The opening week of the NBA’s league year is once again governed by the “July moratorium,” a rule that blocks most player movement for several days even as teams and free agents strike verbal agreements.
When the freeze begins and ends
The moratorium starts at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 1 and runs until noon ET on July 6. During this window clubs may negotiate and reach handshake deals with free agents or on trades, but paperwork cannot be filed with the league office until the clock hits 12:00 p.m. on July 6.
What teams are allowed to do
While big-ticket contracts and trades must wait, the collective bargaining agreement makes several exceptions:
- Sign first-round picks to rookie-scale contracts.
- Sign second-round selections using the second-round pick exception.
- Add players on one- or two-year minimum deals.
- Have restricted free agents sign qualifying offers or five-year max contracts with their current clubs.
- Allow restricted free agents to sign offer sheets elsewhere (the matching clock starts after the moratorium).
- Complete two-way deals, convert Exhibit 10 pacts to two-way contracts, or upgrade two-ways to standard NBA contracts.
- Place players on waivers or claim them.
- Exercise third- or fourth-year team options on rookie-scale deals.
- Let second-round picks accept required tenders.
The risk of verbal agreements
Because deals are unenforceable until July 6, sudden reversals remain possible. The most famous case came in 2015, when center DeAndre Jordan abandoned a verbal commitment to the Mavericks during the moratorium and re-signed with the Clippers.
Cap figures now set in advance
Earlier CBAs held off on announcing the new salary cap until the moratorium was under way. The current agreement finalizes the cap before July 1, giving front offices exact spending limits as talks begin.
Negotiations now start June 30
Several years ago the league moved the opening of free-agency talks to 6:00 p.m. ET on June 30, six hours before the calendar flips to July. Contracts cannot be signed that night because previous deals are still active, but extension-eligible veterans may complete new agreements with their existing teams during that brief window. This year, for example, Golden State’s Kristaps Porziņģis and Chicago’s Zach Collins used the six-hour gap to finalize extensions.
Moratoriums not always in July
The timeline can shift in extraordinary circumstances. Pandemic-related schedule changes pushed the moratorium to November in 2020 and to August in 2021.
The six-day pause remains a critical feature of every NBA off-season, giving clubs time to negotiate under the new cap while preventing contracts and trades from becoming official until early July.
Source: Hoops Rumors
