What the NBA’s new television deal means for its teams, players, owners and you (Ball Don’t Lie)

In news that was leaked out over the weekend and made official on Monday morning, the NBA has confirmed that it will sign a broadcast and internet rights deal with ABC/ESPN and Turner that would stroll on to the 2024-25 season. The agreement, which tips off during the 2016-17 campaign, will pay the league and its teams almost $2.7 billion per season, nearly tripling the number both media entities currently dole out in a contract that was signed during the NBA's least entertaining era in its history. The league's Monday morning press conference featured league commissioner Adam Silver, ESPN president John Skipper, Turner president David Levy, and Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis was an expected, back-slapping affair. The four titans of their respective industries congratulated themselves on their good fortune in retaining rights for the same team that has broadcast the NBA since 2002, while Silver deftly kept outrageous optimism in check in advance of what should be escalating player salary rates and a potential labor dispute between the league and its players in 2017. For all the similarities in partnership, the deal should and will truly shake the league to its core. Between...