NBA and NBPA reps will meet again today after meeting for more than five hours Sunday evening in a “last-ditch effort” to prevent the cancellation of the first two weeks of the league’s season, according to Wojnarowski & Spears of YAHOO SPORTS. The two sides "didn't discuss the proposed revenue split" last night, but instead addressed "only system issues." Sources said that owners continue to push for a 50-50 split of BRI and “system changes that include harsh taxes for big-spending teams, lowering the midlevel salary-cap exception and narrowing the players’ ‘Larry Bird’ exception rights.” Players are “resisting the lowering of their share of BRI to 50 percent without the league leaving most of the old system in place” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/10). NBA Commissioner David Stern, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, Spurs Chair Peter Holt, T’Wolves Owner Glen Taylor and NBA Senior VP and Deputy General Counsel Dan Rube represented ownership, while NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter, President Derek Fisher, VP Maurice Evans and attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Ron Klempner represented the players. Fisher postponed a planned labor meeting with players today in Beverly Hills and "downplayed any Sunday progress." Fisher: "We're not necessarily closer than we were." Stern last week said that he "will cancel the first two weeks of the season if the sides can't agree on a new labor deal" by today (L.A. TIMES, 10/10). One hundred games and roughly $325M in BRI "will be lost if the first two weeks of games are cancelled" (USA TODAY, 10/10). The league had “reached out” to Fisher and Hunter on Sunday to set up the meeting, and “dropped its earlier precondition for a meeting that the union must accept its proposed 50-50 revenue split” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/9).
INSIDE LAST NIGHT'S TALKS: CBSSPORTS.com’s Ken Berger reports the two sides last night “met for nearly 5 1-2 hours,” with talks ending at 11:50pm ET. A source said that the “primary focus Sunday night was system issues -- salary cap, luxury tax, etc. -- leaving Monday to reconcile those complicated items with the most important point of all: the split of revenues between owners and players.” Going into the talks, “the players' were entrenched in their desire” for 53% of BRI, while the owners “were stuck on offering” players 50%. Berger: “Both sides seem willing to sacrifice the first two weeks of the regular season -- possibly more -- to get a deal” (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/10). ESPN’s Chris Broussard cited sources saying that owners have “no intention” of going above the 50-50 split they broached with the players last week (ESPN.com, 10/10). YAHOO SPORTS' Adrian Wojnarowski cited sources as saying that Stern “didn’t have overwhelming support among owners when he suggested the 50-50 split,” and “many owners never wanted to go north” of 48.5% for the players’ share. In addition to the revenue split, owners and players “still need to finish negotiating the luxury tax on the salary cap, the future of the midlevel and bi-annual exceptions and other major system items” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/7). CBSSPORTS.com’s Berger noted negotiators could “build on” last week’s progress, and arrive at the figure “where these negotiations are now squarely aimed -- a 51.5-48.5 percent split in favor of the players.” But the “only thing that can trump the deal that is ready to be made is ego, and well, we just happen to be dealing with some of the biggest egos in the world.” One team exec said, “You don't walk away from a deal that close to being done. ... Something’s got to pop soon.” Berger: “Unsurprisingly, people who have been in touch with numerous players in the mid-level pay range -- say, around $5 million to $6 million a year -- report that many of those players would accept a 50-50 split and call it a day” (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/7). In Ft. Lauderdale, Ira Winderman predicted how each member of the Heat roster would vote if the deal was for a 50-50 revenue split and predicted “at worst,” the vote looks like 11-3-2 to approve such a deal (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 10/9).
ARENAS CLAUSE? In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence reported that owners are “expected to demand” the “Gilbert Arenas clause" in any new deal, a “one-time chance for teams to remove an overpaid, unproductive player from their salary ledgers and luxury-tax rolls.” One union official compared the talks to previous years, saying, "Player behavior was a big topic during our last negotiation.” The official: “That's because we had just had the riot at Auburn Hills, so we went into those negotiations with everyone talking about the players' behavior. But in these negotiations, player behavior has hardly come up. That's a reflection on how our guys have been handling themselves. When Gilbert's name came up, it wasn't because of the gun case. It was because of his deal" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/9).
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(r to l) James, Wade and Bosh thank capacity
crowd at FIU arena for attending charity game |
BARNSTORMING IN FLORIDA: In Miami, Andre Fernandez reported a “capacity crowd” of 4,000 was at Florida Int’l Univ.’s U.S. Century Bank Arena Saturday night to watch Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and others playing in the South Florida All-Star Classic Charity Game. Fans showed up as early as 11:00am and the game “had an All-Star game feel” (MIAMI HERALD, 10/9). The “disassociation” from the NBA was “evident from the introductions; players were called out with hometowns rather than NBA employers” (PALM BEACH POST, 10/9). The players worked with FIU coach Isiah Thomas and his charity foundation to secure the venue for the game. The event "raised $100,000 for the charity Thomas founded in honor of his late mother, with $50,000 of that going to FIU’s scholarship fund" (SUN-SENTINEL, 10/9). The game “went off without a problem” and the “boisterous crowd seemed to have a good time.” Players, “perhaps wisely,” kept the lockout “off the agenda.” Wade: “We’re really not here to talk about the lockout” (N.Y. TIMES, 10/9). Sources said that Wade called a meeting with the players after the game and fielded questions about the status of negotiations. Knicks F Carmelo Anthony: “They’re going to cancel the first two weeks of the season. … We’re going to stick together” (AP, 10/9). Meanwhile, Anthony believes players will “stage a big exhibition in the Big Apple” (N.Y. POST, 10/10). In Miami, Greg Cote wrote, “These barnstorming mock all-star games are what we are left with, and they are a poor substitute. …They only remind us of the avarice and intractability that have brought us to this rather ridiculous point.” Owners and players “might be shocked to discover how effortlessly life would go on without them should this lockout erase the entire season or a large chunk of it” (MIAMI HERALD, 10/9). In Richmond, Paul Woody wrote the “nation has reacted with a yawn” to the lockout (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 10/9). In Sacramento, Tom Couzens wrote, “As each day passes without a resolution to the labor dispute, more and more fans are being turned off. And if regular-season games are canceled, many fans might never tune back in” (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/9).
DON'T WISH THIS UPON ANYONE: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was asked whether the league could take advantage of the NBA lockout and gain fans. Bettman said, "Basketball fans are basketball fans, and if they have some time on their hands they’re going to probably look to do other things. But nobody in sports wants to capitalize on another sports labor dispute. They’re not pleasant." Referring to the lost '04-05 season, Bettman said, "We've been through a pretty lengthy one ourselves a few years ago, and while we were fortunate to comeback better than ever, you don’t wish it on anybody” (“CNBC Sports Biz: Game On!,” Versus, 10/7).
NOTES: USA TODAY looks at replacement programming if games are lost and ESPN VP/Communications Mike Soltys said ESPN’s focus “would be on live events wherever possible.” For the Oct. 28 league opening doubleheader, "programming would primarily be the Pan Am Games, already planned for ESPN2" (USA TODAY, 10/10)....In Charlotte, Portillo & Bonnell examined life without the NBA under the front-page header, “Bracing For Lost Games.” The Bobcats manage Time Warner Cable Arena, but it is “unclear” whether the team has begun to look for replacement events. A lockout “would not relieve the Bobcats from their obligations for the arena” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/8).
