With the help of a federal mediator, the NBA and NBPA seemed to be inching towards a settlement that would end the lockout that has paralyzed the league since June. The players were looking for a 53 percent share of basketball related income. The owners were offering something closer to 49 percent. That's not that big a gap, right?
Wrong.
Possibly emboldened by the fact that NBA commissioner David Stern was home with the flu, the owners collectively decided that they've already been too generous in their offers, and that a 50-50 split of league revenue was a "take it or leave it" offer. Ever conscious of appearances, the owner chosen to relay this message was Portland's Paul Allen - the Microsoft mogul with a personal net worth estimated at $13.2 billion.
Why the change of tune? Spurs owner Peter Holt reportedly told the players, "you haven't suffered enough."
Classy, that.
The union seems willing to discuss a 50-50 arrangement, but only if their other conditions - issues relating to the salary cap, player contract lengths and year-to-year increases and the like - are met. But the owners wouldn't even discuss those "system issues" without an agreement to split BRI evenly. And with that catch 22 firmly in place, talks fell apart.
I've been in the owners' corner for some time now. Or, perhaps more accurately, I don't see how the players can generate much leverage in this situation... and fighting for an extra percentage point of BRI doesn't make much sense when a couple weeks of cancelled games wipes out any financial gain. But I certainly wouldn't sign a deal under these circumstances.
(And to those pushing decertification of the union and a battle in the courts, understand that such a strategy would almost certainly wipe out this season, and wouldn't necessarily win the players a better deal.)
What happens next? It seems there are two possibilities. David Stern could re-emerge from his sick bed, get his owners in line, and pick the negotiations where the mediator left off. Or some of the more moderate owners - Jerry Buss, Mark Cuban, Mickey Arison and James Dolan have repeatedly been mentioned as wanting to make a deal - could step up and stop allowing their most hawkish brethren to drive the process.
Either way, it seems inevitable that more games will be cancelled.
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