NBA, players still talking about new CBA deal as deadline looms

NEW YORK (AP) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silversaid Wednesday he is hopeful that a new collective bargainingagreement between the league and its players can get done by theend of this week, though he stopped short of predicting that a dealwould actually get struck.

“I think everyone understands what’s at stake,” Silver said.

The league and the National Basketball Players Association facea midnight Friday deadline for either side to decide that they willopt out of the deal and end the current CBA on June 30. Thatopt-out deadline already has been extended twice, and Silver saidthe NBA’s current plan is to exercise that option if there is nodeal by Friday night.

“I certainly can foresee one getting done and I hope we do getone done,” Silver said at the conclusion of a two-day meeting ofthe league’s Board of Governors. “It’s just because, honestly, I’monly one side of the negotiation, it’s difficult for me to placeodds on whether or not that’s going to happen.”

NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio said the players do notintend to opt out if Friday’s deadline passes without a deal.

“The March 31st deadline is an important benchmark, and we aredoing everything in our power to reach an agreement with theleague,” Tremaglio said. “If we don’t have a deal and the leaguedecides to opt out, it will be disappointing considering all thework both sides have put into the negotiations, and the fair natureof our requests. As far as our fans are concerned, it will bebusiness as usual. Games will continue uninterrupted.”

Both sides have said throughout this process — and in past labortalks — that they do not intend to negotiate or discuss specificspublicly.

The sides have been talking about a new CBA for more than ayear, and Silver said he expected negotiations to resume Wednesdaynight. And if Friday passes without a deal, it wouldn’t be direimmediately because the sides still will have three months to getsomething done before the current CBA expires.

The opt-outs were put in place to avoid the drama of havingtalks go right up until the end of a deal, which would increase theodds of a work stoppage.

“Still a lot to go in the next few days. There’s just somethingabout collective bargaining where deadlines are necessary andseemingly sides tend to hold their best positions until the veryend,” Silver said. “So, my sense is this will go down to the veryend.”

The league has made clear that it wants some changes to thecurrent CBA and has been in discussions with the union on matterssuch as an upper spending limit, returning to a plan where playerscan jump to the draft directly from high school and enacting aminimum number of games played in order to be qualified forseason-ending awards.

“Every issue seemingly seems related to every other issue,”Silver said. “If you line up these 10 issues, you sort of go 80% ofthe way there on each issue and everybody’s holding their last moveto say: ‘Well, OK, maybe I’m willing to do that, but I’m going waitto see what you’re going to do on those three issues. And if youmake those moves on those three issues, then I’ll feel a little bitmore comfortable.’ I mean, people are constantly tradingthings.”

The current CBA, which took effect July 1, 2017, came with amutual option for either the NBA or the NBPA to opt out after sixseasons — June 30 of this year.

The sides originally had a Dec. 15 deadline to announce anintention to exercise the opt-out, then pushed it back to Feb. 8,then to Friday.

A lockout would be damaging on many levels — well beyond theobvious part of how a league that is coming off a season of recordrevenue (it topped $10 billion for the first time last season andbasketball-related income reached $8.9 billion, another record)would see that momentum interrupted. It could also interfere withthe makeup of teams for this summer’s World Cup in the Philippines,with NBA players expected to fill the U.S. and other rosters (andthree NBA coaches set to be part of the U.S. coaching staff).

It could also disrupt plans for an NBA Summer League in LasVegas this July that figures to feature presumed No. 1 draft pickVictor Wembanyama in what would be a global spectacle, as theFrench phenom begins his NBA career.

“I think for both sides in various categories we acknowledgewe’ve come closer together,” Silver said. “There still is a gapbetween where we feel we need to be in order to get a deal done.I’d say throughout the discussions have had a very positive tenorand continued the strong sense of partnership that we have with ourplayers and the players association.”