LeBron James has been widely expected to sign a five-year deal worth $200 million in the summer of 2017 after going through a series of one-plus-one deals since returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.

But multiple league executives say the current collective bargaining agreement makes that type of deal impossible due to the "over 36 rule." The rule prevents teams from giving four- or five-year deals to players who are unlikely to play the life of the deal with no salary cap consequences.

For a player who is 36 years old in the last season of a five-year deal, his final annual salary is applied proportionally to previous seasons and counts toward the team’s cap. 

James is vice president of the NBPA and could look to exercise his influence on a change to the obscure rule.

Under current rules, James could sign a four-year, $156.8 million contract with Cleveland in 2017.

With the salary cap increasing dramatically this season and next, the union has encouraged players to sign contract that decline over time so they can get as much guaranteed money up front as possible, according to sources.

The cap will be set at least $94 million this season and $107 million in 2017 before the cap flattens in 2018.

There is also a pending potential lockout in 2017 as the owners and players work on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The league's minimum payroll will be at $85 million.

Adam Silver admitted to reaching out to Jerry Colangelo on behalf of the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers in December. Colangelo was ultimately hired as chairman of the 76ers, which led to Bryan Colangelo becoming general manager in April after Sam Hinkie stepped down.

ESPN reports that interviews with more than a dozen GMs, other executives and agents suggests that Silver's "involvement in that regime change may have been greater than he let on.

"Some sources claim Philly's ownership group had grown impatient with Hinkie's lack of a clear timetable to be competitive and had been worn down by constant criticism. Others suggest Silver pressured the 76ers into making a change.

"The league has never hidden its distaste for tanking, and sources around the NBA say Silver grew more irritated after the Sixers lost their first 18 games last fall and (Jahlil) Okafor was involved in multiple off-court incidents. Ultimately, those sources say, it is likely that a combination of all those factors led to Jerry Colangelo's hiring."

According to sources, Silver was "scared" by the "glorification of the Process." Silver attempted to reform the lottery as a deterrent for teams to tank as the 76ers did under Hinkie.

Glen Taylor has sold shares of the Minnesota Timberwolves to a number of parties that will enable him to remain the controlling owner into the future.

Taylor had planned to sell 30 percent of the Wolves to Steve Kaplan with the intention of him becoming controlling owner in the future, but the deal fell apart.

Last week Taylor closed a deal to bring in Lizhang Jiang, a Shanghai-based businessman. Jiang, who founded Chinese marketing company Double-Edge Sports, previously worked with the NBA in China. Earlier this month, Jiang, 35, completed the purchase of Spanish soccer club Granada CF. Lanxiong Sports of China reported that Jiang purchased 5 percent of the Wolves and 5 percent of the Minnesota Lynx.

In addition, Taylor has sold a share of the team to Meyer Orbach, a New York-based real estate magnate.

The Wolves are valued at $1 billion.

Barack Obama has "discussed" being part of an ownership group for an NBA franchise. White House press secretary Josh Earnest added that Obama would pursue the opportunity "potentially ... under the right circumstances."

Obama is a fan of the Chicago Bulls but also a fan of the NBA in general.

Obama has previously expressed an interest in becoming an NBA owner, telling GQ Magazine in November that he "absolutely" would want to be part of an NBA ownership group.

"I have fantasized about being able to put together a team and how much fun that would be," he said in the GQ interview. "I think it'd be terrific."

Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals peaked with 44.5 million viewers at 10:30 PM EST.

The game averaged 30.8 million viewers, making it the most watched NBA telecast since Game 6 of the 1998 Finals when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz.

The game was also the most-watched ever on ABC.

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers finished off the 3-1 comeback in the series to defeat the Golden State Warriors 93-89.

The NBA has informed its teams that the projected salary cap will rise to $94 million for the 16-17 season. With a $94 million cap, the tax level will be $113 million.

The previous projection was at $92 million, while early estimates a year ago were at $89 million.

The cap for the 15-16 season was set at $70 million.

The NBA sent a memo on Friday afternoon that the Basketball Related Income (BRI) for this past season is ongoing and that the increased projection for the next salary cap is due to "business outperformance since the previous estimates."

The final cap will be determined following the NBA's final BRI audit on July 6th.

With the cap jumping over the next two seasons, players are expected to receive a windfall in the form of contracts that are astronomical compared to those of the past.

There is an expectation that many average or below average players will be paid the way the NBA's stars have.

"Every player thinks it's just going to be a money train this summer," said Mark Cuban. "There's a lot of money; there's not THAT much money. ... And I think there's going to be teams that save their money for next year, because it's a better free agent class. People just presume now that everybody's going to get paid a lot of money, and it'll be interesting to see if that happens."

The Dallas Mavericks have several free agents this offseason, most notably Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons.

Adam Silver believes the state of the NBA is excellent as the league begins their new television deals with a rising salary cap and potentially a new collective bargaining agreement with the players.

"In terms of the game, it's never been better," said Silver. "It's a fantastic time to be a basketball fan. It's a fantastic time to be an NBA fan. It just seems like the game is being reinvented. I don't know how else to say it. It seems like both teams are transforming the game the way we're seeing it played, the athleticism of these players. You have superstar players who can play five different positions. You have players like, for example, Steph Curry, who not only broke his own three-point record -- what people are saying last year, maybe we'd have 300 made three-point shots this year. Of course, he busted through 300 and ended up with 402 threepoint made shots for the regular season."

Silver was asked directly about where things stand with the players on CBA talks. Either side has the right to opt out of the current deal.

"It's no secret, we've been engaged in discussions with the Players Association," said Silver. "Both we and the Players Association have agreed, as you all know, that we won't share what we've been talking about behind closed doors with the public. But I only say I remain optimistic. I think there are aspects of the collective bargaining agreement that both sides would like to see addressed, and we're engaged in constructive discussions over how we can find ways to make the system even better. I'd only say that there are two critical aspects of the system. One is the macro financials of the system, and that is measured by the league in terms of profitability and for the players, of course, their individual salaries and what the players can make on a macro-basis. But just as importantly are the competitive issues. I think creating a system that allows every team I'd say the equality -- an equal opportunity to compete for championships. I think we're never going to have NFL-style parity in this league. It is the nature of this league that certain players are so good that those teams are likely almost automatically if that player remains healthy to become playoff teams and especially mixed with other great players."

Approximately half of the NBA's 30 teams have controlling owners have backgrounds in tech and investment management.

Mark Cuban was the first owner with a background in the dotcom boom when he bought the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million. Paul Allen had previously bought the Portland Trail Blazers in 1988 after making his fortune from Microsoft.

Steve Ballmer is another Microsoft billionaire while Vivek Ranadive founded Tibco and Joe Lacob comes from Silicon Valley venture capital.

“I wanted to own a sports franchise long before I wanted to be in technology,” Lacob said.

The NBA has over 66 million followers on social media, almost twice as many as the NFL. Major League Baseball has only 15 million. 

Unlike other leagues, the NBA allows fans and media members to post highlights on social media.

“Adam Silver realized early on that people would tape things off the TV set and upload it to YouTube,” says David Levy, president of Turner, which airs NBA games and comanages NBA.com for the league. “He understood Instagram. He understood Snapchat. He gets the fact that fans are fans, and you need to fish where the fish are.”

Data backs up that instinct. “It’s almost like a free commercial,” Gilbert says. “To me, it’s all great for the league, enhances the league, promotes the league, and I think the NBA has got it right on.”

The NBA hopes to continue their growth internationally to compete with soccer.

“Soccer is much bigger than basketball on a global basis,” said Adam Silver. “We look at the delta between basketball and soccer and see an enormous upside.”