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

[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]

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

[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]

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.

[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]

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.

[Apollo]

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

[mcHAPPY]

Latest tweet from Woj:



This better not be another tease...

Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

[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]

Well, two changes are going to impact the mid-market and small-market teams. First, they've capped the amount of draft money teams can spend and made the penalties very harsh for going over. Second, they've capped the money you can spend in Latin America in free agency. For example, the Jays spent something like $17mm in the last three years down there but from now on the high number is somewhere between $3 and $5mm. Of course, this only really hurts the teams that can't blow $55mm in free agency on a closer but could spend $20mm to get a bunch of guys in the draft or Latin America. The "Screw You Toronto and Tampa Rule" is the change to free agent compensation rules that require a player to be with a team for a full season before you get draft pick compensation in free agency. Oddly, this was never an issue until Toronto and TB started trading for Type B guys to stockpile draft picks. Curious, no?

In the name of cost reduction, they just ensured you need a $100mm+ payroll to compete. The funny thing is that Pittsburgh, Toronto, Tampa Bay and some others upset the big spenders like NY and Boston (who are used to getting everyone they want) by outspending those teams in other areas. Can't have that, so here we go.

This CBA is also a huge negative for the sport in terms of attracting two sport athletes and Latin Americans. Not good for a sport that is already having trouble attracting top athletes...

Thanks for the rundown.

[slaw]

I have not followed baseball closely in recent years. What changes hurt the Jays?

Well, two changes are going to impact the mid-market and small-market teams. First, they've capped the amount of draft money teams can spend and made the penalties very harsh for going over. Second, they've capped the money you can spend in Latin America in free agency. For example, the Jays spent something like $17mm in the last three years down there but from now on the high number is somewhere between $3 and $5mm. Of course, this only really hurts the teams that can't blow $55mm in free agency on a closer but could spend $20mm to get a bunch of guys in the draft or Latin America. The "Screw You Toronto and Tampa Rule" is the change to free agent compensation rules that require a player to be with a team for a full season before you get draft pick compensation in free agency. Oddly, this was never an issue until Toronto and TB started trading for Type B guys to stockpile draft picks. Curious, no?

In the name of cost reduction, they just ensured you need a $100mm+ payroll to compete. The funny thing is that Pittsburgh, Toronto, Tampa Bay and some others upset the big spenders like NY and Boston (who are used to getting everyone they want) by outspending those teams in other areas. Can't have that, so here we go.

This CBA is also a huge negative for the sport in terms of attracting two sport athletes and Latin Americans. Not good for a sport that is already having trouble attracting top athletes...

[mcHAPPY]

You know for all the hassle this NBA CBA has been, and continues to be, at least the end result is going to look a lot better than what just happened in MLB where, effectively, any pretense toward competitive balance has been thrown out the window and players from Latin America and Europe have been told to forget baseball and take up soccer. I particularly enjoy the rules that were put in place specifically to hurt Tampa Bay and Toronto. Those were good. Well, at least some billionaires get some money out of it. It's reassuring to know that for as much of a beating as Stern has taken in recent weeks, you could have Bud Selig.

I have not followed baseball closely in recent years. What changes hurt the Jays?

[slaw]

You know for all the hassle this NBA CBA has been, and continues to be, at least the end result is going to look a lot better than what just happened in MLB where, effectively, any pretense toward competitive balance has been thrown out the window and players from Latin America and Europe have been told to forget baseball and take up soccer. I particularly enjoy the rules that were put in place specifically to hurt Tampa Bay and Toronto. Those were good. Well, at least some billionaires get some money out of it. It's reassuring to know that for as much of a beating as Stern has taken in recent weeks, you could have Bud Selig.

[mcHAPPY]

Talks reportedly resumed

WojYahooNBA Talks were expected to continue today, sources said, and one league source tells Y!: "We should know more by later this evening."

WojYahooNBA NBA and players resumed talks on Tuesday to try and end the lockout before the cancellation of Christmas games, two sources told Y! Sports.

Good news.

[Nilanka]

Today (Wednesday, November 23rd) is basically the last day for any deal to materialize. I don't see the gigantic egos on either side willing to give up their Thanksgiving holiday to come back to the negotiating table...