NBA Lockout

#15

moneyman wrote: »

If decertification actually happened, the owners are in a much stronger position, not the players. I hope it doesn't come to that though.

Why do you say that?

#15

Rumours of a deal:

Dave Checketts, former president of the Jazz and Knicks, said in an interview on ESPN 700 in Salt Lake City that he hears the players and owners have reached agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Checketts was recently hired as a consultant to Tom Gores, new owner of the Pistons. Checketts is known as being very close to David Stern.

"The rumblings coming out of both the players side and owners side are suggesting there is a deal," said Checketts.

"I think this is heading in a positive light. This certainly could and has already in this negotiation over time, crashed into a wall. I get a different feeling about this. I think both sides have come together and are trying very hard to iron out the details and come out unified."

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/216468/Former_President_Of_Knicks_Jazz_Says_Deal_Imminent_Between_Owners_Players#ixzz1dLWMLPFi

Sea Devils

Apparently the owners made a significant concession last night, which led to both sides being very close. Let's hope that egos don't get in the way

Sea Devils

Stern finished his phone call to the owners, and they will be delivering a revised offer to the players soon. But it's based off of the current negotiations, and won't be the "ultimatum" offer that he threatened.

I think this gets done by Monday.

Top Dog

Looks like decertification might be becoming a reality - so much for a 2011-12 season

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/11/14/nbpa-labor-meeting-monday.ap/index.html

moneyman

Players are idiots. They're completely unorganised - some players don't even know who their team player rep is, others have not been contacted at all by them. What a bunch of idiots.

This could take a few years to settle in court and it's unlikely that they'll get a better deal than this when it's all said and done. Owners are going to roll back their offer to a much worse one as they already felt they were giving up too much. Billy Hunter is another idiot, if the players were going to decertify, July was the time to do it, not now.

Stern is very pissed. I would be very surprised if he didn't threaten to void all NBA contracts, which would be a big pain in the arse for the players.

padraig_f

****, I'm not that surprised they rejected the deal, but didn't expect them to pursue decertification at this stage. It wasn't just about BRI, JA Adande had a good article the other day (Finally, the real fight), explaining that system issues meant restriction of movement for players. So I think on top of the 12% pay-cut, having their freedom of movement restricted was too much for them to stomach.

What I'm not clear on yet is if it means decertification is formalised now, or if it just starts the process, and it's still possible to back out of with a deal.

moneyman

padraig_f wrote: »

****, I'm not that surprised they rejected the deal, but didn't expect them to pursue decertification at this stage. It wasn't just about BRI, JA Adande had a good article the other day (Finally, the real fight), explaining that system issues meant restriction of movement for players. So I think on top of the 12% pay-cut, having their freedom of movement restricted was too much for them to stomach.

What I'm not clear on yet is if it means decertification is formalised now, or if it just starts the process, and it's still possible to back out of with a deal.

It does mean restriction of movement for players, in so far as they can't all join up with their buddies in the big markets and **** up the league even more. It is to stop teams from doing a Heat, and to help keep the smaller markets competitive, or at least give them a better chance to retain their star players. The players are idiots, essentially 90% of them are losing a lot of money to fight for a few of the elite guys who will want to whine and moan their way over to a big market with other stars. They're ****ing up the league and I have absolutely no sympathy for them. Maybe the majority of the players would realise their stupidity if they actually bothered to learn about what's going on. A lot of them don't have a clue.

They only took a 7% pay cut as far as BRI is concerned, yes it's significant but they can't expect to keep things the way they are just because they gave up some money (which they had to do to keep teams afloat).

Re decertification, the union is now gone but AFAIK they still have 45 days to work out a deal. That is not going to happen though as Stern is going to take that offer off the table.

Well done players. I'm looking forward to the day you're forced into taking an even worse deal. The only players I feel sorry for are the young guys. And if all contracts are voided, the NBA will be a complete mess. If it gets that far, it will be extremely difficult for the NBA to recover.

gammon_steak

This is some disappointment :mad:

Looks like the season is going to be completely ruined now. I bet there's a few new drafts wishing they'd stayed in college another year.

Sea Devils

Thank god for College Basketball is all I can say !

eire4

Well it looks like college is the only basketball that is going to be getting played for quite some time. You would have to say the 2 sides are very close to blowing up the entire season. Amazing really that it has gone this far especially in the current economic climate.

GoldFour4

Have to recommend Bill Simmons podcast that went up today. 2 parter on the lockout entitled "nuclear winter". Just over 2 hours long and featuring espn basketball reporters Marc Stein and Ric Bucher. They discuss all aspects of the lockout and possible solutions for the leagues future.

Part 1 http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7238744

Part 2 http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7238752

Well worth a listen. Enjoy !

WHIP IT!

malachyscott wrote: »

Have to recommend Bill Simmons podcast that went up today. 2 parter on the lockout entitled "nuclear winter". Just over 2 hours long and featuring espn basketball reporters Marc Stein and Ric Bucher. They discuss all aspects of the lockout and possible solutions for the leagues future.

Part 1 http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7238744

Part 2 http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7238752

Well worth a listen. Enjoy !

I've purposely avoided the finer points of the Lock-out, preferring to have blind faith that it will sort itself out and we'll have b'ball as per usual... but listened to this podcast over the past two days (Whilst walkin the oul dog) and it made depressing listening... As Simmons himself says, "like two kids fighting over cookies"...

Nothing turns fans off quicker than seeing millionaires play the poor mouth while arguing over further millions...

GoldFour4

Had a look through twitter this morning and I couldn't believe it! ITS OVER ! Free agency gonna start almost straight away, training camp opening 8th of December and season starting on christmas day, best present ever

WHIP IT!

malachyscott wrote: »

Had a look through twitter this morning and I couldn't believe it! ITS OVER ! Free agency gonna start almost straight away, training camp opening 8th of December and season starting on christmas day, best present ever

Malachy, thanks for that! I hadn't even checked elsewhere myself or heard a whisper about it so your post was a pleasant surprise!

Delighted - and what a triple-header on Christmas Day they have planned!!

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7281052/nba-owners-players-get-tentative-agreement

NBA come to tentative agreement

NEW YORK -- NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement early Saturday to end the 149-day lockout and hope to begin the delayed season on Christmas Day.

Neither side provided many specifics but said the only words players and fans wanted to hear.

"We want to play basketball," NBA commissioner David Stern said.

After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides met for more than 15 hours Friday, working to try to save the season. This handshake deal, however, still must be ratified by both owners and players.

Stern said it was "subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25."

Barring a change in scheduling, the 2011-12 season will open with the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, followed by Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch before MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago close the tripleheader against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

The league plans a 66-game season and aims to open training camps Dec. 9. Stern has said it would take about 30 days from an agreement to playing the first game.

"All I feel right now is 'finally,'" Dwyane Wade told The Associated Press.

Just 12 days after talks broke down and Stern declared the NBA could be headed to a "nuclear winter," he sat next to union executive director Billy Hunter to announce the deal.

"We thought it was in both of our interest to try to reach a resolution and save the game and to be able to provide the mind of superb entertainment the NBA historically has provided," Hunter said.

A majority on each side is needed to approve the agreement. The NBA needs votes from 15 of 29 owners. (The league owns the New Orleans Hornets.) Stern said the labor committee plans to discuss the agreement later Saturday and expects them to endorse it and recommend to the full board.

The union needs a simple majority of its 430-plus members. That process is a bit more complicated after the players dissolved the union Nov. 14. Now, they must drop their antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota and reform the union before voting on the deal.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can only be completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues still must be negotiated between the league and the players.

"We're very pleased we've come this far," Stern said. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

The settlement first was reported by CBSSports.com.

Participating in the talks for the league were Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labor relations committee, and attorneys Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. The players were represented by executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher, vice president Maurice Evans, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy.

Owners locked out the players July 1 and the sides spent most of the summer and fall battling over the division of revenues and other changes owners wanted in a new collective bargaining agreement. They said they lost hundreds of millions of dollars in each year of the former deal, ratified in 2005, and they wanted a system where the big-market teams wouldn't have the ability to outspend their smaller counterparts.

Players fought against those changes, not wanting to see any teams taken out of the market when they became free agents.

"This was not an easy agreement for anyone. The owners came in having suffered substantial losses and feeling the system wasn't working fairly across all teams," Silver said. "I certainly know the players had strong views about expectations in terms of what they should be getting from the system. It required a lot of compromise from both parties' part, and I think that's what we saw today."

But it was never easy. The day required multiple calls with the owners' labor relations committee, all the while knowing another breakdown in talks would mean not only the loss of the Christmas schedule but also throw the entire season in jeopardy.

"We resolved, despite some even bumps this evening, that the greater good required us to knock ourselves out and come to this tentative understanding," Stern said.

He denied the litigation was a factor in accelerating a deal, but things happened relatively quickly after the players filed a suit that could have won them some $6 billion in damages if the court ruled the lockout was illegal.

"For us the litigation is something that just has to be dealt with," Stern said. "It was not the reason for the settlement. The reason for the settlement was we've got fans, we've got players who would like to play and we've got others who are dependent on us. And it's always been our goal to reach a deal that was fair to both sides and get us playing as soon as possible, but that took a little time.

And led to the second shortened season in NBA history, joining the 1998-99 lockout that reduced the schedule to 50 games. This time the league will miss 16 games off the normal schedule.


Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

padraig_f

Woohoo! That came completely out of the blue. Great Christmas present!

Oat23

Bulls @ Lakers then Bears @ Packers later that night. Best Christmas ever

Sea Devils

All I can say is .

Also the first time in a while that the Warriors season isn't over in November.;)

Sea Devils

Deal points, per Woj. I'll edit this post as info comes in...

1) Players get between 49-51%, depending upon whether or not revenue projections are hit.

2) Contract lengths: 5 years (Bird rights), 4 years (non-Bird)

3) Escrow: 10% annual (this is how much the owners withhold from paychecks to make sure that players get the exact % they were promised in BRI. Used to be 8%)

4) Rookie scale: No reduction.

5) Minimum salary: no reduction.

6) Max salaries: only 1 level equal to 30% of cap.

7) Extend and trades: Still allowed. (Good news for Dwight Howard-Chris Paul)

8) New exception: $2.5M for teams below salary cap to go over the cap. Those teams can't use mid-level or bi-annual exceptions.

9) Mid-level exception: non-taxpaying teams can use a $5M MLE for up to 4 years. Taxpaying teams have a $3M mid-level for up to 4 years.

10) Teams now have three days to match offer sheets given to their own restricted free agents.

11) Minimum team salary increases to 85% in first two years of deal and 90% in years thereafter.

Paully D

Great news!

Any idea what trades we could be looking at?

WHIP IT!

Paully D wrote: »

Great news!

Any idea what trades we could be looking at?

Who cares?! Look at Carlton dance... "It's not unusual - to have fun, with anyoneee..."

Sea Devils

Not that it would ever happen, but I think that NBA seasons should be about 66 games long anyway.

#15

Great news in general, but especially teams like the Lakers, Celts and the Mavs, who are all very much in win now mode.

Can't wait for the season to get started.

horsemeat

149 Days of pain is over!!

let the fun begin!

Paully D

Christmas Day, full of turkey, pudding, sweets and beer. Lying off beside a roaring fire whilst it's freezing cold outside and then the NBA is on at the same time. I can't fucking wait!

#15

If anyone is wondering what all the fuss was about, here is a summary of the differences between the 2005 and 2011 CBAs.

Length of the agreement

• 2005 CBA: Seven years, with a league opt-out in 2011 (which the league invoked).

• 2011 CBA: Ten years, with a mutual opt-out (either side can opt out) in 2017.

• Who benefits? While it is encouraging to think that we won't have to witness another lockout until 2022, in all likelihood one side will invoke its option in 2017 to reopen labor negotiations. Since right now this deal appears to greatly favor the owners, it is reasonable to think the players will opt out -- especially since the national TV contracts are up for renewal in 2016, and the league expects an injection of new revenue. But this may not turn out to be the case -- the 2005 CBA was thought to favor the league, as well.


Revenue split

• 2005 CBA: Players receive 57 percent of Basketball Related Income (BRI).

• 2011 CBA: Players receive 51.15 percent of BRI in 2011-12. In later seasons players receive 49 to 51 percent of BRI (50 percent, plus or minus 60.5 percent of the amount by which BRI exceeds or falls short of projections); 1 percent of BRI (from the players' share) is used to fund a new pool for post-career benefits.

• Who benefits? This is the biggest win for the owners in this agreement. After losing $370 million, $340 million and $300 million in the past three seasons under the previous CBA, the league entered negotiations looking for a fundamental reset of the NBA's economic system -- and got it. In addition, players will lose approximately 20 percent of their 2011-12 salaries -- a result of the games missed due to the lockout.


Escrow

• 2005 CBA: 8 percent (in 2010-11) withheld to ensure players receive no more than the agreed-to revenue split. If escrow withholding is insufficient, salaries are reduced the following season to compensate.

• 2011 CBA: 10 percent withheld in every season. If the escrow withholding is insufficient, the shortfall is taken out of the players' post-career benefits pool. Salaries are not adjusted the following season.

• Who benefits? The players win here by getting the league to agree not to take any shortfall from their salaries the following season. Since there will be no rollback of existing salaries, the escrow system will likely be stretched to its limits in the early years of this agreement, and the players' salary losses are capped at 10 percent no matter what happens.


Amnesty provision

• 2005 CBA: One player can be waived prior to the start of the 2005-06 season. The salary of the waived player will not count toward the luxury tax.

• 2011 CBA: One player can be waived prior to the start of any season (only one player can be amnestied during the agreement, and contracts signed under the new CBA are not eligible). The salary of the waived player will not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax. Teams with cap room can submit competing offers to acquire an amnestied player (at a reduced rate) before he hits free agency and can sign with any team.

• Who benefits? As with the amnesty provision in the 2005 agreement, this provision allows teams to kick one bad contract to the curb. The benefits to amnesty are greater now than they were in 2005 -- 100 percent of the player's salary is removed for both cap and tax purposes. The other big change is that teams are allowed to pocket their amnesty card to use later -- so teams that managed their cap well to this point benefit because they don't have to use it or lose it.

Teams with cap room can benefit greatly from the amnesty provision by being able to submit a competing offer to claim an amnestied player at a reduced rate. For example, if Cleveland uses its amnesty provision on Baron Davis, a team that is $5 million below the salary cap can submit a $5 million offer to acquire Davis' contract. If that offer is the highest, the team acquires Davis and is responsible for $5 million of his salary -- with Cleveland responsible for the balance. This happens before Davis becomes a free agent and can sign on his own with a team like Miami.


Revenue sharing

• 2005 CBA: Some of the undistributed funds from the luxury tax were given to teams in competitively disadvantaged markets.

• 2011 CBA: A new plan approximately triples the amount of money that is revenue-shared. Details of this plan are yet to be finalized.

• Who benefits? Small-market teams. Teams like the Lakers, with their new $3 billion local television contract, will be perennial payers into this system, and teams like Charlotte and Milwaukee will be perennial beneficiaries.


Minimum team salary

• 2005 CBA: Teams must spend at least 75 percent of the salary cap.

• 2011 CBA: Teams must spend at least 85 percent of the cap in 2011-12 and 2012-13, and at least 90 percent of the cap in later years of the agreement.

• Who benefits? The players. Although it was once rare for teams to be below the salary cap, it became more common in the latter years of the 2005 agreement as teams struggled to cope with financial markets. For example, the Sacramento Kings traded for Marquis Daniels at the 2011 trade deadline because their payroll was below the 75 percent minimum. By raising the salary floor, teams are required to spend more money on player salaries.

The higher salary floor could also affect teams' amnesty decisions. Teams might decide to hang on to high-salaried players rather than amnesty them in order to meet the new minimum team salary requirements.


Luxury tax

• 2005 CBA: Teams paid $1 for every $1 their salary was above the luxury-tax threshold.

• 2011 CBA: Teams pay $1 for every $1 their salary is above the luxury-tax threshold in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Starting in 2012-13, teams pay an incremental tax that increases with every $5 million above the tax threshold ($1.50, $1.75, $2.50, $3.25, etc.). Teams that are repeat offenders (paying tax at least four out of the past five seasons) have a tax that is higher still -- $1 more at each increment ($2.50, $2.75, $3.50, $4.25, etc.).

• Who benefits? I'll tell you which teams don't benefit -- the perennial taxpayers, like the Lakers and Mavericks. When the league was unable to negotiate a hard cap, they settled for the next best thing -- a more punitive luxury tax that will make teams think twice before committing to a higher payroll. For example, the Lakers' tax bill in 2011 (when the tax was dollar-for-dollar) was about $19.9 million. Under the new system, being that far over the tax line would cost them $44.68 million. If they were a repeat offender (paying tax at least four of the previous five years) they would owe $64.58 million!


Distribution of luxury-tax funds

• 2005 CBA: Teams that did not pay tax each received 1/30th of the total tax fund. Taxpaying teams forfeited their tax distribution -- their money was used for "league purposes" such as the revenue-sharing program.

• 2011 CBA: No more than 50 percent of the tax funds can go exclusively to teams that did not pay tax.

• Who benefits? The previous tax system created a "cliff" at the tax threshold -- a team that was $1 under the tax line received a full tax distribution (about $2.4 million in 2011), but a team that was $1 over the tax line didn't receive anything.

Because of this cliff, teams needed to be very careful with their spending when they were near the tax threshold -- in fact, it looks like Houston was burned in 2011 by straying just $800,000 above the limit. The new system softens the blow for teams that exceed the tax line by just a little. For example, under the new system, Houston would have had to pay $800,000 in tax, but may have been eligible for a payout to offset their tax bill.

However, while the new agreement stipulates that no more than 50 percent of the tax funds can go exclusively to teams that did not pay tax, it doesn't specify what happens to the other 50 percent. It is possible the remaining tax money will be distributed to all teams in equal shares, but it's also possible the NBA will reserve this money for "league purposes."


Additional limits for taxpaying teams

• 2005 CBA: No additional limits for taxpaying teams.

• 2011 CBA: Taxpaying teams have a smaller midlevel exception, can acquire less salary in trade, and cannot use the biannual exception. Starting in 2013-14, teams more than $4 million above the tax level cannot receive a player in a sign-and-trade transaction.

• Who benefits? Throughout the labor dispute, the league has tried to improve competitive balance by installing a very restrictive cap system -- first asking for a hard cap, then a "flex" cap, and then a highly punitive luxury tax, before finally settling on a luxury tax with more teeth. In addition to an incremental tax penalty, taxpaying teams now will have less access to exceptions. This will give small-market teams a competitive advantage -- for example, instead of weighing equal $5 million offers in Los Angeles and Minnesota, a free agent might be forced to choose between a $3 million offer in Los Angeles and a $5 million offer in Minnesota.


Stretch provision

• 2005 CBA: By mutual agreement, teams can alter the payment schedule to waived players. The remaining guaranteed salary is applied to the team's salary cap across the remaining years of the player's contract.

• 2011 CBA: The player's remaining salary and his cap hit may be stretched across twice the number of seasons remaining on the contract, plus one (for example, the salary and cap hit for a player waived with two seasons remaining may be stretched across five seasons). This is entirely at the team's discretion, but it applies only to contracts signed under the 2011 CBA.

• Who benefits? Teams with bad contracts. For example, if a team has an underperforming player with one season remaining at $12 million, the team can waive him and stretch his salary across three seasons at $4 million per season. This will help with cash flow and provide $8 million in cap relief for the current season.


Free agents and restricted free agency

• 2005 CBA: A cap hold of 150 percent to 300 percent continues to count against the team's cap for its free agents who have Bird rights or were first-round picks. A team has seven days to match an offer sheet to its restricted free agent. Qualifying offers to restricted free agents are based on the player's draft position.

• 2011 CBA: Cap holds are reduced for most players who have Bird rights or were first-round picks, and now range from 150 percent to 250 percent. Teams have three days to match an offer sheet to its restricted free agent. Players can qualify for a better qualifying offer by meeting certain criteria. High-drafted players might receive a lower qualifying offer by failing to meet the same criteria.

• Who benefits? The reduction in cap holds provides teams with additional cap room to spend on other team's free agents -- giving players slightly higher salaries and promoting player movement.

The reduction in the waiting period from seven games to three games is a big win for restricted free agents -- teams are often very hesitant to make offers to restricted free agents because they don't want to tie up the salary amount on their cap for an entire week while the other team makes up its mind whether to match.

The higher qualifying offers help ensure that lower-drafted players who become starters or regular rotation players receive a salary that is in line with their performance. Conversely, the lower qualifying offer for underperforming high draft picks helps protect teams. For instance, rather than submitting an $8.8 million offer to retain the rights to Greg Oden, Portland would be able to offer much less. In fact, I fully expect this to be nicknamed the "Greg Oden Rule."


New contracts

• 2005 CBA: Six years with 10.5 percent raises for Bird free agents; five years with 8 percent raises for other players. Maximum salaries are approximately 25, 30 or 35 percent of the salary cap, depending on the player's years of service.

• 2011 CBA: Five years with 7.5 percent raises for Bird free agents; four years with 4.5 percent raises for other players (including all sign-and-trade transactions). The maximum salaries are the same as the 2005 CBA, except players coming off their rookie scale contracts qualify for the 30 percent maximum if they meet certain criteria. Minimum and rookie scale salaries are frozen near their 2010-11 levels until revenues rise enough that the reduction is proportional to the 12 percent reduction in the overall system.

• Who benefits? These changes provide the league with more cost control. The exception is the higher maximum salary for fifth-year players who meet certain league honors (MVP, an all-NBA team member twice, or an All-Star twice), which lets young superstars (think Derrick Rose) cash in with a bigger contract sooner.

The higher maximum salary for fifth-year players can also benefit teams. In 2006 LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all signed shorter extensions (which allowed them to become free agents in three years) rather than signing on for the maximum five years. The three players timed their free agency to follow their seventh season in the league, when they became eligible for the 30 percent maximum. Allowing franchise players such as these to sign for the higher maximum sooner reduces the temptation for these players to sign shorter contracts, delaying their eventual free agency.


Contract extensions

• 2005 CBA: Players coming off their rookie scale contracts can extend for five additional seasons. All other veterans can extend for five total seasons, which includes the seasons remaining on their current contracts.

• 2011 CBA: Players coming off their rookie scale contracts can extend for four additional seasons, although the team can designate one player who is eligible for five seasons at the maximum salary. A team can have only one designated player on its roster at any time. All other veterans can extend for four total seasons, which includes the seasons remaining on their current contract. The extension in an extend-and-trade contract is limited to three total seasons, which includes the seasons remaining on the current contract.

• Who benefits? The teams benefit here, just as they do with shorter free-agent contracts -- teams' future salary commitments are reduced. In addition, limiting extend-and-trade contracts to three seasons (including the seasons remaining on the player's current contract) helps reduce situations like the one the Nuggets were in last season with Carmelo Anthony.


Midlevel exception

• 2005 CBA: Five years starting at the average salary ($5.765 million in 2010-11), with 8 percent raises.

• 2011 CBA: For non-taxpaying teams, four years starting at $5 million (base salary grows by 3 percent annually beginning in 2013-14), with 4.5 percent raises. Taxpaying teams are limited to three years, a $3 million base salary (which grows by 3 percent annually beginning in 2013-14) and 4.5 percent raises. Teams with cap room (therefore losing their midlevel exception) get a new midlevel that is for two years and starts at $2.5 million (growing 3 percent annually).

• Who benefits? Very few full midlevel contracts handed out under the 2005 CBA turned out to be good bargains in their later years. Reducing the size and length of the midlevel exception will help teams rid themselves of bad contracts.

The new exception for teams with cap room will benefit teams that clear cap room to sign free agents. For example, in the summer of 2010 Miami gutted its roster in order to obtain James and Bosh. This left the Heat with a small amount of cap room to sign players like Mike Miller. But once they reached the salary cap, they could offer only minimum-salary contracts. Under the new CBA, once they reach the cap, they could still offer one or more players a total of $2.5 million.


Disabled player exception

• 2005 CBA: Five years, starting at the lesser of half the replaced player's salary or the average salary, with 8 percent raises.

• 2011 CBA: One year, starting at the lesser of half the replaced player's salary or the non-taxpayer midlevel exception.

• Who benefits? This exception provides teams with the ability to sign an emergency replacement for an injured player. Under the previous CBA, the player could be signed to a five-year contract, meaning a permanent replacement could be obtained. This also opened the door to situations where the injured player returned to the team while his replacement was still on the roster. By reducing to one year in the new CBA, this exception will more closely match its intent -- to provide a short-term emergency replacement for an injured player. Teams will now have to fend for themselves if the player's injury keeps him out for more than a year.


Trade rules

• 2005 CBA: Teams over the cap can acquire no more than 125 percent plus $100,000 of the salaries they trade away. A team can receive up to $3 million cash in any trade.

• 2011 CBA: Taxpaying teams can acquire no more than 125 percent plus $100,000 of the salaries they trade away (same as 2005 CBA). Non-taxpaying teams (based on their post-trade salary level) can acquire up to the lesser of 150 percent plus $100,000, or 100 percent plus $5 million of the salaries they trade away. The cash a team pays or receives in trade is limited to $3 million annually.

• Who benefits? The relaxation of the salary matching requirements will facilitate player movement. The addition of the provision that allows teams to acquire up to 100 percent plus $5 million of the salaries of its traded players will also reduce "trade ballast" -- extra players thrown into a deal merely to make a trade legal. The number of crazy trades should therefore be reduced.

The limitation of cash in trades (to $3 million annually) will have a big effect on draft-pick trades. It is now common for first-round picks to be sold for up to $3 million each prior to the draft. By limiting teams to $3 million annually, these trades will be reduced.


Base year compensation

• 2005 CBA: Applies for six months (but no later than June 30) after a player is re-signed with Bird rights or receives an extension of his rookie scale contract, and receives a raise greater than 20 percent. Base year compensation limits the player's outgoing salary for trade purposes.

• 2011 CBA: The criteria for determining whether a player is subject to base year compensation are the same. Players subject to base year compensation cannot be traded before Jan. 15, except in a sign-and-trade. If the trade is allowed, then base year compensation is applied to the player's outgoing salary only in a sign-and-trade transaction.

• Who benefits? Base year compensation prevents teams from re-signing players to higher salaries in order to facilitate a future trade. Preventing these players from being traded at all (except in a sign-and-trade) also helps to reduce crazy trades, where extra players are added to both sides of the deal to make the salaries match.


Re-signing a traded player

• 2005 CBA: If a player is traded and subsequently waived by his new team, he cannot re-sign with his original team for 30 days (during the season) or 20 days (during the offseason) following the trade.

• 2011 CBA: If a player is traded and subsequently waived by his new team, he cannot re-sign with his original team for one year following the trade or until July 1 after the last season of the player's contract, whichever is earlier.

• Who benefits? The tighter salary-matching rules in the 2005 agreement often required the addition of ballast (extra players thrown in for salary matching purposes) to make a trade legal. These players were often unwanted and unneeded once the trade was complete, and were waived soon after the trade was consummated -- often finding their way back to the team that traded them after a short vacation. For example, the Cavs sent Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Wizards as part of their 2010 trade for Antawn Jamison. The Wizards waived him a week later, and he subsequently re-signed with the Cavs for the remainder of the season.

The relaxation of trade rules should reduce -- but not eliminate -- the need for trade ballast. When it does occur, this rule change will prevent the team from reacquiring the player in the same season. This is a mixed blessing. On one hand, it will eliminate these wink-wink deals where players are traded with the full expectation of returning later. On the other hand, it might create a situation where an able-bodied player is unable to work in the league, because the only team that has an available roster spot and is willing to sign him is prevented from signing him.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/CBA-111128/how-new-nba-deal-compares-last-one

Will Espn be showing the 3 games on Xmas day?

Sea Devils

Probably as they have shown them the last couple of years.I'd say that it'll more then likely be a few weeks before they update their TV listings though.

padraig_f

There's an excellent article on Grantland today about the new CBA:
Everything You Could Ever Want to Know About the New NBA Labor Deal

Dare I say it, I think it will make for a better league. Current payrolls are here: http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm

So you can see the disparity. Low-spending teams will have to spend at least 90% of the cap (phased in over a couple of years), and there are much harsher penalties for top-spending teams, so should bring them much closer together.

Only bit that confused me, reading the 'Sign and Trade' section (where he breaks down Lebron's contract under the old and new CBA), I thought this meant Orlando had a much better chance at resigning Howard, so I'm not sure why in the next section ('Extend and Trade') he says:

Sure enough, as the details of the new CBA emerged, rampant speculation about the futures of Chris Paul and Dwight Howard started, with the possibility of an extend-and-trade making these moves more likely.

Doug Thonus also has a good piece on how the amnesty is likely to play out: Amnesty cuts won't be as deep as you think

I was hoping the Bulls could pick up an amnestied shooting-guard, but that looks unlikely now as they're over the cap, so won't be part of the waiver process.

padraig_f

Ok I think this explains it: Loophole could get Chris Paul to N.Y.

With a sign-and-trade or extend-and-trade, where the player is locked up to an extension, the player loses Bird-rights under new CBA. But to get around it, the player can be traded without extending, and his Bird rights go with him. He becomes a free agent at the end of the season, and signs with his new team with full Bird rights. The risk to the new team is that they could lose him in free-agency. This risk seems kind of small though, because his new team will be the only one able to sign him with full Bird rights.

The Knicks have so few trading pieces, you'd think it might be in the Hornets interest to hold onto Paul, because when he's a free agent, he can get $25m more signing for the Hornets than anyone else.