NBA Free Agency 2023 start date and other details explored

NBA Free Agency 2023 will begin on Friday, June 30. It will start at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, allowing teams to negotiate new contracts with free agents. Teams will then be able to sign these deals in July.

This year's free agency has a lot of talented players, mostly guards. However, a lot of free agents already have their preferred destinations, which is why the upcoming free agency period likely won't bring any big surprises.

While there are several high-profile free agents, such as Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook, some players are expected to decline player options on their deals and become free agents. Many of these players could change the league's landscape.

---

NBA Free Agency 2023 has many valuable veterans

Once the NBA Free Agency 2023 begins, teams will not be allowed to sign players right away. Instead, they will have to go through a six-day moratorium period where they verbally agree to deals with players.

Any deals made during the NBA Free Agency moratorium are characterized as agreements. However, they do not count toward the salary cap and are not binding to either players or teams.

DeAndre Jordan is a great example of this. The big man verbally agreed to a four-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2015 free agency, but he backed out of it and re-signed with the LA Clippers.

Jordan backed out of his verbal agreement during the 2015 NBA Free Agency (Image via Getty Images)

In general, there are two types of free agents: restricted and unrestricted. Unrestricted agents have no ties to teams and can sign a contract with any team that gives them an offer.

2023 examples: Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love

You may be interested in reading: NBA free agency explained for beginners

Restricted free agents, on the other hand, are tied to the team they played for before hitting free agency. NBA teams are allowed to retain their restricted free agents by matching an offer they receive from any other team.

2023 examples: Rui Hachimura, Coby White, Jaxson Hayes

Westbrook will hit the NBA Free Agency this summer (Image via Getty Images)

In addition to this, many players have either a player option or a team option on their contracts. Both of these clauses allow one party to terminate a contract before it ends.

A player option gives power to players as it allows them to terminate a contract early. If a player declines this option, he becomes an unrestricted free agent. If he exercises it, he stays with the team for another year.

2023 examples: James Harden, Khris Middleton, Draymond Green

You may be interested in reading: NBA Rumors: Warriors' young star to draw strong interest in the offseason

Team option allows teams to be in control and decide whether to keep a player for another year or let him walk away in free agency.

2023 examples: Malik Beasley, Derrick Rose, Alec Burks