After several postponements, the NBA and the players’ union had until March 31, at 11:59 p.m., to negotiate the next collective agreement. The deadline passed without an agreement, but ESPN explained that the two camps had decided to extend the deadline by a few hours.
This is obviously the sign that the two camps were really very close to an agreement, and that only a few points were missing to finalize to reach a compromise.
Confirmation this morning since ESPN and The Athletic announce that the NBA and the players’ union have validated a new seven-year collective agreement with, as for the last, an option for each side to leave after the sixth year!
Very good news since it means that there will be no short-term “lockout”, the two camps being now linked until 2029, at least. It must be said that the NBA, the owners and the players had no interest in putting things on hold, given the financial health of the league.
According to ESPN, this agreement provides for the establishment of the mid-season tournament, a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for individual trophies, new limitations for the teams that spend the most money in terms of payroll as well as increased possibilities in terms of exchanges and “free agency” for teams that are not affected by the “luxury tax”. One last point that seems particularly interesting…
More details to come…
