Breathe a sigh of relief, NBA fans. It appears as though the league isn't headed for a lockout.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated is reporting that the labor agreement term sheet is "done" and "pending ratification." Both sides had until Thursday night at 11:59 p.m. ET to either come to terms on a new contract, or opt out of the current CBA, which would lead to a lockout next summer. According to the official release on NBA.com, the league and the NBA Players Association have agreed to extend the mutual deadline to January 13, 2017, so they can work towards ratifying the deal.
According to Marc J. Spears, NBA players will vote on the new proposed labor deal next week. This past Saturday, New York Knicks star forward and NBPA vice president Carmelo Anthony expressed some skepticism about a deal getting done by the deadline after issues over licensing and the use of player likeness reportedly started to emerge as a roadblock in negotiations. "I'm skeptical of something getting done," Anthony toldESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "Do I think something could happen by the 15th? Yeah, I think something could happen. But I think this kind of put a dent in conversations. We had something so close. We were supposed to have a deal done weeks ago, and for this to happen at the 25th hour is tough."
Since the announcement of a tentative deal, The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski has shared some of portions of the new CBA, including where both sides stood on the one-and-done draft rule and stretching out the schedule.
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