NBA Commissioner David Stern "has a conference call set with owners on Thursday to discuss their next steps in the lockout," according to league sources cited by Adrian Wojnarowski of YAHOO SPORTS. It "won’t be easy to get the owners to move quickly toward re-engaging the new leadership of the players." Many owners believed that Stern went "too far with the league’s final proposal to the union and were privately wishing for the players to reject the offer so they could thrust upon the players a far more rigid 'reset' deal." Also, Stern and many owners have a "visceral and personal disdain for players attorney Jeffrey Kessler, whom they blame for the breakdown in talks" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/16). In N.Y., Howard Beck notes no hearing date "has been set for the players’ primary lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California." The case was "initially assigned to a magistrate judge, with a case management conference scheduled for Feb. 29." However, at the "players’ request, the case is being reassigned to a district judge, with a hearing date to be determined." Players lead attorney David Boies "is hoping that a hearing can be scheduled much sooner, in time to save the season" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/17). USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt notes lawyers "have taken over the NBA lockout," and will "be in charge until a season gets underway -- if it does." Boies: "We would hope it's not necessary to go to trial." But he added if litigation is the path, northern California is a "district that has a practice of moving cases along quickly." Boies said, "They've got a lot of expertise in antitrust cases, and we think it will be a good forum for us to proceed with this lawsuit" (USA TODAY, 11/17). CBSSPORTS.com's Ben Golliver notes negotiations "should, and almost certainly will, continue in some form prior to the NBA being forced to shut down its season." But Golliver writes the "question for the owners becomes: When is the best time to get back to negotiating? After the players miss one paycheck? After they miss two paychecks?" (CBSSPORTS.com, 11/17).
THE REASONABLE PERSON: TRUE HOOP's Henry Abbott noted the players' lawsuits mean "these various Sterns and Kesslers will be viewed with a fresh set of eyes. A judge's eyes." For the "first time in a while there will be tremendous value in appearing reasonable and deal-ready." Abbott wrote in listening to Boies "talk -- with the occasional smile, plain English, and grandfatherly sincerity, it's stunningly evident how little warmth there has been from the other leaders of the process." Even when Boies "is making his scariest comments he sounds like a nice guy trying to find a reasonable solution." By contrast, Stern and Kessler "have put so much energy into tearing each other apart, it'll be a cinch for either one to prove the other is unreasonable." For NBA "fans, the presence of a cool head could be the silver lining in the cloud of a shattered negotiation process." It is also a "tactical concern for the [owners], because the most reasonable-appearing guy in the room, Boies, works for the players" (ESPN.com, 11/16).
PLACE YOUR BETS: N.Y.-based antitrust attorney Jonathan Shapiro said, "It’s a game of chicken -- who’s going to blink first. Even if the players get treble damages, there’s still no CBA and nobody wins if there’s no league" (N.Y. POST, 11/17). Cooley Law School professor Don Petersen said, "Right now we're at a waiting game to see the owners respond. Are they going to file a motion to change venue? The owners have 30 days to file a response and already have a lawsuit pending in New York. They'd want to put them all together for efficiency's sake." Petersen added, "The players messed up bad in making a huge concession in giving the owners $1 billion early on. They did it so quickly that the question became how much the players were going to give up as opposed to if they were giving up money. They tried a mediator, Stern has come out -- I don't know how to describe his own behavior. He's been worse than hardball" (DETROIT NEWS, 11/17). But NBA.com's Shaun Powell wrote Stern and NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter "deep in their souls ... know they haven't reached Judgment Day." They "know they'll speak again soon, despite the dissolving of the union," and they "know the season -- a scaled-down version anyway -- remains salvageable." Over the "next few days and weeks, we will see signs of stress from both sides" (NBA.com, 11/16).
WAITING IN THE WINGS: The group of powerful NBA agents who had been pushing for an election to decertify the NBPA, on top of the NBPA’s voluntary disclaimer, were leaning against taking their own action, after getting advice from antitrust law experts yesterday, a source said last night. "A legal analysis was discussed that it is not prudent to file for decertification at this time," said a source close to the group. The agents, who represent over 30% of all NBA players, are now taking more of a wait-and-see approach in regards to the NBPA’s strategy to voluntarily disclaim interest in collective bargaining, said the source, who was not authorized to speak for the group. Additionally, the agent group is keeping open its options, including filing for a decertification election (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal).
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Anthony says today's players are
better prepared for lockout |
RESPECT YOUR ELDERS: TNT's Shaquille O'Neal said of the labor dispute, "We should create a system [where] the owners are protected from themselves. They try to blame us for your bad management" (
N.Y. POST, 11/17). Former NHLer Dave Andreychuk said, "If players think it's better to sit out the season, let me tell (you), it's not. It's just not. In the end, it will be worse." Andreychuk added, "The deal got worse by us sitting out. At the end, we were so willing to sign, we had to agree to what the owners wanted. We gave back a tremendous amount just to get a deal done so we could go back to work" (
ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/17). In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence writes players "arrived at a watershed moment this week," when they missed their first paychecks, and how they will "manage without their dough is anyone's guess." Former NBAer Greg Anthony thinks that there is a "critical difference" between current players and those from the '98-99 lockout. Anthony: "The players are far more sophisticated now than we were. And they're far better prepared. ... It's not like the lockout is a surprise to these players. The players have been preparing for this for the past few years. Yes, there will be a few who will have issues, but the vast majority will remain focused on the bigger issue" (
N.Y. POST, 11/17).
NO LOVE FOR THE OWNERS: In New Orleans, John DeShazier writes although the players "might trail in the court of public opinion," at some point they "had to agree to stop being pushed, or risk even more significant alteration to all the gains they’ve earned over the years." DeShazier adds, "You don’t have to want them to win the labor war to acknowledge that they have a right to wonder why they’re being penalized because owners haven’t been able to keep themselves from spending foolishly on players" (NOLA.com, 11/17). In Orange County, Kevin Ding writes the "bullying owners overplayed their hand in pursuit of certain profits being handed to them; the players were out of touch with our economic reality." But Ding adds, "If you were to play this out as a drama, the guys who would also evoke deep hostility would be the creepy, crawly player agents" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 11/17).
THE FAN FACTOR: In Orlando, Brian Schmitz wrote, "This is an old and faulty premise: Fans fed up with the lockout (or some other issue) won’t come back to the games." Schmitz added, "Let’s see: The NBA was hit with the Brawl at the Palace and a referee-betting scandal the last few years ... and people couldn’t get enough of the LeBron/Heatles-driven league last season, as soaring TV ratings indicated" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 11/16). Wizards radio analyst Glenn Consor said, “The casual fans will definitely come back. ... There’s an allure to the NBA. There’s an allure to the superstars like John Wall and Kevin Durant. ... They put people in the seats. It’s an entertaining product” ("Washington Post Live," Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, 11/16). But in Denver, Woody Paige writes of the lockout, "Nobody seems to care." Paige: "I get thousands of emails every week. I'm getting about two or three a week now in regard to the NBA. ... People will return to loving the game. But the NBA is not the NFL, and the league doesn't really matter that much to most" (DENVER POST, 11/17). In Cleveland, Bud Shaw writes, "Let's go to the out-of-touch scoreboard." Stern "termed it a 'tragedy' when players rejected the latest proposal and threatened to decertify the union." Shaw writes, "A natural disaster is a tragedy. Losing Sacramento-Golden State on a Tuesday night in December is called a 'Christmas present'" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 11/17).
FACILITY NOTES: In L.A., Hugo Martin notes the "total financial effect of a canceled season is hard to calculate, but an analysis by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. estimated that the 18,997-seat Staples Center, surrounding businesses and teams could lose out on about $3 million in revenue for every canceled game." That estimate "doesn't include other money lost by the players and the teams, including income from television game broadcasts and basketball merchandise" (L.A. TIMES, 11/17). Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said of the impact on businesses during the lockout, "They are all being affected. It's unfortunate collateral damage that's very, very real. It's a fallout of what's happening because of the inability of the two sides to reach agreement." But in Milwaukee, Don Walker noted Barrett is "also a realist," and believes a labor agreement must include "contract language that gives small-market teams like the Milwaukee Bucks the tools to remain financially viable." Barrett said, "They have to have an agreement that allows them to remain viable. I'm supportive of the Bucks. I want to come up with an agreement that allows them [to] stop losing money" (JSONLINE.com, 11/16).
IN OTHER NEWS: Spanish ACB League's Valencia BC yesterday on its website reported that Spurs C Tiago Splitter "has agreed to join the team." In San Antonio, Mike Monroe notes Splitter's "contract will have an out clause allowing his return to the Spurs should the lockout end in time for the 2011-12 NBA season to commence." He will be the "fifth Spurs player venturing overseas during the lockout" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 11/17). Meanwhile, YAHOO SPORTS' Pat Forde noted the "college game still has tremendous problems -- cheating, hypocrisy and a corrosive cult-of-the-coach mentality among them." But the '11-12 season "is college hoops' big chance to regain its seat at American sports' main table." The "opportunity is there, and the product should be good enough to take advantage" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/16).
