Remember how DeAndre Jordan committed to the Dallas Mavericks but ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Clippers last summer? In a shocking bit of in-season change to NBA stipulations, the free agency provision which allowed that entire emoji-filled saga to take place has been altered.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the moratorium between teams contacting free agents and players officially inking contracts has been shortened by several days.
The NBA and NBPA have agreed to shorten July free agent moratorium to five days — July 1 to July 6, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 17, 2016
Previously, the dead period on official business lasted from July 1 to July 9.
The Vertical’s Bobby Marks, a former front office executive with the Brooklyn Nets, notes that the league and Players’ Association came to this agreement in a letter signed by both parties.
Any changes to the current CBA usually requires a side letter signed off by the league and PA. Rules for the moratorium fall under the CBA.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) March 17, 2016
It’s become common practice for reporters to announce agreed-upon deals immediately after the clock strikes the beginning of free agency on the East Coast. Al-Farouq Aminu’s contract with the Portland Trail Blazers and Anthony Davis’ extension with the New Orleans Pelicans, for instance, were broken mere minutes after midnight last July 1.
That won’t change. What will, though, is how long players have to mull over wink-wink agreements with teams before finally putting pen to paper.
Would Jordan currently be wearing a Mavericks uniform if he’d been able to sign a deal with Mark Cuban’s club on July 6? The timing of last summer’s dramatics certainly suggest as much. News of Jordan’s change of heart made the rounds on July 8, and a starry Clippers contingent famously camped out at his Texas home that day while waiting for a change of calendar.
It’s meaningless to speculate how things may be different for Jordan, his current team, and his would-be one if the moratorium had ended three days earlier. Not only is no one but those directly involved privy to minutiae of the situation, but it’s fair to say Jordan’s state of mind would have been different if that was the case, too.
Regardless, the league and its players realized just how ridiculous the DeAndre drama was and decided to make an according change. Neither party will admit as much, but that’s definitely what spurred this mid-March offseason development nonetheless.
