With the 2024 Sal’s NBL season schedule to be publicly released on Wednesday November 22, the action amongst all 11 teams will heat up 48 hours earlier when free agency officially opens from 9am next Monday, 20 November.
Free agency allows teams to start officially signing players for the new season. Each team must sign a minimum of 12 players meaning the introduction of the league’s newest team, the Whai based in Tauranga, will see 12 more guaranteed spots for players from season 2024.
All 11 teams are expected to hustle to sign New Zealand’s best talent, including a rising tide of amateurs in New Zealand and a bevy of players returning from college in the United States, while three international (restricted) players will again be permitted in each team. Teams must sign a roster within a set salary cap.
Last year, there were over 10 players with NBA G-League experience that played in the Sal’s NBL and that number is expected to rise in 2024. The 2023 free agency period also saw a number of NCAA Division 1 athletes return home to New Zealand for their first professional stint, including notable names such as Callum McRae, Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Tobias Cameron
Former Dallas Mavericks guard JaQuori McLaughlin was one of the feature signings during free agency last year, among multiple players with international experience like Jarrad Weeks, Cam Gliddon, Reuben Te Rangi and Tai Webster.
Free agency will feature a couple of changes as team’s commence building their player roster for the 2024 season, the most notable being a requirement for teams to publicly announce signings within five days of the player’s paperwork being cleared by the league.
League general manager Maree Taylor says the change is a “minor tweak, and we want to ensure fans are kept up to date on the current rosters for their favourite teams. This small change will make sure all the player signings are announced quickly, keeping fans in the know and building excitement for the coming year.”
Perhaps the most exciting addition to player movement in season 2024 will be the introduction of a trade window, details of which the league will unveil before the end of the month.
Stay locked to @nznbl on social media to get all the latest free agency news as its announced.
