Uncertainty Rules in the N.B.A. Player Market

Next week, players who signed contracts this summer will turn trade eligible, bringing in a number of new candidates for teams to chat about and yes, more names and numbers to be used by any team trying to pry Carmelo Anthony away from the Denver Nuggets.

Many N.B.A. executives expect the trading window to be particularly active and it comes with a twist. The N.B.A.’s next labor agreement will change the league’s current business structure and with every move, teams will have to keep that in mind. Whether those alterations are drastic or superficial, teams are conducting business knowing that change, in some form, is coming.

How teams act, while not knowing exactly what the new labor agreement will be, is a drama that will play out during free agency next summer. The Toronto Raptors tied up $54 million in long-term contracts to the role players Amir Johnson and Linas Kleiza. Under a new labor agreement, those contracts will either become more manageable or a hindrance toward crafting their future roster. In contrast, the Sacramento Kings held on to their available money. The contract of their major acquisition, Samuel Dalembert, does not stretch past this season — or beyond the expiration of the labor agreement.

Owners have placed a premium on fiscally-responsible executives who field competitive teams and plan years in advance. There is always a line for general managers to walk and now the trick is how to walk it without knowing where exactly it lies. What is responsible today may not be under a new labor agreement. A lockout may or may not arrive. A revamped collective bargaining agreement, though, is guaranteed.