On June 30, 2017, the Pacers and Thunder shocked the NBA by agreeing to a massive trade: Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. It produced ripple effects throughout the league but especially on those two teams, who each made the playoffs with significant contributions from their new additions.



While the players on the floor are absolutely the most interesting part of the transaction, the timing of the deal holds some significant power as well that will affect the league for years to come. As happens fairly frequently in late June trades, the deal was reported when the sides agreed on June 30 but it was not actually completed until July 6, after the July Moratorium. This can happen for a variety of reasons and usually is just a technical matter but the Pacers-Thunder trade could become an exception thanks to a different part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.



The reason it could be significant here is because of the rules surrounding Designated...