Players in the NBA G League are having serious discussions with the National Basketball Players Association about the possibility of unionizing, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Charania and Wojnarowski note that those conversations are expected to continue at this season’s G League Winter Showcase, which will take place from December 19-22 in Las Vegas. The goal would be to work toward collectively bargaining items like salaries, benefits, and travel, sources tell Woj. More freedom of player movement might also be a priority, says Charania. Currently, G League players not on assignment from an NBA team make $35K per season.
Assuming this week’s talks go well, a G League players union will likely be ratified following the Winter Showcase, when a formal vote takes place. For their part, the NBA and the G League have been made aware of the discussions and say they plan to work with the newly-formed union if and when it’s ratified, per Wojnarowski.
“We support the players’ right to unionize,” NBAGL president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. “We view this as a positive thing and are looking to continue to grow our league for the players to develop and accomplish their dreams.”
The unionization of G League players has been viewed as “inevitable,” with team and league officials preparing for the possibility for the last several years, writes Charania. Still, it’s not clear how significant an impact a players’ union might have on the NBAGL’s current structure.
“Travel, housing, a little more money — it’ll be about small gains,” one G League general manager told Charania. “The G League probably doesn’t generate enough revenue for wholesale changes unless we tap into the NBA’s BRI (basketball related income), but unionizing can be a start.”
The start had to do with Silver’s plan of unnatural foreign travel. The players may be JV/minor leaguers, but they are used to getting taken care of. Mexico sounds dangerous, even if it’s just another town with a gym.
In fairness, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and many other big cities sound just as dangerous as Mexico, if not more so.
I’m not a big fan of the Mexico City expansion, but danger rally has nothing to do with it.
A lot of Mexico is dangerous, but Mexico City is not.
Yay for facts. Perception, the international trend including Africa, and players not having say are the problems. See Mexico, have standoff! (pun ha ha)
Chandler Parson’s $24 million payout this year could pay 685 G-league players or 46 teams at 15 players per team…yea they need to unionize because they are getting screwed.