No WNBA CBA deal, but guarded optimism

The WNBA and WNBPA held talks at the Langham Hotel in New York City last night from approximately 5 p.m. ET last night until past 5 a.m. ET this morning to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Though no deal was reached, both sides left with guarded optimism, according to Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports.

Washington Mystics guard Alysha Clark was among the players who represented the WNBPA in the talks when they began. For the owners, Clara Wu Tsai of the New York Liberty was one of the confirmed parties.

The session wasannounced rather late and both the WNBA and WNBPA remained for the talks as late evening turned into the night, then midnight and beyond.

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It wasn’t until well past 3 a.m. ET when someone from either side spoke to the media. WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael eventually left to tell reporters that conversations were “going in the right direction.”

Eventually, negotiations ended right before 5 a.m. ET with the WNBPA leaving first. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert then gave some cautiously optimistic remarks. The league staff left at around 5:20 a.m. ET.

So after this long bargaining session, there is no deal. But I’m thinking that a deal will be reached pretty quickly because we’re past the Mar. 10 league-imposed deadline. And on top of that, the WNBA and WNBPA do not want to reschedule dates, push back the season, or delay it. This is already affected by the FIBA Women’s World Cup. In fact, Team USA is in it this week, which features Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen. Sonia Citron was unable to play on the team.

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For now, I’m hoping that Costabile and other WNBA reporters can sleep in a bit. And yes, I’m hoping the WNBPA and WNBA also get some rest. These kind of 11th hour situations are publicity stunts, but the fact that both sides were talking for so long indicates that both sides really want a deal done.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.