Decisions on player options for 2020/21 would typically be due later this month, but those deadlines will have to be pushed back, along with certain salary guarantee dates, trade exception expiry dates, and a handful of other key deadlines tied to the NBA’ offseason calendar.
As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer details, a straightforward solution is being negotiated for adjusting those dates. The expectation is that they’ll be postponed in direct correlation with the new date for the start of the 2020/21 league year. For now, the new league year is tentatively scheduled to begin on October 18 instead of July 1.
In other words, if a player option decision had previously been due by June 29, it would now need to be made by October 16. If a trade exception had been scheduled to expire on July 7, its new expiry date would be October 24.
For certain dates, more negotiation may be required. For instance, if a player had a September 1 salary guarantee date written into his contract, that deadline would’ve fallen two months after the start of the league year, but well before the start of training camp. Under the NBA’s proposed calendar for 2020/21, two months after the start of the league year would be December 18, well beyond the target tip-off date of December 1. Still, for the most part, the solution O’Connor describes sounds like the most logical way forward.
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart plans and its new-look schedule:
- With a transaction window expected to open around June 22, Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) examines all 22 teams headed to Orlando this summer and speculates about what sort of roster tweaks they might make during that last week in June. As Marks notes, teams like the Nets (Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving) and Mavericks (Dwight Powell, Jalen Brunson) are candidates to sign multiple injury replacements at that time.
- Scott Gleeson of USA Today ranks the six non-playoff teams invited to Orlando in terms of their upset potential, suggesting that the Pelicans and Trail Blazers are the top two threats to steal a playoff spot.
- Although the Thunder and other small-market clubs will be part of the resumed season this summer, the coronavirus pandemic may have a long-term impact on how they operate, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman.