The NBA and the NBPA are “scheduled to talk twice more this week in hopes of making progress in labor negotiations,” but a “definitive line has been drawn, and a lockout appears inevitable,” according to Gary Washburn of the BOSTON GLOBE. It would be “ridiculously unpopular for owners to institute a work stoppage, but some would lose money at a slower rate if there were no games.” The NBPA “understands there are flaws in the system,” but Exec Dir Billy Hunter “also realizes that a hard cap would give financial control of the league to the owners for decades, because it’s highly unlikely that they would ever relinquish that” (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/12). In Miami, David Neal wrote “even if you call it all rhetoric, the tone is a remake of the NHL’s song seven years ago.” It is “not the same tone struck six years ago, during the NBA’s last collective bargaining agreement negotiation.” Neal: “Then, I had no doubt a deal would get done to avoid what the NHL was experiencing” (MIAMI HERALD, 6/12).
ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE: GRANTLAND.com’s Bill Simmons wrote under the subhead, “Basketball Is At Its Peak Right Now -- Too Bad It’s All About To Fall Off A Cliff.” The NBA is “back." The league has “more marketable stars than every other American team sport combined," and internationally “has never been stronger.” In digital media, the NBA has been “light years ahead of everyone else, embracing the revolution and staying ahead of the curve with social media and video content.” Simmons: “Throw in a killer 2011 Finals and everything looks fantastic on paper … expect for the part that the league is losing money.” Simmons asked, “Why is it so hard? Why are we 20 days away from that self-imposed June 30 deadline with no real momentum? Where is the urgency?” The NBA infrastructure “is fundamentally flawed right now: Superstars shouldn't be able to hold free agency over their teams' heads like an anvil.” Still, Simmons is “cautiously optimistic only because” this is NBA Commissioner David Stern's “last rodeo.” He “wants to set up” NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver “to succeed in his place; he wants to make sure no franchises fold on his watch; and he doesn't want to be remembered by his owners like NFL owners remember Paul Tagliabue, who sold them out and left money on the table just because he wanted to get one final deal done and get the hell out of there” (GRANTLAND.com, 6/10).
