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CBA is officially ratified by NBA Board of Governors and Players Union

By Tamberlyn Richardson

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at the conclusion of the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at the conclusion of the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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Christmas came early for the NBA as Board of Governors and the Players Union have officially ratified the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)  – December 23rd.

News the CBA was ratified this evening was a little shocking, more so in terms of how quickly it happened. Though there weren’t many dissenters other than Draymond Green.

The agreement will begin to take effect as of July 1st, 2017 and is valid through the 2023-24 season. Although either side has an opt out in the sixth season which could have parties back at the bargaining table in 2022-23 season.

Now that both sides (the NBA Players Union and The NBA Board of Governors have agreed o the basic principles of the CBA they will sit down to iron out the fine points. When that occurs they’ll release the full CBA outlining details on the specifics.

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Looking at what we do know the main areas of the CBA are:

The Specifics:

  • Terms of the deal would run over 7 years with a clause allowing either side to opt out one year earlier
  • No amnesty clauses are included
  • Veteran extensions similar rookie contract extension with the view of allowing small markets the capability of retaining their star players
  • Rookie scale contract deals are expected to get significant raises (up to 45%)
  • Roster size will increase to 17 players from the current 15
  • Major changes to the schedule are expected (as has been rumored for some time) which theoretically would mean fewer

For a full read on what the initial deal meant visit this related article in Thunderous Intentions.

Super Teams likely a thing of the past except in very rare instances:

Here’s the real reason why Green may have been upset:

Although Draymond Green cited his dismay over the guys lower on the totem pole the real reason he is likely upset is with the new agreement ‘Super Teams’ aren’t just discouraged there are components in place to deter from them happening.  Though teams can utilize the veteran extensions now for two players (upped from one) players like Kevin Durant won’t be able to benefit from this. Since Durant chose to defect to Golden State the Warriors don’t hold his Bird rights.

This means GSW will need to go into their salary cap to keep him and pay him a maximum deal. Stephen Curry will no doubt  be one of the players who’ll get one of GSW’s vet exceptions and earn the 35% of cap raise. Here’s the rub – Durant, Curry, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston are all free agents. How the Warriors intend to keep all 4 without massively exceeding their cap is beyond me. On top of that one would think Klay Thompson will be the other player the Warriors use their vet exception on. In my humble opinion that is why Green is upset.

D League set to benefit as well:

With the increase of 15 to 17 players allowed on rosters and the option to have 2-way deals it

More from Thunderous Intentions

benefits NBA Franchises as well as their D-League affiliates. Specifically, teams can now keep a player they want to develop under their varsity system at he D-League level. Further it will help when injuries occur as players can then be called up.

Though salaries don’t take a big jump they will take a minor leap from the current $19,500 to $26,000 as per Chris Reichert of FanSided’s The Step Back DLeague article.

Further Reichert said:

Now NBA teams can opt to retain up to two players, still play them in the D-League if they are not ready to contribute at the NBA level, and not have the fear of another team swooping in on their investment. While overall salaries did not rise, ESPN’s Marc Stein reported two-way players will earn $50,000 to $75,000 for their exploits.

Though the dollar amount didn’t take a big jump the additional protection of players is a win-win at all levels.

Next: Christmas Round Table - 2 more sleeps til Santa and Wiggins

Once the final CBA is ironed out  Thunderous Intentions will provide the details of the full agreement.

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