6:37pm: The NBA and the NBPA have reached a tentative deal on a new CBA, pending ratification by players and team owners, the league announces via press release. Both parties have agreed to extend the mutual deadline to opt out of the current CBA from December 15, 2016 to January 13, 2017 in order to give both sides enough time to review the terms of the agreement and vote on them.
6:30pm: The two sides have reached an agreement in principle on a new seven-year CBA, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical confirms (Twitter links). The two sides will jointly make an official announcement tonight.
6:20pm: The deal is complete and is pending ratification, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports (ESPN Now links). The players are expected to vote on the deal next week.
6:04pm: An agreement in principle between the NBA and the NBA Players Association on a new labor deal could be reached as early as tonight, Marc Stein and Ian Begley of ESPN.com report. Stein adds (via Twitter) that both sides essentially view the deal as “done.”
The deadline for both sides to opt out of the current labor deal is Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET and the negotiations conducted between the two sides this week have put them on course to reach an agreement before the deadline. One source told the ESPN scribes that the deal is expected “very soon,” which would squash any possibility of a lockout in the 2017 season.
It was previously reported that group licensing remained a barrier to a deal, but Stein and Begley hear that those issues have been resolved.
Both sides are expected to jointly announce a deal once it is finalized. A deal won’t become official until both league owners and active players vote to ratify it, but those votes are merely a formality.