Video: NBA Lockout Continues With David Stern Announcing Cancellation Of NBA Preseason

by Nate Parham on Oct 4, 2011 7:38 PM PDT in News

NBA commissioner David Stern announcing the cancellation of the 2011 NBA preseason schedule.

As Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports, although the NBA owners and players are closer than they have been to a deal, they're still $80 million per year apart and the official cancellation of 2011-12 regular season games is looming.

The reality is that the NBA owners and players, after showing most of their cards Tuesday in a bargaining session that failed to save an on-time start to the regular season, are approximately $80 million-a-year apart on the economics of a new collective bargaining agreement, multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations told CBSSports.com.

Henry Abbott of ESPN's TrueHoop probably described this situation the best by saying this is akin to some sort of fan "whiplash": although it's mildly encouraging that the two sides are deeply in compromise mode which would appear to be a good sign, they walked away today without a deal, more games on the cusp of being canceled, and no further meetings planned.

Abbott and Berger do a pretty good job of covering the details and potential next directions for this whole mess, but as a fan it's definitely gotten to the point where it's impossible to know what to expect next. But Abbott does point to another major date that wasn't noted in the press conference, but does indeed look ominous.

There is also the matter of the courts. These two combatants have a lawsuit active in the Southern District of New York with a hearing set for November 2. They have complaints before the National Labor Relations Board.

And they have a band of agents agitating for decertification, which threatens not just to make talks with the league incredibly complicated and legalistic, but also to destabilize the union entirely.

Any one of those legal actions could lead to delays, hassles and indignation.

We've now heard reports that there are hardliners on both sides holding things up - Abbott referencing Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett in particular and Dan Gilbert previously identified as a hardliner among owners - which makes that November 2 date even more significant with no meetings scheduled in the near future; with a legal battle on the horizon, there's a distinct possibility that agents get more involved and add a "third party" of hardliners.

This could all be a bump in the road - just things getting worse before they get better. Abbott, Berger, and Chris Sheridan all suggest that the willingness to compromise is a good sign "and there are five days to get" to an agreement.

And while that may be true, without intimate knowledge of what's going on behind closed doors, November 2 still appears to represent a rapidly approaching detour that won't be easily maneuvered around.

For ongoing updates on the NBA lockout, click here to check out the SB Nation NBA storystream.

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Comments

50-50 and no hard cap seems very close to a deal to me, but what do I know.

Serving it up night in and night out -Steph "The Chef" Curry

by dont_stop_believin' on Oct 4, 2011 9:17 PM PDT reply actions

along with guaranteed contract…

Serving it up night in and night out -Steph "The Chef" Curry

by dont_stop_believin' on Oct 4, 2011 9:18 PM PDT up reply actions

*contracts

Serving it up night in and night out -Steph "The Chef" Curry

by dont_stop_believin' on Oct 4, 2011 9:18 PM PDT up reply actions

Apparently the players said no to 50-50. Makes me think they’re being just a tad bit greedy here

by AJC3317 on Oct 4, 2011 11:17 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

No, they’re completely within their rights to ask for a larger share. They are the ones who play the game, after all.

If you're watching a blowout, you can pass the time by counting the double teapots.
Samurai Champloo > Macross

by doubleteapot on Oct 5, 2011 12:03 AM PDT up reply actions

It wasn't a legit 50-50.

"I thought it was going in," Warriors center Chris Hunter said. "It looked like the invisible man tipped it away at the last second."

"He's chicken curry right now. He'll become beef curry a little later on."
-Keith Smart

by kenntoe on Oct 5, 2011 10:38 AM PDT up reply actions

Not really

It was 49% for the players which can grow up to 51% if they can earn larger contracts. Also, they’re the ones playing the games, providing the entertainment, drawing income to the league, so in a way they deserve more than 50%. It’s been decades since they’ve earned less than 53%, and the last BRI split gave them 57%, so it’s understandable why they want more.

"It ain't Chinese algebra. If you get stops and you execute on offense, normally that team wins." - Tony Allen
"One thing LeBron James has won that Kobe Bryant never has, and never will: A bronze medal."- Josh Tucker

by steffun4tw on Oct 5, 2011 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions

Not surprising

If you're watching a blowout, you can pass the time by counting the double teapots.
Samurai Champloo > Macross

by doubleteapot on Oct 5, 2011 12:02 AM PDT reply actions

Sterns such a bully

I’m tired of this. Owners need to look at their own incompetence before blaming the system.

by tafkasam on Oct 5, 2011 9:36 AM PDT reply actions

They'll never do that. When have they ever done this? I'm in agreement though.

"I thought it was going in," Warriors center Chris Hunter said. "It looked like the invisible man tipped it away at the last second."

"He's chicken curry right now. He'll become beef curry a little later on."
-Keith Smart

by kenntoe on Oct 5, 2011 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions

Atleast the Warriors will go undefeated this year

BABY BABY BBY CHIBA

by Dinney on Oct 5, 2011 9:37 AM PDT reply actions 3 recs

I like optimists haha :)

by steffun4tw on Oct 5, 2011 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions

Stern and co. too fond of power displays

they appear incapable of behaving like the players are equal partners in a joint enterprise, either in selling hoops or at the negotiating sessions. Both parties had a ’gentleman’s agreement’ to keep negotiation details out of the media, but Stern made that end-of-session offer public so the players would appear to be the ones choosing to lose regular season games. Stern described it as an offer for 50/50 split, but it was informal in the sense that it still needed approval from the owners themselves, and it was actually a 49% guaranteed share with a 51% ceiling. Offer and counter offer is the normal course of negotiation, and the players responded with something fairly close (.51 guaranteed for them, a .53 ceiling). What they didn’t like was how Stern immediately played the details in public.

Music is the Healing Force of the Universe (a.ayler)

by the.monk on Oct 5, 2011 10:08 AM PDT reply actions

The only argument I have in favor of owners is in terms of risk

Players want to be equal partners without taking any risk. If they want equal split they should give up guaranteed deals to a degree. You can’t expect to be an equal partner when you risk no loss

by tafkasam on Oct 5, 2011 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions

"Risk" is a relative term.

You used the word as financial jargon, but there is also real life risk, such as injury. Players regularly incur permanent physical disabilities in this sport.

Also, from a financial standpoint, there is no scenario by which the owner’s quality of life, or their families’, can be significantly affected. For players, on the other hand, future financial stability might be at stake.

Amnesty for all immigrants! Boycott Arizona! RIP GURU

by The Bimbo Coles Experience on Oct 5, 2011 6:37 PM PDT up reply actions

the players are the equivalent of highly compensated sharecroppers

on valuable land, cultivating a crop that commands premium prices. [for those quick to take offense, this is a metaphorical description and if ‘sharecropper’ carries unfortunate associations, substitute ‘tenant farmer’]. the physical risks and decline that limits their career time are like the rents sharecroppers pay. they can reap rewards for productive seasons, but it’s the landowner who benefits in the large scheme and the long term — even struggling franchises like NO command a high price and most, like Cohan’s, appreciate considerably. the way players’ compensation is linked to annual hoops-related revenues in the c.b.a. resembles how a sharecropper’s income varies with the price of the commodity he grows.

Music is the Healing Force of the Universe (a.ayler)

by the.monk on Oct 5, 2011 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions

The players are starting to piss me off..the owners are bad enough, but the players are making themselves into bigger villians.

50/50 is great. They still win. These guys don’t know how good they have it in the NBA. The owners own the game..the players are the workers..the owners dictate what happens or the players can go work somewhere else. They will still make millions and we will be suckers thinking they care about us.

by tenkaistar on Oct 5, 2011 11:32 AM PDT reply actions

Yes and No

They could easily pursue the league’s anti-trust exemption. There’s no real free-market in terms of basketball in the USA.

by tafkasam on Oct 5, 2011 11:45 AM PDT up reply actions

Time for players to cave

Look — The owners may be billionaires, but they didn’t make their money from BBall, in most cases. Owning the team is a prestige thing, but if it’s a lock to be unprofitable year to year, then why bother?

The economy for sports fans is worse than ever — how many of you can afford to go to a game this season compare to 3 or 4 seasons ago?!? Far less, I’m sure. The owners are not looking at a rosy next 2 or 3 years at the gate, so they need to lock stuff down.

It’s cheaper for most of the owners to not even HAVE a season. The problem with that scenario, of course, is that with no bball a couple years down the road, the team has no value. Guber and Lacob would be eating a pretty big chunka change.

So, the owners have move from their hardline stance – now it’s time for the players to take the deal and play BBall. They are PLAYERS not OWNERS. They’re welcome to start their own league and pay their own bills – until then, shut up and play ball. How many other leagues make the lowest paid player a millionaire? — And share league revenue, to boot!?!?

Even at 46% Revenue sharing, it’s a great deal for the players. Sure it’s less than before, but so what — sign the deal, make millions of $$, buy a couple houses.

If I recall Garnett was the hardliner the last time the CBO was up - he needs to sit back and let a mid-grade journeyman take the lead. Fisher is and should be the player leader. The stars shouldn’t have much representation in this equation as their interests skew what’s in the best interest of 80% of the league players.

And the agents can suck it. Butt out! They’re just trying to protect what’s left of their 10%.

by joegiant on Oct 5, 2011 1:25 PM PDT reply actions