CBA Discussions Break Down; NBA Cancels First Two Weeks of Regular Season

A last-ditch shot at saving a full 82-game 2011-12 NBA season found nothing but iron.

Talks between the league and players broke down late Monday night without solutions to the major economic or structural issues that will need to be resolved in the next collective bargaining agreement. Without a deal, the league announced that the first two weeks of the regular season will be canceled.

With no additional talks scheduled, it seems just a matter of time before more games get the axe.

Current State of Negotiations

Though both sides have been exceedingly tight-lipped about the negotiations, enough rumors have emerged to paint a general picture of where things stand:

• Economics: The biggest issue yet to be resolved: how will the league and players split over $4 billion in annual revenue? Under the collective bargaining agreement that expired on June 30, the players were guaranteed a 57 percent share. Owners initially pushed to knock the players' share down to the mid-40s. In more recent discussions, they've pushed what David Stern has called a 50-50 split, though once you factor in changes to the basketball related income formula it's actually closer to 49-51 in favor of the owners. The player have offered to take 53 percent and not a penny less.
• Salary Cap and Luxury Tax: The owners' initial proposal called for a hard salary cap. More recent proposals have softened that stance - somewhat. They've proposed a system with an escalating luxury tax on salaries above a certain point - reportedly as high as $4 for every $1 of payroll more than $15 million above the cap. The players reportedly believe a tax system that punitive would prevent about 28 of 30 teams from spending and regard it as a hard cap by another name. At this point, it's a non-starter with the NBPA.
• Cap Exceptions: This seems to be one of very few areas where the league and union are on the same page. The mid-level salary cap exception will reportedly be restructured significantly - no more $30 million over five years for the likes of Jared Jeffries - and be worth less money for fewer years going forward. Other exceptions may be eliminated completely, assuming teams retain the ability to sign players at the league minimum even when over the cap.

What happens next?

Unclear. It seems the primary combatants in this labor battle are going to take a step back before re-engaging. Of course, they don't have a lot of time. Based on the schedule David Stern has employed to this point, the league believes it will need approximately one month from agreement to tip off; that means we have about ten days before the league cancels the rest of the November schedule.

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