Key NBA labor negotiators from both sides "reported no progress Monday in their first meeting since the lockout began July 1," according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY. Asked after the 2 1/2-hour meeting if the players are bargaining in good faith, NBA Commissioner David Stern said, "I would say not." Stern's "bleak comments, with uncharacteristic digs at the players' bargaining tactics, temporarily changed the tenor of negotiations." Stern: "It's fair to say we're at the same place as we were 30 days ago, and we agreed we'd be in touch to schedule some additional meetings." He said "nothing" in the negotiations gives him encouragement. Stern added, "I don't feel optimistic about the players' willingness to engage in a serious way" (USA TODAY, 8/2). NBA.com's Steve Aschburner notes given that the NBPA "already has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board accusing the owners" of not negotiating in good faith and that Stern "chooses his words wisely, his response surely wasn't accidental" (NBA.com, 8/2). In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence reports several union officials "looked stunned" when told of Stern's "mudslinging, his first biting comments in two years of negotiations." NBPA officials did agree with Stern that the two sides "are in the exact same position they were in on July 1, when owners ordered the shutdown." The owners and players "had a bad day in the first full-scale bargaining session since June 30." While there is "no real pressure on either side to negotiate -- the season doesn't start until Nov. 1 -- both sides are dug in." Stern said, "We just can't seem to get over the gap that separates us" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/2).
OFF TO A ROCKY START: The AP's Brian Mahoney noted Stern and NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver were joined at yesterday's negotiating session in Manhattan by Spurs Owner Peter Holt, who leads the league's labor relations committee, and T'Wolves Owner Glen Taylor, Chair of the NBA BOG. The players' side included NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter, Lakers G and NBPA President Derek Fisher, Lakers C and NBPA VP Theo Ratliff and union attorneys. Fisher said, "It's a tough position to be in. I think Peter, Glen Taylor, Commissioner Stern, Adam Silver are articulating certain things in the room, expressing their desire to get a deal done, but where their proposal lies makes it hard to believe that. So we're continuing to try to work around what's been said and really focus on the deal on the table, and right now we're still a very, very long way from getting a deal done." Stern, however, "disputed Fisher's take on the owners' actions." Stern: "He's entitled to draw his own conclusion. We have absolutely the opposite take on it." Fisher indicated that the sides "would try to meet at least two or three more times in August." Stern said that there is "always reason to have meetings, yet made it clear owners feel not enough is happening during them" (AP, 8/1). Fisher said that there "would be more scrutiny on talks between the NBA and the union now that the NFL lockout had ended." But neither side said that it "felt compelled to act quickly simply because another league has ended its stalemate" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/2). SPORTING NEWS' Sean Deveney writes, "It's difficult to see how the yawning chasm that separates the two sides will be bridged within two months. Talk to most any member of an NBA front office and you'll get the same kind of long-sighing resignation we had from Stern on Monday afternoon" (SPORTING NEWS TODAY, 8/2).
WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN: CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger wrote with Stern's comments yesterday, his "most direct public assault on the players during the more than two years of bargaining, the NBA lockout took its next step toward all-out legal warfare." With Stern contending that it is the players who are "not bargaining in good faith, he set the stage for a possible counter-charge by the league with the NLRB on the subject of good-faith bargaining." Such a legal strategy, which league officials "would not confirm Monday as being on the table, could blunt the impact of the players’ charge and -- more importantly -- drag the lockout precariously into territory where it would be impossible to save all" of the '11-12 season (CBSSPORTS.com, 8/1). YAHOO SPORTS' Adrian Wojnarowski wrote the NBPA "ought to be asking" itself why it is "so afraid of David Stern." Wojnarowski: "The reason for the union finally scheduling a meeting with the owners on Monday in New York City is simple: Union officials are trying to convince the players they’re doing something, but it’s worthless. This is a show. There’s nothing to negotiate, nothing to discuss. The NBA commissioner has made sure of it." Stern "doesn’t need to push his owners on revenue sharing -- the most viable solution for long-term league solvency -- when it’s so much easier to go after the players and shut the sport down." The commissioner is "taking the easy way out, but it’s understandable considering the staggering salary these owners pay him." Wojnarowski added, "Everyone is so scared of Stern. They want to work in the league again, and know he has the power to crush them. This is part of the reason so many are watching Players Association president Derek Fisher closely now. Will he ever come out swinging at Stern? ... Play ball with Stern in labor talks, and history shows the league will take care of you" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/1).
