At least one player on the Los Angeles Lakers is frustrated that the NBA is barring the team from wearing their black City Edition uniforms during the final games of the In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas. The league claims that the uniforms create a concerning contrast with the red and blue court that will be used in the T-Mobile Arena.

“That’s a–,” the unnamed Lakers player reportedly said after the announcement.

The Lakers are undefeated in the four games they’ve played in their City Edition uniforms and most recently wore them in a 106-103 win over the Suns on December 5 to advance in the tournament. It makes sense that Los Angeles is superstitious ahead of a semifinal matchup against the Pelicans, but LeBron James and company will have to make do in their primary yellow uniforms.

Los Angeles is not the only team facing uniform restrictions, as the Pacers have also been barred from wearing their black City Edition uniforms in their semifinal game against the Bucks. Indiana has won all five games in which the team has worn them and is winless in three games with the gold alternates players will wear instead.

Though uniform restrictions have been met with several minor criticisms from players and fans, the first rendition of the In-Season Tournament has been largely successful. Players have praised the format, ratings are reportedly up and some arenas have enjoyed playoff-like atmospheres early in the regular season.

“NBA basketball has never been more fun in November and early December than it has been this year,” Stan Van Gundy said on a Pelicans-Kings broadcast Monday night. “And I’m not sure it’s ever been more intense. I mean, these guys want these games.”

For reaching the semifinals, every player on the Lakers, Pelicans, Bucks and Pacers are guaranteed to receive $100,000. Players on the runner-up team will receive $200,000 each, while champions will receive $500,000 each.

The NBA and National Basketball Player’s Association agreed to a new CBA Wednesday, which will take effect this weekend and remain in effect through the 2029-30 season. Among a number of changes, the league will host an in-season tournament, intended to bolster ratings and player participation early in the season.

The in-season tournament, which will be implemented this fall, will feature all 30 teams in specific games during the first two months of the season. There will be a group stage followed by a knockout stage, and players on the final four teams remaining will be compensated. Every game except the championship game will count towards the regular season.

The idea for a special event during the regular season has been a longtime pet project of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who is looking to incentivize competition in the early stages of the season. At a business convention in April, he also said that an additional tournament would be another step toward embracing the league’s increasingly international identity.

“Taking a page from European soccer where they play for multiple cups throughout the season,” Silver said. “We think taking nothing away from the Larry O’Brien trophy, and the ultimate goal of winning a championship, that you can create another competition within the season that becomes meaningful. And there’s a recognition that new traditions are not built overnight.”

Silver’s new tournament comes as a sort of counterculture movement within the league, which has shifted more and more toward self-preservation during the regular season. Star players will often rest as much as possible to avoid injuries and general fatigue in preparation for the playoffs, which has diminished the importance of the first few months of the season. It is unclear if an in-season tournament would solve this issue on its own, though the CBA also added a new 65-game requirement for receiving NBA honors.

In addition to the new tournament format and 65-game threshold, the CBA also added a second salary cap apron, $17.5 million over the current one, which will impose further restrictions on teams who spend more. Players will also be permitted to smoke marijuana without receiving a suspension.

The NBA has sent a proposal to teams calling for a 78-game regular season, along with an in-season tournament for all teams, coming with a purse of $15 million for the prize, and a reseeding of the playoffs when the field comes down to the final four.

Each player of the winning in-season tournament team would be given $1 million prize and the coaching staff would split $1.5 million.

The tournament would involve all 30 teams and would run from late November to mid-December. It would begin with pool-play based on divisions that would be treated as regular-season games, with four home and four away games for each team. Eight teams would advance to the quarterfinals, revealing six winners and two wild card spots. The quarterfinals would take place at home venues, however, the semifinals and finals would be held at neutral ones.

Of course with this some issues arise. Undrafted rookies and veterans who may not be able to make the minimum or the Mid-Level Exception would likely go to teams who contend for the tournament with the hopes of supplementing their salaries.

Teams who are actively pursuing the championship could prefer to miss the quarterfinals and take the extra time off, incentivizing some degree of tanking. This risks causing disension in locker rooms between those who don’t care about the tournament and those who seek the extra money.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has taken notes from such events seen in European soccer. “It would be negotiated with the Player Association. I’ve had very general discussions with [union executive director] Michele Roberts about the notion that these are the kinds of things we’re looking at”, Silver said.

Roughly 60 percent of NBA fans want a shorter schedule, 68 percent of fans said they are interested in an in-season tournament, and 75 percent were interested in a play-in tournament being used to decide the playoff field.