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Leagues and Governing Bodies

NBA Lockout, Day 78: Fisher Rallies Players, While Stern Denies Crack In Ownership

Solidarity was the “dominant theme on Thursday,” whether Lakers G and NBPA President Derek Fisher was “reaffirming the unity of his players association or casting doubt upon the unity of NBA owners amid a critical period in their negotiations,” according to Howard Beck of the N.Y. TIMES. Fisher and NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter at their union meeting in Las Vegas “used the opportunity to rebut” reports that five influential agents were trying to dissolve the NBPA “by staging a news conference with their players literally behind them.” Fisher suggested that it was the owners “who were dogged by internal divisions.” Beck notes negotiators are “close to agreement on the financial terms of a new labor deal,” but they remain “bitterly divided over the owners’ insistence on a hard salary cap.” With “substantial savings now on the table, Fisher said he could not envision all 30 owners sacrificing the season just to win a hard-cap system.” Fisher: “In my opinion, there are not as many teams or owners as people would think that are interested in throwing away a season over a hard-cap issue.” Stern at an owners meeting in Dallas, “dismissed Fisher’s assessment.” Stern: “I don’t know what the basis of Derek’s belief is, but I can tell you, having just come out of the meeting, that the vast majority of owners are indeed in favor of a hard-cap system.” NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver “seemed to open the door to a compromise position, saying that the key principle for owners was not a hard cap, per se, but rather ‘a system where all 30 teams can compete for a championship.’” No bargaining sessions are scheduled, but union and league officials “are expected to talk over the next day or so” (N.Y. TIMES, 9/16).

WHO'S IN AGREEMENT: ESPN.com’s McMenamin & MacMahon report both sides “initially found reason for optimism during Tuesday's meetings” in N.Y. Sources said that Stern and Spurs Owner and NBA Labor Relations Committee Chair Peter Holt “felt that the players' proposal to take 52 or 53 percent of basketball-related income, compared to 57 under the previous agreement, was basically fair.” The owners “were seriously considering coming off of their demand for a salary freeze and would allow players' future earnings to be tied into the league's revenue growth, a critical point for players.” Sources said that the owners also were “willing to allow the players to maintain their current salaries, without rollbacks.” When the owners left the players to meet among themselves in Dallas on Thursday, sources said that Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert and Suns Managing General Partner Robert Sarver “expressed their dissatisfaction with many of the points.” The sources said that Knicks Owner James Dolan and the Lakers Owner Jerry Buss “were visibly annoyed by the hardline demands of Gilbert and Sarver” (ESPN.com, 9/15). But Stern in a press conference Thursday disputed the ESPN story about Gilbert and Sarver negatively impacting the negotiations. Stern: “It is so wrong and incorrect and fictional that I think I can understand why they would only attribute it to sources and that nobody would be willing to stand behind it. It’s been absolutely untrue. And I don’t want to single out ESPN The Magazine for that quality of reporting; it wouldn’t be fair” (THE DAILY). Silver said, “There is absolute agreement, and it’s a complete fiction coming from somewhere that there isn’t” (MYSANANTONIO.com, 9/15). Gilbert on Twitter Thursday night “angrily respond to reports that he helped derail potential progress in the NBA labor negotiations.” He wrote, "Some of these NBA 'bloggissists' flat-out make stuff up and then try to dupe readers into believing their fiction is real. Sad & pathetic" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 9/16).

Fisher offers overview of recent bargaining
session in letter to players
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
: Fisher in a letter to NBPA members wrote, “The most recent meetings in New York were effective. What you have been told by your agents, representatives and the media is probably speculative and inaccurate. What actually happened in those meetings was discussion, brainstorming and a sharing of options by both sides. The turning point this past Tuesday was not a disagreement between the players and the owners. It was actually a fundamental divide between the owners internally. They could not agree with each other on specific points of the deal and therefore it caused conflict within the league and its owners. So it is our hope that today, Thursday, at the owners meeting in Dallas that they work out their differences, come up with a revenue sharing plan that will protect their teams and are then ready to come together and sign off on the agreement we as a smaller group deemed reasonable (SI.com, 9/15). SI.com’s Sam Amick noted Fisher in the letter “accused some agents of acting on their own agendas and implored the players to support the union's efforts.” Fisher “countered with a subtle but strong message in his letter, vowing to fight for the players he represents.” Fisher after the meeting in Las Vegas Thursday said, “I'm in constant communication with hundreds of players, so it's not that they don't have information and updates or get email responses or information from the NBPA web site etc. etc., but I sensed it was important to step up and take an even stronger leadership position and be willing to take the responsibility and the accountability that comes with the position.” He added, “I felt like the letter was important recognizing that all 400 guys weren't going to meet every day, to let them know exactly how I felt, full force, without censor" (SI.com, 9/16).

MIXED MESSAGES? In L.A., Lance Pugmire reports the players Thursday “received a briefing about the possibility of union decertification” from NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith. Hunter after the meeting said that “no decision has been made on the possibility of decertification, which would probably be followed by an antitrust lawsuit against owners attempting to reduce salaries from $2.15 billion to $2 billion with a hard salary cap.” Hunter said decertification "is no silver bullet" (L.A. TIMES, 9/16). In N.Y., George Willis writes if the players “start questioning the leadership of Fisher and Hunter, they're doomed.” But that “essentially was the message delivered by Smith," as he offered “insights on the NFLPA decertification process during their recent lockout.” Still, his “overall message was to preach solidarity.” Celtics F Jermaine O'Neal said, "We're going to stand strong. It's going to be emotional, but we're going to lean on each other during those emotional times" (N.Y. POST, 9/16).

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: Stern said, "The clock is ticking, but it hasn't struck midnight yet. We have time to do what has to be done, and we'd like to do it, actually" (NEWSDAY, 9/16). Hunter said, "It seems to be a little more tense this time than back in 1998. It's more contentious this time. People are pretty much dug in. But there's still time to get a deal done" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 9/16). Pacers F and player rep Danny Granger: "I'm 90 percent sure the season won't start on time. I didn't think it would when the lockout started because the demands the owners are asking are beyond normal common sense" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 9/16). In Dallas, Eddie Sefko writes, “At the end of the day, the NBA is no closer to starting the season than it was on July 1. Training camps are supposed to open on Oct. 3. That’s in jeopardy. The regular season is set to start Nov. 1. That, too, could be in peril” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/16).

WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVER: In Philadelphia, John Smallwood writes the NBA lockout has “barely registered a ripple on the sports radar.” The “general consensus has been, ‘Who cares? We'll see you if you get back.’" Smallwood writes most people "seem resigned to the idea the 2011-12 NBA season will be shortened and actually could be canceled,” but the public “doesn't appear to be all that distressed.” The NBA's “real problem is how little interest its failed negotiating session garnered.” It “wasn't the lead to any sports sections,” and it “didn't generate any buzz on sports talk radio.” Smallwood: “Compare that reaction to the ones that went on before the NFL ended its lockout. … The NFL is treated like a ‘need’ by the American sports public. The NBA is not. When you hear people say missing an entire season might actually be good for the NBA, you get the feeling they mean it” (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/16). Meanwhile, CBSSPORTS.com’s Ken Berger wrote Thursday's "shameful display of non-unity -- 35 freakin' players at a meeting two days after labor talks fell apart … is just par for the course in this fight among the billionaires who are waging it and the players who prefer to sit back and watch.” Many top NBA stars “remained out of the picture,” as they “pass the time poking fun at each other on Twitter, organizing ill conceived rec-leagues and doing who-knows-what-else” (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/16).

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