No one is calling it a breakthrough and there's no reason to do so yet, but it appears there is movement in the NBA collective bargaining talks. The owners have reportedly agreed to end their insistence on a "hard cap" and may offer an even split on basketball related income, both big moves that offer some hope. But there are strings attached.
After a two and a half hour meeting Tuesday to discuss "concepts and ideas," the two sides adjourned until Wednesday when the "concepts and ideas" may become "proposals".One source reported, "it's put up or shut up time".
One "concept" is a realignment of the owners' thinking on the "hard cap". According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ken Berger, the owners would propose a much more onerous luxury tax. It would have a sliding scale all the way up to a $4 tax for every one dollar over the tax threshold, writes Chris Sheridan. Ric Bucher reports owners also want to limit "Bird Rights" to one player per team, reduce the MLE and, more significantly, cut players' pay over the next three years. The players are highly unlikely to go along with that. Still to be decided: a BRI split.
- NBA owners budge on hard cap demand - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
- Sources: Owners drop insistence on hard cap - Ken Berger - CBS Sports
- Don't get your hopes up - Ken Berger - CBS Sports
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Sources -- NBA owners move slightly off hard-cap demand - Ric Bucher - ESPN
- NBA Lockout talks update: Short meeting to discuss "ideas and concepts" - Chris Sheridan - Sheridan Hoops
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NBA lockout update: Owners seeking four luxury tax levels - Chris Sheridan - Sheridan Hoops
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Latest On NBA Labor Talks (Video) - Mark Stein - ESPN
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NBA labor talks -- league, players meet; will resume negotiations Wednesday - AP