectic time for teams this fall, deciding on October 16 as the date for this year’s draft and saying clubs can begin talking to free agents two days later.

The annual moratorium will begin at 9:30am IST on October 19 and continue until 9:30pm IST on October 23, the league told teams on Saturday in a memo. As was the case last season, teams and free agents can begin negotiating six hours before the moratorium.

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It could be a wildly busy few days in October for the NBA. If the schedule for the restarted season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida, goes as planned, Game 7 of the NBA Finals could be held on the 13th, followed by the draft three days later and then free agency almost immediately following.

By setting the draft date, the NBA also confirmed August 17 as the early entry deadline and October 6 as the early entry withdrawal date.

Replacements

The league also clarified the procedure for teams should any need arise to replace a player who either was excused from participating in the restart, would be protected from playing for health reasons or chose to not play.

Starting July 1 and going through the end of the seeding games, expected to be Aug. 14, substitute players can be signed to take the place of someone who falls into those categories. If a player tests positive for coronavirus after the seeding games end, teams would still be allowed to replace them - but only with someone who has three years or less of NBA service.

And if a player - excluding two-way players - refuses to participate in games at Disney, he would lose about 1.1% of his salary for every game missed. That would be capped after 14 games, or roughly 15.1% of the player’s contract. Players who are excused or protected from participating would not be subject to lost salary.

Teams will also be able to sign players to rest-of-season contracts, when eligible, starting Tuesday and continuing through June 30.

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