It wasn’t long ago it seemed like the NBA would successfully avoid its second lockout in less than seven years.
Both the league and the NBPA can opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement in 2017, though the side that opts out must notify its counterpart by December. But that didn’t matter. It felt arbitrary. All the smart people were predicting that there wouldn’t be a lockout, a la 2011-12.
Some of that optimism, though, has wavered in the wake of the salary cap explosion. Players were handed gobs of cash after the Association’s new TV deal, and the salary cap is headed for another significant spike in 2017. Owners and the league will surely want to account for this scenario in the next CBA. And while that shouldn’t be a sticking point, the league may take a hardline stance in other areas to prevent more Kevin-Durant-to-the-Golden-State-Warriors situations.
The good news? The NBA and the players union aren’t waiting until the last minute to find common ground, per Basketball Insiders’ Eric Pincus:
To be fair, I hear the union and the league are already negotiating to avoid a lockout, no guarantees of course
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) July 21, 2016
Nothing, as Pincus notes, is guaranteed. But it’s good that the dialogue is happening at all. Communication between the league and its players seemed to be an issue back in 2011, and both parties appear to be taking strides to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
As for whether that means we’ll avoid another lockout, that may be anyone’s guess at this point. What once seemed unlikely now, at the very least, feels possible.
