Adrian WojnarowskiSenior NBA Insider2:50 AM ET3 Minute Read
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association have agreed on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement that promises labor peace for the remainder of the decade, sources told ESPN early Saturday morning.
The tentative deal, which begins the 2023-24 season, was announced by the league and union and is expected to be ratified by league governors and players in the coming weeks. The deal includes a mutual opt-out after the sixth year, sources told ESPN.
The settlement came early Saturday morning after both sides agreed to extend a midnight ET deadline to allow the league to exit the final year of the previous CBA. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NBPA Chief Executive Tamika Tremaglio and negotiators on both sides — including the NBA’s Dan Rube and the union’s Ron Klempner — were hammering out the remaining details of the agreement, sources said.
After two extensions to the early opt-out period, the league’s negotiations with Tremaglio and new NBPA President CJ McCollum delivered a deal months before a potential work stoppage.
Among the key early elements of the deal, described to ESPN:
The NBA is restricting the ability of top-spending teams like the Golden State Warriors and the LA Clippers to continue increasing payroll and luxury tax spending while maintaining mechanisms to add talent to the roster. The NBA is introducing a second salary cap — $17.5 million above the tax limit — and these teams will no longer have access to the middle tier of free agency taxpayers. These changes will be eased into the salary cap over a period of years.
Among those changes, Golden State’s Donte DiVincenzo, Milwaukee’s Joe Ingles, Boston’s Danilo Gallinari and former Clippers guard John Wall could not have signed with those teams last summer.
As a countermeasure to these spending constraints, the new CBA is expected to create more spending and trading opportunities for mid- and low-spend teams. There will be more opportunities in the free agent market, including major trading exceptions.
In an attempt to curb load management and lost games among star players, the NBA is tying eligibility for postseason awards — like All-NBA teams and MVP — to a mandatory 65 games played. The minimum of 65 games is subject to some conditions.
The in-season tournament could take place as early as the 2023-24 season. The event will feature pool games integrated into the regular season schedule beginning in November – with eight teams progressing to a single-elimination tournament in December. The Final Four will be held at a neutral venue, with Las Vegas prominent in the discussion, sources said.
Each tournament game in the season would count towards the regular season leaderboard. The two finalists would ultimately play 83 regular season games. Winners and coaches receive additional prize money.
The NBA and NBPA have agreed to raise renewal caps to 140% from 120% in a current deal, which could have significant implications for the future of stars like Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.
Under current rules, Brown could sign a four-year extension worth $165 million. With renewal rules raised to 140%, Brown — who is expected to earn $31.8 million in the 2023-24 season, the last year of his current contract — could reach his four-year maximum of $189 million, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Similarly, Sacramento Kings all-star center Domantas Sabonis could currently sign a four-year, $111 million extension — one that rises to $121 million with the 140% raise.
There is an increase in two-way contract spots going from two to three per team. Reciprocal contracts were created in the 2017 collective agreement to allow teams to develop younger players. It has been viewed as a success as it has become a way for players to earn long-term homes in the league and, in several instances, major contributors.
Some of the biggest success stories to emerge from the two-way pipeline are: Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso with the Los Angeles Lakers; Duncan Robinson and Max Strus with the Miami Heat; Anthony Lamb with the warriors; Jose Alvarado with the New Orleans Pelicans; and Luguentz Dort with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks contributed to this report.