CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

[The 24th Letter]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

question: why is it that the NBA seems to be full steam ahead on making transactions while we havent really heard anything from the NFL

[Drewski]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

question: why is it that the NBA seems to be full steam ahead on making transactions while we havent really heard anything from the NFL

Assuming it's because the NFL is locked out, while the NBA is still active till the 30th. Plus the time between now and the 30th is the time where teams can try to get whatever pieces they want, without having to worry about fitting that into a new CBA (who knows what they will or wont be able to do within it). Plus the draft generates alot of buzz.

[Dice]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

question: why is it that the NBA seems to be full steam ahead on making transactions while we havent really heard anything from the NFL

Probably because the NFL was first in implementing the lockout. My guess is that the NBA players and owners are looking at the NFL situation from the outside and watching how the NFL is loosing money each day this lockout continues. My guess is that you got the NBA, who's already loosing money, will look to loose even more if a lockout happens. And with that observation, maybe the owners and the players are willing to put their pride aside to avoid it as much as possible. The NFL is more financially viable to recover quickly from a lockout. The NBA is not in that same financial position and a lockout would probably decimate their league financially.

It's all guess work right now. BUT we'll see how serious it is on Friday when the players and owners come back to the table.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

well even before the lockout started I didnt hear much, unless I just wasnt listening...

I feel you though

[Drewski]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

Haven't seen a real solid outline of key points from yesterday's meeting so, from Chris Sheridan

Although the owners have moved significantly on their financial proposals in recent negotiating sessions, they are still asking for several things that could be potential deal-killers.

• A hard cap. The owners made a proposal Tuesday including what they are calling a "flex cap," which would target a median team payroll of $62 million and would include an unspecified maximum team salary that could not be exceeded under any circumstances (thereby eliminating the luxury tax and shrinking the pool of revenue sharing dollars, which commissioner David Stern pegged last fall at $54 million). To the union, the flex cap is simply another variation of a hard cap.

• Salary cuts. The union put a half-billion dollar giveback on the table Tuesday and had it dismissed as "modest" by Stern. Players proposed a five-year labor agreement with $100 million less in salaries each season, cutting their share of BRI (basketball-related income) from the current 57 percent down to 54.3 percent in the first several seasons of the proposed five-year pact. Is the union willing to make further real dollar concessions that might allow the sides to meet in the middle? That is a key question with eight days remaining until the current agreement expires.

• Stagnancy. Under the owners' proposed flex cap system, the $2 billion that would be guaranteed to the players each season would remain relatively stagnant over the next 10 years, having the effect of cutting the players’ portion of basketball-related income, as currently calculated, from 57 percent last season to less than 40 percent in the latter years of the proposed 10-year agreement. The players want assurances that if revenues continue to rise, they will get a fair share of the increase.

• Selling out. The proposal made by the owners would allow current players to continue making similar salaries to what they are earning now, but it would drastically alter the earning potential of future generations because of the shrinking percentage of BRI that would be earmarked for player salaries. That has been one of the issues that union president Derek Fisher and members of the union's executive board have repeatedly cited as being particularly repugnant.

The union also has taken issue with the owners only recently having begun to move back to the status quo on several aspects of the deal. In the past week, the owners have dropped their demands for non-guaranteed contracts, and the elimination of the Larry Bird exception and the mid-level exception, but the union claims salaries would be reduced by roughly $7 billion over 10 years under the owners' latest proposal.

"We've had guaranteed contracts for 40 years. It's almost like somebody walks into your house, they take something that belongs to you and then they want to sell it back. And you say: 'Hey, it was mine from the get-go, so why the hell should I pay for it. And I didn't authorize you to take it, and I never said I'm available for you to take, or use, or abuse,' " union director Billy Hunter said.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

That would mean TWENTY-ONE MILLION in cap space for the Knicks next summer.



That gets a thumbs up.

[jeebs9]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

Give back $160

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6694528


These mother ****ers are crazy! (Sorry for the language). I also love what Derek Fisher said.

"To me, it speaks to the arrogance they have in approaching us," union president Derek Fisher said. "Trust and loyalty pretty much go out the window when it comes to business."

"We haven't been partners in this venture from day one. We've been employees, the talent that has grown the game. It's difficult to be partners in recovery when we haven't been partners in generating those losses."

[Bondgirl0072]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

It sounds like there could be a lockout in the NBA.

[greenegt]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

It's a shame we can't skip the posturing, media-sniping, and player lockout part of the process and just get down to serious negotiations. The NBA hasn't been this good in years and I would hate to see the upcoming season delayed or cancelled.

[Bondgirl0072]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

It's a shame we can't skip the posturing, media-sniping, and player lockout part of the process and just get down to serious negotiations. The NBA hasn't been this good in years and I would hate to see the upcoming season delayed or cancelled.

This I agree with.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

It sounds like there could be a lockout in the NBA.

Sounds like it.

[Dice]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

This lockout is not going to be good. And if they have to cancel regular season games, expect the league to be in the red financially for the next 5 years whenever they resume operations.

[tehova]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

i miss summer league excitement

[Drewski]

i miss summer league excitement

Yeah would have loved to see this rookie class in summer league rj see who, if anyone, starts to pull away from the pack

Sent from the free throw line

[Eman5805]

Re: CBA/Lockout Discussion Thread

i miss summer league excitement

Thought I was the only one. I hate that both leagues had to come to this. Missing out on a LOT of summer activities that make the time pass smoother.