NBA’s New Collective Bargaining Agreement: Explained

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association have reached an agreement on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will start up coming 2023-24 NBA season.

According to Wojnarowski, the league governors and players are anticipated to approve the tentative agreement “in the coming weeks,” which will be a major accomplishment for the discussions between the NBA and NBPA, lead by new president CJ McCollum.

After year six, the CBA contains a mutual opt-out clause.

The following are some of the key components of the new CBA:

The new information adds to the game minimum by imposing a minute count, likely to avoid players who are close to the game requirement playing just a couple minutes before resting the rest of the game towards the end of the season. Additionally, it permits the creation of exceptions in unusual circumstances, such as a season-ending injury.

Additionally, Charania provided updates on new G-League and two-way contract regulations as well as hikes in mid-level exception pay.

Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported on a new tax apron and a disincentive for breaking that second tax apron in the form of losing draft pick flexibility.

The new CBA does not end the “one and done” era of college basketball

The NBA and NBPA were unable to reach a consensus over decreasing the age requirement for NBA draft eligibility.

Negotiations to cut the minimum age of American players from 19 to 18 years old and let them to join the NBA right out of high school came to a standstill.

The requirement that players be 19 years old at the time of the draft and have graduated from high school one year prior is still a part of the new CBA, but it wasn’t a strong enough requirement for both parties to utilize as a substantial negotiation tool.

The NBA is capping the spending of high-payroll teams

The league’s highest-spending clubs, including the Warriors and Clippers, won’t be able to keep up their luxury tax expenditures and continue to bolster their rosters with talented players, according to Wojnarowski.

By introducing a second salary cap apron that starts $17.5 million above the tax line, the league hopes to reduce spending. The taxpayer mid-level exception in free agency will no longer be available to the teams once they pass that tax threshold in CBA.

The Bucks, the Celtics, the Warriors, and the Clippers would have all been unable to sign Donte DiVincenzo, Joe Ingles, Danilo Gallinari, or John Wall if this rule had been in place.

There will be a games played minimum for postseason awards

NBA fans have taken issue with great players missing games as a result of “load management” choices made by clubs around the league.

The NBA is forcing players to suit up for 65 games every season in order to be eligible for All-NBA teams, MVP, and other awards in an effort to keep great players on the court more frequently during the course of the season. The All-NBA teams will also no longer be based on position according to CBA.

Even while Wojnarowski points out that the 65-game requirement does have certain restrictions, it’s still a significant rule change when you take into account the financial ramifications of being named to the All-NBA team.

All-NBA players have historically been able to sign more lucrative contract extensions with their current club, making the 65 game rule an incentivized stipulation for some of the league’s top players.

The NBA is implementing an in-season tournament

The NBA is developing an in-season tournament that may start as soon as next season in an effort to generate even more income.

Games including pool play will be played as part of the tournament, which will take place starting in November. A single-elimination competition starting in December will include eight teams.

The in-season tournament’s Final Four will take place at a neutral location, with Las Vegas as the front-runner.

The two champions would ultimately play 83 regular season games, and the in-season tournament would count toward the regular season standings. Prize money would be awarded to the top-finishing players and coaches in the in-season event.

Given that the regular season is still an important component of the tournament format, the specifics of the in-season tournament are noteworthy. Additionally, as a result, regular season games won’t be played by clubs much more frequently.

The upper-limits of contract extensions are changing

The NBA and NBPA reached an agreement to raise the ceiling for contract extensions from 120% to 140% of salary. According to Wojnarowski, this would encourage players like Jaylen Brown of Boston to accept a contract extension with the Celtics rather than holding out for a far better offer in free agency.

Currently, Brown would be qualified to agree to a $165 million, four-year agreement with the Celtics. Given that he will earn $31.8 million in the last season of his contract with the Celtics, Brown could earn the four-year maximum of $189 million under the new 140% extension rule.

The NBA is adding more two-way contract slots to rosters

Three players on two-way contracts can now be carried by clubs on their active rosters, per NBA rules. To assist teams in fostering the development of young players, two-way contracts were included to the CBA in 2017. Since its inception, the two-way contract system, which enables players to sign a guaranteed NBA deal and play for both the NBA club and G-League affiliate, has had a lot of success stories.

According to Wojnarowski, successful two-way contracts include those with the Heat’s Max Strus and Duncan Robinson, the Lakers’ Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso, the Warriors’ Anthony Lamb, the Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado, and the Thunder’s Lu Dort.

 

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