NBA agrees to amend CBA, finalize free agency start date originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The NBA and NBA's Players Association (NBPA) reached an agreement on the start of the 2020-21 season and amended the collective bargaining agreement to determine the salary cap and luxury tax threshold, both sides announced late Monday night.
The December 22 start date, which was tentatively agreed to last week, has been finalized and teams will play a 72 game schedule.
The league's Board of Governors is expected to vote to finalize the deal.
NBA free agency will start at 6 p.m. EST on November 20, two days after the 2020 NBA Draft. The date for which some players must opt-in or out of the last years of their contracts has yet to be announced.
Also, the salary cap will be set at $109.1 million and the luxury tax threshold will be $132.6 million. These are the same numbers from the 2019-20 season due in part to the financial hit the league took during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are currently four teams in the luxury tax (Warriors, Celtics, Sixers, Nets) but that group is expected to expand with a flat salary cap. Those four teams will now find it difficult to gain access to the full mid-level exception.
Given the confirmed dates, the offseason is going to be tight. Draft picks and free-agent acquisitions will have roughly two weeks to get acquainted with their new teams before training camp begins on December 1.
However, a sooner start date could be good news for John Wall and the Wizards.