:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67763978/1155783747.jpg.0.jpg)
The NBA wanted to start free agency “as soon as possible,” and we now know exactly when that will be: According to a press release from the NBA and NBPA, the market is set to open on Nov. 20, just two days after the draft.
Here are some other details on the cap and more financials from the two sides’ joint press release:
Here is what the NBA and the players officially agreed to tonight: pic.twitter.com/ThmmYFItFc
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) November 10, 2020
As we wrote before, the team will have a few things it needs to take care of when the bidding wars begin.
The Lakers’ top priority is obviously going to be retaining Anthony Davis, who is expected to enter free agency before re-signing with the defending champions. Still, they have to make sure that’s done before they can focus too hard on anything else.
After getting Davis back is taken care of, the Lakers will have to deliberate on how many of Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris to retain. Should they get the whole band back together, try and chase other players on the open market, or a mixture of both?
We still don’t completely know the answers to those questions, but now we at least know when we’ll start to get them (and we will be tracking them all at this page). And with the training camps set to begin on Dec. 1, the Lakers and the rest of the league are about to enter a rush to assemble their rosters unlike any we’ve ever seen before.
That type of volatility can create unexpected opportunities as well as unpredictable pitfalls. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and this front office have shown a strong ability to develop multiple contingency plans before, and they’ll presumably have to rely on those game-theoried alternate options more than ever this offseason. We’ll get to see how they handle it all even sooner than we could have ever predicted just a few months ago.
This is a developing story, and will be updated with more information. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.