Explaining the main CBA changes: What we know so far and potential ramifications

An agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the owners and players association was reached in the late hours of the March 31 deadline. Many changes trickled out over the past weekend and while there is still much left to be …

An agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the owners and players association was reached in the late hours of the March 31 deadline. Many changes trickled out over the past weekend and while there is still much left to be reported, we have a good idea of what the big picture of what the new CBA looks like.

The biggest theme is that it will feature changes that could fundamentally change the ways in which teams build their roster. Teams with the most expensive rosters will have more restrictions that will limit their ability to add players from outside the roster. Meanwhile, more trade and free agency opportunities are expected to be expanded for clubs below the luxury tax, but we have few updates on those as of now.

Here is a breakdown of the biggest changes so far, including a deep dive on the second apron that will eventually be implemented.

How will the new CBA affect the Boston Celtics?

The NBA and National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA) have come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The NBA and National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA) have come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to cover the coming seasons, evading a potential work stoppage ahead of a highly-anticipated and lucrative new media rights deal and potential expansion of the league.

But with that new CBA comes new wrinkles to how things are done in the league in ways that can affect the Boston Celtics as a high-salary ball club that is in the middle of a contention window given at least some of the incoming changes were designed to make life tougher for franchises with big payrolls.

Let’s dive into what’s new, and how (or if) it will impact Boston and its designs on contention.

How Jaylen Brown’s contract extension situation is causing teams to push for change

Cap expert Yossi Gozlan of our sister site HoopsHype took Brown’s situation as a test case for the proposed changes and why they would be so welcomed.

Astute fans of the Boston Celtics are keeping a close eye on the play of the team’s star wing Jaylen Brown. The Georgia native will be eligible for a supermax deal that is, by and large,  the best tool the Celtics have at their disposal to ensure Brown will stay with the team as an unrestricted free agent at the end of his current deal.

Some have decried the fact that the current rules governing such extensions ought to be changed to make it easier for teams to retain star talent they drafted such as Brown’s case with Boston. This prompted negotiations to make such changes in the next league collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that is currently getting hammered out by the Board of Governors and the Players’ Association.

Cap expert Yossi Gozlan of our sister site Hoops Hype took Brown’s situation as a test case for the proposed changes and why they would be welcomed in a recent primer on CBA changes currently being negotiated.

New extension limits? How they would affect the league

We got an update on Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) talks this week and the first bit of potential changes. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, significant progress has been made in recent weeks on key issues between the NBA and the …

We got an update on Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) talks this week and the first bit of potential changes. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, significant progress has been made in recent weeks on key issues between the NBA and the Players Union (NBPA), and there’s hope that a deal is within grasp. The current deadline to get a deal done is March 31, and the NBPA has informed the league they intend to complete a deal by then.

Charania also provided some notes on potential changes to the CBA that could come. One would be altering the lower luxury tax tiers to make it more viable for teams to get into the tax. They’re also discussing lowering the NBA draft age eligibility to 18 years old, and implementing cap smoothing to prevent massive cap spikes like in 2016.

The other change that is being discussed is modifying the current contract extension limits. Per Charania, both sides are discussing increasing the maximum first-year salary in an extension from 120 percent to 140-150 percent. The extension rules were bound to be changed considering how much the salary cap has risen over the past seven years, but exactly how they could get changed was unknown until now.

Below is a breakdown of the current extension rules versus the newly proposed ones, and the ripple effects they can have on the league.

Did former Boston Celtics big man Tacko Fall end up out of the NBA due to a lack of opportunity?

Other players like Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith also saw their careers at the NBA level fizzle a bit while playing with the Celtics due to a lack of playing time to develop on a squad with designs on contending.

Did former Boston Celtics big man Tacko Fall end up out of the NBA due to a lack of opportunity? Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith also saw their NBA careers fizzle while playing with the Celtics due to a lack of playing time on a squad with designs on contending.

Could it be such a simple answer to explain why the league’s tallest big man ended up playing in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers? Or could there be more going on to explain why Tacko’s tenure didn’t take?

The folks over at the Treese YouTube Channel took their best shot at getting to the bottom of this question on a clip they put together.

Take a look at the video embedded above to hear what conclusions they came to about why Fall is not in the NBA right now.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Boston big man alum Tacko Fall continues to dominate in China (highlights)

The Senegalese big man has been putting up 14.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, an assist, just under a steal, and 3 blocks per game in Xinjiang.

Fans of Boston Celtics big man alum Tacko Fall will be happy to hear he continues to dominate in the Chinese Basketball Association playing for the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers, where the 7-foot-5 center is nearly unstoppable in the frontcourt.

The Senegalese big man has been putting up 14.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, an assist, just under a steal, and 3 blocks per game. His free throw shooting (78.4%) is now actually better than his field goal percentage (71.8%), a massive improvement from his time in the NBA, where he shot just 32% from the charity stripe.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to see how the fan-favorite big man has been playing abroad in China courtesy fo the Premier Highlights YouTube channel.

If he keeps playing like this there, we might just see him back stateside soon.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Former Boston big man Tacko Fall’s 2022-23 CBA highlights

Boston Celtics big man alum Tacko Fall is carving out a career for himself in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Former Boston Celtics big man Tacko Fall is carving out a career for himself in the Chinese Basketball Association with the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers. The Senegalese center has been posting impressive averages of 14.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, an assist and 3 blocks per game in just under 24 minutes of playing time per contest while shooting 71.8% from the field this season.

Fall has been hard at work adding mobility to his game to compliment his 7-foot-5 frame and 8-foot-4 wingspan that got him to the Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

To see Fall in action, check out this highlight clip from the folks at the CBA Highlights YouTube channel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 152: Navigating Boston’s ‘big’ cap concerns with Yossi Gozlan

With rumbles of interest for Grant Williams surfacing and Al Horford’s deal ending, should Celtics fans be worried about the frontcourt’s future?

The Boston Celtics and Grant Williams could not come to terms on a rookie scale extension for the Tennessee alumnus ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season, with Williams instead electing to bet on himself. How could this play out for both parties given we’re hearing rumbles of interest from opposing teams? How does the looming free agency of Al Horford affect Boston’s cap space outlook?

The backdrop for Boston’s offseason financial concerns for their frontcourt also takes shape with a likely cap spike and looming media rights deal that could transform labor negotiations ahead of the league’s next collective bargaining agreement, so what might something like a hard cap mean for Boston?

To get a look at some lingering but timely issues from a teambuilding perspective, the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with HoopsHype cap guru Yossi Gozlan to talk over the contours of the Celtics’ and NBA’s cap management concerns, with an unvarnished view of the team’s start thrown in for good measure.

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Your usual hosts Cameron Tabatabaie and Justin Quinn also touch on Kyrie Irving’s suspension in the context of a lot of bad NBA news percolating to the surface all at once this week.

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Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 146: Catching up with Tacko Fall on his new book, the CBA, and ties to the Celtics

This interview has everything from the details behind his new book and how he likes his new team to the story of how he met Grant Williams (it involves a failed dunk). 

Fans of the Boston Celtics know the story behind Tacko Fall’s journey from Senegal to the U.S. and making his way through the ranks to get to the NBA. He signed with the Celtics in 2019 after what was at times a harrowing journey filled with obstacles as he chased his dream of being a professional basketball player.

Now, the former UCF standout has penned a children’s book to inspire others who may feel the path toward their dreams is just too hard to travel. Fall’s book, “Tacko Fall: To New Heights,” is out in bookstores. It was co-written with agent Justin Haynes with art by renowned children’s book illustrator Reggie Brown.

Cameron Tabatabaie of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast caught up with Fall recently to talk about his book, his new team in the Chinese Basketball Association, his time in Boston, and the Celtics season to come.

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Check out the clip embedded above to hear everything from how he likes his new team to the story of how he met Grant Williams (it involves a failed dunk).

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C/o Justin Haynes

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Shams: NBA, NBPA ‘in serious conversations’ over key points for next CBA

The next CBA could lower the draft eligibility age, provide team equity for players, and change the luxury tax penalties among other issues.

Per The Athletic’s NBA insider Shams Charania, the league is considering a number of changes of note to the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will be voted on by the NBA’s Board of Governors sometime after the December 15 mutual opt-out date coming at the end of this year.

Perhaps the most interesting and impactful of them is an idea being advocated for by the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) of “building lasting equity for its players beyond their playing days.” In the eyes of the NBPA, the partnership between the players and the league “should create financial staying power for its constituents beyond their playing days in the form of equity.”

“Creating generational wealth is critically important in this next chapter of the Union,” related NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio.