The NBA and NBPA announced Monday night the league has reached an agreement on the start of the 2020-21 season, including finalizing dates for the beginning of free agency and the regular season.
Free agency negotiations will begin Nov. 20 at 6 p.m., and singings will be allowed to become official at 12:01 p.m. on Nov. 22.
The regular season will begin Dec. 22.
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The official date means the NBA will spend just 72 days between the end of the 2020 postseason on Oct. 11 and the beginning of the 2020-21 season, a remarkably short offseason.
The Sixers have filled the abbreviated offseason with huge, franchise-shaking moves, letting go of head coach Brett Brown and bringing in Doc Rivers as the team's new head coach, along with revamping the coaching staff and of course hiring a new President of Basketball Operations in Daryl Morey.
Morey discussed during his introductory press conference whether he'll be willing to make significant moves considering the condensed offseason and the Sixers' precarious cap situation:
"We've got some important windows coming up with the draft and free agency," Morey said Monday, "and also a trade window in there before whenever we play our first game. The thing is you want to do great moves when they’re available, but often the best move is not a move that’s not right around. We want to increase our understanding before we start to make these moves."
NBA
The NBA Draft is also looming, on Nov. 18. The Sixers own the No. 21 overall pick, along with four more picks in the second round. Whether the Sixers would consider trying to package those picks to possibly move up remains to be seen. It sounds like teams ahead of the Sixers are listening to offers.
What the Sixers will look like six weeks from now is unclear.
A few things, however, are now certain: we're officially eight days away from the draft, 10 days away from free agency negotiations, and just 42 days from basketball's return. This year continues to astound.