On July 11, 2016, Tim Duncan officially announced his retirement after playing 19 seasons, winning five NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs.[2]
On July 25, 2016, Sasha Kaun officially announced his retirement after playing one season in the NBA, winning one NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[3]
On July 26, 2016, Amar'e Stoudemire officially announced his retirement from the NBA after signing a symbolic contract with the New York Knicks so he could officially end his 14-year career as a Knick,[4][5] and went to play in Israel.[6]
On September 23, 2016, Kevin Garnett officially announced his retirement after playing 21 seasons, winning one NBA championship with the Boston Celtics.[7][8]
On September 26, 2016, Paul Pierce officially announced that the 2016–17 season will be his last after playing 19 seasons, winning one NBA championship with the Boston Celtics.[9]
On April 14, 2016, Sam Mitchell was relieved of his interim head coaching duties as the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves after the last game of the season, allowing them to look for a full-time coach.[10]
On April 19, 2016, Earl Watson would remove the interim coach tag he had last season and would be the coach of the Phoenix Suns for the next three years.[17][18]
On April 20, 2016, the Timberwolves agreed to sign Tom Thibodeau to be their head coach and president of basketball operations. He was previously an assistant coach for the team from 1989 to 1991.[19][20]
On April 25, 2016, the Lakers did not exercise their option on Scott's contract for the following season, deciding to pursue a new coach. His 38-126 (.232) record with the team was the worst of any of the 16 coaches that had led the franchise for at least two seasons.[21][22]
On April 29, 2016, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Warriors Assistant Coach Luke Walton to become their new head coach. Walton led the Warriors to a 39–4 start in the 2015-16 season when Steve Kerr was sidelined.[24]
On May 5, 2016, despite making the playoffs, Pacers' president Larry Bird announced that Frank Vogel's contract would not be renewed, citing a need for "a new voice" to lead the players.[25][26]
The regular season will begin on Tuesday, October 25, 2016. Christmas Day games will be played on Sunday, December 25, 2016. The regular season will end on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. The schedule was released at 6:00 p.m. ET on August 11, 2016.[35]
The 2016–17 NBA season has historically low levels of back-backs and four-in-fives.[40] It was the first schedule created with a new optimization computer program[41] that the NBA described at the MIT Sport Analytic Conference.[42]
