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The NBA is pursuing the implementation of an upper spending limit in its negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association, a systemic change that has been met with significant union resistance, sources told ESPN.
In the wake of large-market contenders Golden State, Brooklyn and the LA Clippers running up massive payrolls and luxury tax penalties, the NBA is proposing a system that would replace the luxury tax with a hard limit that teams could not exceed to pay salaries, sources said.
The league’s proposal has been met with the firm resistance of the NBPA, to the point of the union considering it a nonstarter in discussions, sources said.
Sides often use the early part of negotiations to float wish lists, and that could be what’s happening with the NBA’s proposal — as opposed to the buildup of a hardline stance that could ultimately lead to a work stoppage.
The NBA and NBPA are working to reach an agreement before a Dec. 15 deadline that each side has to give notice of plans to opt out of the current CBA in December 2023. The seven-year CBA expires after the 2023-24 season.
The NBA believes that the current system fails to provide a level enough playing field to make more of the 30 teams competitive and contends that the spending disparity of top teams has made the imbalance ultimately unsustainable, sources said. The league is pitching the idea to the union that a more competitive league will deliver higher revenue — and higher salaries amid the league’s 51%/49% share of basketball-related income with the players.
Beyond the NBPA, there is also skepticism among smaller NBA marketplaces who worry that an upper Spending Limit would fail to create the competitive parity the league is hoping to achieve, instead causing well-constructed smaller-market teams to have to break up cores of contending talent despite a willingness to enter into the luxury tax, sources said.
Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA’s labor…
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Source : espn
