Dwight Howard
Superstar
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are progressing in talks on reaching a new collective bargaining agreement, multiple sources with knowledge of both sides of the discussions tell The Athletic.
The sides have extended their mutual opt-out deadline during the process and currently have a March 31 deadline to reach an agreement on a new CBA, have one party opt-out or once again extend the process. Sources say that there’s been significant progress made in recent weeks on key issues and it’s given the hope that a deal is within grasp in the coming weeks.
The NBPA has informed the league office that it is their intention and goal to complete a deal in March, according to sources.
“We want to finish this deal soon and certainly want this wrapped up before the (March 31) deadline,” one high-ranking source involved in the players’ negotiations, who was granted anonymity so they could speak freely, told The Athletic. “It’s close — we need to dot the I’s and cross the T’s.”
The NBA and NBPA are in the midst of a typical negotiation, with the sides extending the deadline multiple times. However, it’s been clear the parties — led by commissioner Adam Silver and union executive director Tamika Tremaglio — are motivated to complete a deal and are working thoroughly to find an agreement.
Among the most critical issues, the NBA and NBPA are negotiating new luxury-tax tiers and rates to increase the lower tier and make it more viable for teams to spend money into the tax. As salaries continue to increase across the league, increasing the lower tax bracket tier allows the tax tiers to match up with the money being spent.
Currently, for between $0 and $4,999,999 over the cap, the tax rate is $1.50 for every dollar over the cap. For teams between $5,000,000 and $9,999,999 over the cap, the tax rate is $1.75 for every dollar over the cap. The NBA and NBPA are attempting to identify where the tax bracket tiers should be set — while maintaining the punitive state of the upper tax levels.
Since everything about these dividing lines is completely up for negotiation in a new CBA, the two sides can redo them to make a small dip into the tax more manageable and then step up the charges for those franchises willing to dive head first into the tax. Increasing each of the thresholds that make up the luxury tax (often called “bands”) that lead to steeper tax payments also makes sense with a league that has much higher revenues and thus a much higher salary cap than they did in previous agreements.
The NBA currently has a seven-year CBA that expires after the 2023-24 season.
For the NBA, the issues of load management and resting among players and teams are core concerns, as well as the Diamond Sports’ Regional Sports Network and its economic model being able to sustain the broadcasting of 16 of the league’s teams.
The sides are also discussing several other core issues:
- Lowering the age eligibility for the NBA Draft to 18 years old, which would effectively end the one-and-done system in college basketball. The NBA and NBPA have momentum on an agreement to terms that would lower the age to 18 for the draft, but sources say the union is pushing for conditions that would facilitate veteran players providing tutelage and orientation to the high schoolers entering the league. The players union wants to maintain the presence of veteran players and not allow newcomers to replace them, especially in the cases of teams with high school prospects who enter the NBA.
- Increasing the contract extension limits, which would add flexibility and have significant effects incredibly quickly. Under the current CBA, teams and players can only increase the player’s salary by 120 percent in the first new year of the extension unless that player qualifies as a designated player/rookie or makes well below the league’s average salary. Shifting that 120 percent to potentially 140-150 percent as the sides have discussed, according to sources, opens the door a lot more for players who signed contracts that eventually become below-market deals to get enough of a raise to commit ahead of time, a group that potentially includes O.G. Anunoby, Domantas Sabonis and Lauri Markkanen over the next few seasons.
- Smoothing out the process by which the salary cap rises instead of allowing the cap to spike, which occurred in 2016 and led to several overpriced contracts.
Bu bu bu but the owners were suppose to give them hell. The owners were supposed to destroy the players like in the NFL.
