When the offseason starts and you finalize budgets. Can an impending free agent be traded and/or acquired before free agency starts and therefore getting said player and allowing new team to sign him before the start of free agency just like original team has opportunity to try and sign said FA before free agency would start? Just curious if anyone has done this?

after you finalize budgets I don't think free agents show up on your roster so there's no way to trade them.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking too.