Adam Silver, NBPA chief say new CBA 'absolutely a priority'

SALT LAKE CITY — NBA commissioner Adam Silver and National Basketball Players Association executive director Tamika Tremaglio both insisted it is «absolutely a priority» for the two sides to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the March 31 mutual opt-out date of the current CBA.

«I would just say it's an absolute priority for us as well to get a deal done as soon as possible,» Silver said at his annual news conference before the Saturday night events at this year's All-Star Weekend at Vivint Arena.

Tremaglio echoed Silver's sentiment a couple of hours earlier Saturday, after the NBPA spent the past two days meeting to elect members to its executive committee and discuss the CBA talks.

«We are very motivated to get this done,» Tremaglio said. «Our players are very competitive, and we want to see [this to] completion as well. So, it is absolutely a priority for us.»

Earlier this month, the two sides agreed to move the opt-out date back to March 31, the second time it had been pushed back from the original date of Dec. 15. The two sides had originally agreed to move it back to Feb. 8, before again shifting it back to late March.

Throughout the process, however, sources on both sides of the discussions have indicated there has been positive momentum in the talks, and that the expectation is that a deal will eventually get done. Those same sentiments were expressed again Saturday.

«I would say that we're in a great space,» said New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, who is president of the NBPA. «We continue to move forward, and I'm happy with the progress that we continue to make, although there is room for more improvement in areas in which we'll continue to grow. I think we're definitely