The NBA and NBPA mutually agreed to extend the deadline to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA), in connection with ongoing efforts to reach a new deal.
The league and the players association will now have until Feb. 8, 2023, to decide whether to opt out.
If either party opts out, the current CBA will end on June 30, 2023. The previous deadline was set for Dec. 15, 2022.
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Talks on a new CBA are ongoing, but the possibility of either side opting out of the agreement leaves the door open for a possible NBA work stoppage on July 1, 2023.
The new dates give the league and the union more time to pursue a new, long-term agreement. February will be a busy month for the NBA as the new deadline falls just one day before the league’s trade deadline.
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The NBA All-Star game is also scheduled for Feb. 19, 2023.
As part of the talks, the NBA is seeking to adopt a firm salary cap. If implemented, the rule would tighten how much teams across the league are permitted to spend on their respective rosters.
Currently, teams are allowed to spend above the NBA salary cap, but they are penalized with a luxury tax. The newly proposed “upper spending limit” would create an absolute spending ceiling that effectively eliminates the luxury tax option.
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The potential change has been met with significant resistance from the union, according to The Associated Press. The CBA serves as the governing manual for the entire league.
The terms of the CBA are negotiated between the league and its players’ union, the NBPA. It plays a role how virtually every part of the NBA works, from the draft to free agency and almost everything in between.
Another item that might be on the negotiation table is the lowering of the league’s age limit rule. Currently, the NBA requires any player entering the NBA Draft to be at least 19 years old during the calendar year the draft is held.
The player must also be at least one NBA season removed from high school.
The extension of the deadline to opt out signals that the two sides may not be at an impasse. Both the NBA and the NBAPA will have to work together to prevent a lockout.
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