NBA commissioner Adam Silvers hopes new Collective Bargaining Agreement is completed by March deadline

SALT LAKE CITY — Adam Silver is just as eager as the National Basketball Players Association to get a new collective bargaining agreement done.

The NBA commissioner echoed the statement by NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, declaring that it is “absolutely a priority” to get a new deal done by the March 31 deadline.

Asked if it was fair to expect the deal in accordance with that timeline, Silver responded that it’s his “hope that the deal will be done by then.”

“I would say it’s an absolute priority to us as well to get a deal done as soon as possible,” Silver said Saturday night. “I think at least what we have discussed across the tables from the Players Association is that we wouldn’t publicly list the issues that are potentially keeping us apart.”

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On Feb. 6, the league and NBPA mutually agreed to extend the deadline to opt out of the current CBA from Feb. 8 to March 31 while both sides continue to negotiate a new agreement. The CBA’s term will conclude on June 30 if either side exercises the opt-out.

This marks the second time the deadline was pushed back. The original deadline was Dec. 15 before being extended to Feb. 8.

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While Silver doesn’t want the issues being made public, he said the greatest focus is having the “greatest competition out there” on the floor.

“I think we’ve made great headway over the years as we’ve improved the system to have more competition, as we’re seeing, clearly, from this season,” Silver said. “I think you need more data to know whether the season is an aberration or whether it’s a result, in part, of the system we now have in place.

“The league’s view is that there are changes that we can make that will make the league even that much more competitive.”