When Does NBA Free Agency Start In The 2024 Season?

Due to the pandemic, the NBA free agency for the 2023-2024 season will begin differently than usual. Last year, the NBA free agency deadline was postponed for a long time. It took place in late November inside the Orlando Bubble, after the season restarted.

When does NBA free agency start? The 2024 NBA free agency will begin Monday, August 2, at the offseason kickoff. Teams and players can start negotiating with each other at 6 p.m. on Monday. From Friday, August 6, transactions will officially begin after midnight. The tournament will also start at this time.

To get a list of the teams’ free agents and the salary cap space, read on with Scott Fujita.

NBA free agency 

When Does NBA Free Agency Start?

The 2024 NBA free agency takes place on August 2, 6:00 p.m. ET. Teams can negotiate with free agents and agree to trade players in principle. You will quickly come across relevant news on exchanges during this time.

The transactions will take place within the next few days.

The closing time for the deal is August 6, 12:01 p.m. ET. The agreed transactions will officially take effect. The league office can finalize them and match the restricted free agent offer sheets together.

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List Of Top Available Free Agents

Among the top free agents available in the market, we have two good candidates: Los Angeles Clippers small forward Kawhi Leonard and Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul. Both All-Stars’ current contracts include player options to either stay in or enter the market when the NBA free agency opens.

Kawhi Leonard 

Kawhi Leonard is an interesting case. In the 2024 season playoffs, he tore his ACL net. The star is expected to spend a lot of time next season recovering from surgery. He’s on a $36m player options deal with two options, stay or go to a new team like Kevin Durant.

Leonard will likely rest for most of the season in Los Angeles and return as he heads into the playoffs. It is also the right time for him to reconsider his choices.

Meanwhile, Chris Paul is at the peak of his career. He helped the Suns reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993.

Veteran stars like Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, or Victor Oladipo are all in the status of unrestricted free agents. If you’re still waiting for more, we have some bright young faces on the list of restricted free agents.

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Let’s look at the list of stars that teams can begin negotiating when the deadline opens.

• Kawhi Leonard: Los Angeles Clippers (Player option).
• Chris Paul: Phoenix Suns (Player option).
• Kyle Lowry: Toronto Raptors (Unrestricted Free Agent).
• John Collins: Atlanta Hawks (Restricted).
• Mike Conley: Utah Jazz (Unrestricted).
• DeMar DeRozan: San Antonio Spurs (Unrestricted).
• Lonzo Ball: New Orleans Pelicans (Restricted).
• Jarrett Allen: Cleveland Cavaliers (Restricted).
• Dennis Schroder: Los Angeles Lakers (Unrestricted).
• Duncan Robinson: Miami Heat (Restricted).
• Evan Fournier: Boston Celtics (Unrestricted).
• Victor Oladipo: Miami Heat (Unrestricted).
• Tim Hardaway Jr.: Dallas Mavericks (Unrestricted).

The Expected Cap Space

During the 2021-23 season, many experts predict the salary cap will only increase by 3% to bring the cap to $112.4 million. The luxury tax threshold will fall to around $136.6 million if that number is as expected.

Here is a list of NBA teams with the most cap space. Let’s take a look:

• Knicks: $51.3 million.
• Spurs: $49.5 million.
• Thunder: $43 million.
• Pelicans: $36.6 million.
• Heat: $28.1 million.
• Raptors: $27.8 million.
• Hornets: $26.7 million.
• Mavericks: $24.5 million.
• Bulls: $23.7 million.
• Hawks: $10.3 million.

When Will NBA Free Agency Start For The 2024 Season?

NBA free agency 2024 

Once the schedule has returned to normal for the 2023-2024 season, the free agency period will likely return on June 30, 2023, at 6 p.m. ET. However, we still don’t know the exact time because the NBA has yet to officially set a date after the draft on June 23, 2023.

Final Thoughts

Stay tuned for key dates, so you don’t miss the latest updates regarding the league and NBA communications. This free agency time always promises to bring drama and surprises that surely no basketball fan can ignore. Thank you for reading!