The first-ever two-day NBA draft begins on Wednesday, June 26. Free agency doesn’t kick off until four days later—Sunday, June 30 at 6 p.m. ET. And as we all know, no teams and soon-to-be free agents ever clandestinely negotiate beforehand. Isn’t that right, Commissioner Silver?
Luckily, thanks to the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, teams are now allowed to legally begin negotiating with their own free agents one day after the NBA Finals end. That should prevent a situation like what the Sixers encountered last year, when they allegedly went radio silent on James Harden in the days leading up to free agency in fear of Commissioner Silver’s big, bad tampering penalties.