The NBA and NBPA need to agree to a CBA that will "finally pay a fair working wage to players at the developmental level and ... enact much-needed cultural change by disavowing the practice of forcing high school graduates into the clutches of the exploitive NCAA," according to Harvey Araton of the N.Y. TIMES. All NBA D-League teams this season operated with payroll budgets around $170,000, as players "were paid within a tiered system that topped out in the $25,000 range for a 50-game schedule (plus playoffs)." Those "numbers are projected to rise insignificantly next season." Sources said that both the league and the union have "mutual interest in raising D-League standards," though there are "different goals in mind." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wants the NBA age limit "extended to two years after high school, perhaps in exchange for increased D-League pay." Meanwhile, NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts has previously "described herself as a firm opponent of any age restrictions." Araton noted the D-League has "become a viable NBA feeder" system in recent years, and if it offered salaries "even somewhat representative of the NBA's growing prosperity, how many 18-year-olds would suddenly lose the phone number of Kentucky Coach John Calipari?" The owners could "demand to have the D-League salary budget come out of the players' cut," while the players could "bargain for a stake in potential profits generated from enhanced interest and revenues." The college game would "lose star power," but the players would "deservedly be positioned to finally circumvent NCAA chicanery" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/10).
