Why NBA signings haven't started even after 6 p.m. free agency opening

Apr 19, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III (35) converts an alley-oop for a dunk during the first half of game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The NBA's free agency opened at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Despite that, there were no quick tweets announcing key news from ESPN's Shams Charania or any other insiders.

There are a couple of simple reasons why.

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Why isn't anyone signing yet?

The key is that the free agency start time is actual the start of the "legal negotiating window."

That's when teams are supposed to be able to start talking to players.

Given that a multi-million-dollar negotiation should take more than a few minutes, teams hold off on leaking any of the information right away.

They might already have deals done, but if they come out too soon, they run the risk of being punished for "tampering."

A lot of potential free agents have also signed deals already with their current teams, limiting the available players.

Some deals will start to flow Tuesday night, but maybe not as quickly as fans hoped.

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