NBA Lockout: Rumored D-League Clause Results In Confusion

The NBA lockout negotiations ended late this week with yet another proposal on the table for the players to consider. If the players don’t accept, it could put in motion a messy decertification process that could potentially wipe out the entire season.

There are quite a few rumors regarding what exactly is included in the latest offer, leading to a public outburst from players and media about how terrible it would be for the players. But not all of the rumors are true.

ESPN’s Ric Bucher reported that a “D-League clause” was included in the latest proposal that would have dropped salaries down to $75,000 for any player assigned to the NBA D-League. The league denied that report, however, and SB Nation has confirmed through several sources that Bucher’s reported clause is not in the most recent proposal despite being briefly brought up during talks.

The current plan, at least at this point, is for the owners and players to figure out all of the major issues before moving back to discuss less important issues. The relationship between the NBA and its official minor league are currently lumped together with the secondary issues.

One option that has at least been discussed, sources tell SB Nation, would be to allow NBA teams to sign two “development” players at $100,000 salaries -- nearly four times higher than the current D-League maximum -- to allow for a sort of NFL practice squad-type relationship between the NBA and D-League team. It remains to be seen if those two players would count against the 15-man roster.

Ultimately, the D-League portion of the CBA is not going to make or break the deal -- both sides know that. If the players and owners are able to agree on the major issues, the D-League will be discussed and changes will more than likely be implemented, but not to the extent that it would cause the players to make it a sticking point.