Confusion Reigns as Facilities Reopen

Amid widespread confusion over new salary cap rules, NBA training facilities were reopened to players Monday while lawyers for the league and union worked to put the lockout settlement in writing.

“It’s like my college poker games: They’re making the rules up as they go along,” said agent Keith Glass, one of several people around the league who described the situation as chaotic.

The lockout will remain in effect until the agreement is finalized, with Jan. 18 set as the target date for opening training camps and allowing trades and free-agent signings to commence.

In the meantime, general managers are being allowed to talk to agents in anticipation of the frenzy that lies ahead. The problem was that people were interpreting certain settlement terms differently.

“It’s total confusion,” agent Mark Fleischer said. “I’ve had three GMs tell me they understand certain rules to mean one thing, while I’ve been told the rules are the complete opposite. And these are significant things that are in dispute.”

One of the settlement terms called for a salary cap of $30 million for the upcoming season, which was almost $2 million less than most teams had been expecting.

Also, it became apparent that changes in so-called “cap holds”--rules that determine how unsigned free agents are counted against their former teams’ salary cap--would end up hindering player movement.

“You can only have general discussions, and no one is sure if you can actually agree on a deal,” agent Herb Rudoy said.

“So you couch everything with vague references to whether a player might be interested.”