NBA Commissioner David Stern said the NBPA has
distorted the league's relationship with USA Basketball
(USAB) as a "rallying" point for its players, according to
Scott Soshnick of BLOOMBERG NEWS. NBPA Exec Dir Billy
Hunter has said that USAB "has so many obvious financial and
personal ties to the NBA that they're practically one in the
same." That led to NBA players boycotting the World
Championships, which begin today in Greece. But Stern said,
"It has been in the interest of the rallying points of the
players to somehow misstate it or misapply [the
relationship]. It's unfortunate. They're separate
entities." Hunter, who is a member of USAB's board:
"Anything related to the World Championships, for the most
part, is administered by the NBA." NBA Deputy
Commissioner/USAB President Russ Granik said that some parts
of the NBA/USAB relationship are necessary, including USAB
using NBAP as its marketing arm. Granik "said the
organization needed to increase its marketing revenue to
support the growing demand of an NBA-dominated team," and
that NBA players require "costly amenities such as charter
flights and first class accommodations" (BLOOMBERG, 7/29).
KEEP AN EYE ON THEM: VARIETY's John Dempsey writes that
CBS is "seriously" exploring the idea of a new basketball
league should the lockout continue. CBS "could create an
association of teams from scratch, possibly as early as the
summer of" 2000, and its "bylaws would include provisions
giving the network an equity stake in the operation."
Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson: "CBS has seen
the reports that David Stern is encouraging owners to
consider an alternate football league." In an interview
with VARIETY, Stern -- "implying that CBS is hugely
overreacting, said that it's not unusual for him to talk
about equity interest in other sports" (VARIETY, 7/27).
