NBA owners and players "ended a contentious week of negotiations and rhetoric Friday without a counter-offer from the players, leaving a slim chance that a deal can be reached" before the CBA expires at the end of the day Thursday, according to Ken Berger of CBSSPORTS.com. The league and NBPA could "meet again Wednesday in Manhattan for one, or possibly two more days of bargaining." NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter said, "We think we’ll have one more shot at it." But sources noted that it "would be nearly impossible to write a new CBA in that time frame, leaving only two likely scenarios -- a lockout imposed by the owners that would shut the sport down for the first time since the 1998-99 season, or an extension of the deadline to negotiate, which neither side has ruled out." The latter option, however, "would require progress on narrowing the gap between the two sides’ bargaining positions, which remains hundreds of millions of dollars a year -- and billions over the length of a new deal." Lakers G and NBPA President Derek Fisher said, "There's still such a large gap. We feel that any move for us is real dollars we'd be giving back from where we currently stand, as opposed to where our owners have proposed numbers that in our estimation don’t exist right now." Hunter reiterated that he "expects the owners to vote on imposing a lockout during the meeting of their full" BOG tomorrow in Dallas, but sources said that there "were no plans for such a vote." Berger noted "more than 30 players arrived" for the negotiation session last Friday wearing NBPA shirts with the word "STAND" printed on the front, a "display of unity and force that commissioner David Stern said he welcomed." Celtics Fs Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were "among the most vocal players in the room Friday and the players who devised the T-shirt idea" (CBSSPORTS.com, 6/24).
TOO FAR APART? Owners had hoped the players would offer a counterproposal on Friday, but Hunter after the meeting said, "Why did we not make one? Because we felt that the one that we made previously was sufficient" (USA TODAY, 6/27). Hunter added, "I doubt seriously if we’re going to meet what they’re demanding. The numbers are just too much. We’ve said it all along, it’s an issue of interpretation. That’s where the conflict comes in. We think in some instances there may be some validity." He added, “Maybe it’s only a percentage of what they’re claiming and not the entire number. And so our contention all along is if you are losing X dollars per year and you contend that we’re your partners and we’re getting 57 percent, then why don’t we assume responsibility for 57 percent? They would obviously prefer that we go much further than that" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/26).
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN: Hunter last night said that NBA players will await a decision by NBA owners on whether they want to meet one more time before the CBA expires and owners can implement a lockout. "We said we would be available to meet and we have set aside Wednesday and Thursday," Hunter said in a telephone interview. "It would be one of those two days," he said. "I would assume we would hear on Tuesday night whether or not they think another meeting is merited." Asked why the players offered to meet for one day rather than two after the owners meeting, Hunter said, "To just say we are going to meet for two days -- two days for what? As I have indicated, we have to get some indication from them as to whether or not an agreement is achievable." Hunter declined to characterize his mood or handicap the chance that players will be locked out. He said, "I can't address that. That would be more of a decision to be made by the NBA owners, because when the agreement expires on the 30th, they are the ones who can decide that" (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal). On Long Island, Alan Hahn noted the NBA is "expected to hold off on a lockout vote" at tomorrow's BOG meeting, and "instead focus on another meeting with the players' union the following day in Manhattan." NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver on Friday said, "We have meetings scheduled now for after that board meeting, so I think it would be premature to talk about where we're going to find ourselves next week" (NEWSDAY, 6/25).
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Stern says that both sides need to "amp down"
rhetoric following CBA bargaining sessions |
TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK: In N.Y., Howard Beck noted the two sides "struck a civil tone on Friday, after a tense week." Stern said that "everyone agreed to refrain from discussing publicly the substance of Friday’s talks, although he defended his earlier decision to publicize the league’s latest proposal." Stern said, "I thought it was appropriate, as the time in negotiations wound down, to sort of say after the last meeting what the position of the parties were." Stern Friday "repeatedly stopped himself midsentence to avoid saying too much." He conceded there was a "sense on both sides that rhetoric is not helpful, if it’s incendiary; and we're not interested in incendiary rhetoric on either side." Suns F and player rep Jared Dudley said Stern was "a little disappointed" that the union did not make a new CBA offer. Dudley: "I think the same thing goes for the players’ side" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/25). Stern stressed that both sides "needed to amp down the tone of their public comments following two days of jabbing and jousting by the union in the wake of Tuesday's contentious bargaining session." Fisher said, "We don't view the process as over in any way, so I wouldn't say the talks are off just because there wasn't a lot of movement in terms of economic numbers being given back and forth. It doesn't mean that we're not still negotiating. It's not about meeting every day just for the sake of meeting." Stern said the "STAND" T-Shirts were "nicely done." He added, "It was great to have so many players in the room. ... We were hoping that more players would come, and we were actually cheered by the fact that they were there, and some of the new players did make themselves heard" (ESPN.com, 6/24).
REAL ISSUES TO OVERCOME: In L.A., Mark Heisler wrote for the NBA, the ongoing NFL lockout "is a hopeful model as its owners and players close in on a deal." Heisler: "Of course, this was a vanity lockout for NFL owners. ... The NBA has real issues, which include the owners' revenue sharing, or lack thereof, as well as player costs. So this should take at least 103 days, with the season openers around Day 120" (L.A. TIMES, 6/26). N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica said, "If David Stern can somehow hold off a lockout and give us basketball next season, then he really is a genius because he’s fighting a two-front war. He’s fighting Billy Hunter and the Players’ Association and he’s fighting 20 money-losing owners who are saying to him, ‘Clue me in, Commish. How does the fact that we’re going to have a five superpower league, how does that help me in Charlotte or Milwaukee or Sacramento with no chance to win under the current system?" Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom said Stern “represents owners who’ll complain until all of a sudden LeBron James and Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade want to come to your team" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 6/26). In Milwaukee, Michael Hunt wrote, "The people who were supposed to be running the league, starting with the commissioner, have allowed it to get so far out of their control that they see no way out except to destroy the monster they created. ... I don't blame the players. I never begrudge anyone earning what the market will bear. Except the NBA has helped shrink its market during difficult economic times through mismanagement and poor PR decisions. The players need to keep that in mind" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/26).
BAD TIMING: In Denver, Chris Dempsey noted "interest in the NBA this season reached heights it hadn't in recent years," and the league "capitalizes on this by potentially waving goodbye to the fans with the prospect of a prolonged work stoppage?" Dempsey: "Beyond any of the issues players and owners can ultimately agree on, the loss of fan support is potentially the most damaging matter of all" (DENVER POST, 6/26). ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said the NBA’s "golden year (is) appearing to have come to a crashing halt.” Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said, “There’s a much better chance of football in September than basketball in November" ("PTI," ESPN, 6/24).
