NBPA retaining economists to guide any salary-cap smoothing, will discuss with reps soon
Those NBA teams, players and agents hoping for more clarity on the future of the league's salary cap are going to have to wait a while longer, perhaps significantly so.
The signing of a new nine-year, $24-billion media rights extension has caused uncertainty as to how high the cap will go and when. The league and the NBPA met on Oct. 6, the day the deal was announced, to have preliminary discussions about smoothing out the impact of the new deal.
In short, with the deal not kicking in until 2016-17, the league's salary cap would be set to see one major spike, benefiting the 2016 free agent class a great deal. To help teams better plan long-term, and to ensure more players benefit from the influx of revenue, the idea of smoothing out the impact - having multiple, gradual increases in the cap rather than one giant leap - is being evaluated.
On Thursday, USA TODAY Sports obtained a memo from the NBPA to its members, letting them know the matter will be discussed and analyzed at upcoming player representative meetings, as well as with a larger populace at All-Star Weekend.
According to the memo, the union is studying a proposal from the league and retaining economists to assist in navigating the complicated matter.
No firm date for the next round of player representative meetings was made immediately clear, but looking ahead to the All-Star break may already concern some. Finding a workable and sustainable solution to a potential cap spike is more important than getting something done quickly, though, so being thorough just makes sense.
With no agreement in place during the season - and no confirmation of whether the league will change its draft lottery system this year - it could be a very quiet transaction market, with teams unwilling to commit to a strategy beyond this season. The uncertainty could also have a major impact as sides negotiate rookie contract extensions ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline, with neither player nor team knowing enough about their alternate options moving forward.