The Lockout & the Raptors: Players approve CBA, Owners too! (1944)

[Nilanka]

Latest tweet from Woj:

Lawyers for NBA owners and players have begun settlement talks to try to save Christmas games

This better not be another tease...

[mcHAPPY]

Latest tweet from Woj:



This better not be another tease...

Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

[Apollo]

Those are the greatest words of wisdom you can ever give anyone. Especially right now.

[mcHAPPY]

Numerous reports of slow down out there - rightfully so given the progression of talks in this process.

alanhahn Sounds like David Stern and Billy Hunter are the ones who have been talking, not the lawyers. Good, but saving Christmas games a longshot.

One thing that stands out to me if this tweet is correct is it further proves the legal process is a sham by the players. I hope Stern/owners are talking in good faith with the intention of getting back to playing versus gaining evidence for the 'sham' suit of their own and 'sham' defense in the players suit.

[mcHAPPY]

ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
NBA labor latest: Sources say Stern privately surveying some owners to gauge willingness to making full midlevel exception open to all teams

This and allowing teams who use the MLE to go over the luxury tax in a year when used via trade were the two biggest issues from my recollection of the proposal.

Keep the proposal as is and add the 2 things mentioned and maybe there is a deal...... maybe.

[mcHAPPY]

66-game schedule?

HowardBeckNYT Howard Beck
Update: if NBA can start games on Christmas, it will play a 66-game season, per source.

Hope.... but be prepared for devastation.... again.

[NoPropsneeded]

yea these guys are going to screw up again so be prepared to see "talks crash,NBA season is cancelled" tomorrow morning on NBA.com

[mcHAPPY]

The latest from Howard Beck at New York Times:

The talks began in earnest on Tuesday and are expected to continue on Friday, after a break for Thanksgiving, according to two people informed of the talks. If a resolution is reached this weekend, it would give the league the approximate four-week window needed to prepare for the season.

The Dec. 25 target is enticing to everyone involved, allowing the league to take advantage of the holiday setting and a captive television audience that, they hope, might be in a forgiving mood. Christmas is also the traditional kickoff for the N.B.A.’s national television schedule.

A tip-off before New Year’s would also provide enough time for a compressed, 66-game schedule, 16 fewer than normal, despite starting eight weeks late. It would require pushing the regular season into late April and moving back the finals by a week.

Before owners and players can contemplate any of that, they must resolve the same prickly issues that killed talks two weeks ago — how to restrict the top-spending teams while ensuring a robust free-agent market.

The parties essentially picked up where they left off on Nov. 10, discussing a proposal that includes a 50-50 split of revenues, shorter contracts and tougher spending restrictions. The players rejected that deal, but on the basis of a half-dozen mechanical issues which, in the grander scheme, are fairly minor. They have already conditionally agreed to the 50-50 split and most of the new payroll restrictions.

Neither side has attempted to put any new issues on the table or backed away from previously negotiated points, according to those informed on the talks. That gives the parties hope that a deal is not only achievable, but can be consummated quickly.

“Both sides could fairly say that it’s crazy to blow the deal up over these remaining issues,” one person tied to the talks said Wednesday.

Still, no one is ready to espouse optimism, given how many times the talks have collapsed in the last two months.

The stakes and the parameters for negotiations have also changed since the parties last met. The players dissolved their union on Nov. 14 and then sued the N.B.A. on antitrust grounds. Technically, they are now in settlement talks, not collective bargaining negotiations. The union will have to be reconstituted to adopt any new labor deal.

Source

[planetmars]

The talks began in earnest on Tuesday and are expected to continue on Friday, after a break for Thanksgiving, according to two people informed of the talks. If a resolution is reached this weekend, it would give the league the approximate four-week window needed to prepare for the season.

I actually get a bit ticked off when there are breaks for some kind of holiday event. Heck in my work place someone has to be available 365 days a year. For such a critical issue, costing billions of dollars, I'm pretty sure the two sides can forgo this one holiday and continue to have discussions and meetings.

I understand that we need to celebrate certain holidays and traditions - but ultimately I think for certain specific situations (like the lockout for example), those traditions and holidays should be put on snooze. This is not a time to celebrate if you were working for the NBA.

[mcHAPPY]

Barkley Mad At NBA Owners

NBA or no NBA, you can always count on Charles Barkley to have an opinion about just about everything. Barkley was on ESPN Chicago recently, and said he is really mad at the NBA owners for their part in the ongoing labor dispute.

“Well, I’m kind of mad at the owners right now, to be honest with you, because I think the owners are just trying to crush the guys. The players have made so many concessions, and it’s like, is that not enough? I try to explain to a normal person, okay, so the players went from 57 [percent] to 50, and that might not sound like a lot to a normal person, but you’ve got to understand — each one of those points is worth $300 million dollars; each one of those points is worth $300 million dollars. So it’s not like the players aren’t trying to make…it’s not like they’re not sacrificing anything….and I think the owners want even more, and I think they’re just trying to beat them to death right now.”

Barkley also cautioned those who would be angry with Michael Jordan, who has gone from the richest player in the NBA to the stingiest owner in the league.

“Well first of all, don’t believe everything you hear. But Michael is an owner now. He can’t sacrifice his franchise. Listen, he’s the reason that all us players are making the money that we are today. But with that being said, he’s an owner now; he’s got to do what’s best for his franchise. I think it’s silly for players to think MJ should sacrifice the whole NBA for the rights of the players. He’s not a player anymore. When he played, he spoke for the players, he made sure every player got paid an enormous amount of money, but right now he’s an owner. That being said, I’ve been very disappointed with some of the owners as far as — look, this is a partnership, and it’s not like a regular business. I don’t think the players should never go lower than 50-50. I think they should take 50-50, but the owners I think want even more. And that’s what disappoints me, because the players are clearly trying to make a deal. But I think the union wants to break the union for good and get a ten-year deal where they make all the profits.”

Admittedly, Barkley was among the first to say that there probably would not be a 2011-12 NBA season, and his original prediction is turning out to be a good one.

“Oh, I was the first one. If you go back and look, I remember I was on a TV show last year when the season was going on; they asked me about next year, and I said ‘dude, I don’t think there’s going to be a season at all next year.’ And everybody looked at me like ‘that dude’s crazy.’ What I always knew was the owners were going to get the deal they wanted or they were not going to play. That’s what I knew more than anything. They were going to get the deal they wanted or they weren’t going to play. First of all, they’ve proven me right. If the players don’t give them everything they want, even if it goes excessive, they’re not going to play because they look at it like this — they will lose less money not playing.”

At the end of the day, the changes the NBA owners are seeking in a new collective bargaining agreement may just be too extreme for them to find common ground with the players. Barkley believes those issues will, indeed, cost us an entire season.

“I don’t think there’s going to be [a season], but that’s just my personal opinion, I don’t have any inside. But I knew it was going to be ugly, I think actually it’s become really personal. I think those owners got so upset at LeBron and Chris Bosh and guys like that that they’d rather burn down the house instead of doing any remodeling. We need great players on small market teams. And they drew a line in the sand and said ‘okay, okay, the inmates are running afoul and we’re going to put and end to this right now.’ That’s what I truly believe. Like I said, even if that means burning down the house, they were going to. It was like ‘okay, I’m sick of these guys.’ And remember, it’s already started for next year with where’s Chris Paul going and where’s Dwight Howard going? So these owners are steaming. Same with Carmelo. So the owners are like ‘these guys all want to play in major markets and screw the small towns, we’re going to put an end to this.’ And this is the point we’re at right now.”

Listen to Charles Barkley on ESPN Chicago by linking here!

There is not much here I disagree with.... and by not much I mean nothing.

[Tim W.]

I actually get a bit ticked off when there are breaks for some kind of holiday event. Heck in my work place someone has to be available 365 days a year. For such a critical issue, costing billions of dollars, I'm pretty sure the two sides can forgo this one holiday and continue to have discussions and meetings.

I understand that we need to celebrate certain holidays and traditions - but ultimately I think for certain specific situations (like the lockout for example), those traditions and holidays should be put on snooze. This is not a time to celebrate if you were working for the NBA.

What exactly are they taking a holiday FROM? If the NBA was actually running they wouldn't get one.

[Bendit]

Lol...now tell us what you really think Charles. He obviously got the baseline position from MJ..good buds, golf partners and craps table aficionados. He is all over the place. While he realizes that it is the Miami trio that created the problem (and the owners are trying to rectify that) and says the 50/50 deal is fair yet he believes the owners are asking for too much. Huh? Maybe he has been getting some blowback from players.

[Bendit]

I actually get a bit ticked off when there are breaks for some kind of holiday event. Heck in my work place someone has to be available 365 days a year. For such a critical issue, costing billions of dollars, I'm pretty sure the two sides can forgo this one holiday and continue to have discussions and meetings.

I understand that we need to celebrate certain holidays and traditions - but ultimately I think for certain specific situations (like the lockout for example), those traditions and holidays should be put on snooze. This is not a time to celebrate if you were working for the NBA.

Weelll, they are Americans! Theyll go to war but fuck if they'll give up their turkey dinner...even on the battlefield...and it'll be catered (no rations now)...with all the trimmings while the Taliban are raining down howitzers. Maybe I exaggerate/generalize some. But I distinctly remember George Bush visiting Iraq one Thanksgiving day and he was carrying this turkey tray in a mess tent with this goofy look on his face. Later I read where the turkey which looked real enough was actually a fake and it was a good one... really bronzed well for the photo op.

Priorities man...priorities. What we peasants need to learn is how to compartmentalize our problems. These boyos clearly are quite comfortable with setting aside armageddon while pouring their gravy.

[mcHAPPY]

Lol...now tell us what you really think Charles. He obviously got the baseline position from MJ..good buds, golf partners and craps table aficionados. He is all over the place. While he realizes that it is the Miami trio that created the problem (and the owners are trying to rectify that) and says the 50/50 deal is fair yet he believes the owners are asking for too much. Huh? Maybe he has been getting some blowback from players.

I think he is talking about the system issues. The BRI has been settled. Allowing teams to use full MLE to go in to tax and allowing teams to take on more salary via trades or signing minimum level contracts to go in to the tax. The way the owners proposal was worded it created a short term hard cap of $70.3M during the subsequent season for any team who uses the full MLE. I could be wrong but I believe if the owners removed this it would solve a lot of issues the players have. The mini-MLE, in my opinion, should be kept for teams who are already in the luxury tax.

[Bendit]

I think he is talking about the system issues. The BRI has been settled. Allowing teams to use full MLE to go in to tax and allowing teams to take on more salary via trades or signing minimum level contracts to go in to the tax. The way the owners proposal was worded it created a short term hard cap of $70.3M during the subsequent season for any team who uses the full MLE. I could be wrong but I believe if the owners removed this it would solve a lot of issues the players have. The mini-MLE, in my opinion, should be kept for teams who are already in the luxury tax.

Definitely keep the mini mle....thats one of the corner stones of the "spread the talent around" need.