Sports
When does 2021 NBA Free Agency start? – NBC Sports Washington – NBC Sports Washington
For the second consecutive year, NBA free agency will start at a different time. The 2020 free agency period went down in late November after the season restart inside the Orlando bubble.
As the league looks to get back on a normal schedule next season, this offseason will be short as well, with free agency starting in early August just under two weeks after the end of the NBA Finals.
This is when teams can start negotiating with free agents and agree to deals with players in principle. This is when you’ll see most of the free agency news come out, with those deals becoming official a few days later.
Aug. 6 at 12:01 p.m. ET: This is the beginning of the free-agent signing period, where deals that were agreed upon can be made official. Trades can be finalized with the league office and restricted free agent offer sheets can be matched.
The 2021 free agent class had a lot more star power before the start of this season than it does now, and it’s mostly due to the number of extensions signed last offseason. Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Paul George were all due to hit the open market, but they decided to lock in deals with their current clubs.
Kawhi Leonard: Clippers (Player option)
Chris Paul: Suns (Player option)
Kyle Lowry: Raptors (Unrestricted)
Mike Conley: Jazz (Unrestricted)
Evan Fournier: Celtics (Unrestricted)
DeMar DeRozan: Spurs (Unrestricted)
Victor Oladipo: Heat (Unrestricted)
Tim Hardaway Jr.: Mavericks (Unrestricted)
Thanks to the spending spree of 2019, a lot of teams were operating without cap space during last year’s free agency cycle with eyes on this year’s class as a big year to have money available. There aren’t as many high-level free agents to be had this time around, but there’s certainly more money out there for players to reel in.
Here are some of the teams expected to have the most cap space, per Spotrac.
1. Knicks: $51.3 million
2. Spurs: $49.5 million
3. Thunder: $43 million
4. Pelicans: $36.6 million
5. Heat: $28.1 million
6. Raptors: $27.8 million
7. Hornets: $26.7 million
8. Mavericks: $24.5 million
9. Bulls: $23.7 million
10. Hawks: $10.3 million
The Wizards are not expected to have cap space later this summer with Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook and Davis Bertans taking up a large portion of their cap. They’ll be operating over the cap with limited room below the luxury tax.