NBA free agency 2024: When can free agents sign their new contracts?
The NBA free agent market has started with a bang, and there are a few more major deals in the works, but no one has officially put pen to paper yet.
The NBA’s free agent market door is wide open and we have seen some of the league’s biggest names agree to terms as the landscape of the NBA continues to change. While the deals have been announced, nothing will be official until names are signed on the dotted line and that won’t be happening for another handful of days.
George breaks free agent bank
News continues to break, even as this article is being written, surrounding the futures of some of the NBA’s biggest names in the free agent pool. Reports just came out claiming Klay Thompson is on the move out of Golden State as he teams up with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks.
Paul George has been the headline of the first 24-plus hours of the market. He agreed what is currently the largest contract of this free agent period with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 4-year deal is worth $212 million dollars and will instantly turn Philly into contender in the Eastern Conference.
Neither George, nor any of the other free agents are officially members of the teams they have agreed to terms with. Pen won’t be put to paper until the something called the Moratorium comes to an end.
Deal or no deal?
The moratorium is the period of time in which teams are allowed to negotiate with free agents and even come to terms, but there is are no signings or trades made during this time. The moratorium started with the opening of the free agent market at 6:00 p.m. ET on July 1st.
Teams now have until July 6th to talk to players and try to negotiate a deal in free agency. Once the moratorium comes to a close on July 6th at 12:01 pm ET, these deals that have previously been reported will be available to sign.
Just because a deal is struck in the moratorium doesn’t mean a team or a player is stuck to that deal. Either side can back out of the agreement once signing day comes. That happened back in 2015 when DeAndre Jordan nullified his deal with the Dallas Mavericks to stay with the LA Clippers.