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Lockout!!!

colton

colton

All Around Nice Guy
Contributor
https://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6723645

NEW YORK -- NBA players are locked out, possibly jeopardizing next season.

Union chief Billy Hunter said Thursday afternoon that owners had locked out the players after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

"It's obvious the lockout will happen tonight," he said.

With this latest action, two of four major professional sports in the United States are locked out. The NFL locked out its players in March, and the two sides have been in discussions this week, trying to work toward a new deal.

Despite a three-hour meeting Thursday, the NBA and its players could not close the enormous gap that remained in their positions. The CBA is expected to expire at midnight.

Hunter said the union made a "moderate" new financial proposal, but it wasn't enough to keep the two sides at the bargaining table.

"The gap is too great," Hunter said.

Hunter said the two sides plan to meet again in the next two to three weeks.

...


Dang. I knew the lockout was inevitable, but I had hoped the two sides would get a little closer before it happened.
 
If Utah weren't so hot in the summer, and I were in better shape, I'd say we should have some pick-up games...
 
Dear NBA,

I have found someone else. It's not me, it's you.

hbo.jpg
 
Here's a good article by Larry Coon. https://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=coon_larry&page=NBAFinancials-110630

It's much more sympathetic to the players' point of view than most articles I've read. The single biggest item is that the owners are counting the cost of buying a franchise (done with loans) in the "operating costs" they are reporting. So, when they say that 22 of the 30 teams are losing money, that's including the cost of the loans. Which, in my opinion, it clearly shouldn't for this purpose.

That's not to say that the players have bent far enough... but this aspect of their position makes a lot more sense to me now.
 
The NBA P.U. did make another proposal today to the owners, but the owners thought it stunk.

Word is that the NBA P.U. will not decertify, probably because the stars and thier laps dogs want to control all the players and they fear some would rather walk than STAND. Decertifying would, among other things, give players an individual choice to accept a contract on the owners terms. Read what happened when Shane Battier asked Billy Hunter to go without pay durring the lock-out--the players are clearly fractured, and the lead dogs are using intimidation to keep the NBA P.U. together.

In other news, just when I thought I couldn't like him less, Raja Bell becomes the Jazz player rep and opens his mouth. Doesn't somebody check to see if the player rep is still a basketball player before he gets the job?
 
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colton said:
Here's a good article by Larry Coon. https://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=coon_larry&page=NBAFinancials-110630

It's much more sympathetic to the players' point of view than most articles I've read. The single biggest item is that the owners are counting the cost of buying a franchise (done with loans) in the "operating costs" they are reporting. So, when they say that 22 of the 30 teams are losing money, that's including the cost of the loans. Which, in my opinion, it clearly shouldn't for this purpose.

That's not to say that the players have bent far enough... but this aspect of their position makes a lot more sense to me now.
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I strongly suspect the other thing they're doing is counting depreciation of some fixed assets. For example, many NBA teams have an ownership stake in the building they play in. I wouldn't be shocked at all if they're counting the amount that the physical building decreases in value each year as an operating loss while not counting in other revenues the building creates (concerts, Disney events, rodeos, Monster Trucks, etc etc).
 
To be fair, that's sort of an asinine request given that this is the period of time during which Hunter will be doing the most work.

EDIT: Just had it confirmed for me that physical arena depreciation was included. Also, the Knicks put their sexual harrasment lawsuit settlement in as a business cost. Dear lord.
 
Sirkickyass said:
To be fair, that's sort of an asinine request given that this is the period of time during which Hunter will be doing the most work.
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As far as I've read, they've been working on a deal solidly for TWO YEARS. If he hasn't been giving 100% already, I don't see why this time is any more special now that the players are locked out.

But, clearly it wouldn't be fair unless David Stern ALSO agreed to take no salary during the lockout.

But just imagine that--if, say, the top 10 negotiators/lawyers/analysts on both sides agreed to take no salary until the lockout was over, I'm guessing it would not last long at all.
 
colton said:
As far as I've read, they've been working on a deal solidly for TWO YEARS. If he hasn't been giving 100% already, I don't see why this time is any more special now that the players are locked out.
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That isn't totally true. An initial proposal was made by the owners two years ago but that deal hadn't substantially changed in any way until about a month ago. There's been a lot more smoke than fire on the CBA up until this point.

But just imagine that--if, say, the top 10 negotiators/lawyers/analysts on both sides agreed to take no salary until the lockout was over, I'm guessing it would not last long at all.
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True story: The NBPA doesn't even have 10 lawyers total on staff; much less on the CBA negotiation. The players themselves are obviously already going without pay. As for Stern, as long as he has sufficient pigs in a blanket I suspect he's fine.
 
Most of the time I tend to side with the players on CBA negotiations. However, this negotiation seems to have a different feel to it. I do believe that the players DESERVE a lot of money. They are the reason we are fans, watch games, buy jerseys, etc. But if the league as a whole is losing money, I think the most practical thing to do is look into cutting salaries. The owners are people too, and they made VERY large investments to purchase these teams. Many of them can't even turn a profit while staying well below the cap. Then if they don't exceed the cap to purchase better players, the fans call them cheap. How is this fair to the owners?

Also, can someone please explain to me why the NBAPA is guaranteed 57% of profits? Bill Simmons on a podcast said something to the effect of "If it costs $5 to make $10, the NBA is losing $.70". So while on paper NBA teams appear to be bringing in more revenue than in years past, when 57% of that revenue is automatically going into players bank accounts, it's difficult for teams to find ways to make a profit.

The NBA Players are whining because they don't want to have their salaries cut, the teams are whining because they would actually like to make SOME money.

I'm siding with the NBA on this one.
 
AlaskanAssassin said:
Most of the time I tend to side with the players on CBA negotiations. However, this negotiation seems to have a different feel to it. I do believe that the players DESERVE a lot of money. They are the reason we are fans, watch games, buy jerseys, etc. But if the league as a whole is losing money, I think the most practical thing to do is look into cutting salaries. The owners are people too, and they made VERY large investments to purchase these teams. Many of them can't even turn a profit while staying well below the cap. Then if they don't exceed the cap to purchase better players, the fans call them cheap. How is this fair to the owners?
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So, these mega-millionaire businessmen made bad investments and now they want the employees to bail them out of their loans. If I was a player I would say tough luck boyz, renegotiate your loan or sell it at a loss. Don't look to me bail out your millionaire ***.
 
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