The NBA is trying to implement an upper spending limit in its negotiations with the National Basketball Players Association, a change that has been met with resistance from the union.
According to sources, the NBA wants to replace the luxury tax with a hard limit that teams can't exceed.
Sources said that the league's proposal was met with resistance from the NBPA, who considered it a non-starter in talks.
The early part of the negotiations can be used to float wish lists, and that could be what's happening with the NBA's proposal.
The NBA and NBPA have until Dec. 15 to reach an agreement that will allow both sides to opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. After the 24th season, the seven-yearCBA will come to an end.
According to sources, the NBA believes that the current system doesn't give enough playing field to make more teams competitive and that the spending disparity of top teams has made the imbalance unsustainable. The idea of a more competitive league delivering higher revenues and higher salaries is being pitched to the union by the league.
There is skepticism among smaller NBA marketplaces who worry that an upper Spending Limit would fail to create the competitive parity the league is hoping to achieve, instead causing well-constructed smaller-market teams to have to break up core of contention talent.
The NBA's labor relations committee, including Charlotte owner Michael Jordan and Golden State owner Joe Lacob, have held a number of meetings with the union.
The system now allows teams to re-sign their own players and increase their salary in free agency if they exceed the salary cap. The NBA's proposed system change would end luxury tax payments that are shared with many smaller market teams, forcing the league to find a new mechanism for revenue sharing.
Twenty of the 30 NBA teams are below the luxury tax threshold of $150.3 million, with the other 10 teams projected to pay a league-record $700 million in luxury tax penalties in the 2022-23 season. The Warriors, Clippers, and Nets are responsible for over half of the total.
There were three teams that contributed to the majority of the luxury tax penalties.
Sources said that the league's top priorities were among the other top ones.
The league's media rights deals give greater value to players who participate in more regular season games.
In order to avoid a repeat of the cap spike in 2016 that disproportionately rewarded one class of free agents and selected teams, a plan is being worked on to add in the windfall of revenue in the league's upcoming media deal.
To end the "one-and-done" early entry rule and allow high school players back into the NBA draft, the league wants a requirement that player agents can't pick teams with which they provide medical and physical information. There are no requirements for presence or participation in the draft combine.
There is a chance that the deadline could be extended should the sides believe they are making progress.
Bobby Marks is a front-office insider.
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