The NBA officially instituted a lockout at 12:01am ET Friday after a conference call with the 11-member labor relations committee who formally approved the work stoppage. Similar to the NFL’s lockout, players are now barred from using any team practice facilities and arenas or having any other contact with teams. The two sides were never close to a deal leading up to the league-imposed lockout. A three-hour last-ditch bargaining session was held Thursday in Manhattan, and NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter said afterward that he was resigned to a lockout after neither side could close the gap on “mammoth” differences in each side’s proposals. Hunter: “In a way, I have been anticipating it for the past two or three years.” Amid both sides citing the wide philosophical gulf over each other’s proposals, NBA Commissioner David Stern Thursday for the first time shed some light some revenue sharing specifics; the league wants to triple the amount of the its revenue sharing as the NBA planning committee works to retool the NBA’s revenue-sharing system, an effort that will continue during the lockout. Stern said that the plan is to boost revenue sharing among the league’s 30 teams from the current $60M dollars to between $150-200M. “We are going full speed ahead on revenue sharing,” he said. “There are certain issues that have to be vetted. There is going to be some spirited debate.” But Stern did not say how the major increase in revenue sharing would be funded among the teams (John Lombardo, SportsBusiness Journal).
NO DECERTIFICATION FOR NOW: USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt reports the NBPA, for now, "chose not to decertify." Hunter said, "I just don't think it's necessary." NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver: "We've never needed the courts to resolve disputes we've had with the players association before." Silver also said that a "small group from both sides plans to meet next week and schedule another meeting the following week." Hunter: "The clock is now running with regard to whether or not there will be a loss of games. I'm hoping, over the next month or so, there will be a softening, maybe, on their side, and maybe we'll have to soften our position as well" (USA TODAY, 7/1). In N.Y., Howard Beck reports the next negotiating session "could come within the next two weeks, after the union receives additional financial documents from the league." Hunter: "We’re going to continue to negotiate, we’ve already agreed. That was sort of the closing agreement up there, that we would not let the imposition of a lockout stop us from meeting" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/1).
INSIDE THE FINAL PROPOSAL: In DC, Amy Shipley in a front-page piece notes the players "offered a final proposal Thursday, but Stern said the plan would have gradually increased the players’ average salary from $5 million to more than $7 million while preventing teams from achieving profitability." Stern, Hunter, Silver, Lakers G and NBPA President Derek Fisher and Wizards F and NBPA VP Maurice Evans "met for just more than 2 1/2 hours before abandoning talks" on Thursday. Owners maintain that the league "requires a major fix, a new economic system that will allow gradually increasing revenue streams to keep pace with far more dramatically rising costs." They contend that the current 57% of "annual revenue -- after $600 million is subtracted to cover expenses -- that is paid out to players is too much," and the owners are "seeking an additional $900 million off the top, and a 50-50 split." The players "have offered to give back $100 million a year for the next five years, but they have refused a huge pay cut." Ownership also wants a "hard cap on team payrolls to replace the current soft cap that teams can exceed by using a variety of exceptions" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/1). Spurs F and NBPA Exec Committee member Matt Bonner, who also was at Thursday's meeting, said, "We were just too far apart." Bonner: "I wouldn't want to be Billy Hunter. He's been in way more meetings than I have, and I come out of every one of them with a headache" (MYSANANTONIO.com, 7/1).
KEEPING IT FRIENDLY: Both Hunter and Stern said the negotiations leading up to the lockout were cordial, unlike some of the bargaining sessions in ‘98, the last time there was a work stoppage. “The atmosphere in the room has been very professional,” Hunter said. “They have certain views that differ and we just haven’t been able to find a happy medium.” But Stern said that the professional tone of the negotiations had no impact on the labor impasse. “It is great that we understand that it is nothing personal,” Stern said. “But the lack of animosity doesn’t get us any closer” (Lombardo). Hunter: "It's been extremely cordial. It's almost like we were singing 'Kumbaya' at the end. ... We were all shaking hands and saying 'We'll see you in a couple of weeks, have a good Fourth of July weekend.'" ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan noted "people on both sides of the table said the vibe in the negotiating room has been better than it was" in '98 (ESPN.com, 6/30).
TAKING THE CHARGE: In Boston, Gary Washburn cites league sources as saying that the owners "are willing to potentially wipe out the 2011-12 season to change the economic system." A handful of NBA owners "have ties to the NHL, where a lockout caused the cancellation of the 2004-05 season, and are convinced the players will eventually cave." But Hornets G and NBPA Exec Committee member Chris Paul said, "It’s not just about (the owners) standing firm. We’re just as firm. We’re standing together. We’re strong. We’re unified" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/1). Free agent F and NBPA Secretary-Treasurer James Jones said the "players are prepared" for the lockout. Jones: "We’re united in our desire to get things that are fair for us in this game, to have our contributions reflected" (PALMBEACHPOST.com, 6/30). Fisher said, "Owners might think this is the best way to get what they want. We don't agree." Free agent G Shannon Brown: "It's unfortunate for the players, for the owners and for the fans. None of us want to stop playing basketball, a game that we all love" (L.A. TIMES, 7/1). Magic G and player rep Chris Duhon said, "We've kind of known for a couple of years now that the owners were going to be seeking some change, so we've been preparing ourselves for it just in case we weren't able to compromise" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/1). ESPN L.A.'s Dave McMenamin reports an ESPN survey of players on the Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks revealed that "only 10 out of 37 players who responded believed a lockout would last six months or longer." While the questions "were posed to the players several months ago, an overwhelming majority of respondents -- 36 out of 37 (97.3 percent) -- said there would be a lockout come July 1" (ESPNLA.com, 6/30).
HOW DID WE GET HERE? In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence writes, "Here's what is particularly troubling, but not surprising: Everybody has known about the great philosophical divide ever since owners and players decided to start negotiating in 2009. Yet, they have done nothing in all this time to get on the same page. As Stern admitted Thursday, maybe they need to chuck everything they've done so far and just start over when talks resume in perhaps another two weeks. In case you really thought the two sides were speaking the same language, the players' last offer Thursday put that to rest" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/1). In L.A., Mark Heisler writes, "Is the NBA in such bad shape, owners would sacrifice games or even a season, as the NHL did in 2004-05? Or is there a deal to be made? Personally, I think if the players go from 57% to 50-52% of revenue and the owners increase revenue sharing among teams from $45 million to $200 million, they'll be fine" (L.A. TIMES, 7/1). ESPN.com's Sheridan wrote, "The weird thing is how Stern and the owners are going down this mad path so matter-of-factly, treating this fork in the road too much like a detour instead of the route to self-destruction it could easily become. Their lockout has become a self-fulfilling prophesy, and now the consequences begin" (ESPN.com, 6/30).
