The NBA will soften its stance with the lockout moving into its final days and allow players to access team facilities on Thursday, according to a memo.

Players still cannot contact team officials, however.

During workouts, one PR person can be on the premises and no coaches or GMs will be allowed until the deal is ratified.

Teams will be allowed to talk to agents about their players on Wednesday, but deals cannot become official or even verbally agreed upon until December 9th.

NBA players have begun the voting process for re-forming their union.

Kate Fagan reported on Monday that the 'trade association' had planned to send out a letter to its 450 players asking for signatures to recertify the union.

The difference between Carmelo Anthony’s existing contract and the one he could have received as a free agent under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement comes out to a total of $5.8 million over the same four years.

$82.69 million is the total value of Anthony’s existing contract, which arose out of the extend-and-trade transaction sending Anthony from Denver to the Knicks before the trade deadline last season. Had Anthony opted to terminate his contract and become a free agent in the coming days, he would have been eligible for a maximum-salary contract of $76.89 million over a period from this 2011-12 season through the 2014-15 season, the identical term of his existing contract. 

Note that the extension Anthony did sign was built off the $18.52 million option year he held in this 2011-12 season. Any new free-agent max deal would have reset and started at $18.01 million. That lower starting point and the lesser annual raises of 4.5% – compared to the 10.5% annual raises that governed Anthony’s contract under the previous CBA – account for the $5.8 million of compensation that Anthony would have lost by becoming a free agent on December 9. Essentially Anthony would have taken a seven percent reduction in pay.

In the months before the trade to New York, Anthony gave mixed signals about his willingness to wait for free agency and risk a new salary cap that could significantly decrease his earning capacity. But it was believed that Anthony’s representatives at Creative Arts Agency were determined that their client would have the security of a signed deal before the CBA expired. The Nets were in the hunt to trade for Anthony and extend his contract, and the Nuggets reportedly preferred the Nets’ offer, both teams hoping anxiety about the impending labor dispute would compel Anthony to sign off on a move to New Jersey. 

At the time, some at ESPN were predicting that Anthony could face dramatic salary compression approaching $40 million if he passed on the extension and tested free agency this season.

Existing Contract Under Previous CBA

$18,518,574
$19,444,503
$21,388,953
$23,333,456 
------------
$82,685,486 

Hypothetical Contract Under New CBA

$18,006,705 
$18,817,007
$19,627,309
$20,437,611 
------------
$76,888,632

The NBA is working on details of a bid procedure for players that are waived via the amnesty clause.

If teams independently put in the same offer to the NBA, the waived player goes to the team with the worse record last season.

"Maybe some of the lesser teams can grab a player who was being overpaid," said a league official with knowledge of the bid procedure.

Some European teams are waiting for the official of the NBA's new labor agreement before releasing players from their contracts.

While players are not yet free to leave, they are not being asked to play in games.

On Sunday, the NBA released a general breakdown of how its 66-game regular season schedule.

The regular season will begin on December 25th and end on April 26th. The playoffs will commence on April 28th and a potential Game 7 would be June 26th.

Each team will play 48 conference games and 18 non-conference games.

All 30 teams will play games on three consecutive days on at least one occasion, but no more than three.

Back-to-back games in the playoffs will be possible in the second round.

In a memorandum, Billy Hunter notified players that they will receive 51.2 percent of basketball-related income during the 2011-12 season.

The NBA and Players Association are considering the formation of a committee to review the age minimum for the draft with the possibility of leaving the current rule stand.

“Only the agreement to have the committee may be part of the new CBA,” the source said. “I doubt it will have any affect on the 2012 draft.”

The proposed committee would look at a system that would permit high school players to declare for the draft, and if players aren’t selected, they can retain eligibility and still play college basketball. Those players would have to wait two years to re-enter the draft as all other players would have to under the new rule. 

But many executives are satisfied with the current rule.

Details have emerged from a league-issued memo circulating to teams, players and agents.

The contract length will be five years for Bird rights players and four years for non-Bird.

There will be no reduction in the Rookie Scale or the minimum salary.

Max salaries will only have one level and it will be equal to 30% of the salary cap, while sign-and-trades will be allowed.

The new exception will be $2.5 million for teams below the cap to go over the cap. Those teams can't use the mid-level or bi-annual exceptions.

For the mid-level exception, teams under the luxury tax can pay $5 million annually for up to four years, while teams over the tax have a $3 million offer for up to four years.

There also will be a 10% annual escrow system.

The minimum team salary increases to 85% in the first two years and 90% in years thereafter.

The new collective bargaining agreement will include an amnesty provision.

This will allow each team to cut one player from their roster and have that salary not count against their salary cap or luxury tax.