Tournament, MVP, marijuana: five things to know about the new NBA collective agreement

The establishment of a mid-season tournament

After the play-in, which consists of play-off matches to access the play-offs, the NBA continues to innovate on formats that add high-stakes matches. The establishment of a new tournament in the middle of the season, in the pipeline for several years under the impetus of Adam Silver, who admitted to being inspired by European football, was thus decided. It will take the form of a “Champions League”, with group matches that will be integrated into the regular season and a Final 8 on neutral ground, possibly in Las Vegas.

From the quarter-finals, each round will be played on a knockout match and this competition will not increase the schedule, except for the two finalists, who will thus play 83 regular season matches. And to motivate the 30 teams of the League, the NBA will offer a bonus of 500,000 dollars per player and coach of the winning franchise.

A minimum requirement to qualify for individual distinctions

With a view to limiting the “load management” and the regular season posters amputated by major players, the new collective agreement (CBA, Collective Bargaining Agreement) sets a minimum number of matches to play to win individual distinctions (MVP, rookie of the year, best defender, etc.) or join an All-NBA team. Which is not trivial, since these titles influence the amount of wages that players can receive. The threshold will be 65 matches with other conditions not yet disclosed.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia Sixers counterpart Joel Embiid are the two favorites for the MVP title this season. (USA TODAY SPORTS/SPORTS PRESS)

Violations of the “luxury tax” more sanctioned

According ESPN, the NBA plans to limit the recruitment of teams that significantly exceed the luxury tax . If a franchise exceeds the limit by more than $17.5 million, they will no longer be able to activate certain contractual exceptions, such as the taxpayer mid-level exception.

It is through this intermediary that several players, such as Danilo Gallinari (Celtics) or Donte DiVincenzo (Warriors), were able to be signed last summer. An attempt to rebalance the balance between the big markets and the franchises with a less extensive portfolio.

Marijuana use will no longer be prohibited The information comes from Shams Charania. According to the journalist The Athletic,

the new collective agreement also provides for no longer sanctioning the use of marijuana among NBA players. The substance will no longer feature in the League’s drug program. Kevin Durant, star winger of the Phoenix Suns, had notably expressed his regular use of marijuana. The NFL had already relaxed the rules on this subject, in 2020.

Contract extensions will be boosted Until now, franchises might extend their players by granting them a salary increase of up to 120%. The cap will be set at 140% from next season. A third two-way contract