NBA, players still talking about new deal as deadline looms
NEW YORK — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday he is hopeful that a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players can get done by the end of this week, though he stopped short of predicting that a deal would actually get struck.
“I think everyone understands what’s at stake,” Silver said.
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The league and the National Basketball Players Association face a midnight Friday deadline for either side to decide that they will opt out of the deal and end the current CBA on June 30. That opt-out deadline already has been extended twice, and Silver said the NBA’s current plan is to exercise that option if there is no deal by Friday night.
“I certainly can foresee one getting done and I hope we do get one done,” Silver said at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the league’s Board of Governors. “It’s just because, honestly, I’m only one side of the negotiation, it’s difficult for me to place odds on whether or not that’s going to happen.”
NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio said the players do not intend to opt out if Friday’s deadline passes without a deal.
“The March 31st deadline is an important benchmark, and we are doing everything in our power to reach an agreement with the league,” Tremaglio said. “If we don’t have a deal and the league decides to opt out, it will be disappointing considering all the work both sides have put into the negotiations, and the fair nature of our requests. As far as our fans are concerned, it will be business as usual. Games will continue uninterrupted.”
Both sides have said throughout this process — and in past labor talks — that they do not intend to negotiate or discuss specifics publicly.
The sides have been talking about a new CBA for more than a year, and Silver said he expected negotiations to resume Wednesday night. And if Friday passes without a deal, it wouldn’t be dire immediately because the sides still will have three months to get something done before the current CBA expires.
The opt-outs were put in place to avoid the drama of having talks go right up until the end of a deal.
“Still a lot to go in the next few days. There’s just something about collective bargaining where deadlines are necessary and seemingly sides tend to hold their best positions until the very end,” Silver said.
