NBPA advises players to prepare for lockout after 2016-17 season

The National Basketball Players Association sent a letter to free agents advising them to receive their paychecks over 18 months as protection for a possible lockout after the 2016-17 season, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News.

The league's owners and players can opt out of the current labor deal after the 2016-17 season. NBA players currently receive paychecks over a six- or 12-month period. 

The new proposal would allow players to continue to get paid through the 2017-18 season, even if a lockout occurs, according to the report. In the latest collective bargaining agreement, the NBPA instituted an 18-month payment rule.

More from Bloomberg News: 

“As we have learned in the past, the owners have made provisions with the TV networks to continue to receive rights fees throughout a work stoppage, and there is no reason the players should not make every effort to take the same precaution,” the e-mail said.

~Scooby Axson