BY SAM LADOW AND JAMIE HOROWITZ
At this time, it seems that by the middle of he third week of October, mediator George Cohen will decide the fate of the NBA season. He is expected to weigh in on the disputes between the union of players and the team owners and reach a solution. Just a few months ago, the same George Cohen was helping the NFL settle its issues, but the NFL did not lose out on any games. Now, two weeks of regular season games and one hundred and fourteen preseason games have been lost to the lockout.
Unlike the NFL, the NBA will lose a significant amount of money if there is no season. This would force some smaller market teams to go bankrupt, and make them unable to remain in the NBA. The last lockout was in 1998 and lasted until Feb. 5, 1999. It is estimated that the NBA took five to seven years to recover. Consequences that could result from the present lockout could take at least ten years to dissolve.
Union president Derek Fisher and the players he represents want financial security and more pay, while David Stern and the team owners want to recuperate from recent losses— 22 of the 30 teams lost money last year.
Fans, on the other hand, just want to get back to watching thrilling games, tremendous athleticism and masterful dunk highlights on ESPN. For fans that can barely scrape up enough money to sit in the higher seats of the now empty stadiums, rich men arguing over millions of dollars isn’t going to sit well. Both the players and the owners realize the negative effect the lockout will have on their fan base and ultimately the money they are currently arguing over. So, what are they arguing over that is so important that both sides are willing to risk the prosperity and success of the NBA?
One of the main points of tension between the two sides is the splitting of the Basketball Related Income (BRI). The BRI includes the money the NBA earns from television rights, ticket sales, concessions and parking, among other factors, which totals about four billion dollars. The owners are pushing for a 50/50 split of the BRI while the players refuse to go below 53/47, which is still a four percent loss from what the players had last year.
Another heated debate is occurring over the enforcement of a “hard” salary cap, which would result in teams having less money to spend on players, thus making them less willing to sign players for an extended amount of years. This would also diminish the likelihood of a team accumulating a big three, such as the case in Miami and Boston. Players however are not comfortable with losing their job security and believe that the ownerss loss of money falls on their shoulders for not being as proficient as they could be. A frustrated Derrick Rose remarked after one meeting: “They’re [the owners] not taking into consideration that we’re trying to give them.”
Players feel that if the owners want to cut their losses they should stop signing average players to expensive contracts. For instance, Joe Johnson, the starting shooting guard of the Atlanta Hawks recently signed a six-year, $119 million contract. Many believe he was highly overpaid when put in context with his contribution to the team. Owners responded by saying they must offer those contracts or watch as a team with a bigger market and more cash flow snatches away the players. It seems at this point that neither side is willing to cave.
With two weeks of the season gone, both sides are still unified and show no signs of folding, or even giving up ground. Meanwhile, the players have found ways of keeping themselves busy. Some star players, such as Ray Allen, Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce and teammates Lebron James and Dwyane Wade have attended the union player meetings and the discussions with the owners. After one of the meetings, it is reported that Wade shared a few terse words with the commissioner after feeling Stern had slighted him during the proceedings. Other players have given up for the time being to pursue other career options. Players J.R. Smith, All-Star Deron Williams, Wilson Chandler and former MVP Kobe Bryant are among those who have been signed or are currently poised to do so with foreign teams. Other stars such as Kevin Durant and Chris Paul are organizing high profile pickup games to stay in shape and raise money for charities.
No one knows how much longer the lockout will last, but both the players and owners hope the season will not be lost entirely to the lockout.
