There is no formal agreement between the NBA and NBPA to push back dates for the league's draft, free agency period, or the start of next season. However, one scenario that has been under consideration is staging the NBA Draft in early or mid November, per SNY sources.
Unless the NBA and NBPA agreed to flip the order of the draft and free agency, that scenario would include a free agency period in mid November as well. That, in turn, would delay the start of the 2020-21 season.
Currently, the NBA Draft is scheduled for Oct. 16 and free agency is slated to begin Oct. 18. The 2020-21 season is scheduled to start Dec. 1.
ESPN reported recently that the NBPA was preparing for a scenario where free agency was pushed back later than the Oct. 18 start date.
The Athletic reported Tuesday that the NBA and NBPA have agreed to push back the dates of the draft, free agency and the start of the season. But no formal agreement had been reached as of Tuesday night, sources say.
Nonetheless, it would surprise several agents and teams at this point if the draft and free agency took place on their currently-scheduled dates.
This means that the Knicks and Nets will have to wait longer to start their offseason plans, which for New York starts with how it will use the No. 8 overall pick. Brooklyn may be active in the offseason as it shapes a roster led Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and coached by Steve Nash.
The Nets have the 19th overall pick in the first round. In addition to the eighth slot, the Knicks also possess a late-first-round pick at No. 27 overall.
Teams currently can't host prospects for workouts at their facilities. They are limited to interviewing the prospects over video calls. It's unclear if that rule will change ahead of the draft. There will be no traditional scouting combine ahead of the draft.
Free agency is also littered with uncertainty due to the loss in revenue from the imbroglio between China and Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey imbroglio earlier this season and games lost due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The lost revenue could impact the salary cap levels for the offseason, which obviously would impact how teams approach free agency.
With regard to the start of the 2020-21 season, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said that he and the NBPA would prefer to play as many games as possible with fans in arenas.
Silver noted in a call with players prior to the re-start of the season that proceeds generated from in-arena crowds makes up roughly 40 percent of the NBA's overall revenue.
So it would make financial sense for the league to push the season back to ensure that as many games as possible are played in front of live crowds.