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Leagues and Governing Bodies

NBA Owners Relax Stance On Guaranteed Contracts With Lockout Looming

NBA owners "relaxed their stance on guaranteed contracts Friday during the latest round of collective bargaining negotiations to replace the labor agreement that expires at the end of this month," according to Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com. The NBPA "welcomed the move but cautioned there was still a wide gulf to be bridged." The sides still are "hundreds of millions of dollars apart on how to split revenues, and the owners are still asking for a hard salary cap system." NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter in the past referred to guaranteed contracts as a "blood issue." That part of the CBA proposal "was taken off the table Tuesday, with the owners agreeing to continue with the current system in which guarantees on individual contracts are a negotiable issue on a case-by-case basis." NBA Commissioner David Stern said that "each side has presented three formal proposals plus one informal proposal, and he said the owners decided to yield on the issue of guaranteed contracts because of the significance several players placed on that issue during the course of negotiations over the past 18 months." The league and players "ended Friday's meeting still in disagreement on exactly how much of a financial sacrifice the players are being asked to make." Another meeting is set for tomorrow, and Stern said that the "onus will be on the players to make a new economic proposal." He said, "Time is running out, but both parties seem, at least to me, intent to make a deal by June 30" (ESPN.com, 6/17). Knicks F Carmelo Anthony, upon exiting Friday's talks, said there was a "lot of good dialogue." Asked if the owners were being fair, Anthony said, "The owners are being owners. I'm going to leave it at that" (N.Y. POST, 6/18).

TWO FOR TUESDAY: Less than two weeks until the CBA expires, Stern called tomorrow's negotiating session a "very important day in these negotiations." Friday's session "did not bridge the huge gulf on financial issues that divide players and owners." Hawks F and NBPA Exec Committee VP Maurice Evans said, "They moved to giving us back guaranteed contracts, which we already had. That’s not a move." Asked if a "breakthrough was critical" tomorrow, Stern said, "Yes, yes." Asked if he "would know by the end of that day whether a lockout was likely, he again answered in the affirmative" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/18). Tomorrow's meeting is "expected to include many players, along with as many owners from the labor relations committee as possible on short notice." Nine owners attended Friday's negotiations, including the Mavericks' Mark Cuban (AP, 6/17).

SUMMER OF MY DISCONTENT: In Las Vegas, Steve Carp noted the NBA on Friday formally "canceled its Las Vegas Summer League for 2011." The summer league, which has operated at Cox Pavilion and the Thomas & Mack Center since '04, is "one of the first casualties of the league's inability to negotiate" a new CBA (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/18). NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver after Friday's meeting said, "We made clear to the union it was purely a function of the calendar and drop-dead dates with hotels and the arena. No intent to send signals of any kind to the players, but it was an unfortunate consequence that, at this late date, we still do not have a deal beginning July 1." Meanwhile, a source indicated that the NBA "informed a group of its employees that, as a result of the CBA uncertainty, their jobs will be furloughed after June 30" (NEWSDAY, 6/18).

WORRIED ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK: The AP's Hank Kurz Jr. noted NBA players who "just finished a season capped by the highest rated championship series in more than a decade are concerned about how their labor dispute and a potential work stoppage before next season will affect their surging fan base." During the '10-11 season, TNT, ABC and ESPN all "reported a huge increase in viewers." Also, average arena capacity was 90.3%, the league's "seventh straight year of 90 or better." The NBA on the court "seems to have as many viable contenders as in recent memory, which adds to its allure." Lakers F Luke Walton said that "to stop the momentum with a lockout that fans might perceive as a selfish battle between already rich greedy owners and greedy players ... would be taking a huge risk." Walton: "We know how dangerous it can be. We've seen it happen before. We've seen it happen in our sport with the last lockout. We saw it happen in baseball, hockey, and it's damaging" (AP, 6/18).

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