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NBA Free Agency begins: Everything you need to know

This is not a drill: NBA free agency has arrived.

For the next few weeks–and in particular, the next 24-48 hours–the NBA landscape will shift as players decide on their basketball futures.

Stunning moves, head-scratching decisions, and player movement we’ll be talking about for the rest of the summer are set to transpire in the coming days as the NBA free agency floodgates open.

No offseason moves quicker than the NBA, and it all starts on Monday afternoon. Here’s everything that you need to know about NBA free agency:

“Scott Perry is really trying to turn over a lot of rocks right now… It does feel like the [Dennis] Schröder stuff is pretty real.”@sam_amick joined @CarmichaelDave & @JasonRoss1140 to discuss the Sacramento Kings’ interest in Jonathan Kuminga & more free agent options: pic.twitter.com/a1fuVKwk2l

— Sactown Sports 1140 (@Sactown1140) June 26, 2025

What is the NBA free agency negotiation window?

Starts: Monday, June 30 at 3 p.m. PT, following the conclusion of the league year on June 30th

Ends: Official signings begin after the moratorium, on July 6 at 9:01 p.m. PT

During this legal negotiation window (often called the moratorium), teams are permitted to talk and reach verbal agreements with free agents, but cannot finalize or sign contracts until July 6. This period allows for behind-the-scenes discussions while the league verifies salary cap data, tax rates, and other financial mechanics.

Who can negotiate and when?

Starting June 30 at 3 p.m. PT, NBA teams can legally negotiate with all free agents across the league, including those from other teams.

Notably, restricted free agents can sign offer sheets during this window. Still, their original team retains the right of first refusal—meaning that team can match any offer within a set period (typically 48 hours) to keep the player.

Types of NBA free agents

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs): Free to sign with any team without restrictions.

Restricted Free Agents (RFAs): Can sign offer sheets elsewhere, but their current team can match to retain them.

Teams must have extended qualifying offers before June 29th to retain matching rights on RFAs. For example, players like Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga, who received a $7.9 million qualifying offer, are restricted and will begin hearing offers from June 30th onward.

More on NBA free agency & the Sacramento Kings

As the NBA free agency madness begins on Monday afternoon (3 pm PT), the Sacramento Kings are likely to find one–or two–point guard options to fill their current void.

Sacramento has been heavily linked to soon-to-be free agent guard Dennis Schröder, who isn’t expected to return to the Detroit Pistons when the free agency floodgates open later today.

According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Kings are “widely expected to come to terms” with Schröder on a two-year deal approaching the $30 million mark when free agency begins, meaning Sacramento could be utilizing its entire non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1 million) to lure Schröder from a return to the Pistons.

Schröder, who is coming off his 12th NBA season, spent the 2024-25 season with Brooklyn, Golden State, and Detroit, where he finished with averages of 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 0.9 steals per game on 40/34/83 shooting splits (75 games).

The 32-year-old appears to be the Kings’ next starting PG in waiting, but Fischer and Stein report that Sacramento is also weighing a run at an additional ballhandler, even if they go through with signing Schröder.