As the 2022-23 season rages on, NBA executives continue to work behind the scenes to address some of their major concerns about the game.
Apparently, one such change could include the salary cap, which the NBA is trying to replace with a hard limit that no team could exceed. For the teams, it essentially puts everyone on equal footing and also might help them save money in the long run.
For the players, though, it means less opportunity to make money.
Story filed to ESPN: The NBA is pursuing the implementation of an upper salary limit in its negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association, a systematic change that has been met with significant union resistance.
In wake of large market contenders Golden State, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Clippers running up massive payrolls and luxury tax penalties, the NBA’s proposing a system that would replace the luxury tax with a hard limit that teams could not exceed to pay salaries, sources said.
Clarification: NBA is terming its proposal as an “upper spending limit” in talks with NBPA.
Story filed to ESPN: The NBA is pursuing the implementation of an upper salary limit in its negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association, a systematic change that has been met with significant union resistance.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2022
NBA Players Are Expected To Push Back Against Proposed Rule Change
Obviously, the league and league owners are pushing hard to replace the salary cap with a system that is the same for every team, but the players are expected to push back, and some insiders believe a lockout is inevitable.
The two most daunting words in the realm of NBA labor relations are suddenly coming up with greater frequency than I’ve ever heard in my three decades covering #thisleague:
Hard cap.
League sources say that there is an increasing push from the various factions on the league/ownership side to push for a system closer to a true hard cap … with a twist. The current proposals, sources say, don’t actually call it a hard cap, since those words carry such a negative stigma.
“Upper Spending Limit,” I’m told, is the nomenclature in play. The USL.
Sounds like a soccer league, but ditching the luxury tax to implement a hard payroll limit is actually the sort of issue that — depending on the league’s resolve to bargain for it — would almost certainly lead to a work stoppage.
“There will be a lockout,” one source from the players’ side told me, “before there’s a hard cap.”
Needless to say, a lockout would be the worst-case scenario for everyone, but it could be unavoidable if the owners are serious about replacing the salary cap.
Only time will tell if the league decides to go forward with these plans, but they have a lot of things to consider ahead of CBA negotiations and it will have some major implications on the league.
