NBA commissioner Adam Silver thinks the WNBA\u2019s negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement need to pick up steam. <\/p>\n
During his All-Star weekend press conference on Saturday, Silver addressed the state of negotiations between the WNBA\u2019s players and the league. With a lot left to accomplish, and not much time to do it, the commissioner acknowledged that the talks are \u201cawfully close to the 11th hour.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLet me begin by saying I think it\u2019s unfortunate where we find ourselves right now, both from the team standpoint and from the players,\u201d Silver said. \u201cWe\u2019re coming off tremendous momentum in the WNBA. It\u2019s not lost on anyone. I feel like in the last few years in particular, the league has turned a corner in terms of fan interest, commercial success, popularity of players. All arrows are pointing up in terms of the WNBA, and as one who was involved from the earliest days, now going into our 30th season, I couldn\u2019t be prouder to be part of that movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not ready to set a drop-dead date [on negotiations]. But I will say, as I look at the calendar and the amount that we need to get done, really over the next two months, because training camps are scheduled to open roughly two months from now. To your point, we have to get not one but two drafts done. We have an expansion draft and a collegiate draft, and then we need to fit in free agency. Plus, whenever we shake hands on a collective bargaining agreement, the lawyers have to go to work and memorialize it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019d love to accomplish is sort of putting pressure on everybody and saying, okay, I\u2019ve been through so many cycles of collective bargaining, and often things tend to get done at the 11th hour. We are awfully close to the 11th now when it comes to bargaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silver did add that there has more communication over the past few weeks, and that he remains involved behind the scenes. As Silver referenced, the league having to do an expansion draft for two new franchises, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, adds more urgency to the situation. <\/p>\n
The old collective bargaining agreement was agreed to in 2020 and expired on January 9. In December, the WNBA\u2019s players voted to authorize<\/a> a strike if necessary, with 98% of the players voting in favor of such a move.<\/p>\n