I believe the E & W are indicators of how many Eastern teams vs Western teams have submitted offers.
PHASE 1: TAKING OFFERS
In this phase agents will simply be taking offers and not replying.
(Minimum of 3 days)
PHASE 2: SSOFT COUNTERS
Agent will provide GMs with soft counters. Soft counters is more to give an idea of what it MIGHT take to sign them. You can choose to offer the players ask, offer more, or less after that.
(Will try and wait for replies, but could proceed to phase 3 without response. Minimum 24 hours)
PHASE 3: EVALUATING OFFERS
In this phase there should be a couple front runners that the agent will start getting down to business with. They will let other GMs know they are out of the running (or close to) and focus on the favorites. This doesn't mean a team can't come out of the blue with a better offer. An agent will still consider another offer during this phase if they see it benefiting his clients needs.
(No time frame)
PHASE 4: DECISION TIME
In this phase the agent has pretty much finished talks and is making their decision. Time is ticking to get an offer in. Chances of getting a last minute deal done at this time is slim, but not impossible.
(Expect a decision within 1-24 hours after PHASE 4 has begun)