Bucher: D-League Clause Another Non-Starter ...But Is It For Real?

The Nets are investing a quarter million dollars in their hybrid relationship with the Springfield Armor, and that investment will look even smarter than it does today if, as reported by ESPN, the owners have inserted a new D-League clause in their final offer. If true, it could also be a CBA deal-breaker, but AP reports it is not.

Ric Bucher tweets that "New proposal would allow teams to send players to NBDL first 5 years of career and reduce pay to pro-rated 75K. Talk about non-starters." Indeed. If that provision had been in place last season, the Nets could have sent half the team down, including Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Brook Lopez, Sundiata Gaines and Brandan Wright. All of them made at least 10 times the $75,000 pro-rated salary.

But in yet another indication of the murky nature of the negotiations, AP's Brian Mahoney tweets, "what you're seeing about the new D-League assignment rule isn't in the league's proposal". The NBA agreed, tweeting, "Incorrect; only preliminary discussions have been held on NBA/NBA D-League relationship; nothing in 11/11 proposal."

• Report: Owners put more use of D-League in proposal - Kurt Helin - NBC Sports
• NBA lockout -- Players unlikely to accept owners' proposal, sources say - Ric Bucher & Chris Broussard - ESPN