Salary cap proving to be road block in NBA labour negotiations – Lockout update
On Tuesday, NBA owners and players met for the third time in two weeks, but the outcome of the meeting left much to be desired. Both sides gave a bleak outlook to the media afterwards and it was established that the salary cap
is proving to be the biggest stumbling block in progress during the talks.
The league locked out its players on July 1st as the old CBA expired. Negotiations over a new CBA have been going on for a long time but both sides remain far apart. The owners want an overhaul of the financial system
as well as other changes such as non-guaranteed contracts and a hard salary cap.
While in principle the players are opposed to all the above, a hard salary cap is proving to be the biggest problem at the moment and the union has taken a firm stand on the issue. NBA players rejected earlier proposal by David
Stern of a “flex” cap and want the system to remain as it is on this matter.
The current salary cap in the NBA is a soft one that allows NBA franchises to exceed the limit set if they are willing to pay a luxury tax. It also has other exceptions as loopholes, such as resigning a contracted player.
The league believes this system allows larger market teams, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, to take financial hits, which they can afford, and reduce the competitiveness of the whole NBA. They want a change so that everyone would
have a level playing field.
The players simply won’t have it. They argue a level playing field can be achieved through other means, such as revenue sharing and state that a hard salary cap is a non-starter with the players. They have apparently set a soft
salary cap as a precondition for any further negotiations and that has drawn fire from the NBA.
"Frankly, we're having trouble understanding why the label of a hard cap is what's breaking apart these negotiations right now, and that's what we discussed for a long time as a committee and then discussed together with the players,"
said NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver, anger visible in his voice as he spoke.
The players have countered saying the league is rigid and won’t show any flexibility in any of its demands.
"We're a bit pessimistic and discouraged at one, the ability to start on time, and we're not so sure that there may not be further damages or delay trying to get the season started," union executive director Billy Hunter said.
"The owners are not inclined at this stage to move off the position where they've anchored themselves."
If neither side backs down over this issue, we could be in for a very long lockout.
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