The NBA's CBA negotiations were examined on "NBA
Showtime" on Sunday by NBC's Peter Vecsey, who spoke with
NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik, agent David Falk, NBPA
President Patrick Ewing and NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter.
Falk: "I think if you lock the players out, you risk losing
the fans for the next four or five years and creating Major
League Baseball." Granik, asked why a new deal would be
better from '95, since the same people are doing the
negotiating: "Well, you know, hopefully we can be a little
smarter this time." Ewing, on a hard cap: "We as players,
we're not going to go for a hard cap because it will be too
restrictive." Vecsey: "In any way, shape or form?" Ewing:
"In any way, shape or form." Hunter appeared live from
Oakland and said that the NBPA is currently awaiting a
second counter offer from the NBA: "I think [the NBA] will
admit to you that they were rather surprised at the offer
that I put on the table from the get go. It was a creative
offer, it was a substantive offer, and an offer that's
generally not made that early in negotiations. But I came
to the negotiations with the intent on trying to reach an
agreement, and I put forth what I thought to be a
substantive offer -- one that the owners could in fact
either live with or attempt to negotiate over." After his
report, Vecsey said he believed that no games will be lost
to a lockout next season: "I don't think they're going to
miss a beat. I really don't" ("NBA Showtime," NBC, 5/24).
REAX TO NBC REPORT: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke wrote that
NBC "devoted too much attention to viewer-turnoff league
labor problems" (USA TODAY, 5/26). But in Baltimore, Milton
Kent wrote that NBC's report on the CBA negotiations "was a
welcome change from the normal" (Baltimore SUN, 5/26).
MORE CBA: In Denver, Todd Phipers on NBC's report:
"Bottom-line summation: There still are major differences to
be settled" between the two sides (DENVER POST, 5/26). In
L.A., Mark Heisler wrote, "There is suspicion that [David]
Stern won't reveal his proposal until bargaining starts in
earnest, this summer, after the lockout" (L.A. TIMES, 5/24).
A SOCIAL PHENOM: Pulitzer Prize-winning author David
Halberstam is writing a book on Michael Jordan scheduled for
a November release. Halberstam, whose other NBA book, "The
Breaks Of The Game," chronicled the '79-80 Trail Blazers,
said his new book will explore "what made him not just a
great player but a phenomenon, a social phenomenon that
transcends basketball, transcends sports and transcends
national boundaries. How that happened is intriguing" (N.Y.
POST, 5/25). Halberstam: "It's mostly about Michael, but
also, in the background, are the changes in the league --
the world of chartered jets and bodyguards and $10 million,
$20 million salaries" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 5/24).
