The NBPA's "refusal to accept a hard salary cap led to an impasse in collective bargaining discussions Tuesday, jeopardizing the start of training camps Oct. 3 and the season," according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY. Following a CBA negotiating session in N.Y., NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter said, "We're a bit pessimistic and discouraged at, one, the ability to start on time, and we're not so sure that there may not be further damages or delay." The league and union "made movement on economic issues (the split of basketball revenue), with locked-out players saying they are willing to make a significant financial sacrifice." But the sides "remain far apart on the system to distribute that money." Owners "favor a hard cap with no exceptions," while players "prefer the soft cap" of the now-expired CBA. NBA Commissioner David Stern: "It actually didn't make sense to respond to their non-negotiable demand that everything remain the same that it was, and that we'd be best off ... reporting to our respective sides" (USA TODAY, 9/14). Stern added, "We did not have a great day, I think it's fair to say that." Lakers G and NBPA President Derek Fisher said, "Coming out of today, obviously because of the calendar, we can't come out of here feeling as though training camps and the season is going to start on time at this point." Hunter said a hard cap is "highly untenable," once again calling it a "blood issue" to the players. He indicated that players "were prepared to make a 'significant' financial move, but they would only agree to give on dollars if they got a win on the system." Hunter: "For us, if we give on one, we have to have the other. It can't be just a total capitulation" (AP, 9/13). NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver said, "A GM who is given $100 million to spend as opposed to a GM who is given $50 million to spend is at a huge competitive advantage. And that's something we want to fix in this deal." Stern added, "Not only are the teams at a disadvantage, but the fans of the $50 million team are at a real disadvantage" (NEWSDAY.com, 9/13).
MAKING PROGRESS IN SOME AREAS: In N.Y., Howard Beck reports the "gloomy commentary on Tuesday obscured the fact that the parties are inching toward each other on the financial component of a new labor deal." An NBA exec said that "each side put a new proposal on the board last week, when the top negotiators met in a smaller group." The league official added that a "significant gap remains in dollars, but it is gradually shrinking." After the meeting yesterday, Stern made multiple references to the "prospect of an agreement on the financial parameters." He said, "We have a sense that, within a certain tolerances, there’s a potential economic deal that may be within view." During yesterday's negotiating session, the players "outlined a proposal in which they would accept a significant salary reduction." But that offer "was predicated on the NBA's retaining all aspects of the current 'soft' salary-cap system, with all of its exceptions and loopholes." Silver said, "We said we couldn't agree to that" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/14). Stern added, "It's on the road and we know how to negotiate over dollars when the time comes." Still, the N.Y. DAILY NEWS' Mitch Lawrence reports when players "said they would agree to roll back salaries, but only if the present cap were to remain unchanged, the owners balked" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/14). CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger reported the NBA and NBPA are "on the verge of solving the biggest dispute between them, as in how much money each side gets." A source said that the players "expressed a willingness to move lower than the 54.3 percent of basketball-related income they last proposed on June 30 as a starting point in a six-year deal." Berger noted "nobody outside the room knows how many millions the two sides shaved off the gap, but it hardly matters since everyone seemed willing to concede that they've at least dipped their toes on common ground when it comes to dollars." Silver: "We said we went into this process with two goals: one was an economic goal, which we've addressed" (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/13).
NBPA AT A CROSSROADS: YAHOO SPORTS' Adrian Wojnarowski writes, "Once again, the union had made an offer of significant concessions. And once again, it wouldn’t matter." The owners "want everything, because they don’t believe they’ll need to compromise." Perhaps Hunter "gave too much, too fast, but the players desperately wanted to make a deal this week." Wojnarowski adds, "They’ll lose this collective bargaining fight to the owners; they just don’t want to lose in a complete bloodbath. Now, the bigger issue looms for Hunter: When he goes to Las Vegas on Wednesday for the most important players meeting of his tenure as executive director, does he find a coup awaiting him?" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/14). SI.com's Ian Thomsen noted the players "appeared to believe -- or hope -- that the split in revenues was far and away the most important issue for the owners," but now they "have to realize that management wants more from this deal than to make a simple profit." Owners of small-market franchises "want to be liberated from the luxury-tax mechanism that enables the Lakers, Mavericks, Celtics and other highly ambitious franchises from outspending the competition." Thomsen added, "Stern's point of view is obvious: How can he hope to raise the values of all the franchises when many small-market teams lack the wherewithal to compete financially with the big boys? Fisher believes just as strongly in his own point of view -- that the owner who spends more to buy a franchise in a larger market deserves to reap the rewards. ... Both sides can argue all day about this. The bottom line is that the owners have the means to win this argument because they can afford to not pay the players longer than the players can afford to live without their pay" (SI.com, 9/13).
IN IT TO WIN IT: NBA.com's Steve Aschburner noted the owners yesterday "spent more time (about three hours) huddling amongst themselves than they did in actual bargaining with the union" (NBA.com, 9/13). In L.A., Ben Bolch notes yesterday's negotiating session "was the first since late June to take place with full groups representing the owners' labor relations committee and the union's executive committee." Recent meetings were "held in groups of three to five people representing each side." But Stern believed that it "was prudent to have larger groups meet Tuesday in the hope it could accelerate movement with the season rapidly approaching." Any agreement between the two sides "would require participation from the full committees." Now owners and players "will meet in the next few days -- just not with each other." Players will hold a meeting in Las Vegas, while the owners will gather in Dallas for a previously scheduled BOG meeting (L.A. TIMES, 9/14). CSNBAYAREA.com's Matt Steinmetz wrote under the header, "Owners' Plan Is Going To Take Time." Over the past few weeks, there "has seemingly been some positive vibes coming out of the negotiations." But the "reality is that positivity was built solely on both sides refraining from acrimony." Steinmetz: "That's it. There wasn't anything of importance agreed upon. Just because both sides are playing nicer doesn't mean this thing is any closer to ending. The owners have been thinking about this lockout for years; they're not going to give in -- especially at the start of this process" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 9/13).
WATCHING THE 24-SECOND CLOCK: ESPN L.A.'s Stephen A. Smith noted Lakers G Kobe Bryant has an "astute business mind," and he needs to be "someone who remembers that there's a responsibility that comes with being a steward" of the NBA. Fisher, among other NBPA members, has talked about "how players want to play basketball." That is "something they might have been able to do weeks ago if the faces of the NBA had been the individuals sitting across the table from the league's labor relations committee sometime ago." Smith added, "I'm talking about individuals who actually absorb the reality that whether there are 10 to 15 teams losing money, or the 22 the NBA claims, change is necessary -- and inevitable -- if approximately half the league is losing money." Bryant in a text message said, "I'm here. Always been here." Smith: "Perhaps that is true. But he needs to be seen, because Bryant, more than anyone, would resonate to those who matter" (ESPNLA.com, 9/13).
