The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement has taken one step closer to becoming official, according to Jon Krawczynski and Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, who report that NBA team owners have voted to approve the tentative agreement. Per the AP duo, the vote among owners was unanimous.
With the owners officially on board, the players will need to cast their ballots before the deal can formally be ratified. Two people with knowledge of the situation tell Krawczynski and Reynolds that the players are expected to finish voting in the coming days, with one source suggesting it could happen by Friday.
The votes from the NBA and the NBPA are viewed as a formality, since both sides are in agreement on the term sheet that was put together earlier this month. Once the two sides officially vote to approve the deal, that term sheet will provide the framework for the official Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will still need to be written up. The deal is expected to be formally completed before the January 13 deadline, and will go into effect for the 2017/18 league year.
[RELATED: NBA, Players’ Union Reach Agreement On New CBA]
For details on the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, including changes to rules surrounding trades, contract extensions, free agency, and more, be sure to check out our CBA news archive, where we’ve been rounding up new updates as they’re reported.