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In this Oct. 11, 2020, file photo, LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the Larry O’Brien Trophy and The Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award in the locker room after winning Game Six of the NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida.
It’s official: The NBA is coming back Dec. 22.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association announced Monday night that they’ve struck a deal on rules for this coming season, setting the stage for what will be a frenzied few weeks before games resume.
Teams will play a 72-game schedule, which will be revealed in the coming weeks. The league said a new system will be used to ensure that the split of basketball-related income continues, one of the many details that had to be collectively bargained with the union because the current agreement between the sides had a great deal of language that needed reworking because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Negotiations with free agents will be allowed to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, with signings permitted starting at 12:01 p.m. on Nov. 22 — an extraordinarily fast window for the NBA, which typically has about a week spanning the start of talks and the beginning of signings. But with training camps this year beginning Dec. 1, both sides evidently feel there isn’t a need to draw out the process any longer than necessary.
Many rosters could be considerably reshaped by then, with trades likely to be permissible again in the coming days -- the exact details there still being worked out -- and the NBA draft set to take place Nov. 18. Player and team options likely will be settled around that same time. Free agency starts two days after the draft, with around 100 players set to be unrestricted.
The salary cap and tax level will remain unchanged. The cap was $109.14 million this past season, with the tax level at $132,627,000. The real numbers will be affected by the schedule — last year’s numbers were based on the standard 82-game season, a threshold that won’t be reached this year.
For the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, it will be the shortest offseason in NBA history — with seven weeks separating the end of the NBA Finals and the planned Dec. 1 start of training camp.
Jim Poorten
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers focuses prior to the game against the Miami Heat in Game six of the 2020 NBA Finals as part of the NBA Restart 2020 on October 11, 2020 at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Douglas P. DeFelice
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat kneel during the National Anthem prior to the start of the game aMiami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers react during the second quarter against the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Andrew D. Bernstein
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to a play during the game against the Miami Heat during Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at The AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Jesse D. Garrabrant
immy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers look on during Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at AdventHealth Arena.
Douglas P. DeFelice
Goran Dragic #7 of the Miami Heat dribbles the ball during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers high five during the game against the Miami Heat during Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at The AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Douglas P. DeFelice
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball during the third quarter against the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Garrett Ellwood
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after receiving the Bill Russell Finals MVP Trophy after Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at the AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Mike Ehrmann
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers react after winning the 2020 NBA Championship in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Mike Ehrmann
Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers Jeanie Buss speaks after the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020 NBA Championship Final over the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Mike Ehrmann
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after winning the 2020 NBA Championship over the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Mike Ehrmann
The Los Angeles Lakers pose for a team photo with the trophy after winning the 2020 NBA Championship over the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Andrew D. Bernstein
The Los Angeles Lakers celebrate after Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at The AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Nathaniel S. Butler
The Los Angeles Lakers holds up the Larry O’Brien Trophy after Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida.
Brandon Bell
Lakers fans celebrate in front of the Staples Center in on October 11, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. People gathered to celebrate after the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in game 6 of the NBA finals. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Nathaniel S. Butler
T-shirt worn by the players after winning Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida.
Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images
A wide angle shot of The Los Angeles Lakers celebrating on court after winning Game Six of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on October 11, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at AdventHealth Arena.
Garrett Ellwood
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers poses for a photo with his Bill Russell Finals MVP Trophy after Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at the AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Garrett Ellwood
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers poses for a photo with his Bill Russell Finals MVP Trophy after Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at the AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Jesse D. Garrabrant
A photo of the Louis Vuitton Travel case for the Larry O’Brien Trophy on display on court after the Los Angeles Lakers win Game Six of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on October 11, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at AdventHealth Arena.
Andrew D. Bernstein
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after winning Game Six of the NBA Finals on October 11, 2020 at The AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
But for the eight teams that didn’t make the restart bubble at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida this summer, it has been a marathon offseason, with none of those teams — Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Charlotte, Golden State, Minnesota, New York and Detroit — having played since the second week of March. The NBA shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic on March 11, then took 22 of its 30 teams to Disney to resume the season in July.
