Free Agency – beginning July 1
Free agency this offseason is bound to be absolutely nuts. With the likes of LeBron James and Paul George potentially finding a new home, the entire landscape of the league could very well change this summer. Beginning July 1, free agents can begin to reach verbal agreements with teams, even though teams won’t be able to officially sign players until July 6.
That first week of July is always a crazy stretch for NBA fans as Woj bombs drop right and left and phones are constantly refreshed while pursuing the latest news of what teams have signed who. My one hope is that James and George will just make their decision by July 3rd so I can finally enjoy my 4th of July in peace unlike the past two seasons. I’m looking at you Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward!
All jokes aside, the NBA is going to be taken by storm regardless of where those and other high profile free agents end up, even if they opt to stay put. Teams will be aiming to build a squad that can dethrone the Golden State Warriors and it will be fascinating to see how they attempt to pull it off.
On the Utah Jazz side of things, despite Donovan Mitchell’s recruitment efforts of Paul George, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll land a high-profile free agent this summer. Nevertheless, they’re still probably going to be active. The Jazz need to add some shooting and could very well find some nice under-the-radar pieces to add to their ranks in free agency.
Not only that, but they have their own free agent issues to sort out. Derrick Favors and Raul Neto are unrestricted free agents who can join any team they please while Dante Exum is a restricted free agent that could potentially see some lucrative offers thrown his way. Furthermore, the deadline for the Jazz to decide on the team option on Thabo Sefolosha‘s contract is on July 1 and for Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh it’s on July 9, making each of them a free agent of sorts.
Depending on what opportunities arise, what decisions Utah makes in free agency and what Favors, Neto and Exum opt to do, we could see several changes to the Jazz roster in July. That’s somewhat nerve-wracking, but also extremely exciting to consider all that may lie ahead.