A change to the percentage of basketball-related income is one of the main issues of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, but it won't be the only one.

"The BRI is one (issue)," said Adam Silver. "Also, when it comes to distribution of revenue, more now than in any of the CBAs I’ve been involved in, there has been more discussion about competition. (In previous CBA negotiations), the key issue was the split of the revenue and not how it was distributed. We could give you the 57 percent and you can decide how to distribute it among the players.

"Clearly, our view has changed. How that money is distributed among the players is a key component of competition around the league. In addition to our desire to create a model where all teams at least have the opportunity to be profitable, we also are focused on a model where all 30 teams have the opportunity to compete for a championship. There’s a recognition out there now that’s not the current model to the extent that we have a soft salary-cap system.

"For example, a team like the Lakers has a payroll of $110 million when you include the luxury-tax figure. With the salary cap at $57 million, that’s not a balanced system.

"What we’ve proposed to the players is a hard cap. We’ve looked at the NFL, and we’re not ashamed to say that appears to be a better system. There’s a lot more analysis we need to do with the players. I’m not suggesting we’re the NFL. But we believe through shorter contracts, less guaranteed money and a harder salary cap, we can create more parity among the teams in this league. We believe for the long-term success for the business, that’s important."