NBA Player’s Association advises free agents to take paychecks over 18 months

The NBA Free Agency period has begun, and it has already been a whirlwind day throughout front offices around the country as NBA executives hope to make the first big splash signing in free agency.

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With LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and many other superstars up for grabs, this NBA offseason and free agency period is certain to provide quite a lot of drama.

While a plethora of players explore their options and make tough decisions that will impact their careers and respective teams, the NBA Player’s Association wants to make sure their players are protected in case of a lockout after the 2016-17 season, advising them to take paychecks over the next 18 month period:

With a fear of a lockout, the NBA Player’s Association wants to ensure their players would have paychecks even while not playing. This of course is a preventative measure from the Player’s Association, as no one can be sure whether or not there will be any sort of lockout following the 16-17 season.

If you recall, when the Miami Heat added LeBron James and Chris Bosh to make the current “Big Three” the NBA had a shortened season after they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals due to a 161 day lockout before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed. That was the fourth lockout in league history, and the shortened season was capped with James’ first NBA Championship.

If history is bound to repeat itself, it is at least good to see the Player’s Association look out for their players.