The NBA players and NBA owners have reached a tentative agreement which could bring an end to the 149-day lockout of the NBA season. Early Saturday morning word came that a new collective bargaining agreement had been reached. The NBA season looks set to begin on Christmas Day On July 1 the lockout was imposed which did not allow players to have any contact with NBA teams or staff and they also could not access any team facilities. NBA commissioner David Stern held a news conference after the early morning meeting in which he declared, “We've reached a tentative understanding that is subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations. But we're optimistic that all will come to pass and that the NBA season will begin on December 25th, Christmas Day, with a triple-header.” From reports coming out of the meeting the players will receive a share of the basketball-related income between in the range of 49-51 percent depending on the growth of the league. Details of the new CBA were not fully disclosed. Major concerns for that have held up the start of the season included revenue sharing, salary cap restructuring, and some changes in terms of the competitive balance of the league. “I think it will largely prevent the high-spending teams from competing in the free agency market in the way they've been able to in the past,” Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said. Stern and former president of the player's association Billy Hunter were able to offer more details regarding the shortened season. The season should start on Christmas Day with a triple-header, as stated by Stern. Training camp and free agency would start on December 9th according to a report from NBA.com. The playoffs which will include a full bracket would start a little later in the spring. The All-Star Weekend originally scheduled to take place in Orlando February 24-26 should go ahead as planned. All that is left is for each side to formally agree to the new terms. The NBA needs 15 of the 29 teams to agree and the players need a majority of their 430-plus members to ratify the agreement. Technically the player's union needs to be reformed before everything is made official after the players disbanded it on November 14.
