The NBA and NBPA reportedly have "agreed to meet this week in their first organized negotiating session" since Aug. 1, and with training camps scheduled to begin in early October, the "belief is that an agreement must be reached by the middle of September to secure a full training camp," according to Gary Washburn of the BOSTON GLOBE. A September agreement, however, "seems hardly possible, given that the league filed two lawsuits against the union following the last negotiating session." In addition, an "increasing number of players are pessimistic about starting the season on time" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/28). Pistons F Austin Daye said there are no negotiating sessions scheduled “that I know of” but added, “I do know the players and owners have been communicating and trying to get something done along the lines of just meeting.” Daye said the NFLPA and the owners “were able to get a deal done in a timely fashion and on time and hopefully, we can do the same thing.” He noted the NBPA has “done a good job so far in keeping up with us and the owners have done their jobs as well" ("Jim Rome Is Burning," ESPN, 8/26). But in Raleigh, Luke DeCock writes NBA Commissioner David Stern is "working from the same lockout playbook as his protege, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, which doesn't bode well for the season" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 8/29).
A PAGE FROM THE PLAYBOOK: SI's Zach Lowe on Twitter wrote, "Two sources tell SI.com NLRB has finished investigation into union's complaint. Final briefs from each side likely in next week" (TWITTER.com, 8/26). PRO BASKETBALL TALK's Matt Moore wrote the odds of the NBPA's unfair labor practices charge turning out "a different result than the NFL garnered are pretty small, but the effect would be devastating for the owners ... for about thirty seconds before they appeal and this thing enters legal purgatory." The owners "can't lose this fight, so they'd have to keep appealing, which would be costly." As the league and union await word from the NLRB, everything "continues according to plan, with both sides following the same playbook legally they were expected to." Moore wrote if there is "going to be a season, something's going to have to deviate from the expected pattern, otherwise both sides are just charging headlong into losing the entire year" (NBCSPORTS.com, 8/27). GRANTLAND.com's Bill Simmons wrote an "open plea" to Stern and NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter, asking their respective sides to "shed all the extra bodies, pick four guys from each side and lock themselves into a room for a week until they make some progress." Simmons: "All the public posturing, he said/she said stuff, media leaks, habitual bitching, whining, doomsday rhetoric and schedule filibustering needs to stop now. It's almost Labor Day. The lack of urgency on both ends is really appalling. ... The economy sucks right now. Nobody wants to hear rich people bitching about what's fair and unfair, especially when nobody ever seems to mention the word 'fans'" (GRANTLAND.com, 8/25).
LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH & FAMOUS: In N.Y., Howard Beck notes the NBA's "current generation of locked-out players is striving to play a better public-relations game this time around" than during the league's last lockout. The players have been "in contractual limbo" since the lockout began on July 1, but they "have largely kept their commentary on point and their Twitter feeds in check." Fans, "generally speaking, do not want to hear about the woes of millionaire athletes -- or the billionaire owners who pay them." At the direction of Lakers G and NBPA President Derek Fisher, the union last fall "distributed a 56-page lockout handbook to its 400-plus players," and "tucked between tabs on 'budgeting' and 'player services' is a section devoted to 'media,' with talking points on everything from the NBA's financial losses to franchise values." Beck writes the "key point, perhaps, is this simple reminder: 'Please be sensitive about interviews or other media displays of a luxurious lifestyle.'" It is Fisher's job "to consider the past as he navigates the collective bargaining process." He is one of "a handful of holdovers from the 1998 lockout and one of the few who remember the missteps." The union today is "using podcasts and social networking tools to keep its players briefed and on message," but at "any moment, one of the league's loose cannons could embarrass the union" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/29).
A FEW GOOD MEN: In DC, Michael Lee noted Hornets G Chris Paul, Knicks G Carmelo Anthony and several other NBA stars tomorrow will play in a street ball game at 7:00pm ET at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. The game will feature the "Melo All-Stars against the Goodman All-Stars." St. Frances "only seats 1,000 and organizers are still in the process of trying to find a larger venue to accommodate what should be a large crowd." Tickets are available "for $40 for general admission and $100 for floor seats." One hundred tickets "worth $28 were sold out in less than a day" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/27).
