Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Thinks New NBA CBA Will Help Small Market Teams Retain Talent

Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert voted to ratify the NBA's new CBA, and he "believes there are some provisions which will help small-market teams from losing their free agents," according to Tom Reed of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. Gilbert said that he "hopes the rash of star players trying to force their way to larger teams is 'a blip' rather than a trend." Gilbert acknowledged that he "wasn't 'jumping up and down' about the CBA, but thought it was fair and voted in favor of it." He said, "There was one thing where (a media outlet was) going owner by owner and their positions. You could've taken darts and done a better job. I think sometimes the way the Cavs and our position was portrayed is definitely inaccurate and wrong. I'm glad it's over now and we're moving forward." He added, "Did we get everything we wanted in that area? Probably not. But in the spirit of compromise, both sides could probably say they didn't get everything they wanted." Gilbert made headlines last month with his e-mail to NBA Commissioner David Stern expressing his frustration over a proposed trade that would have sent then-Hornets G Chris Paul to the Lakers. Gilbert said that he "was on a plane and made the mistake of sending the email before he checked the Internet to see the deal already had been nixed." Gilbert: "The lesson will be when you get off an airplane, check the Internet first before you go send off an e-mail. It's a little disappointing someone would leak a personal e-mail. Owners are always making statements and having opinions between them and always sending things back and forth. It was unusual and I was shocked to see that in the media" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 1/2).

DISAPPOINTED WITH NO FRANCHISE TAG: In Akron, Jason Lloyd noted Gilbert was "disappointed an NFL-type franchise tag wasn’t added to the agreement, which would delay star players’ ability to leave their current teams, but was happy that teams have the ability to pay their own free agents well, about $28 million more than another team can pay." He is "hoping the additional revenue, more than was allowable under the previous CBA, will help teams retain their stars." Gilbert said, "This concept of free agency where star players were leaving teams is really something of the last 18 months. That’s what the other side was saying. It wasn’t a problem for 15, 16, 17 years in the NBA” (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 1/2).

ENOUGH WITH UNCERTAIN LABOR SITUATIONS: ESPN’s Jemele Hill used her "Parting Shot" on Sunday's edition of "The Sports Reporters” to discuss the labor situations that permeated the sports world in '11. She said, "There are a few choice words and phrases that I am hoping won't be a part of 2012: Collective bargaining agreement, decertification, revenue-sharing, millionaires versus billionaires, the tired cliché catchphrase that preys on fan ignorance and petty jealousy. The labor strife that sucked the life out of sports in 2011 is mostly behind us, and I say mostly because the NHL's labor agreement expires on September 15th. Let's hope the NHL took cues from what happened to the NBA and NFL in 2011 and learned from before that losing an entire season is totally unacceptable. A new hockey deal being reached would be a huge morale boost for fans who in 2011 understandably wondered if they were being taken for granted. If hockey is on board all four major sports will enjoy relative labor peace until 2016 when baseball's collective bargaining agreement ends. ... It’s peaceful on the labor front right now. Let's just hope that spirit of compromise is contagious" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN2, 1/1).