The CBA Glossary
An explainer thing for the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement
The NBA's moratorium
The first week of July is the NBA's moratorium. During this time, the NBA's accountants do the final audit for the previous season (seasons change over on 1st July - usually), and work out the exact amounts of the salary cap, exceptions etc for the following season.
During this period, teams are prevented from making certain moves. However, they are allowed to begin negotiating with free agents. It is a time of great buzz, lots of Twitter updates - but little actual movement. This is what is permissible in that period.
What teams can do What teams cannot do When it isWhat teams can do during the July Moratorium
From 12.01am on 1st July, teams can do the following:
- Negotiate with their own free agents
- Negotiate with other team's free agents
- Negotiate extensions, both veteran and rookie scale
- Negotiate offer sheets
- Sign restricted free agents to their qualifying offers, including maximum qualifying offers
- Sign tenders
- Waive players
- Claim players off waivers
- Converta Team may exercise a Two-Way Contract’s Standard NBA Contract Conversion Option in accordance with Article II, Section 11(f) above.
From 12.01pm on the same day,they can also do the following:
- Sign offer sheets (twelve hours after negotiations began)
- Sign players with the Second Round Exception
- Sign players to two-way contracts
- Sign rookie scale contracts
Team may exercise the Two-Way Player Conversion Option in a Contract with an Exhibit 10 in accordance with Article II, Section 11(h) above.
- Sign players (be they from other teams, rookies, their own FAs, or wherever) to the minimum salary, as long as it it done so using the Minimum Salary Exception
What teams cannot do during the July Moratorium
- Made any trades other than waiver claims
- Sign free agents for any contracts other than the above (including, but not limited to, using cap space and/or MLEs)
- Sign extensions
This, then, prohibits the majority of free agency movement for a week. Almost all of
Prior to the conclusion of the Moratorium Period, players (or, for
clarity, any person or entity acting with authority on behalf of a player) and
Teams shall each be prohibited from stating publicly that the player and
Team have reached agreement on the terms of a Player Contrac provided, however,
that the foregoing prohibition shall not apply to players
with respect to the Moratorium Period of the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year.
When it is
Unless extraordinary circumstances require otherwise, the moratorium begins with the season - on 1st July every year. It ends at 12pm on 6th July, regardless of whether the 6th is a regular business day.
A new wrinkle, however, sees the negotiation process begin slightly sooner. Specifically, beginning with the close of business on 30th June (which takes place at 5pm Eastern Time), negotiations with external free agents can begin. Teams used to have to wait until midnight between the two dates, but this suited no one, and has thus been brought forward to a more sociable hour.
What teams can do What teams cannot do When it isMAIN TAKEAWAYS:
- July 1st, and the first few days after it, see a general prohibition on free agency signings and trades, with some exceptions
- Teams can still freely and permissibly negotiate with free agents in this time
- Any agreements made in this time are treated as tentative only, for official signings must take place until afterwards