TIMING-DEC15Beta Ref

December 15 trade timing rule

WARNCBA Article VII, Section 8(f)

Summary

Players who signed as free agents in the most recent offseason cannot be traded until December 15 (or three months after signing, whichever is later).

How it works

This rule technically makes pre-December 15 trades ILLEGAL for affected players. The engine returns LEGAL + WARNING at MVP per IMPLEMENTATION_DECISIONS.md Section 2. Do not rely on the warning for compliance decisions.

Example

Player X signed July 1. He cannot be traded until December 15. A November 1 trade including Player X would violate TIMING-DEC15.

Engine behavior

WARN severity at MVP, not BLOCKING. A future IMPLEMENTATION_DECISIONS.md amendment can upgrade this. See engine/HANDOFF.md for the open question on timing rule enforcement.