NBA and union have preliminary CBA talks

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Michele Roberts met on Tuesday to discuss the collective bargaining agreement between the two sides.

“It was a preliminary meeting that included constructive dialogue, and we agreed to continue our discussions,” the two sides said in a joint statement.

Either side can terminate the agreement after the 2016-17 season but one party must notify the other of the intention to opt out by Dec. 15.

Members NBA Labor Relations Committee and NBPA Executive Committee as well as league and union staff were also in attendance.

The NBA and players struggled through a lockout in 2011, which resulted in a shortened, 66-game season in 2011-12. It also cost both sides millions of dollars in revenue and wages.

The key this time is avoiding a loss of games, especially with the amount of money at stake thanks in part to the NBA’s new TV deal with ESPN/ABC and Turner, which will pay the league $2.66 billion annually starting next season.

The salary cap keeps rising, and players are benefitting. The cap is projected at $89 million in 2016-17 and $108 million and consider the cap $58 million in 2012-13. Owners are also expected to benefit from the TV deal.

Since the league and its TV partners reached a deal before the current one expires, there is hope the two sides will reach an agreement before a lockout or loss of games.

There are new faces involved. Roberts, who has added new staffers to NBPA, was not with the union during the last round of negotiations, and while Silver was active in the last talks, he was the deputy commissioner for then-NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

“There is reason to be optimistic,” Silver said at the owners meeting in October. “We are in the process of developing, I would say, a personal relationship, which I would say is the predicate for any constructive negotiation.  Certainly it's important to build trust across the table, not just between me and Michele, but we have a Labor Relations Committee, they have an Executive Committee plus officers at the Players' Association that we'll be dealing with.

“We've begun that process.  We've sat across from each other.  Michele and I have had regular lunches and other discussions about business matters.  So that gives me a sense of optimism …

“I remain optimistic in a general way just because I think things are going so well for the teams and the players right now.”