The NBA and NBPA are currently working towards reaching a new collective bargaining agreement, which appears to be very close to being completed.
One of the main topics the league and the union are discussing now is age eligibility for the draft.
“Lowering the age eligibility for the NBA Draft to 18 years old, which would effectively end the one-and-done system in college basketball. The NBA and NBPA have momentum on an agreement to terms that would lower the age to 18 for the draft, but sources say the union is pushing for conditions that would facilitate veteran players providing tutelage and orientation to the high schoolers entering the league.”
Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the players union wants to keep veteran players around and give them a mentorship role to players who decide to go straight from high school to the league.
This wasn’t the common rule before, but until the so-called one-and-done rule was adopted by the league, we saw big players like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard enter the league without spending a single minute in college.
This would be a major development for a lot of young players who don’t want to go to college and prefer to go straight to the pros. LeBron James’ son Bronny was expected to get benefited from this, but knowing that the current CBA runs through the 2023-24 season, the 18-year-old player will have to spend one year in college before being eligible for the NBA.
NBA, NBPA Also Working On New Luxury-Tax Tiers And Rates
Another key topic the NBA and NBPA are discussing involves the luxury tax and how it affects teams and players. Charania reports that as the salaries keep getting bigger around the league, everybody plans to give owners more flexibility when paying their stars.
Among the most critical issues, the NBA and NBPA are negotiating new luxury-tax tiers and rates to increase the lower tier and make it more viable for teams to spend money into the tax. As salaries continue to increase across the league, increasing the lower tax bracket tier allows the tax tiers to match up with the money being spent.
At this moment, between “$0 and $4,999,999 over the cap, the tax rate is $1.50 for every dollar over the cap” for NBA franchises. Between “$5,000,000 and $9,999,999 over the cap, the tax rate is $1.75 for every dollar over the cap,” and both the players union and the league want to find a balance that works for everybody.
It seems like they are getting close to reaching a new deal, which could be finished soon. They have until March 31 to agree to a new deal, and right now things look very promising.
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