League Drops Ultimatum, Returns to Bargaining Table

Last week's labor talks came to a screeching halt when Spurs owner Peter Holt reportedly told union representatives that a 50-50 split of basketball related income was a take it or leave it proposition. That demand has apparently been dropped, at least temporarily, as the NBA and NBPA have re-opened discussions.

Can the different factions find common ground this time?

It's difficult to be optimistic, but there are positive signs if you look hard enough. As TrueHoop's Henry Abbott points out, union head Billy Hunter never said he wouldn't accept a 50-50 split of BRI, even as he was walking away from the bargaining table last Thursday. The implication is pretty clear; the union might be willing to accept that financial proposal, but not without significant concessions from the owners on "system issues."

I can see Hunter and the union signing off on a 50-50 deal, but only if the league also agrees to a less-punitive luxury tax system, keeps some semblance of the Larry Bird exception and comes to some compromise on contract lengths. But at this point, it is hard to imagine hard-line owners like Holt or Cleveland's Dan Gilbert signing off on that sort of deal.

Of course, there are other owners - notably Miami's Micky Arison, the Knicks' James Dolan, the Lakers' Jerry Buss and Dallas' Mark Cuban - that are reportedly eager to make a deal and get back to business. They could potentially take a larger role in these proceedings - and rightfully so, given that they'll be the biggest contributors to the league's new revenue-sharing plan.

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Owners' Ultimatum Scuttles NBA Lockout Talks

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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