NBA extends All-Star break, teams will have 8 days off in February

The NBA will experiment with an extended break around All-Star Weekend, and the new minimum amount of days teams will have between games is eight. Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the schedule tweak before the league unveiled its full 2014-15 schedule on Wednesday.. All-Star weekend coincides with the middle of the NBA season, allowing players and teams a chance to recover and prepare to close out the year. The All-Star break usually takes place in the second and third weeks of February.

The All-Star break is considered a busy period for front offices, giving general managers a window to focus on roster moves without any regular season games while players rest or vacation with families. The 2015 NBA trade deadline is February 19. There will be no NBA games (other than All-Star activities) from February 13 through February 18.

The NBA has been reluctant to extend the season and offseason, wanting to avoid free agency dragging into August. As a result of the All-Star break extension, there are more back-to-back games on the schedule in 2014-15, including a number of previously rare home-home back-to-backs.

The league office has also been considering extending NBA Draft coverage to two days, packaged with an awards show.

This post has been edited to include information from the NBA schedule.