Nearly 60 NBA players attended a regional meeting yesterday with NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter and Lakers G and NBPA President Derek Fisher on UCLA's campus, and the "consensus" coming out of that meeting was that the current offer from the owners is "unacceptable, especially the call for a hard salary cap," according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com. T'Wolves F Kevin Love said that while the current proposal "needs work, the onus is on the players to be proactive in the labor negotiations in order to save the season." Love: "We have to get the ball rolling. We can't wait around until October or November and then nothing gets done. The owners will keep stalling and obviously they have more means than us to lock us out. ... We'll play hardball if we have to. I want there to be an NBA season but it's also apparent that we're going to miss games." Love indicated that the meeting "became heated at times when players fully grasped the details of the owners' proposal," but said that the union is "optimistic and confident" going into today's scheduled meeting in Las Vegas. Love said that the players "don't want to see years cut off guaranteed contracts and are not pleased with a proposal that they could lose money if not playing up to their contracts." He added that the 50-50 proposed revenue split is "unacceptable." Love also said, "No one was talking about decertification" (ESPN.com, 8/16). NBA TV's Rick Kamla said, “The rhetoric that we are hearing from the league and the union is quite similar to what was said at the same point during the 1998 lockout.” NBA TV's Dennis Scott said the current situation is “almost identical” to the ’98 lockout, with “no communications going on right now." Scott: "No one has any sense of urgency to get this deal done" ("GameTime," NBA TV, 8/16).
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS: On Long Island, Alan Hahn reports NBA Commissioner David Stern, in a podcast with ESPN.com's Bill Simmons, acknowledged contraction is "not a subject that we're against." But Stern noted that NBA owners "aren't exactly requesting contraction." Hahn notes the podcast "ultimately was Stern again using the ESPN platform (the NBA's most important corporate partner also recently had The Commish on SportsCenter) as a means to get his message out to the people." Relocation is a "more likely scenario and it's possible we could see those avenues explored once the lockout ends." K.C. and the "glistening Sprint Center are awaiting a second shot at owning an NBA franchise and the Hornets are in its sights." Hahn adds, "And how long does Michael Jordan keep the Bobcats in Charlotte, especially with Seattle lingering as a city the NBA wants to return to once a new arena is in place?" Hahn: "Come November and December ... agents, especially the powerful ones, will start getting involved. There has been talk that superagent Arn Tellem was looking to organize some agents and discuss how they can help find a solution." But the issue with basketball "is the ruthless environment that exists among agents." Hahn: "How can they sit together in a board room, working as a team, when they know they are each bankrolling 'runners' to bird dog the other's player?" (NEWSDAY, 8/17).
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Parker showing interest in playing
in France during lockout |
STUDYING ABROAD: ESPN.com's Ian Whittell reported Spurs G Tony Parker "stated definitively Tuesday that he will play in his native France if he plays anywhere other than the NBA this season." Parker said, "I'm not going to [make] any decision until the end of September, after the European Championships." He added, "If I play (abroad), I will definitely play in France, for my fans, for my team, ASVEL" (ESPN.com, 8/16). In Boston, Mark Murphy reports Celtics G Ray Allen believes that "all of the talk -- both legitimate and absurd -- about players taking their talents overseas is giving the Players' Association some much-needed ammunition" in CBA negotiations. Allen said, "It does give us leverage. Some of the younger players have already proven that they can sign for some money. (Nenad) Krstic signed (with CSKA Moscow). They have a dual option that pays them on a competitive level. It does splice the league up a little bit, where a guy can say I have an alternative" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/17).
WHO'S GOT NEXT? CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger noted Street Basketball Association Dir of Basketball and COO Matt Rosner believes that he "has the answer to players' desire to create leverage in their collective bargaining talks with the owners." Although insurance issues "have to be worked out," Rosner said that his organization is "actively recruiting NBA players to join his streetball movement, and he fully recognizes that it would be a temporary but potentially rewarding arrangement for all parties involved." Rosner said the SBA is "a structured, organized, safe, fan-friendly environment to play your games in." He added, "This is a way to rep your city, make some money and show how you guys can bring in all kinds of revenue streams." The SBA has teams in 13 cities, "including some of the biggest NBA markets" (CBSSPORTS.com, 8/16).
