Whenever the NBA regular season ends, it marks a good time to take a look at the calendar to get an idea of what lies ahead in the offseason. This year, the calendar is been adjusted significantly due to the league's months-long hiaus due to the coronavirus.
Now, the offseason begins for most teams in August and will center around the month of October when the draft and free agency are held. Here is a list of the key dates to keep in mind...
August 17 - NBA playoffs begin; deadline for early entrants to declare for NBA Draft
August 20 - NBA Draft lottery
*The Wizards have the ninth-best lottery odds, which means a 4.5% chance at the No. 1 pick and a 20.2% chance of selecting in the top four.
September 15 - Conference finals begin
September 30 - NBA Finals begin
October 6 - Deadline for early entrants to withdraw from NBA Draft (including international players)
October 16 - 2020 NBA Draft
October 17 - Deadline for player, team and early termination options; deadline for qualifying offers extended to restricted free agents
*the Wizards do not have any player options or team options to consider this year and all of their free agents are unrestricted (via Spotrac)
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October 18 - NBA free agency negotiating period begins (4 p.m. ET)
*The Wizards can officially start discussing terms with Davis Bertans, their No. 1 offseason priority. They can also begin negotiating with other players around the league
October 19 - Official start of league year; restricted free agents can sign offer sheets; teams can sign rookies, league minimum and two-way deals; rookie options can be exercised
October 23 - NBA free agency signing period begins (10 a.m. ET); teams can sign and extend players, plus complete trades; restricted free agent offer sheets can be matched
*This will be the moment of truth for the Wizards and Bertans. Given he is one of the top-10 free agents available, he will likely sign fairly soon once the window opens.
November 10 - Training camp opens
December 1 - 2020-21 NBA season begins
*This date, along with the beginning of training camp, are considered flexible at this point.
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Important 2020 NBA offseason dates; when is the NBA Draft? Free agency? originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
