With Saturday's bargaining session canceled and no new
talks scheduled between the NBA and its players' union, the
AP's Chris Sheridan writes that the NBA lockout will "last
at least another five weeks." Sheridan adds that it
"appears" as if NBA Commissioner David Stern "is following a
lockout calendar similar to the one employed" by the NHL
during its '94-95 lockout which was settled January 13. The
two sides went more than a month without meeting, then
reached agreement during a "marathon" negotiating session
just before the league had threatened to cancel the season.
Agent Steve Kauffman: "I've been telling my players for the
past couple of weeks that they shouldn't expect to play
until mid-January at the earliest." Sheridan notes that
today marks the "second missed payday" for the players (AP,
11/30). In NJ, Dave D'Alessandro wrote that the owners have
"come face-to-face with the decision they have been dreading
all along -- whether to blow up the entire season." One
Eastern Conference exec said, "I'll give it a two-week
window, no more. If we don't have an agreement in principal
by the 11th of December or so, I see no option than for
David (Stern) to pull the plug" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 11/29).
FALK TALKS: David Falk was a guest on CNN's "Larry King
Weekend" Saturday night and said, "We're getting a drop-dead
date, probably in January, that will speed along the
settlement. I think we'll play in mid-January." Falk said
that Stern "has done such a great job for the last 20 years
building the league up. And we're actually shooting
ourselves, shooting each other in the foot and we're really
killing a game that he's created" (CNN, 11/28).
DECLARE IMPASSE? In Denver, Dave Krieger reported that
both sides have acknowledged that the league could "exercise
a doomsday option that would end the lockout, open camps and
force players to choose between their union and their
league." The league could declare an impasse in talks and
impose work rules unilaterally. But NBA Chief Legal Counsel
Jeffrey Mishkin said, "It is not our present intention to
implement new terms" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 11/26).
IS IT 57 OR BUST? In Atlanta, Jeffrey Denberg wrote
that Mishkin said that NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter became
"inflexible on key points" in talks, thus making
negotiations on Saturday "so unpromising they were
canceled." Denberg: "Specifically, it is alleged that
Hunter said the players would not take less than 57 percent
[of BRI]" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/29).
WHO'S WINNING? In L.A., Mark Heisler calls on Stern to
"lighten up," and writes, "Skirmishing is one thing but if
the millionaires actually torch the season, they should all
be institutionalized. They have a starry future but it
depends on maintaining their present niche." He calls on
Hunter to "wake up" and listen more to his membership rather
than a "band of hawks." Heisler: "To date, Hunter has been
a disappointment to those of us who saw him as tough and
independent enough to cut his own deal" (L.A. TIMES, 11/30).
In Chicago, Lacy Banks found two aspects of the lockout
"quite shocking." One is the owners' "willingness to trash
the season. They are taking a to-heck-with-the-fans
attitude in their bid to twist a deal out of the players
that would practically kill free agency and increase their
share of what is currently" a $2B per year business. Second
"is the unity of the players and their union leaders."
Banks: "I simply didn't think they'd be this much more
united or willing to sacrifice so many millions of dollars
to get a deal they feel is fair" (SUN-TIMES, 11/29).
KNIGHT-RIDDER's Matt Steinmetz writes that the NBPA has
"lost" the dispute, as the NBA is "hammering the players in
the [PR] war." Owners will return to the bargaining table
"and play when the union is so weak that it won't even be
able to put up a fight" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 11/30).
PLAYER REAX: Blazers G John Crotty: "Here we are at
Thanksgiving, and the league has done nothing but create
animosity, not trust" (Portland OREGONIAN, 11/29). Rockets
C Hakeem Olajuwon, who said that players are asking for 48%
of BRI, said "I didn't think it would go on this long. I
have lost respect for (negotiators) on both sides. They
have lost focus on reality." In Portland, Kerry Eggers
wrote that if players "were willing" to accept 48% of BRI,
the season "would have started by now" (OREGONIAN, 11/29).
Heat F Terry Mills: "I wish they would give us a knock-down
deadline so we know what's going on. You have a lot of guys
who have an opportunity to play in Europe or do some other
things and if this keeps dragging on ... those opportunities
might not be there" (MIAMI HERALD, 11/26). Nets C Jayson
Williams suggested that arbitrator John Feerick rule on the
dispute and "let's go with that" (NEWSDAY, 11/29).
UNION-BUSTING? On ESPN.com, Jeffrey Denberg wrote that
he's heard "that any player who disagrees with the policies
of union leadership is quickly stifled." According to one
source, Nuggets F Joe Wolf was "tossed off the negotiating
committee when he expressed views somewhat favorable to
those of the owners." Other examples include Wizards G Tim
Legler and Jazz G John Stockton. Denberg: "It's one thing
for Billy Hunter to crow about union unity, but it's quite
another for a board dominated by the league's affluent to
shut off the most vulnerable members" (ESPN.com, 11/29).
MOTHER, DO YOU THINK HE'S GOOD ENOUGH? Angela Ocean,
the mother of Blazers F Jermaine O'Neal, on David Stern:
"Those guys helped him be rich, you know what I mean? ...
Have some mercy, think about if his child was in that
position" (Steve Brandon, Portland OREGONIAN, 11/29).
UNION CONSULTANT AGAIN RIPS LEAGUE: Smith College
Professor and NBPA consultant Andrew Zimbalist wrote an op-
ed in Sunday's N.Y. TIMES and called the owners' position
"unreasonable." He stated that the union has not seen
financial details from ownership, only "cursory and largely
meaningless summaries." Zimbalist wrote that owners "want
cost certainty, which exists for no other industry in this
country, and large guaranteed profits for all teams no
matter how they perform on the court. This is a recipe that
is not only patently unfair to the players, but will also
weaken the game" (Andrew Zimbalist, N.Y. TIMES, 11/29).
LOCKOUT FALLOUT: In St. Paul, Charley Walters wrote the
T-Wolves will mail "nearly" $2M in canceled game refunds,
plus 6% interest to their approximately 3,600 season-ticket
accounts this week (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 11/29)....In
Tampa, Bill Fay wrote on the players' difficulty in staging
exhibition games, as a game in Las Vegas has yet to
materialize and Heat G Tim Hardaway has yet to get player
commitments for his event in Miami (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 11/29).
...During last night's NFL game, ESPN's Mike Patrick said
that during his halftime report, Chris Berman "might have an
update on the 'NBA Suicide Watch' -- what they're getting
ready to do to that sport." Analyst Joe Theismann: "I don't
even want to talk about those guys." There was no NBA
content during ESPN's halftime update (ESPN, 11/29).
