NBA:Off-Season: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:39, 8 October 2026

Reference	Contracts · Rosters · Salary Cap · League Spreadsheet
Transactions	Waivers · Trades · Options · Re-Signing · Draft · Free Agency · G League · Injured Reserve
Timeline	Off-Season · In-Season
Governance	League Structure · GM Responsibilities · Rule Changes
Tools	Re-Sign Calculator · Free Agency Bid Calculator

The off-season begins as soon as the Finals conclude and ends on day 1 of the next season.

It runs in a fixed order. Each phase opens on a date announced by the commissioner, but the order never changes, and a decision made in an earlier phase cannot be revisited in a later one.

The order

	Phase	You must	If you don't
1	Check-In	Confirm you are running your team for the coming season	You are replaced
2	Options	Exercise or decline every option year	Treated as a decline — the player goes to free agency
3	Re-Signing	Post any re-signs you want, with the math	Nothing — re-signing is optional
4	Draft	Make every selection you hold, both rounds	Not specified — ask TAB
5	Free Agency	Bid on whoever you want	Nothing — bidding is optional

Trades reopen at check-in and run until the trade deadline at the end of week 17. Draft picks become tradeable at the same moment.

This year's dates

Announced each off-season in NBA Off-Season Schedule. The 2026 off-season ran:

Phase	Window
Check-In	July 1 – July 15
Options	July 16 – July 30, 11:59 PM CST
Re-Signing	July 24, 5 AM CST – August 7, 11:59 PM CST
Draft	August 9, 8 AM CST
Free Agency	August 27, 8 AM CST

Roster and cap through the off-season

The salary cap binds the whole way through. Every option you exercise, re-sign you make, pick you draft, and bid you win counts against $60,000,000 the moment it happens.

Roster size does not. You may sit above or below 12–15 active players for the entire off-season.

By opening day

Three things must be true:

12–15 active players
Under the salary cap
An accurate posted roster, with your Fantrax roster matching it

Your posted roster is not just an opening-day requirement — a current roster gates re-signing and free agency during the off-season too.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 |-
 | 1
-| Check-In
+| [[NBA:GM Responsibilities#Check-in|Check-In]]
 | Confirm you are running your team for the coming season
 | You are replaced
@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 |}
-'''[[NBA:Trades|Trades]] reopen at check-in''' and run through the rest of the off-season. Draft picks become tradeable at the same moment.
+'''Trades reopen at check-in''' and run until the [[NBA:Trades#The deadline|trade deadline]] at the end of week 17. Draft picks become tradeable at the same moment.
 == This year's dates ==
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 | Check-In
 | July 1 – July 15
-|-
-| Trades reopen
-| Early July, once check-in starts
 |-
 | Options
@@ Line 70: / Line 67: @@
 == Roster and cap through the off-season ==
-'''The [[NBA:Salary Cap|salary cap]] binds the whole way through.''' Every option you exercise, re-sign you make, pick you draft, and bid you win counts against $60,000,000 the moment it happens.
+'''The [[NBA:Salary Cap#The cap|salary cap]] binds the whole way through.''' Every option you exercise, re-sign you make, pick you draft, and bid you win counts against $60,000,000 the moment it happens.
 '''[[NBA:Rosters#When the limits bind|Roster size]] does not.''' You may sit above or below 12–15 active players for the entire off-season.
@@ Line 82: / Line 79: @@
 * '''An accurate [[NBA:Rosters#How to post|posted roster]], with your Fantrax roster matching it'''
-This is not just an opening-day requirement — a current roster gates re-signing and free agency during the off-season too. See [[NBA:GM Responsibilities|GM Responsibilities]].
+Your posted roster is not just an opening-day requirement — a [[NBA:GM Responsibilities#Your posted roster|current roster]] gates re-signing and free agency during the off-season too.
 == See also ==