New York, NY (Sports Network) - The NBA has reached a settlement agreement
with the NBA Players Association after they filed an arbitration proceeding
regarding the signing rights of Chauncey Billups, J.J. Hickson, Jeremy Lin and
Steve Novak.
The original decision, made by arbitrator Kenneth Dam, stated that any team
which seeks to re-sign a player who was originally claimed off waivers, can do
so by violating the salary cap.
Under the new settlement, announced on Friday, the union agreed to limit the
scope of the ruling by Dam if the league agreed to drop its appeal.
Players who were claimed off waivers will now have the same "Early Bird"
rights as if they had been traded, but will not have full "Bird" rights unless
they are claimed through the league's amnesty procedure.
Billups and Hickson will have "Bird" rights, while Lin and Novak will have
"Early Bird" rights when free agency opens on July 1.
The Sports Network