The NBA and the players' union are finalizing a side collective bargaining agreement, outlining a temporary set of new rules so that the league can resume the season in Florida next month.
The agreement includes new provisions for salaries, roster moves and the financial impact of players not participating in the league's 22-team restart plan.
What are the key changes to know, and how will it impact the NBA moving forward?
Let's answer the big questions based on the details of the agreement and intel from league insiders.
How will the transaction window work, and which players are eligible to be signed?
There will be a one-week transaction window -- starting at 12 p.m. ET on June 23 and ending at 11:59 p.m. ET on June 30 -- in which all 30 teams can waive and sign players.
During this period, a team can convert a player from a two-way contract to a standard deal, something that could appeal to the Oklahoma City Thunder and key wing contributor Luguentz Dort. If Dort is signed to a standard contract, OKC would be allowed to sign a two-way player to replace him.
During the final four days of the transaction window, June 27 through June 30, teams participating in Orlando that have open two-way spots (currently the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns) would be allowed to sign a new player to a two-way contract. The player must have three or fewer years of service.
These teams have open roster spots and can sign a player who has played in the NBA or in the G League this season and was not on a non-NBA professional basketball team after September 30, 2019:
• Denver Nuggets
• LA Clippers
• Memphis Grizzlies
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Phoenix Suns
• Portland Trail Blazers
• Sacramento Kings
• San Antonio Spurs
Players who did not play in the NBA this season, including J.R. Smith and Jamal Crawford, are also eligible to sign with a team. However, players who were based internationally and did not have FIBA clearance to join the NBA at the time the season was postponed -- such as Nikola Mirotic -- will be ruled ineligible.
Kevin Pelton breaks down the top available free agents here.
Teams can sign a player using the minimum salary exception ($183,115) or using one of their prorated exceptions. The player would become an unrestricted free agent after the season even if he has fewer than three years of service. As of 12:01 AM ET on July 1, only players on the team's eligible roster will be allowed to travel to Orlando.
Non-Orlando teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves can get under the luxury tax during this window if a player is waived and claimed. The Timberwolves are $682,089 above the tax line at the moment.
What happens with two-way players?
Unlike in previous postseasons during which players on two-ways had to be converted to standard deals, such players this year are eligible. The change (for this season only) allows teams to have an insurance policy in case of an injury or if a player tests positive for COVID-19.
For example, despite having the league-maximum 15 players on standard contracts, the Brooklyn Nets can use two-way player Chris Chiozza to replace the injured Kyrie Irving. On top of his base salary and NBA days of service salary already earned for this season, a two-way player can earn an additional $101,504 in Orlando.
Can teams sign a player in place of someone who chooses not to play?
Players have to notify their teams no later than June 24 if they elect not to play in Orlando. Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst broke down that process here, including how a player gets excused or protected status to keep his salary.
Teams will be able to sign substitute players from July 1 until Aug. 14 to replace a player that notifies his team by June 24 that he has elected not to travel to Orlando without a valid reason, does not travel because he is considered high risk (as determined by a three-physician panel) or tests positive for the coronavirus.
Teams also can replace a player who tests positive from the last day of the seeding games until the final game of the 2019-20 season. However, the pool of available players is limited to those with zero to three years of service in the NBA. That makes players such as Crawford and DeMarcus Cousins ineligible to be signed unless a team has an open roster spot. And once a team sets its playoff roster, an addition can be made only as a substitute for a player who tests positive.
If a player elects to stay home without being designated excused or protected, his salary will be reduced 1/92.6 per game, with the amount of games that can be deducted capped at 14.
For example, the Lakers' Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley -- who have expressed reservations about participating, with a focus on supporting the Black Lives Matter movement -- would lose close to $400,000 and $720,000, respectively, if they do not report. That money would go back to the Lakers, who could not turn around and reimburse the players due to cap circumvention rules. However, the team could use that money in any other way, including offsetting salary for substitution players.
Irving -- a co-leader with Bradley in the coalition raising player concerns -- would not lose any salary if he does not show up in Orlando because he was not supposed to play due to injury.
A player who tests positive for the coronavirus in Orlando also can be replaced by a substitute player that has zero to three years of service. However, upon his arrival, that player must quarantine for a minimum of seven days.
Any player replaced on a team's eligible roster would be ineligible to participate in the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
What happens to players who have bonuses in their contract?
The NBA will use March 11 as the end date of the regular season for incentives clauses. That means player bonuses will be prorated over the amount of games his team had played at the time the season was postponed.
For example, the New Orleans Pelicans' Jrue Holiday has a games-played bonus in his contract that will be prorated from 66 down to 51 games. The bonus is considered met since Holiday played in 55 games -- more than his new threshold of 51 games played.
The 76ers' Joel Embiid will have the remaining three years left on his salary -- $29.5 million, $31.6 million and $33.6 million -- become fully guaranteed, even if he suffers a career-ending injury to his feet or lower back. Embiid had a benchmark for playing 1,650 minutes that has been reduced to 1,307 based on the 65 games Philadelphia played as of March 11. At the time the season was postponed, Embiid had played 1,329 minutes.
How much salary are players going to lose?
With basketball related income (BRI) projected to come in at around $7 billion, players will lose the full $380 million held in escrow (10% of total pay) plus a projected $200 million in salary (5% of total pay). Half of that $200 million has already been collected from three paychecks to players on May 15, June 1 and June 15. The additional deductions will offset the 59% of projected BRI that players are scheduled to receive, moving the BRI split back to the agreed-upon 51/49 amount.
Players will continue to see a 25% reduction in each paycheck, with the last reduction likely to occur no later than Aug. 1. However, the NBA does have the right to deduct additional salary past Aug. 1 if financial projections indicate BRI will fall short of $7 billion.
The small group of players who were paid in full by May 1 -- including LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, John Wall, Blake Griffin and Paul George -- will see their reductions come out of either their 2020-21 salary advances or their Nov. 15 paychecks.
What happens if the season gets canceled?
This would send the economics of the NBA into a tailspin. The $1 billion loss in revenue likely would double to $2 billion.
Players would be in line to lose $1.25 billion -- the $380 million in escrow and an additional $870 million in salary due to the force majeure clause (based on 22.87 games lost on average). For example, LeBron James would lose $13 million of his $37.4 million salary, a 35% total loss.
On top of that, if the season is canceled, the league owners could decide to tear up the CBA and start fresh, putting the beginning of the 2020-21 season in jeopardy.
Will players receive additional compensation for playing in Orlando?
Players will have all of their expenses covered (including hotel accommodations, meals and transportation) and will receive a $134 per diem stipend. At a minimum, players on teams that do not reach the playoffs will receive $5,500 each. Any player who reaches the NBA Finals will have earned more than $13,000.
Players also are entitled to bonuses based on how far they advance. Last year, Toronto received over $5 million for winning the NBA championship, money that was divided among the players.
What will be the next round of negotiations between the NBA and the union?
Both sides will turn to important matters such as the economics of the salary cap, luxury tax and player escrow withholding for 2020-21 and future seasons.
With BRI dropping significantly, the league and the union likely will abandon the language in the CBA that determines how future cap levels are set and negotiate an artificial cap that includes withholding additional player escrow for next season. Rookie-scale contracts, minimum salaries and team exceptions will change at the same rate as the salary cap.
The cap and tax were initially projected to rise to $115 million and $139 million for 2020-21. Most teams are preparing for those numbers to hold at this season's level instead. If that is the case, it means a $109.1 million salary cap and $132.7 million tax line.
What about the option and guarantee dates for the 2020-21 season?
This was a relatively easy part of the negotiation, with both sides agreeing to new dates for the 41 players who have team options, player options or guarantee dates in their deals for next season.
All player and team options will now align with the start of free agency on Oct. 18. The June 29 player option deadline for the Lakers' Anthony Davis will be moved to Oct. 17. The June 28 guaranteed date for the Knicks' Taj Gibson, Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington and Elfrid Payton is now likely Oct. 17.
All salary-cap dates that originally extended past July 7 still need to be negotiated.