MI-based player agent Harold MacDonald said the NBPA's
leadership has made a "horrible miscalculation" on the unity
of team owners during the lockout, according to Chris
McCosky of the DETROIT NEWS. MacDonald: "I don't think they
ever recognized how strong and organized the owners are.
The owners were never going to back off a hard (salary) cap.
But the union leadership called the owners' bluff and got
the players to fall on the sword for a soft cap. Now it is
almost impossible to make a deal without the players having
to say it's a bad deal." MacDonald doesn't blame NBPA Exec
Dir Billy Hunter because he "has never had the power or
authority" to make a deal, but he said that the fault lies
"with the high priced players and their agents who saw the
hard cap eating into their personal profits." MacDonald:
"The owners have the resolve, the arenas, the money, the
television, the staff, everything. They can be tougher"
(DETROIT NEWS, 12/9). On CNN/SI.com, Phil Taylor writes
that both sides have "miscalculated," with owners believing
the players would fold and players feeling the "owners had a
more reasonable proposal" to offer. One owner: "Trust me,
if we had something we thought was going to get this thing
done, we'd have pulled it out by now" (CNN/SI.com, 12/9).
THE BETTMAN CONSPIRACY? NBA Commissioner David Stern's
All-Star cancellation was made four years "to the day" that
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman canceled his league's All-Star
Game in '94. Union reps "believe" Stern is following the
"tactics used by the NHL" during its labor dispute, which
was settled on January 13, 1995. One NBPA official said,
"This is Bettman's blue-print. And Stern's following it to
a T. To me, it's just a farce" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL,
12/9). In Chicago, Sam Smith writes that union leaders
"have told players that's the NBA's plan, which has kept the
players mostly quiet." Smith also adds that some "on both
sides have been trying to get Stern and Hunter to excuse
themselves from negotiations because of the bitterness that
has developed" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/9). In looking at the
two lockouts, Cornell's Institute on Conflict Resolution Dir
David Lipsky said, "I'm biased here because Gary is one of
my former students, but he knew what he was doing and never
lost control of the situation. You have to be good to do
what Bettman pulled off. I don't have quite the same faith
in basketball management" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 12/8).
MORE GUESSES ON CANCELLATION: Agent Marc Fleisher, on
cancelling the season: "Stern is not crazy enough to do
this. He's not that suicidal" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/9).
But NEWSDAY's Shaun Powell writes that Stern should "cancel
the season, quick, before another player insults the
public's intelligence with a silly comment, before new
stubble appears on David Stern" (NEWSDAY, 12/9).
STERN V. MUTOMBO: Stern is interviewed by Jeffrey
Denberg of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION and reiterates the
league's latest proposal, but Hawks C/NBPA Exec VP Dikembe
Mutombo said, "not everything is what it seems. They don't
tell you about the [20%] tax they proposed, and we don't
know where it's going. They don't tell you they are taking
away our licensing money. And they are misleading you when
they show how much money you can make after 10 years as a
Larry Bird guy. Look, I'm not stupid. I know there's no
way Stan Kasten is going to pay me $24 million dollars after
I'm in the league 10 years" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/9).
ON "NIGHTLINE": The lockout was the focus of Monday
night's "Nightline," as ABC's Forrest Sawyer said the
"season's NBA hoop dreams are now a joke." In his report,
ABC's Dave Marash said that to "most people, the more than
five-month stand-off ... is simply incomprehensible."
ESPN's David Aldridge added, "There is, I believe, a racial
element at work here that there isn't in baseball and that
there isn't in football and I think that fans are not going
to be as sympathetic for very identifiable, highly paid
African-American athletes as they would be with other
groups." Agent David Falk, sportswriter Ira Berkow and The
Bonham Group President Dean Bonham were "Nightline" guests.
Falk, asked if he is directing the players' talks:
"Absolutely not. ... We're clearly advising them and we're
advising them that we think that, you know, they should try
to reach a fair deal. ... The players have made concessions
on every major issue." Bonham, on fan reaction: "You're
going to see apathy transferred to anger in January if we
don't get this season started" ("Nightline," ABC, 12/7).
MALONE'S DELIVERY: Jazz F Karl Malone appeared on the
"Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. Malone, on the lockout: "I
think everything should start over." Malone said that pro
basketball is "entertainment," but that nobody talks about
how much entertainers make: "They see a basketball player
with five houses, five Mercedes-Benzes and everything like
that. You just had Cindy [Crawford] on the show ... how
many houses they got?" ("Tonight Show", NBC, 12/8).
