NBA Expected To Start Free Agency Earlier This Summer

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The National Basketball Association announced a change of dates for the upcoming free agency period starting this summer.

According to reports, the league is expected to move up the moratorium period, the time in which players and team can negotiate deals without making them official by a few hours. Typically, the league has set the start of this period at midnight eastern time on July 1, but this year the time is expected to shift to 6 p.m. ET on June 30.

The shift in time has not yet been made official by the league.

The NBA is expected to move up the start of its annual moratorium from midnight on July 1 to 6pm on June 30, sources told ESPN. The move will shift the league away from an antiquated system by allowing teams to start talking to players at a reasonable hour.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 15, 2019

The Utah Jazz are expected to be major players in the free agency period. The team recently announced the promotion of Dennis Lindsey to the position of executive vice president of basketball operations and Justin Zanik to Lindsey’s former post as the team’s general manager.

At the end of year media availability last month, Lindsey stated that “adding a sniper at any position,” would be a priority for Jazz in the offseason. With free agents like Tobias Harris, Kemba Walker and JJ Redick potentially on the market, the Jazz’s activity in free agency will be of high interest both locally and nationally.