The NBA and its players' union have agreed to extend the deadline to give notice of plans to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement to Feb. 8, the sides announced in a joint statement Wednesday.
Prior to Wednesday's agreement, the opt-out deadline had been Thursday. Now it falls one day before this season's trade deadline.
The league and union said in their statement that they are making "ongoing efforts to reach a new agreement." The seven-year CBA would expire after the 2023-24 season, but if either side exercises the opt out, the agreement would end June 30, putting the NBA at risk of a possible work stoppage.
Sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski last week that the NBA is pursuing the implementation of an upper spending limit that would replace the luxury tax with a hard limit that teams could not exceed to pay salaries. The league's effort is in response to large-market contenders such as the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and LA Clippers running up massive payrolls and luxury tax penalties, according to Wojnarowski.
