From Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (a friend and former AP colleague who has been covering the lockout like a blanket, yet still has not issued a prediction on whether the season will start on time, unlike some of us):
“The fact that the two sides are willing to reconvene so soon after large-group talks stalled is neither a positive nor a negative sign until we learn what each side is bringing to the table. Sources familiar with the negotiations said the players want details about the owners’ revenue sharing plans and a firm commitment from owners on how and when they plan to implement them. The two sides also remain entrenched in their respective positions on a hard salary cap, although Stern said last week that everything was negotiable and sources familiar with the league’s stance say the owners have always been open to negotiating the changes to the system they are seeking.”
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Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.
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Chris,
How are u so optimistic? Im reading everywhere that people are predicting doom. “The season will start in January at best,” according to many people and now they have about 10 days to get something done for the season to start on time.
You put yourself in a tough spot and your credibility in limbo. After you wrote such a confident article saying that the season will start on time, I wonder where you get that good stuff from you’re smoking. Can I have some? I ABSOLUTELY hope you’re right but my confidence in an upcoming deal is waning. I have just heard reports that the only way the owners can gain leverage and eventually force the players their way is when they start losing paychecks. I absolutely agree with your ESPN ex-colleagues.
Your views are totally against the grain and you may have given a lot of die-hard fans false hope. Perhaps this is a plea for publicity with a fledgling site. I remember what you said about Melo going to the Knicks and your dispute with Peter Vecsey. You called that about two months beore it happened. I know you’ll read this probably within the hour. I give you props with the Melo —> NYK call. IF a deal gets done in time, I may have to start calling you the NOSTRADAMUS of the NBA.
What incentive do the big market teams have to want a hard cap? If the hard cap makes small market teams more competitive, then the Lakers, Knicks, Bulls, etc. would be against it rite? I reAD articles saying that the teams dont all agree on a hard cap (the ESPN article on hawks and doves) which makes sense but then I saw that Stern said that the owners actually all agree on a hard cap – which doesnt make sense for the big market teams.Can anyone clear this up who understands whats really going on, not that anyone besides maybe Chris does on the site lol.
pleasenolockout:(
The incentive for big market teams to support a hard cap is simply money. Yes, a hard cap could conceivably make a well-managed small market team more competitive with a big market team on the basketball court.
But the reason a big market team would support a hard cap has absolutely nothing to do with basketball. It is all about finances. A big market team who is held to a strict hard cap would reduce their expenses without really affecting their income. Remember the national TV deal that the NBA has with ESPN/ABC and TNT does not expire until the conclusion of the 2015-2016 season. That deal pays the league and its owners roughly $930 million per season ($31 million per team).
The owners get that money no matter what type of cap is put into place. For example, a hard cap of $65 million would reduce the payroll expenses of teams like the Los Angeles Lakers by over 40% (after luxury taxes the Lakers payroll exceeded $110 million for the 2010-2011 season).
A hard cap would greatly reduce the costs of some big market teams without affecting their income too much. This is the allure of a hard cap to a big market team. Substantially lower costs while maintaining roughly the same amount of income will fatten those owners’ pockets.
Thanks that helped explain a lot. Here’s what I cant see happening though, and maybe this is what forced the lockout in the first place. I’m not sure if the $65 million figure is really proposed or what you used as an example. A greater than 40% decrease in player salaries seems ridiculous, even though I’m sure they can make do without a tricked out Escalade or a shark tank (Agent Zero), bowling alley, or a barber shop at home.
This would mean that the avg. salary would go down from $5 million to $3 million which is a crazy salary cut in relative terms. Even if the proposed hard cap was $80 million, thats still a huge decrease, but not for a small market team which spends less than that anyway.
The way that basketball is set up, as opposed to the NFL and MLB, more teams make the playoffs vs. teams that dont – 16 to 14. Baseball has no salary cap, and only 8 teams total make it, which makes it almost impossible for a VERY good team like the Rays or an even worse team to make the playoffs, which is INSANE. There is no excuse for an NBA team to not make the playoffs in a 5-6 year period unless you fill the league with David Kahns. Thus, the hard cap might make the NBA TOO competitive. This is my opinion and I cant see the players ever agreeing to a hard cap, but they may be forced to if the owners really are willing to lose the entire season.
As we have seen, San Antonio,Cleveland, Portland, Utah, OKC, have been just as competitive as many other big market teams over the years. A soft cap allows teams to get even better, gain popularity, like OKC, boost merchandise sales, and sign a huge TV deal.
pleasenolockout,
It isnt a 40% decrease across the league, and it would likely be a 2-3 year transition period for teams like the lakers. Not every team has a 110 million dollar payroll. The Lakers pay that much but about 25 million of it goes to luxury tax and the players dont see it.
A 65 million dollar hardcap is very doable for about 90% of the league.
The owners are suggesting a hardcap somewhere around 53 or 54 million which would be even lower than the current softcap.
Players are more concerned about losing the exceptions MLE, bird rights, veterans exception etc. This hurts teams as well though, as those exceptions are often the only way a team has the ability to address weak spots. Then again teams want non guarenteed contracts…. which is a frightening concept for the players
Yeaaa I remembered the luxury tax after I wrote that, so its not actually 40% and thats just for the Lakers and maybe couple hi-payroll teams.
Interesting payroll article.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2011/04/15/the-most-and-least-payroll-efficient-nba-teams/