Adam Silver appeared on ESPN’s The Jump with Rachel Nichols on Wednesday. The NBA commissioner spoke about a variety of topics involving the state of the league.
Among the topics of conversation was the possibility of another lockout. Both the NBA and the Players’ Association have an opt-out clause on the current CBA, giving them until this coming December to inform the other party. Should either group decide to exercise that option, the league could be seeing another lengthy battle in negotiations.
According to Silver, however, the chances of a lockout, like the one that the league faced in 2011, are slim at best. Speaking of Nichols, Silver maintains that he is “extraordinarily optimistic” that the NBA avoids a lockout, placing his confidence level at a ten out of ten.
Silver’s main reason for optimism is that the two sides have already begun serious discussions, leading him to believe there is interest from both parties to find a compromised solution to every issue the league faces.
There have been public talks related to the CBA, already. Michele Roberts recently said that NBA players were underpaid and the max contract, especially with the massive cap rises, will likely be a major talking point in future CBA negotiations.
Fortunately, it seems that the two sides are willing to talk and compromise and hopefully, Adam Silver is correct in being optimistic about avoiding another lockout.
