According to a report from Shams Charnia of The Vertical, the NBA Board of Governors has voted to move up the trade deadline.
The new deadline with be February 8, 2018, 10 days prior to the All-Star Game.
The move itself is a big one. Previously, the deadline was the Thursday after the All-Star Game. The change gives executives, who typically use All-Star weekend to finalize deals, less time to do so.
One factor in the move was most likely an earlier start to the season. It’s expected for the regular season to start between Oct. 15 and Oct. 20, as reported by ESPN back in December.
Teams were informed that the change will be effective for the 2017-18 season, but it was unclear whether this will remain the norm going forward.
The NBA will move the trade deadline to Feb. 8 – before the All-Star Game – sources tell @ShamsCharania. https://t.co/xq3VdKYObZ pic.twitter.com/5OClRijcHU
— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) July 12, 2017
A second report from ESPN said the Board of Governors also moved to decrease timeouts from 18 to 14 per game.
According to ESPN, the move is in an effort to speed up the game. The rule also says that each team will now have two timeouts in last two minutes of the game as opposed to three.
“These changes will help us fulfill our goal of improving game flow and pace of play,” Byron Spruell, NBA president, league operations told ESPN. “Fewer stoppages and less time without action, especially at the end of a game, will further enhance the viewing experience for our fans.”
Timeouts were also previously “full” (90 seconds) or “20 seconds” (60 seconds), but will now be replaced by 75-second timeouts.
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