NBA and players' union agree on 25% wage cut

LOS ANGELES • The National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players' union agreed on a plan for reducing player compensation, should games be cancelled amid the Covid-19 pandemic as commissioner Adam Silver said it remained unclear when the league might be able to plan for the resumption of play.

Silver, speaking to reporters on a conference call on the eve of what should have been the start of the NBA play-offs on Friday, said the league was "not ready to set a date of how long we can wait before we can no longer continue the season".

"Everything is on the table, including potentially delaying the start of next season," he added, according to the Miami Herald.

"We are not in position to make any decisions, and it's unclear when we will be."

He spoke after the league confirmed that beginning on May 15, 25 per cent of player salaries will be withheld from their bi-monthly wage payments.

The plan, agreed with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), will "provide players with a more gradual salary reduction schedule" in the event that games are cancelled.

The collective bargaining agreement between the league and NBPA stipulates that compensation of all players will be reduced in the case of a "force majeure" event such as an epidemic or government order that forces loss of games.

The amount of actual salary players will lose will be calculated based on the number of games missed. The NBA suspended its season on March 11 after Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19.

Seven NBA players, including two-time champion Kevin Durant, were reported to have tested positive. Silver acknowledged that the number was higher but said that for privacy reasons, the league would not be releasing the names of other players who were diagnosed with coronavirus.

He added that before it can resume play, the league needs to see the number of new infections decreasing and the availability of large-scale testing increasing.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE