The NBA and NBPA will meet tomorrow in N.Y. in a last ditch effort to negotiate a new labor deal before the current CBA agreement expires at the end of the day tomorrow. The talks come after yesterday’s nearly five-hour NBA BOG meeting in Dallas, where owners were updated by Labor Relations Committee Chair and Spurs Owner Peter Holt. While owners did not vote to approve a lockout, the owners authorized the labor relations committee to “act in whatever way they deem appropriate,” according to NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver. That clears a procedural path for owners to lock out the players if a new deal is not reached. Owners also discussed changes to the league’s current revenue-sharing system, though no specific new plan has been finalized. NBA Commissioner David Stern did not rule out the possibility of an extension of the labor talks after the deadline. NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter opened the door on the possibility that the two sides could negotiate after the deal is set to expire, saying, "If both sides demonstrate a willingness, time can be extended." But Hunter also said, "If no progress is being made by the two sides, then the NBA will impose a lockout" (Lombardo & Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal).
MEETING OF THE MINDS: In N.Y., Howard Beck notes tomorrow's negotiating session "will be what is referred to as a 'small-group' meeting, involving just the chief negotiators" for each side: Stern and Silver for the NBA, and Hunter and NBPA President and Lakers G Derek Fisher for the players, "possibly with lawyers, economists and other advisers in the room." The decision to hold a small-group meeting "could imply that neither side intends to make a substantial counteroffer" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/29). Also in N.Y., Marc Berman notes Thursday's gathering is the "final, last-ditch meeting" between the NBA and NBPA, but sources said that it "will likely be a short one, with significantly fewer owners and players on hand than in the last failed session last Friday." Both sides "seem resigned to the fact no agreement will take place tomorrow and the discussion may center on whether the owners wish to extend the lockout deadline." Berman notes the "biggest philosophical gap between the two sides is the owners' insistence on a hard cap they recently branded a 'flex cap.'" The union contends that a "set cap number will be detrimental to the league's vitality, believing it will destroy the 'middle class,' create friction among players and force owners to offer only non-guaranteed long-term contracts as the NFL does" (N.Y. POST, 6/29).
WHAT WILL FRIDAY BRING? Stern yesterday said that "it was the union that asked" to schedule bargaining for tomorrow instead of today. CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger noted if the owners do impose a lockout, NBPA attorneys "would have to decide whether to follow the NFL players' strategy by decertifying the union and filing an antitrust lawsuit." That would "be the nuclear option, and one both sides seem to want to avoid since it would turn the dispute over to the federal courts and waste valuable time." With a "far longer season than the NFL, choosing the courts over bargaining would all but assure that games would be missed" in the '11-12 season. If the union decertified, owners and players "would no longer be able to continue negotiating after the expiration of the CBA" (CBSSPORTS.com, 6/28). In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence writes, "Don't hold your breath for a last-second settlement. ... There probably isn't enough time to reach a deal or make enough progress to have the league extend the deadline." If the two sides "continue to be stalemated, it's a foregone conclusion that owners will shut down the league for the first time in 13 years" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/29). Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis on Monday said, "The commissioner and the union, they are going to work really, really hard to come to an agreement, and I've given my proxy to the negotiating committee. I have a lot of confidence that we're on the same page and I'm hopeful we can play next year" (CSNWASHINGTON.com, 6/28).
THE WORST IS YET TO COME? In San Antonio, Mike Monroe notes once the lockout "begins, the standoff is going to get nastier." NBA execs have indicated that when the lockout "is in place, the owners will push for a hard salary cap of $45 million, the elimination of guaranteed contracts and ask that the players swallow a 33 percent salary cut." Concessions made recently, including the "'flex cap' of $62 million and a guarantee of $2 billion in annual player payroll, will be off the table" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 6/29). Former NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik said in an ESPN podcast, "The sense I'm getting is that it's much like it was in 1998-99, that owners seem to be wedded to getting at least a large measure of changes they're asking for, and my feeling is they would be prepared to lose a season if necessary" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 6/29).
WE (STILL) GOT NEXT: WNBA President Laurel Richie yesterday said that the "five league teams owned by NBA franchises 'absolutely' will continue to play, even in the event of an NBA lockout." However, in DC, Steve Yanda reports Richie "did not reveal any specifics as to how those five WNBA teams would operate financially should an NBA lockout occur." Richie said she is "focused solely on the WNBA," and thus declined to address ramifications of a potential lockout. Richie added that she "hopes to present 'a master plan for the league' to team representatives" at the WNBA’s BOG meeting in December, "after she’s had an opportunity to better familiarize herself with her new organization" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/29).
