The busy part of the NBA offseason will start a little earlier than usual this year.
As part of the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams around the league for the first time can begin negotiating with their own impending free agents on the first day following the last game of the NBA Finals. That exclusive window could begin as early as Tuesday, with the Boston Celtics holding a 3-1 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks and looking for a championship-clinching win on Monday at TD Garden in Game 5 of the best-of-7 NBA Finals.
Prior to this year, teams weren’t permitted to negotiate with their own free agents or ones from another team until June 30 at 6 p.m. This year teams only need to wait until June 30 to begin talking with outside free agents.
But one thing hasn’t changed: Nearly all free agent signings still aren’t eligible to become official until the league’s moratorium is lifted at noon on July 6.
So what does this head start mean for the Heat?
But during this new early window for teams to negotiate with their own players, the Heat still won’t be able to begin talks with Jimmy Butler regarding his potential extension this offseason, according to ESPN front office insider and former Nets executive Bobby Marks.
That’s because unlike Adebayo Butler becomes eligible to sign an extension with the Heat after July 6.
For this reason, Butler and the Heat can’t formally begin discussing an extension until he actually becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 7.
