NBA Commissioner David Stern appeared on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning” Friday on the eve of the start of the NBA Playoffs to discuss several topics facing the league, most notably the prospect of a lockout on July 1. Stern said, “We're negotiating with our players. We will continue to negotiate with our players.” He added, “In the two seasons for which we have numbers, I think one the league lost $370 million, and next the league lost $340 million. And we've given these players those numbers. We've given them our certified annual reports of all of our teams. We've given them the combined summaries. We've made available the income tax returns. So if everything you say led to us being profitable, that would be one set of facts. But right now, what we're striving for is to become both as successful on the court as we are successful in generating revenues, which we have become. And successful in having a business model that works, which we haven't quite done yet.” Stern later said, “In these difficult economic times, where past experiences are not quite as relevant as they were, we have a tough negotiation with the players. But I think there's some great possibility that we will reach a deal with our players” (“Mike & Mike in the Morning,” ESPN Radio, 4/15). Bobcats G and player rep Matt Carroll said the players “know some things have to change” with the new CBA. However, he is telling teammates this “could be a long lockout.” Carroll: “We’re willing to accept something different and understand there’s got to be some middle ground. We have not received anything from the owners that they’re budging from the initial proposal.” He said of that proposal, “At first everyone was, well, not laughing, but (saying) this is a little bit drastic. … They’re playing hardball, I guess” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/15).
HITTING HIGH MARKS: The NBA hit record marks in several off-the-court areas this season. In addition to it being the most-viewed season ever for ABC, ESPN and TNT, NBA.com drew more than 1.94 billion video views during the regular season, up more than 140% from '09-10. Nearly 5.9 billion page views were generated on the site during the season, up 35%. The league finished the year with 21.3 million fans attending games and at a 90.3% capacity rate. This is the seventh straight year the NBA has finished with at least a 90% capacity rate. Meanwhile, merchandise sales were up more than 20% globally, while sales at NBAStore.com were up 60% (THE DAILY).
