Cavaliers F LeBron James said that the NBPA and team owners -- with the "influx of TV revenue now promised -- should begin hammering out" a new CBA before both sides can opt out following the '16-17 season, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. James said of CBA negotiations, "We would love to do it sooner than later. We don't want to it to happen like it happened last time when we went into a lockout." James said that the new TV deal, along with a "spate of teams being sold for unprecedented sums, will cause the players to dig in for their rightful portion of the profits this time around." James: "The whole thing that went on with the last negotiation process was the owners was telling us that they were losing money. There's no way they can sit in front of us and tell us that right now after we continue to see teams selling for billions of dollars. ... There's some things that we'd like to see changed as players going forward." McMenamin noted one of those changes "could be the NBPA pursuing the abolition of max contracts," but James "would not comment on his stance on the subject." James "might not hold an official title" with the union, but his "standing as the league's best player put him in an important position to speak about the new television rights deal." James said, "I am kind of the guy that has the power, I guess, without even having to put a name on it. I'm very educated and I will use what I have to make sure our players are taken care of." McMenamin noted the league's TV payday "comes less than eight months into Adam Silver's already celebrated tenure as the commissioner, but James pointed out all of the work that David Stern put in." James: "Give a lot of credit to David Stern, I'll tell you that. He built our league, he built our brand and for us to be able to make a television deal like that for that type of money, it was a lot of his vision" (ESPN.com, 10/6).
RUNNING THE BREAK: USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt noted James also "delivered a message to players: Be educated." He is "not only interested in increasing his own bottom line, he's interested in leading the way so others can benefit." James: "Guys want the best deal but aren't educated on what's going on. ... We know we have to do what's best for all of the players but at the same time, guys need to continue to be educated about it so when the negotiating process happens, guys just aren't speaking just to be speaking and have no idea of what's going on" (
USATODAY.com, 10/6). In N.Y., Harvey Araton writes James "speaks as a league lightning rod, not just its most leveraged player." There is a "feeling that James plans on being around this game for a while, and not as an analyst or coach" (
N.Y. TIMES, 10/7).
IMPACT ON PLAYERS: Clippers G and NBPA President Chris Paul said of the new media-rights deal, "It’s amazing news. It really shows our game is a global game. It’s big for us players. It’s big for the fans. It’s big for the entire NBA." Paul said that union leaders will begin discussions "in the upcoming days, though he won’t play a major role in talks" (OCREGISTER.com, 10/6). Pelicans F and union rep Ryan Anderson said that players are "extremely happy with the deal." Anderson: "We are in a great position moving forward with that. Of course that is a great deal for us. How can you complain?" Meanwhile, Anderson said of negotiating a new CBA, "It's a little too far away to talk about it. ... For now ... we are just excited" (NOLA.com, 10/6). In Detroit, Vince Ellis notes Pistons F Greg Monroe "turned down an offer that would have made him the team's highest-paid player this off-season as a restricted free agent." He "signed a one-year qualifying offer and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer." Monroe's "considerations were many," and he "admitted the expected increase in the cap was talked about during his decision-making process" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 10/7). T'Wolves G Ricky Rubio: "It's good for the players, you know, more money" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 10/7). Bulls G Derrick Rose said of the new deal, "That’s impressive, but I really can’t speak on something I don’t know that much about. Probably give me a couple of days or give me 30 minutes. I know I’m going to hear about it" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 10/7). Nets G Deron Williams, the team's union rep, said that despite the dollars involved, the new deal "may not prevent another work stoppage." Williams: "It’s going in pretty much the same direction as it was last time (lockout of 2011). So I feel like we made a lot of concessions last time, and it’s going to be hard for us to do that again" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/7).
