This topic contains 24 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by AvatarAvatar WizardofOz 12 years, 7 months ago.

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  • #32352
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    WizardofOz
    Participant

    http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/nba/ … 2438.story

    NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter said Wednesday that if he "had to bet on it," he would wager that the entire 2011-12 season would be wiped out by the lockout.

    "We’re $800 million apart per year," Hunter told about 200 people during a seminar at a conference in Baltimore of the National Bar Association, an organization of predominantly African-American lawyers and judges.

    The union chief said NBA commissioner David Stern was being limited in negotiations by hard-line owners.

    "The circumstances have changed among his constituency," said Hunter, the executive director since 1996. "In the last six or seven years, there is a new group of owners to come in who paid a premium for their franchises, and what they’re doing is kind of holding his feet to the fire."

    Because negotiators are dug in, Hunter said "something has to happen that both of us can use as leverage to save face."

    Asked by a conference attendee whether there would be a 2011-12 season, he replied: "If I had to bet on it at this moment, I would probably say no."

    The NBA had no immediate response after being apprised of Hunter’s comments, spokesman Tim Frank said.

    The lockout began July 1. The NBA believes the economic model needs to change because, it says, 22 of its 30 teams are unprofitable. Among other changes, owners want to significantly reduce the players’ share of basketball revenue from 57 percent.

    "We agreed to go from 57 to 54," Hunter said.

    Hunter was chatty and informal in his comments, encouraging audience members to ask difficult questions and saying he would be as candid as he could. The seminar’s moderator said he would discourage questions about Hunter’s private negotiating strategy. But Hunter commented on a variety of subjects, including a report — denied by the NBA — that Stern makes as much as $23 million a year.

    "I think it’s somewhat ironic. It’s inconsistent to me" if Stern makes that much, Hunter said. While the NBA won’t disclose executives’ salaries, the $23 million has been disputed by the league and in media reports.

    During the seminar, Hunter sat on a couch in a downtown hotel ballroom next to NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith. Last month, NFL players settled a 41/2-month labor dispute with owners.

    "Billy is where I was two years ago," Smith said. The NFL labor battle "was a very long and extremely public fight. Our young men demonstrated a tremendous amount of resolve," Smith said.

    Hunter said NBA players were also united. Of players’ signing deals with overseas teams, he said: "I don’t encourage them to go. We’re not going to stand in their way.’

    On Wednesday, Jordan Farmar of the New Jersey Nets became the latest player to head for the European leagues, joining former Nets teammates Deron Williams and Sasha Vujacic, according to multiple reports.

    The NBA on Tuesday filed claims against the players association in federal court and with the National Relations Labor Relations Board. The league says the union has not been negotiating in good faith.

    "We just don’t have as much time as the NFL did," Stern told the Associated Press. "If the union sort of continued to drag its feet and then pursued its preferred decertification strategy, and if the same 41/2 months went by, we’d be well into our season."

    The league said its latest proposal would keep average salaries of at least $5 million.

    Hunter said owners initially demanded that "we give them back a billion dollars a year," and then it came down to $900 million.

    "A month and a half ago, we gave them a proposal that we would give them back $100 million per year," the union chief said. "The gap is far between us."

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  • #583879
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    IndianaBasketball
    Participant

    Depressing…

    Now, I see why the Directv guy said he’d give me NBA League Pass for free this year if I stuck with them lol.

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  • #583636
    AvatarAvatar
    IndianaBasketball
    Participant

    Depressing…

    Now, I see why the Directv guy said he’d give me NBA League Pass for free this year if I stuck with them lol.

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  • #583883
    AvatarAvatar
    WizardofOz
    Participant

    How can the NBA let this happen? The NBA had the most viewers last seasons. Everybody was excited for the season. They had so much momentum, and now they’re going to let it go all down the drain. SMH. Usually sports take time to bounce back from a lock, except probably the NFL.

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  • #583641
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    WizardofOz
    Participant

    How can the NBA let this happen? The NBA had the most viewers last seasons. Everybody was excited for the season. They had so much momentum, and now they’re going to let it go all down the drain. SMH. Usually sports take time to bounce back from a lock, except probably the NFL.

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  • #583889
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    Malik-Universal
    Participant

     ^ cuz of money my friend

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  • #583646
    AvatarAvatar
    Malik-Universal
    Participant

     ^ cuz of money my friend

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  • #583893
    AvatarAvatar
    M-DYMES
    Participant

    Maybe this is what Obama is trying to really get money for.

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  • #583650
    AvatarAvatar
    M-DYMES
    Participant

    Maybe this is what Obama is trying to really get money for.

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  • #583897
    AvatarAvatar
    aamir543
    Participant

    Wow, If the whole season really is wiped out, than Ima get a 5.0 this year. I’ll be so bored, I’ll be forced to take my time to do my HW and study.

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  • #583654
    AvatarAvatar
    aamir543
    Participant

    Wow, If the whole season really is wiped out, than Ima get a 5.0 this year. I’ll be so bored, I’ll be forced to take my time to do my HW and study.

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  • #583899
    AvatarAvatar
    IndianaBasketball
    Participant

    I woun’t be surprised if the entire season is missed. I definitely think there are going to be plenty of games missed. I just can’t see them solving all of the issues before the season starts. This is going to be similar to the last lockout when it basically came down to the deadline.

     

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  • #583656
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    IndianaBasketball
    Participant

    I woun’t be surprised if the entire season is missed. I definitely think there are going to be plenty of games missed. I just can’t see them solving all of the issues before the season starts. This is going to be similar to the last lockout when it basically came down to the deadline.

     

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  • #583900
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    Malik-Universal
    Participant

     ^^^^ aamir u a funny dude man lolol

     

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  • #583658
    AvatarAvatar
    Malik-Universal
    Participant

     ^^^^ aamir u a funny dude man lolol

     

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  • #583908
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    Tongue-Out-Like-23
    Participant

    They said the same thing about the NFL…. smh..

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  • #583666
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    Tongue-Out-Like-23
    Participant

    They said the same thing about the NFL…. smh..

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  • #583916
    AvatarAvatar
    IndianaBasketball
    Participant

    From what I’ve been reading… The NBA’s issues are considered a lot worse than the NFL’s.

    I think these owners are determined to get their way and are willing to miss the entire season to get it. They’re going to play hard ball. We’re going to see just how "united" the players really are once they don’t get their paychecks. I think players are like most fans… They can’t imagine the idea of a whole season being missed.

    I just think this is going to get real ugly.

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  • #583674
    AvatarAvatar
    IndianaBasketball
    Participant

    From what I’ve been reading… The NBA’s issues are considered a lot worse than the NFL’s.

    I think these owners are determined to get their way and are willing to miss the entire season to get it. They’re going to play hard ball. We’re going to see just how "united" the players really are once they don’t get their paychecks. I think players are like most fans… They can’t imagine the idea of a whole season being missed.

    I just think this is going to get real ugly.

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  • #583952
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    TheLastWord
    Participant

    If there is a full year lockout, the ratings hit will wipe out any possible owner profit for a long time no matter how "favorable" deal they get. People have no sympathy for these millionaies and billionaires in todays economic climate and will simply find another sport or hobby to follow. They better meet somewhere in the middle or both sides will regret it dearly.

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  • #583710
    AvatarAvatar
    TheLastWord
    Participant

    If there is a full year lockout, the ratings hit will wipe out any possible owner profit for a long time no matter how "favorable" deal they get. People have no sympathy for these millionaies and billionaires in todays economic climate and will simply find another sport or hobby to follow. They better meet somewhere in the middle or both sides will regret it dearly.

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  • #583954
    AvatarAvatar
    Tongue-Out-Like-23
    Participant

    The reason why the NFL lockout is worst than the NBA lockout is that, owners are more in debt in the NBA than they are in the NFL.  They cannot afford, financially, to miss an entire season.  Not to mention, most players can go and play in Europe for the season whereas NFL players have no choice.

    NBA players have much more leverage than the NFL players had.  Thus making this lockout worse for the owners.

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  • #583712
    AvatarAvatar
    Tongue-Out-Like-23
    Participant

    The reason why the NFL lockout is worst than the NBA lockout is that, owners are more in debt in the NBA than they are in the NFL.  They cannot afford, financially, to miss an entire season.  Not to mention, most players can go and play in Europe for the season whereas NFL players have no choice.

    NBA players have much more leverage than the NFL players had.  Thus making this lockout worse for the owners.

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  • #583960
    AvatarAvatar
    WizardofOz
    Participant

    If the league were to lose a full season with many of its players dispersing across the globe, I see the possiblity of this whole thing weakening the NBA permanently, of other overses leages expanding to the point they can compete for some NBA players, and in gerneal for the great and fun single best of the best champions league to start to be eroded toward a more soccer like mess with good players scattered all over the place and never playing in the same league. Same thing if the end result of this is such a huge cut in salaries that overseas teams are actually able to compete financially for players. The NBA isn’t going anywhere, but this whole thing is just reckless given basketball’s overseas popularity (a popularity ironically promoted by the NBA itself).

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  • #583718
    AvatarAvatar
    WizardofOz
    Participant

    If the league were to lose a full season with many of its players dispersing across the globe, I see the possiblity of this whole thing weakening the NBA permanently, of other overses leages expanding to the point they can compete for some NBA players, and in gerneal for the great and fun single best of the best champions league to start to be eroded toward a more soccer like mess with good players scattered all over the place and never playing in the same league. Same thing if the end result of this is such a huge cut in salaries that overseas teams are actually able to compete financially for players. The NBA isn’t going anywhere, but this whole thing is just reckless given basketball’s overseas popularity (a popularity ironically promoted by the NBA itself).

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