Maybe i’m too old school, or maybe I am just too big of a fan to bear the thought of sitting through another NBA player lockout and having the NBA on hold once again. But regardless of the reasons, I wish the players and the owners would just settle their disputes quickly on all CBA negotiations. I know it’s not that simple when two sides get deadlocked in negotiations, but players need to remember where they came from financially before the NBA, and owners need to realize that without these talented athletes there would be no bums in seats and no sponsorship deals….
NBA players’ association executive director Billy Hunter said Monday he is “99 percent sure” there will be a lockout next summer.
“I think it’s highly probable that there will be a lockout and that’s what I’m preparing for because I don’t see anything else right now,” Hunter said.
With negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires next summer going nowhere, Hunter said he’s been instructing his players to save their money.
There was no breakthrough in the latest meeting with league representatives last week, and the sides hope to meet again next month. But Hunter said the owners aren’t budging on their demands for cuts in salaries, contract lengths and guarantees, annual raises, and the rookie salary scale.
“What’s left?” Hunter said in a conference room at the union’s headquarters after helping distribute turkeys to 2,000 families outside.
The sides have been negotiating for more than a year, but Hunter agreed with Commissioner David Stern that there’s been no progress. And the players are no closer to agreeing to the cuts that the league is seeking.
“I don’t really see that the argument’s all that compelling for the changes that they’re asking for,” Hunter said.
The league is calling for a reduction in player salary costs of $700 to $800 million and is seeking a hard salary cap to replace the system which now allows for certain exceptions.
The players counter that the current system has worked, pointing to record revenues and ticket sales, and strong TV ratings. They say the total of negotiated salaries has dropped for three straight seasons and forecast a 3 to 5 percent increase in revenues in 2010-11.
Read more details via AP on NBA.com
