Owners OK NBA labor deal, players next
A new labor deal in the NBA is on the verge of being finalized, after owners voted Wednesday to approve a proposed seven-year collective bargaining agreement that was tentatively agreed to last week.
The owners’ vote was unanimous and players are expected to finish casting their ballots in the coming days, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the NBA nor the National Basketball Players Association has revealed specifics about the voting process publicly.
Teams met by teleconference on Wednesday to discuss and approve the proposed deal. Players were recently emailed information about the CBA from the union and were intending to have their ratification vote completed electronically by Friday, one of the people involved told AP.
In both cases, the voting processes are no more than formality. When the sides agreed last week, there was no question the required votes to ratify would come from both sides. And if the player vote gets done as planned, the league’s showcase day – Christmas, with five games Sunday – could be even a bigger celebration than usual.
“This deal was a partnership, for both sides and is about the game overall, what it was, what it is now and its future,” Chicago guard Dwyane Wade told AP on Wednesday.
The league and the union spent months working on a new deal, one that ensures labor peace for at least the next six seasons and ends any fear of a work stoppage next summer. Either side will have the ability to opt-out after the 2022-23 season, though the deal will technically extend through 2023-24.