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Late last night we finally received the news we've all been waiting for. It seems that the day after Thanksgiving NBA owners and players were finally able to come to a tentative agreement to end this lockout and have the NBA back up and running by Christmas day. At this point there are still many unanswered questions, and quite a few hoops for the league to jump through before the deal is made official, but the news is already flying fast as details become available to the press. As fans, I have the feeling that our heads will be spinning from now until December 25th. Jump for plenty of links and quotes.
Here are some great places to get started if you are looking for news on the tentative labor deal.
N.B.A. Reaches Tentative Deal to Save Season by Howard Beck of the NY Times:
With handshakes, sighs and weary smiles, the N.B.A. and its players resolved a crippling labor dispute early Saturday, allowing them to reopen their $4-billion-a-year business. A 66-game season would start on Christmas Day, ending the second-longest lockout in league history.
On nearly every count, the deal favors the owners, who all along had sought an overhaul. The players made significant concessions, including a reduction of up to $300 million year in salaries, $3 billion over the life of the agreement.
Specifics of NBA’s proposed labor deal by Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports:
• Revenue split: The players will receive anywhere from 49 percent to 51 percent of basketball-related income based on revenue projections.
• Maximum contract lengths: five years for Larry Bird rights players; four years for non-Bird players.
• Each team has one amnesty clause to use on a player currently under contract. The players’ salary will be removed from the team’s cap.
Lockout nightmare almost over for players longing to return to work by Sam Amick at SI.com:
While Mason was briefed on the deal but wouldn't specify which system issues were resolved to the players' liking, he expects it to be ratified by the players.
"I think the deal will be received well," he said. "I hear from the guys all the time -- that's my responsibility. And everyone that I have spoken to, their tone has been, 'Get us a fair deal.' So we went back and a lot of the issues that we had were rectified and I think the guys will be satisfied and ready to get back to work.
"It's a good feeling, but we still have the B-list issues to tackle. But the main issues we've agreed on, and that's a good feeling."