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NBA teams to play on 3 straight nights?

NEW YORK (AP)—The NBA regular season would run through April 26 and requireteams to play at least one set of back-to-back-to-back games if a new labor deal isratified in time to start on Christmas.

The league posted an outline of what the schedule would look like on itsTwitter pages Sunday. The plan is a 66-game regular season, ending about 10 dayslater than usual. The last possible day of the NBA finals would be June 26, twoweeks later than the championship series ended last season.

Teams would play 48 games within their conference and 18 non-conferencegames. No team would play on three straight nights more than three times.

Back-to-backs might also be played during the second round of thepostseason.

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NBA teams must play on 3 straight nights

NEW YORK (AP)—The NBA regular season would run through April 26 and requireteams to play at least one set of back-to-back games if a new labor deal isratified in time to start on Christmas.

The league posted an outline of what the schedule would look like on itsTwitter pages Sunday. The plan is a 66-game regular season, ending about 10 dayslater than usual. The last possible day of the NBA finals would be June 26, twoweeks later than the championship series ended last season.

More on NBA lockout Wojnarowski: Stern, Hunter lose sight of season

Teams would play 48 games within their conference and 18 non-conferencegames. No team would play on three straight nights more than three times.

NBPA president Derek Fisher and the players face an uphill battle.(Getty Images)

Back-to-backs might also be played during the second round of thepostseason.

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Charity game featuring James canceled

The University of Akron says the charity game featuring LeBron James(notes) andother NBA stars has been canceled.

A school spokesman said Sunday that the “Homecoming Tour” game with James,Chris Paul(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes) and Carmelo Anthony(notes) scheduled for Dec. 1 at Rhodes Arenawill not take place. He expects the tour sponsor, Google Plus, to send out anofficial release later.

James’ spokesman did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

With the NBA reaching a tentative labor agreement with players to end the149-day lockout on Saturday, training camps could open as early as Dec. 9.

James had been set to open the tour in his hometown before going to NewOrleans, Chicago and East Rutherford, N.J. Proceeds from the tour were tobenefit the four headlining players’ charitable foundations. It is not known ifthe other games will be held.

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Heat ready to start shopping

MIAMI (AP)—With the season starting on Christmas, the Miami Heat aregetting ready to shop.

LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes), Chris Bosh(notes), Mike Miller(notes) and Udonis Haslem(notes) arestill under contract, meaning the core remains intact. Mario Chalmers(notes) is arestricted free agent, though he clearly has an eye on being back in Miami, androokie point guard Norris Cole(notes) figures to contend for some rotation time.

Looking at that list, the free-agent focus in Miami seems obvious: The topHeat priority likely will be an upgrade at center.

There are some quality big-man options, including Tyson Chandler(notes), Nene andSamuel Dalembert(notes), who has some South Florida ties. Shane Battier(notes), Grant Hill(notes) andformer Heat forward Caron Butler(notes) remain options for other spots as well.

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Union, owners try to cement deal quickly

NEW YORK (AP)—With a tentative labor agreement in place, National BasketballAssociation owners and union officials went back to work Saturday, relayingdetails of the deal with hopes of cementing it quickly.

After a 149-day lockout that ultimately will cost the league approximately ahalf-billion dollars in losses, a marathon bargaining session produced ahandshake agreement earlier in the day—actually, just a few hours beforedaybreak.

President Barack Obama gave a thumbs-up when told about the tentativesettlement after he finished playing basketball at Fort McNair in Washington onSaturday morning.

More on NBA lockout Wojnarowski: Stern, Hunter lose sight of season FILE – In this Nov. 14, 2011, … AP – Nov 26, 12:44 pm EST The Players Association presid… AP – Nov 26, 5:48 am EST FILE – In this Nov. 10, 2011 f… AP – Nov 26, 4:11 am EST NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam S… AP – Nov 25, 8:04 pm EST San Antonio Spurs owner Peter … AP – Nov 25, 8:01 pm EST 1 of 5 NBA Gallery NBPA president Derek Fisher and the players face an uphill battle.(Getty Images)

Commissioner David Stern still must sell his owners on an agreement thatcould change the way they do business. And the players, looking beat and beaten,face a tougher healing process in approving a pact that significantly limitstheir earnings.

But considering everything owners sought when these negotiations opened witha contentious meeting at the All-Star break in February 2010, perhaps they willfeel relieved they got as much as they did.

Players’ association executives Derek Fisher(notes) and Maurice Evans(notes) hardly lookedenthused about the agreement as they sat next to executive director Billy Hunteron the same side of a conference table with Stern, Deputy Commissioner AdamSilver and Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the league’s labor relationscommittee.

But at least they weren’t sitting in a courtroom, where they appeared headedless than two weeks earlier.

Just 12 days after talks broke down, Stern and Hunter appeared togetherafter 3 a.m. Saturday to announce the 10-year deal, with either side able to optout after the sixth year. It leaves the NBA with its second shortened season(the first was the 50-game 1998-99 season), with the hope of getting in 66 gamesinstead of a full 82-game schedule.

Stern said he expects the labor committee to endorse the deal and recommendit to the full board for approval.

The players’ side has revealed little of its feelings about the deal, notingthe pending antitrust litigation in its desire to keep details quiet. Butplayers always preferred to be on the court, rather than in it, and now theyfinally have the chance—starting Christmas Day.

For the season openers, it would be Boston at New York, Miami at Dallas andChicago at the Lakers.

Now, the regular season would end one week later and push back NBA finals aweek, potentially setting up a Game 7 on June 28, 2012.

The deal also calls for no hard salary cap, no rollbacks of existingsalaries and contracts can still be fully guaranteed. Owners had called for allof that, seeking a route to profitability after saying they lost $300 millionlast season, and believing they would create a level of parity that had beenmissing.

But players’ annual raises were trimmed from 10.5 percent for thosere-signing with their own teams and 8 percent for those leaving to 7.5 percentand 4.5 percent respectively. Rules implemented to curb spending by teams overthe luxury tax will limit some of their options in free agency.

Owners relented slightly on their previous insistence that players receiveno more than 50 percent of basketball-related income after they were guaranteed57 percent in the old CBA. The target is still a 50-50 split, but with a bandfrom 49 percent to 51 percent that gives the players a better chance of reachingthe highest limit than previously proposed.

Players filed an amended antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota on Monday that couldhave earned the players billions but surely would have come at the cost of atleast the entire 2011-12 season.

The sides said all along the only way to a deal was through negotiating.They got back together Tuesday, setting the way for the pivotal meeting thatbegan Friday.

Now, players must drop the lawsuit against the league and reform theirdisbanded union before they can vote on the deal.

Once the pact is approved, it would pave the way for training camps and freeagency to open simultaneously Dec. 9, setting off a chaotic flurry of activitythat could leave coaches running practices with different players arriving eachday. There could be an even larger pool of free agents if teams use the amnestyclause, which allows them to waive one player during the deal and have 100percent of his salary taken off the cap and the tax.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can onlybe completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues stillmust be negotiated between the players and the league, which also must dismissits lawsuit regarding the legality of the lockout.

Some major matters—like revenue sharing, which the NBA has said it willnot really dive into until a new CBA is complete—remain on the table as well.Meetings on that issue take place every few days, and the person briefed on thestatus of the NBA’s discussions said many teams are not thrilled by the notionof paying both a luxury tax and into a revenue-sharing pool.

When the NBA returns, owners hope to find the type of parity that exists inthe National Football League, where the small-market Green Bay Packers are thecurrent champions. The NBA has been dominated in recent years by the biggestspenders, with Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas winning the last four titles.

Owners locked out the players July 1, and the sides spent most of the summerand fall battling over the division of revenues and other changes owners wantedin a new collective bargaining agreement. They said they lost hundreds ofmillions of dollars in each year of the former deal, ratified in 2005, and theywanted a system where the big-market teams wouldn’t have the ability to outspendtheir smaller counterparts.

Players fought against those changes, and scored some concessions at theend. The full midlevel exception of $5 million a year for four years will beavailable to all teams as long as the signing doesn’t take them more than $4million over the tax, and the “mini midlevel” for taxpayers was increased to$3 million a year for three years.

Stern denied the antitrust litigation was a factor in accelerating a deal,but things happened relatively quickly after the players filed.

“For us the litigation is something that just has to be dealt with,” Sternsaid. “It was not the reason for the settlement. The reason for the settlementwas we’ve got fans, we’ve got players who would like to play and we’ve gotothers who are dependent on us. And it’s always been our goal to reach a dealthat was fair to both sides and get us playing as soon as possible, but thattook a little time.”

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Fantasy Basketball 11 registration is open. Sign up today! And follow Yahoo! Sports NBA coverage on Twitter.

Players happy with labor deal almost set

MIAMI (AP)—Surprise, relief, joy and even some caution.

Such was the reaction of many NBA players and fans Saturday, amid news thatthe labor dispute which led to the cancellation of hundreds of games andthreatened the entire season was nearing an end.

No schedules are out, the collective bargaining agreement has not beendrafted and formal votes on the deal remain unscheduled. Still, for the firsttime in months, optimism seemed to take the lead over pessimism on the NBA’semotional scoreboard.

“The journey now begins!!” soon-to-be Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving(notes), theleague’s No. 1 draft pick, wrote on Twitter.

Well, soon enough, anyway.

Barring either side rejecting the deal, training camps will open Dec. 9,with the league’s first three games set to be played on Christmas Day. The UtahJazz invited fans to start calling again to discuss ticket options, the reigningNBA champion Dallas Mavericks wrote “Go Mavs” on Twitter shortly after themiddle-of-the-night news conference to announce the breakthrough, and ShaquilleO’Neal(notes) recorded a brief video to show his excitement.

“Haven’t crossed the finish line yet,” wrote Orlando guard J.J. Redick(notes),“but there’s definitely a reason to be optimistic.”

The league and the union announced around 3 a.m. that they had struck atentative deal calling for a 66-game season, meaning many owners—and players—were asleep, unaware of the news until they awoke. Miami guard Dwyane Wade(notes) wastext-messaging with an associate shortly after 4 a.m. Eastern, and his reactionwas subdued given the lateness of the hour.

“All I feel right now is `Finally,”’ Wade said to The Associated Press.

Free agent Shane Battier(notes) said he was getting “mad love” from fans inMemphis, Miami, Oklahoma City and Houston—teams that all figure to be in themix for his services.

“I am happy it looks like we’ll get to start winning our fans back,”Battier wrote. “Thanks for the patience. Need to read new details before I popthe bubbly.”

Later, Battier poked fun at himself, saying that tweet made him sound like“a conservative old man,” adding that he was happy to just talk basketballagain.

So was just about everyone else.

Even former players were relieved, including Basketball Hall of Fame playerIsiah Thomas, a former union president during his time with the Detroit Pistons.

“I’m extremely pleased and relieved,” said Thomas, now the FloridaInternational coach. “Basketball in society is extremely important for socialreasons, for economic reasons and the game has always been used to bring peopletogether—not tear them apart. That being said, I think the owners and theplayers realized that they are not bigger than the game. By them coming togetherand continuing to work together, I’m pleased with that. That’s the way it shouldbe.”

Thomas added that he got very concerned when lawsuits started getting filed.Had the sides actually starting waging battles in courtrooms, Thomas feared theworst.

“Once the owners and players are going to court, relationships are severelydamaged and severed forever,” he said. “Now that they’re back working togetherto better the game, those relationships have a chance to continue to exist.”

It should come as no surprise that the Heat—who will be among thefavorites for the NBA title when the season gets rolling—were overjoyed by thenews. LeBron James(notes), Mario Chalmers(notes) and even team owner Micky Arison told theirTwitter followers that they couldn’t wait to get started.

“I feel like my kids on X-mas day! So juiced!!,” James wrote.

Added Chalmers: “I been waitin for this moment since June 12th,” referringto the day the Heat watched the Mavericks celebrate winning the NBA title inMiami. It’s expected that the teams will open up against each other on Christmasin Dallas, marking the first time that finalists from one year were matched upin a season-opener since Utah and Chicago in 1999 (another season shortened by awork stoppage).

But not everyone was celebrating.

“With high school and college basketball now playing, who really needed theNBA?” asked Ed White of Allentown, Pa. who was at Saturday’s NJIT-St. Francis(NY) men’s basketball game in Newark. “I think they’re going to lose some fansbecause of this. The NBA treats its fans like they really don’t care. I’mpersonally offended by both the owners and the players’ attitudes through all ofthis. They play for the fans. … I think people will go back eventually, butnot right away. It’s always about the money. The owners always want more. Theplayers always want more. But when was the last time someone spent money to seean owner score a basket? The owners should realize that.”

Teams largely remained quiet, since the league’s lockout rules technicallyare still in place—and likely will stay that way until the deal is actuallyratified and signed.

Players, however, turned en masse to Twitter to share their views, whichseemed overwhelmingly positive.

— “Anddd we’re back! On a brighter note, America’s unemployment rate justlowered,” wrote New York’s Landry Fields(notes).

— “Music to my ears this morning. Huge thanks goes out to all NBA fans forstaying patient!,” said his Knicks teammate, Andy Rautins(notes).

— “Thanks to all our fans for your patience. Amazing season comming!!!”added New Jersey’s Kris Humphries(notes).

Many details of the agreement are still getting finalized, but it’s clearthat owners gave in on a few issues to get the deal done—including the planthat players would get no more than 47 percent of basketball-related income. Thetarget is still a 50-50 split, but with a band from 49 percent to 51 percentthat gives the players a better chance of reaching the highest limit thanpreviously proposed.

For players, getting those 3 BRI points back is no small victory—eachpoint is worth around $40 million annually.

“I woke up and saw that they had come to a tentative agreement, and I was alittle bit surprised that the owners had given more,” said ESPN’s Jeff VanGundy, the former NBA coach and brother of Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.“I think the players did a good job in extracting as much as they were going toextract from ownership it seems. And I like the length of the season. I thinkthat should be the length of the season under normal circumstances.”

That may have been the first time the word “normal” could be used in anNBA discussion in months.

It’s not done, but it’s closer than many thought possible.

“Glad lockout is almost over,” veteran Jason Richardson(notes) wrote, “but Ihope each player read the fine print and make the right decision.”

Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

Fantasy Basketball 11 registration is open. Sign up today! And follow Yahoo! Sports NBA coverage on Twitter.

Players happy as labor deal draws near

MIAMI (AP)—Surprise, relief, joy and even some caution.

Such was the reaction of many NBA players and fans Saturday, amid news thatthe labor dispute which led to the cancellation of hundreds of games andthreatened the entire season was nearing an end.

No schedules are out, the collective bargaining agreement has not beendrafted and formal votes on the deal remain unscheduled. Still, for the firsttime in months, optimism seemed to take the lead over pessimism on the NBA’semotional scoreboard.

“The journey now begins!!” soon-to-be Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving(notes), theleague’s No. 1 draft pick, wrote on Twitter.

Well, soon enough, anyway.

Barring either side rejecting the deal, training camps will open Dec. 9,with the league’s first three games set to be played on Christmas Day. The UtahJazz invited fans to start calling again to discuss ticket options, the reigningNBA champion Dallas Mavericks wrote “Go Mavs” on Twitter shortly after themiddle-of-the-night news conference to announce the breakthrough, and ShaquilleO’Neal(notes) recorded a brief video to show his excitement.

“Haven’t crossed the finish line yet,” wrote Orlando guard J.J. Redick(notes),“but there’s definitely a reason to be optimistic.”

The league and the union announced around 3 a.m. that they had struck atentative deal calling for a 66-game season, meaning many owners—and players—were asleep, unaware of the news until they awoke. Miami guard Dwyane Wade(notes) wastext-messaging with an associate shortly after 4 a.m. Eastern, and his reactionwas subdued given the lateness of the hour.

“All I feel right now is `Finally,”’ Wade said to The Associated Press.

Free agent Shane Battier(notes) said he was getting “mad love” from fans inMemphis, Miami, Oklahoma City and Houston—teams that all figure to be in themix for his services.

“I am happy it looks like we’ll get to start winning our fans back,”Battier wrote. “Thanks for the patience. Need to read new details before I popthe bubbly.”

Later, Battier poked fun at himself, saying that tweet made him sound like“a conservative old man,” adding that he was happy to just talk basketballagain.

So was just about everyone else.

Even former players were relieved, including Basketball Hall of Fame playerIsiah Thomas, a former union president during his time with the Detroit Pistons.

“I’m extremely pleased and relieved,” said Thomas, now the FloridaInternational coach. “Basketball in society is extremely important for socialreasons, for economic reasons and the game has always been used to bring peopletogether—not tear them apart. That being said, I think the owners and theplayers realized that they are not bigger than the game. By them coming togetherand continuing to work together, I’m pleased with that. That’s the way it shouldbe.”

Thomas added that he got very concerned when lawsuits started getting filed.Had the sides actually starting waging battles in courtrooms, Thomas feared theworst.

“Once the owners and players are going to court, relationships are severelydamaged and severed forever,” he said. “Now that they’re back working togetherto better the game, those relationships have a chance to continue to exist.”

It should come as no surprise that the Heat—who will be among thefavorites for the NBA title when the season gets rolling—were overjoyed by thenews. LeBron James(notes), Mario Chalmers(notes) and even team owner Micky Arison told theirTwitter followers that they couldn’t wait to get started.

“I feel like my kids on X-mas day! So juiced!!,” James wrote.

Added Chalmers: “I been waitin for this moment since June 12th,” referringto the day the Heat watched the Mavericks celebrate winning the NBA title inMiami. It’s expected that the teams will open up against each other on Christmasin Dallas, marking the first time that finalists from one year were matched upin a season-opener since Utah and Chicago in 1999 (another season shortened by awork stoppage).

But not everyone was celebrating.

“With high school and college basketball now playing, who really needed theNBA?” asked Ed White of Allentown, Pa. who was at Saturday’s NJIT-St. Francis(NY) men’s basketball game in Newark. “I think they’re going to lose some fansbecause of this. The NBA treats its fans like they really don’t care. I’mpersonally offended by both the owners and the players’ attitudes through all ofthis. They play for the fans. … I think people will go back eventually, butnot right away. It’s always about the money. The owners always want more. Theplayers always want more. But when was the last time someone spent money to seean owner score a basket? The owners should realize that.”

Teams largely remained quiet, since the league’s lockout rules technicallyare still in place—and likely will stay that way until the deal is actuallyratified and signed.

Players, however, turned en masse to Twitter to share their views, whichseemed overwhelmingly positive.

— “Anddd we’re back! On a brighter note, America’s unemployment rate justlowered,” wrote New York’s Landry Fields(notes).

— “Music to my ears this morning. Huge thanks goes out to all NBA fans forstaying patient!,” said his Knicks teammate, Andy Rautins(notes).

— “Thanks to all our fans for your patience. Amazing season comming!!!”added New Jersey’s Kris Humphries(notes).

Many details of the agreement are still getting finalized, but it’s clearthat owners gave in on a few issues to get the deal done—including the planthat players would get no more than 47 percent of basketball-related income. Thetarget is still a 50-50 split, but with a band from 49 percent to 51 percentthat gives the players a better chance of reaching the highest limit thanpreviously proposed.

For players, getting those 3 BRI points back is no small victory—eachpoint is worth around $40 million annually.

“I woke up and saw that they had come to a tentative agreement, and I was alittle bit surprised that the owners had given more,” said ESPN’s Jeff VanGundy, the former NBA coach and brother of Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.“I think the players did a good job in extracting as much as they were going toextract from ownership it seems. And I like the length of the season. I thinkthat should be the length of the season under normal circumstances.”

That may have been the first time the word “normal” could be used in anNBA discussion in months.

It’s not done, but it’s closer than many thought possible.

“Glad lockout is almost over,” veteran Jason Richardson(notes) wrote, “but Ihope each player read the fine print and make the right decision.”

Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

Fantasy Basketball 11 registration is open. Sign up today! And follow Yahoo! Sports NBA coverage on Twitter.

NBA players, owners set to review deal

NEW YORK (AP)—NBA Commissioner David Stern accepted some congratulations,headed for another short night of sleep, then planned to brief his owners on adeal that could change the way they do business.

Players, looking beat and beaten, face a tougher healing process inapproving an agreement that significantly limits their earnings.

After a 149-day lockout, owners and players reached a tentative new labordeal early Saturday, one they expect will be ratified in time to start theseason with a Dec. 25 tripleheader.

More on NBA lockout Wojnarowski: Stern, Hunter lose sight of season FILE – In this Nov. 14, 2011, … AP – Nov 26, 12:44 pm EST The Players Association presid… AP – Nov 26, 5:48 am EST FILE – In this Nov. 10, 2011 f… AP – Nov 26, 4:11 am EST NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam S… AP – Nov 25, 8:04 pm EST San Antonio Spurs owner Peter … AP – Nov 25, 8:01 pm EST 1 of 5 NBA Gallery NBPA president Derek Fisher and the players face an uphill battle.(Getty Images)

It comes at a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for both sides, on topof the fans and jobs that were lost during the stalemate. And it leaves the NBAwith its second shortened season, with the hope of getting in 66 games insteadof a full 82-game schedule.

The lockout isn’t quite over, but it appears the NBA’s nuclear winter willbe avoided.

First, players must drop a lawsuit against the league, reform theirdisbanded union and approve the handshake deal that was reached shortly after 3a.m. after a marathon negotiating session of more than 15 hours. Players’association executives Derek Fisher(notes) and Maurice Evans(notes) hardly looked enthusedabout the agreement as they sat next to executive director Billy Hunter on thesame side of a conference table as Stern, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver andSpurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the league’s labor relations committee.

But at least they weren’t sitting in a courtroom, where they appeared headedless than two weeks earlier.

Just 12 days after talks broke down and Stern declared the NBA could beheaded to a “nuclear winter,” he sat next to Hunter to announce the 10-yeardeal, with either side able to opt out after the sixth year.

Owners relented slightly on their previous insistence that players receiveno more than 50 percent of basketball-related income after they were guaranteed57 percent in the old collective bargaining agreement. The target is still a50-50 split, but with a band from 49 percent to 51 percent that gives theplayers a better chance of reaching the highest limit than previously proposed.

Owners were warned on a conference call Friday night that a deal did notseem imminent, a person briefed on the details told The Associated Press oncondition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Then, shortly past 3 a.m., many league officials received an e-mail fromSilver saying they had a deal—news that apparently caught many off guard.

Silver’s e-mail, the person said, did not contain any specifics about theterms of the tentative agreement.

Those details were expected to be provided on a late-afternoon conferencecall of the labor relations committee Saturday. The agenda was expected toinclude when franchises may begin contacting their players again and when teamfacilities could re-open in advance of training camps.

The players’ side has revealed little of its feelings about the deal, notingthe pending antitrust litigation in its desire for keeping details quiet. Butplayers always preferred to be on the court, rather than in it, and now theyfinally have the chance.

“I think it was the ability of the parties to decide it was necessary tocompromise and to kind of put this thing back together in some kind of way, toput an end to the litigation and everything that that entails,” Hunter said.

Players filed an amended antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota on Monday that couldhave earned the players billions but surely would have come at the cost of atleast the entire 2011-12 season.

Both sides said all along the only way to a deal was through negotiating.They got back together Tuesday, setting the way for the pivotal meeting thatbegan Friday.

“I think we saw a willingness of both sides to compromise yet a little moreand to reach this agreement,” Silver said. “We look forward to opening onChristmas Day and we are excited to bring NBA basketball back and that’s mostimportant.”

Both sides are expected to OK the pact, which would pave the way fortraining camps and free agency to open simultaneously Dec. 9.

President Barack Obama gave a thumbs-up when told about the tentativesettlement after he finished playing basketball at Fort McNair in Washington onSaturday morning.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can onlybe completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues stillmust be negotiated between the players and the league, which also must dismissits lawsuit regarding the legality of the lockout.

“We’re very pleased we’ve come this far,” Stern said. “There’s still alot of work to be done.”

When the NBA returns, owners hope to find the type of parity that exists inthe NFL, where the small-market Green Bay Packers are the current champions. TheNBA has been dominated in recent years by the biggest spenders, with Boston, LosAngeles and Dallas winning the last four titles.

“I think it will largely prevent the high-spending teams from competing inthe free-agent market the way they’ve been able to in the past. It’s not thesystem we sought out to get in terms of a harder cap, but the luxury tax isharsher than it was. We hope it’s effective,” Silver said.

“We feel ultimately it will give fans in every community hope that theirteam can compete for championships.”

Owners locked out the players July 1, and the sides spent most of the summerand fall battling over the division of revenues and other changes owners wantedin a new collective bargaining agreement. They said they lost hundreds ofmillions of dollars in each year of the former deal, ratified in 2005, and theywanted a system where the big-market teams wouldn’t have the ability to outspendtheir smaller counterparts.

Players fought against those changes, not wanting to see any teams taken outof the market when they became free agents.

“This was not an easy agreement for anyone. The owners came in havingsuffered substantial losses and feeling the system wasn’t working fairly acrossall teams,” Silver said. “I certainly know the players had strong views aboutexpectations in terms of what they should be getting from the system. Itrequired a lot of compromise from both parties’ part.”

Stern denied the antitrust litigation was a factor in accelerating a deal,but things happened relatively quickly after the players filed.

“For us the litigation is something that just has to be dealt with,” Sternsaid. “It was not the reason for the settlement. The reason for the settlementwas we’ve got fans, we’ve got players who would like to play and we’ve gotothers who are dependent on us. And it’s always been our goal to reach a dealthat was fair to both sides and get us playing as soon as possible, but thattook a little time.”

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Fantasy Basketball 11 registration is open. Sign up today! And follow Yahoo! Sports NBA coverage on Twitter.

Blazers need to resume search for GM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—Now that NBA owners and players have reached atentative labor agreement, the Portland Trail Blazers need to resume theirsearch for a general manager.

If the lockout-ending deal struck early Saturday in New York is formallyapproved by both sides, the league will play a 66-game season beginning Dec 25.Training camps and free agency would open on Dec. 9.

“Glad to be back!” Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge(notes), the team’s playerrepresentative, tweeted Saturday morning.

When it appeared that the lockout was dragging on, The Oregonian newspapercited a source that said the team had suspended the search for a new GM toreplace Rich Cho, who had served less than a year on the job when he wasabruptly dismissed in May.

College scouting director Chad Buchanan was named interim general managerand he led a team of front-office staff in conducting the team’s draft in June.However, he has been ruled out as Cho’s permanent successor.

The Blazers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.

With the opening of free agency, the Blazers should also get a better ideaof center Greg Oden’s(notes) future with the team. Portland offered the former No. 1draft pick an $8.8 million qualifying offer to stay in Portland back on June 29.

That means the often-injured 7-foot center is a restricted free agent. TheBlazers can match any offers that other teams make for him.

The 23-year-old Oden didn’t play last season after microfracture surgery onhis left knee. He missed his rookie season in 2007-08 after microfracturesurgery on his right knee. Two seasons ago he broke his left kneecap.

Because of his injuries, the former Ohio State star has played in only 82games over parts of two seasons, averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.

But before anything can be done from a personnel standpoint, a majority oneach side must approve the labor agreement. The NBA, which owns the New OrleansHornets, needs votes from 15 of 29 owners, while the union needs a simplemajority of its 430-plus members.

That process became a bit more complicated after the players dissolved theunion Nov. 14. Now, they must drop their antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota andreform the union before voting on the deal.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can onlybe completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues stillmust be negotiated between the players and the league, which also must drop thelawsuit it filed in New York.

——(equals)

AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

.

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Trail Blazers to resume search for GM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—Now that NBA owners and players have reached atentative labor agreement, the Portland Trail Blazers need to resume theirsearch for a general manager.

If the lockout-ending deal struck early Saturday in New York is formallyapproved by both sides, the league will play a 66-game season beginning Dec 25.Training camps and free agency would open on Dec. 9.

“Glad to be back!” Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge(notes), the team’s playerrepresentative, tweeted Saturday morning.

When it appeared that the lockout was dragging on, The Oregonian newspapercited a source that said the team had suspended the search for a new GM toreplace Rich Cho, who had served less than a year on the job when he wasabruptly dismissed in May.

College scouting director Chad Buchanan was named interim general managerand he led a team of front-office staff in conducting the team’s draft in June.However, he has been ruled out as Cho’s permanent successor.

The Blazers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.

With the opening of free agency, the Blazers should also get a better ideaof center Greg Oden’s(notes) future with the team. Portland offered the former No. 1draft pick an $8.8 million qualifying offer to stay in Portland back on June 29.

That means the often-injured 7-foot center is a restricted free agent. TheBlazers can match any offers that other teams make for him.

The 23-year-old Oden didn’t play last season after microfracture surgery onhis left knee. He missed his rookie season in 2007-08 after microfracturesurgery on his right knee. Two seasons ago he broke his left kneecap.

Because of his injuries, the former Ohio State star has played in only 82games over parts of two seasons, averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.

But before anything can be done from a personnel standpoint, a majority oneach side must approve the labor agreement. The NBA, which owns the New OrleansHornets, needs votes from 15 of 29 owners, while the union needs a simplemajority of its 430-plus members.

That process became a bit more complicated after the players dissolved theunion Nov. 14. Now, they must drop their antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota andreform the union before voting on the deal.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can onlybe completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues stillmust be negotiated between the players and the league, which also must drop thelawsuit it filed in New York.

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AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

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