USSERY FLOATED FOR NBPA EXEC DIR; TROUBLE AHEAD FOR NBA CBA?
ESPN's David Aldridge reported that Terdema Ussery,
President of Nike Sports Management and former CBA Commissioner,
was one of several candidates interviewed by the NBPA's head
hunting firm for its Exec Dir position. A six- person review
board is expected to hold second interviews and make a
recommendation to the full board of players reps within the next
few weeks. Aldridge also said NBA players will seek to create
"an entity similar to that of Players Inc., which was created by
the [NFLPA] a couple of years ago" ("SportsCenter," 5/10).
TOUGH TALK: In Dallas, David Moore examines the difficulty
in finalizing the new CBA agreed to before the season. Russ
Granik, NBA's Deputy Commissioner, said union attorney Jeffrey
Kessler and the NBPA "are trying to back out of very substantial
portions of our agreement, and we don't know where this will
ultimately lead." Granik: "Based on some of their contentions,
I can't tell you it won't get to the point where we won't have a
deal at all." The league viewed Kessler's appointment to
represent the union "as a way to stall on signing off on all
aspects of the agreement until the players named a new director."
With no new union leader "in sight," the NBA is "concerned there
will be litigation over significant points of the agreement --
group licensing heads the list -- during the offseason" (DALLAS
MORNING NEWS, 5/12).
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