The NBA has reached an agreement with the National Basketball Players Association to extend the 60-day window until September that preserves the league`s right to terminate the collective bargaining agreement in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, sources told ESPN. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association announced Tuesday that they have agreed on the principle of starting the 2020/21 season on December 22 and adapting specific provisions to the current collective agreement, affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The NBA and the players` union have agreed on the principle of the start of the 2020/21 season, as well as an amended collective bargaining agreement, the two sides said Monday night. The salary cap will be guaranteed by the rest of the collective agreement of at least 3% per year — and a maximum of 10% –. The result of the NBPA vote does not make the launch date of December 22 official. As the union indicated in a confirmation statement of the news, further financial and logistical details have yet to be negotiated. However, both parties are confident that agreement on these issues will be possible. In the following years of the collective agreement, the salary cap and tax level are increased by at least 3% over the pre-season and by a maximum of 10%. For now, the extension prevents the NBA from triggering the nuclear option in its economic crisis — and ends the CBA as part of the force majeure waiver, which it could have done within two months of the league`s March 11 shutdown. The NBA will soon have to decide where the Raptors will play in the 20/21, given that there are still significant restrictions on cross-border travel between the U.S.
and Canada. Newark was one of many cities that were discussed as a possibility. The Board of Governors (a body made up of all 30 NBA owners) has already voted in favor of deferring the lottery and draft combine harvesters scheduled to take place in Chicago in May. The combine is a good opportunity for teams to get medical information about a player, so in the absence of a combine, teams must access this information in another way this year. As agreed last week, the regular season will begin on December 22, and the game plan will be 72 games. As ESPN reported earlier in the week and as confirmed by NBPA Vice President Malcolm Brogdon during an appearance on The Jump on Thursday, the league`s 2020/21 season is expected to begin either on December 22, the date proposed by the NBA, or January 18, when a number of players claim to be moving forward. Despite Silver`s sinister comment and the fact that many players supposedly prefer a departure on January 18th, I certainly wouldn`t rule out an opening night on December 22nd.
