NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: ‘Still a Gap’ in Collective Bargaining With Players

The opt-out deadline for the NBA’s collective-bargaining agreement is Friday at midnight and the league and players’ union have yet to come to terms.

In fact, there is “still a gap” in reaching an agreement, commissioner Adam Silver said, via Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

The current CBA runs through next season. The league and union have already extended the opt-out date for the current CBA twice this season. A third opt-out date could be instituted, though that appears to be speculation at this point. 

In other words, both sides are hoping to agree on most key points by Friday to help avoid a work stoppage in 2024.

“Still a lot to go in the next few days,” Silver said of negotiations, adding that it could come down to the very deadline, via Vorkunov. 

Adam Silver said the NBA and NBPA have made progress, but "there still is a gap, though, between where we feel we need to be in order to get a deal done." https://t.co/CZTX17bTcC

— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) March 29, 2023

One issue the sides already seem to agree on is the idea of a “load management” rule, or keeping players from sitting out games when healthy. The players, in particular, seem to be in favor of such a rule.

It would state that players must play in a certain number of games during the course of the 82-game regular season to be eligible for major individual awards, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. The exact number of games has yet to be determined, though again, both the NBA and union reportedly already agree on the idea.

The practice of teams resting star players during games has become an issue for the NBA, especially the players, as it’s not often their own decision to sit out. Such a rule would pressure teams to allow players to play regular-season games when the players are healthy. Given the players’ desire to play, it’s not a surprise they would be in favor of such a directive.