ESPN reports that the National Basketball Association and the Players Association have agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement. It will enter into force with 2023/2024. season and the parties have reached a seven-year agreement. After six seasons, however, each of the parties will have the option to opt out of the final year of the contract. Both players and clubs will ratify the agreement in the coming weeks.
The new deal will limit the biggest spenders, such as the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, who, despite spending above the salary cap, still found ways to attract talent. The new collective agreement sets another, second salary cap amount, which will result in teams having limited access to certain players. As a result of these changes, the Warriors could not have signed Donti Divicenzo, Milwaukee’s Joe Ingles, Boston’s Danilo Gallinari, and the Clippers’ John Wall before this season. Also, the new agreement will increase opportunities for teams with medium or low spending level.
The changes will also affect players’ rest during the regular tournament. In order to reduce this practice, a rule has been introduced that regular tournament awards and MVP recognition can only be obtained if at least 65 games have been played. Also, a separate tournament will be introduced during the season, planned from November to December. The eight best teams would enter the playoffs, but the “Final Four” would take place in December at a neutral location, while Las Vegas’ candidacy is being considered for the time being. Every game in this tournament would count towards the regular season and the finalists would play a total of 83 matches. The players and coaches of the winning team would receive cash prizes.
The maximum limits for extending existing contracts have been raised from 120 to 140%. This means that, for example, “Celtics” Jalen Brown can currently claim a four-year extension for 189 million, or 24 million more than the existing agreement, while Domants Sabonis would claim 121 million for four years, 111 million so far.
Also, with the new collective agreement, each team will be able to sign three players to two-way contracts. This initiative was introduced in 2017 and has been evaluated positively so far. In this way, it is possible to develop young players, for whom it has become an opportunity to win a place in the team. Positive examples include Austin Reeves, Alex Caruso, Duncan Robinson, Anthony Lamb and Jose Alvarado.
