The sides have pushed the deadline back twice, but no more: Friday night at midnight the NBA (on behalf of the owners) and the league’s players’ union will have agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), or either side can opt-out and trigger the first steps toward a summer lockout. “I certainly can foresee [a CBA] getting done and I hope we do get one done,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday at a press conference following a Board of Governor’s meeting.
However, he added if a new CBA is not in place, the owners planned to opt out of the current one, which would then expire June 30 (and that would become the new, hard deadline to get a new deal in place and avoid a lockout).
NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio said the players do not plan to opt-out. “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 in a statement. “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.” The sides agreed early not to negotiate through the media, which has kept talk about roadblocks and what is on the table relatively quiet.