The NBA and NBPA are taking their CBA discussions down to the wire, and in order to avoid another potential lockout in 2017, the two parties must agree to a new deal before December 15th when the NBA or NBPA can opt out of the current 10-year agreement.
Luckily for both parties and NBA fans everywhere, the NBA and NBPA have said they expect a new agreement to be signed, sealed, and delivered by the December 15th due date.
Thanks to The Ringer, which seems to now be in the business of breaking news, more details are beginning to emerge of the what the new CBA will entail.
The site’s sources stated previously reported details of the proposed CBA were correct. The new agreement will include a shortened preseason, an altered drug testing procedure, an expanded revenue structure, and, arguably more importantly than the rest, a more detailed and expanded domestic violence policy. There will be more changes in the CBA, but those are the only four being reported on widely at the moment.
The shortening of the preseason is something nearly every sport is talking about from the NBA to NFL to MLB. As The Ringer pointed out, preseason stretches where teams would play four games in five nights or back-to-back preseason games have been reduced. From there, the league is still trying to shorten the preseason.
“There’s a lot of talk from the player side about doing more to keep players healthy,” a source said. “There are things that can be done to make it so a greater percentage of games played involves the best players at their healthiest, and that’s been a goal for everybody.”
It’s uncertain how much the preseason will be shortened, but one thing could be decided already: a shorten preseason could mean the regular season starts earlier.
When it comes to drug testing, the NBA has a solid system in place. It may not be as diligent as the MLB system and is most likely ahead of the NFL’s, but the NBA is planning on tweaking it in the new CBA.
Back in 2014, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he doesn’t want players to “consume marijuana,” but that isn’t as easy today as it was in 2014. Why’s that? Well there are seven teams who play in states where marijuana is legal: the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, and Boston Celtics.
While those seven teams play in states where weed is 100% legal, there are 20 teams in total that play in states or countries (Toronto) where weed is legal in some way shape or form.
Based on his comments from 2014, it’s easy to understand why Silver wants a better drug testing program instituted in the new CBA. As of now, the penalty for a first positive test of marijuana requires a player to go through the league’s marijuana program. A second result is a $25,000 fine and more treatment, while a third results in a five-game suspension. Every positive test after the third is an additional five games.
It’s unclear whether the penalties will be changed drastically, but one thing is for sure, Silver wants to make the NBA’s testing system better to catch players early on.
The Basketball Related Income percentage will stay the same according to The Ringer. As of now, 49-51 percent of the BRI goes to players and the rest goes to the owners. Despite the money split not being a major factor in terms of the economics behind it, the NBPA has spent a lot of time and energy making sure the CBA works fairly for both sides.
“(They) went through the couch cushions,” a source told The Ringer, “and found a number of areas where owners in the past were able to keep some parts of revenue out of BRI.”
Before the 2011 lockout, players were receiving 57% of the BRI and due to more changes, that resulted in a $1.7 billion increase in money for players. This was one example of how the NPBA got 70-80% of the issues in the last CBA to go their way.
Arguably the most important change to the new CBA could be a more detailed domestic violence policy. Over the last couple years, multiple players have been punished, but the consistency of their punishments hasn’t been great (although it’s not on the NFL’s level).
The current CBA states there is a minimum 10-game suspension for a player convicted of a violent felony. That wasn’t the case in 2014 when Jeff Taylor was suspended 24 games without pay after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence assault and malicious destruction of hotel property. The NBPA immediately said the punishment was “excessive,” although Taylor didn’t appeal.
The Ringer reported the new CBA will clarify the procedures that players go through when they encounter domestic-violence policy violations.
“I think as we’ve all seen in those situations that it needs to be more than discipline,” a source told The Ringer. “It needs to be about counseling, support services, intervention, outreach, and providing resources behind the scenes to help.”
Once again, the NBA and NBPA can opt out of the current 10-year CBA agreement on December 15th, but it’s believed a new CBA will be agreed to before then, much to the joy of the NBA, its players, and its fans.
