NBA and players union ratify the new Collective Bargaining Agreement
NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association on Thursday ratified the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, bringing an official end to the over 5 month old lockout. With the new deal finally approved, training camps
can now begin Friday.
The lockout proved to be a very nasty affair, as things got heated and personal. The NBA owners and players exchanged quite a few public spats but in the end a deal was reached which neither of them wanted at the start.
The owners wanted drastic changes to the salary cap structure of the NBA so that the league could be made more competitive. They also demanded billions of dollars from players in Basketball Related Income.
As it turned out, they got plenty more money but weren’t really able to do a lot in terms of controlling players and restoring some competitive balance.
This has irked small market owners, but at least they have more money at their disposal now. NBA Commissioner David Stern said the issue of competitive balance is going to be resolved because of the new CBA as well.
“This is going to be a more competitive league over time."
About the new rules, he said they were the best the league could achieve in the circumstances.
"While it's not perfect, the deal addresses significant issues on both sides in a very productive way, we believe," he added. "We think it's a very good deal, and it's going to withstand the test of time," he said.
Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver played a key role in the labour negotiations throughout the NBA lockout. He was often vocal about what he perceived as an unrealistic attitude from the players and didn’t really seem happy with the
deal reached in the end.
He did stress though that the main goal for all parties involved was to save the NBA season, which in the end they did.
"I think most importantly we're back to basketball," Silver said. "I think legacies aside, it would have been terrible for the players, for the teams, our fans, concessionaires, everyone involved if we had lost more games than
we had, so I think that's what's most important."
The NBA players have welcomed the new deal. The union had disbanded just last month after receiving an ultimatum from David Stern, who also refused to engage in any more negotiations. This prompted the players to file anti-trust
lawsuits against the NBA which in turn led to the league coming back to the talks in earnest.
Before long the sides agreed a new deal, with players getting some of the concessions they had been fighting for throughout the lockout.
Tags: