This is where we reveal how big of geeks we are. Through some truly nerdy systems, we do our best to simulate the free agency process. And what better way to spend your summer, by enjoying in an experience that’s part basketball-geek, part Dungeons & Dragons?
NOTE: Off-season Free Agency is really complicated, and has a lot of stuff going on. In-season Free Agency is really simple, and relatively easy to navigate. This post will deal with In-Season Free Agency and other in-season stuff.
Signing a new player using cap space:
If a team’s total salary is under the salary cap (can be verified here: LINK) they can sign an available free agent for any amount up to the maximum salary for that player, for any amount of years up to 4 years, as long as they would finish below the salary cap + 100k after the signing is finalized.
Signing a new player by a team over the cap:
A team may not, at any time, exceed their hard-cap figure in order to sign a free agent, unless they are employing an exception (see below). A team over the salary cap may use the vet-min exception to sign a player to a veteran’s minimum contract. Vet min offers cannot exceed 2 years, and are fully guaranteed.
If you are over the cap and wish to sign a player using the MLE or the RE (room exception), please PM StartOrien, Lucky, or IP to verify that you still have funds left there.
Exceptions to the above:
Beyond Hard-Cap Exception (BHC Exception)
-A team may exceed its hard cap to sign a player to a minimum contract if a player currently signed to guaranteed money goes more than 1 week without being under contract to any Real Life NBA team.
-If they do so, they must waive the player in question (currently under contract in the DKC who is not in the NBA), and if any money is owed beyond the current year, the team will be responsible for 50% of that cap number (see rule below). The new player is signed to a rest of year minimum contract, with no rights afforded the team at the end of the year. This may be done once a month, up to 3 times during the year. The cap number used to calculate next years’ hard cap will be the previous years’ hard cap. No player signed using this exception can be traded. A team cannot use this exception without waiving a player first.
-Does not apply to rookies drafted whose rights are being retained (that’s a whole ‘nother thing, see below).
The Injury Exception
-If a player is going to miss 20 games or 1 month of play, a team can petition for a 1 year minimum rest of season contract, even if it exceeds the hard cap. The player signed cannot be traded, and no rights are afforded the signing team in the next off-season. A team may do this twice during the season. The team may exceed the maximum roster size while the player they’re using to claim the Injury Exception is still inactive, but as soon as they play a real NBA game, they must waive a player. A team must state they are pursuing the Injury Exception before using it, it cannot be applied retroactively.
Wash-out Exception
-Any player who was released or waived in RL (not to be confused with being sent down to the D-League, but someone who was actually waived) and not resigned within 1 week can be ‘bought out’ for 75% of their cap number for the year they were waived. All future years (assuming there were any) are 50% guaranteed. You may claim this twice per season.
Rookie Stash Exception
-Any player drafted in the 1st round of the DKC who was actually drafted in the second round of the NBA draft or went undrafted who fails to sign an NBA contract can be retained as ‘rights’ regardless of if they’re actually under contract in the NBA (with only a cap hold during the off-season to pay). This applies only to players who fail to sign any RL NBA contract. Does not include training camp cuts.
-Any player drafted who stays overseas without ever signing a NBA contract can have their rights retained, either for the cost of their first round cap hold (during the offseason only) or nothing, if they were drafted in the second round.
Click here for actual minimum and maximum salary figures for 2013-2014.
Free Agency Timing
During the season, when a offer is made in the free agency thread (LINK), a clock starts that expires on the following business day at 7PM EST after the bid is made. If the bid is made between 5PM and 9AM or on the weekend, it is implied that the clock will expire as if the bid were made at 9am the next morning (or Monday morning in the case of a weekend), and the initial clock will expire at 7PM the following day (Tuesday in the case of a weekend bid).
If no other bids are made on the player during the initial period, the player is awarded to the unopposed team that bid on him.
If another team makes a bid on the player during the initial period, whether it is merely to match, or to exceed, the clock extends to 3 business days from the time of the original bid, the final day being a ‘match-only’ day.
So example:
Day 1: The Buffalo Braves offer Ed Pinckney a 1 year vet min contract.
Day 2: Nothing happens
At the end of day 2, Ed Pinckney is awarded to the Buffalo Braves
Another example:
Day 1: The Buffalo Braves offer Ed Pinckney a 1 year vet min contract.
Day 2: The Syracuse Nationals offer Ed Pinckney a 2 year vet min contract.
Clock is extended to a third business day
Day 3: The Buffalo Braves match the Nationals’ offer, Ed Pinckney goes to the FAM. (Free Agency Machine)
If the Braves had not matched the offer in the above example, Ed would’ve gone to the Nationals.
The DKC 