This is the best of news for NBA fans — momentum is building toward a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, something that would bring years of labor peace to the NBA. After the last pizza-in-hotel-lobby filled lockout, this would be a welcome change of pace.
Following multiple reports of a new deal coming before either side can opt out of the old one on Dec. 15, now we find out the two sides will meet in New York on Wednesday, followed by the owners meetings the following two days. Via Ian Begley of ESPN.The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have a meeting scheduled for Wednesday in New York - one day before the league’s annual Board of Governors session -- as they inch closer to striking a new labor agreement, according to league sources.
The meeting is the latest signal, sources told ESPN.com, that a new deal to avoid a work stoppage is looming in the near future.
Sources say there is rising optimism on both sides of the bargaining table that the basic framework of a deal can be achieved as early as this month.
Those owners’ meetings almost certainly will involve Commissioner Adam Silver laying out in some details the outline of this CBA. As long as the owners sign off on this — which is likely, the new TV deal is lining their pockets like never before — it will just be a matter of crossing the “Ts”, and the deal will be done. Eventually, the rank-and-file players will have to vote to approve the new CBA, they likely approve the deal for the same reason the owners will.
What we know is that the revenue split between the owners and players remains the roughly 50-50 split agreed to in the last CBA — that’s always the biggest obstacle. There was talk some players might want to battle to get back some percentage of revenue lost in the last deal, and that some owners wanted to increase their share, but in the end this is fare and cooler heads seem to have prevailed. We also know the players are pushing or a fund to help retired players who need it with medical and other expenses, that seems to have traction with the league as well.
Hopefully, this gets done and we can just focus on basketball.
