All sides have failed. Both leadership groups have failed. If they were sincere about coming together and making a deal, they would have gone to arbitration months ago. This is a pissing match, with the season getting flushed away as a sacrifice to their egos. Stern in particular has failed. You're the commissioner, and you are WILLFULLY tossing a season in the hamper instead of making it happen. I've defended him for years....but this is it for me - he's harming the game now and needs to go.
I feel your frustration, yet this is taken as if the commish has 100% say, and sway. To wit I say 'nay'. Sure it's a pissing match. Explain, someone please, why the fans taking one side over the other matters in any way??? They're meeting again this week-end, and I say, 'deal'. It's deal time.
Your completely right here. The difference of 52 to 50% is merely a pissing contest over 80 million dollars that is costing the owners and players 100 million dollars every two weeks. Silver/Stern/Hunter take hardheaded egotistical lawyers to a whole new level. (no offense Bima)
Not exactly. The difference between the 52 and 50% is setting the precedence for the next CBA discussions after the expiration of the one currently being negotiated for. If the players go all the way down to 50% there is a slim to none chance that they'll ever see that BRI percentage go up in their favor. If they can get it to 52 or thereabouts right now in a gradual decline then that's a bit more palatable than dropping steeply down to 50% and knowing there's little chance they'll ever see that BRI go over 50% in their favour.
If the players concerns truely laid on the next CBA negotiations 10 years from now and the 2% less they would start the negotiations at in 2021 (given none of the current players would be playing the game then) Then they would have decertified and taken the NBA to courts rather than continue to negotiate. If they take the NBA to court, all reports are that it would benefit future negotiations for the players much more than the owners in the longrun. So if the players were so concerned about 2021 they would decertify and throw away the season to screw the owners once and for-all. The fact that they are willing to risk their financial gains in the hands of freaking Billy Hunter and continue to meet with the NBA in private negotiations means that they just want to play ASAP, and get paid today.
No disagreement from me about the decertification route. I think the NBPA leadership is a bit conflicted as to what it hopes to gain.
This is true. Players just don't want to swallow their pride at this point. Case in point, David West's tweet today: Ken Berger today has a good take on the players' situation right now:
