By Chris Sheridan
NEW YORK — They spent seven hours in the room together Saturday, and they didn’t even talk about the split of revenues. Instead, owners and players trying to negotiate an end to the NBA lockout discussed aspects of the soft cap system they will operate under once they get a deal done.
And when might that be?
It is now looking like the latter part of next week is the drop dead date for saving the scheduled Nov. 1 start of the regular season.
“I don’t know whether the 11th hour is Tuesday or not,” Hunter said. “Clearly they decided the had to cancel some of the preseason, and the question is going to be one of whether they’re going to be compelled to actually begin to start canceling games. We haven’t quite gotten there yet, but time is moving in that direction. And its a question of whether or not that has the kind of impact one would hope it would have to bridge the gap, but it’s a pretty wide gulf.”
No talks will be held Sunday (at least that was what David Stern and Billy Hunter said publicly. I would not put it past them to meet privately Sunday night. They had one or two super-secret private meetings in 1998 when the start of that season was in jeopardy).
There will be a small negotiating session Monday with Stern, Hunter and their top advisors, and the owners’ and players’ full bargaining committees will reconvene on Tuesday.
Both Stern and Hunter said Friday’ session, in which Stern and Dwyane Wade had a verbal confrontation, was healthy for the process. But they would not say whether it led to any tangible progress in their negotiations on system issues.
“It was mellow,” Hunter said of Saturday’s seven-hour session — the longest session, time-wise, that the sides have spent together since the lockout was imposed the night of June 30. “From my perspective, the owners had to come to some understanding as to where the union and the players are, and to see the resolve that players have, and I think that was conveyed yesterday when we had all the marquee players come in. They’re anxious to get a deal, but our mantra hadn’t changed in that it’s got to be a fair and equitable deal.”
Said Stern: “It was very helpful to have a large group of players in, and to have the owners here. If was a healthy exchange, and that’s a good thing.”
I still believe they are going to find a way to get this deal done in the next several days, but my optimism is now slightly beginning to wane. One thing that is propping it up: Both Stern and Hunter seemed unusually perky after Saturday’s talks. They wouldn’t be that way if things were utterly hopeless. So stay tuned.
HELLO, I WOULD LIKE THA NBA START TODAY I CAN LIVE WEOUT BASKEBALL GAME , BUT TODAY MONEY IS EVERYTHING, GOD
Chris Sheridan said: “but my optimism is now slightly beginning to wane.”
Please, just please Chris, don’t lose your optimism. We need it. You’re just about the only writer who thinks a deal is coming soon. With all the doom and gloom there is out there, we need some positive stuff. We need someone who keeps telling us how a deal is coming soon and we aren’t going to lose any games. So I ask you to not change. Sorry but I had to say it.
As far as Hunter saying he doesn’t like working on Sundays. Aside the fact almost nobody likes working on Sundays (or any other day of the week for that matter lol), I can’t believe he said that. I guess that what happens after 7 long hours of negotiations. You totally lose your mind and start saying stuff you’re going to regreat. Either that, or there really is some kind of secret meeting with Stern, today, which would be something really positive.
I wouldnt pay as much attention to the words that david stern, billy hunter and derek fisher are saying to the media. They are well aware that they need to keep their game faces on now more than ever.
There is some potentially positive that I got yesterday
1) Guys who arent involved enough to tactically answer questions to the media (Baron davis, Matt Bonner, Udonis Haslem) all seemed to be more optamistic with their answers than the heads of both sides were. Granted- Its very possible that they have no clue what they are talking about and didnt want to be the messenger of bad news.
2) The meeting lasted more than 7 hours on a Saturday. there are about a dozen billionaire owners in that meeting wasting an entire Saturday. I have to assume that these guys time is far to valuable to sit in there that long and watch nothing at all get accomplished. Are these guys all trying to understand the other positions side exactly to put one jump of a proposal on the table tuesday afternoon or wednesday morning that has a good chance of getting the job done?… As Chris has been saying for almost a month- Doesnt common sense have to hit the surface at some point?
3) Chris mentioned this too, but Billy Hunter and David Stern especially seemed to be in very good moods considering… they supposidly wasted an entire saturday in a meeting and didn’t get anywhere at all? The words that both sides were saying didnt sound particularly promising “There is still a long way to go”, “I dont know if were going to be able to get there in time”, “we’re still miles apart”. I’m hoping that their body language is better to go off than the answers they gave to the media (All these answers were likely rehearsed and formatted with their advisors)
4) This is more of a question- Is not meeting on Sunday, a good thing or a bad thing? It was constantly reported that both sides wanted to meet through the weekend (which I assumed would include Sunday). Are the sides taking a break to A) really take a break, and maybe draft a strong proposal), B) because they are sick of each other and Saturday really was a complete waste of time, C) Because they really do feel like they can get this thing done on Monday and Tuesday, or D) To have a top secret meeting where the media doesnt have to report the productivity… The sexy answer is D
LOL- I know I’m working hard to find some optimism, Please respond and tell me that Im not going completely crazy. Thank you.
Sadly, my optimism is starting to wane too. So much for seeing The Blake Show twice the week of Thanksgiving. Sigh.
My optimism isn’t looking so great either. Unbelievable seven hours but yet little progress! Unreal, I will say this the players, and owners including David Stern that some regular season games start canceling they are going to start losing more fans. Some people already start to careless about the NBA because of the damn lockout.
What tick me off there is no meeting on Sunday, way to show a sign of urgency guys! What also tick me off the most is Billy Hunter stated “I don’t work on Sunday.” Uh, how about start working on Sunday now to see if can work things out! Unless as Chris stated on his article unless there is a secret meeting(which I am hoping there is.)
Is there time to save a full season, yes but time is running out NBA, and if some games start cancel say good bye to the viewers who are just staying tuned, or coming back. There goes your momentum, and the league deserve it.
But as of now there is still hope to save a full season but very little. You can tell that I am a huge basketball fan, and I am a NBA fan enjoy watching games not just only watching my favorite team but watching other games too. I know there is college hoops but still won’t be the same if there is no regular season at all. But I am nitpicking I want a full season!
The whole seven hours with little progress really tick me off.
This week is going to be very important, the choice for the league is theirs now either save the FULL season, or get ready to start losing more fans. The choice is yours NBA…
His optimism is waning because he’s finally realizing just how clueless the players really are. They somehow think this deal is going to improve over time and have convinced themselves as such. Regardless of who’s right, the owners control the leverage completely.
Go ahead and seek out your 10-game, $3M deals, players. If Kobe’s getting $3M for 10 games, and Deron Williams is getting $5M for a full season, enjoy your sub-$1M deals, role players. When you’re ready to make $5M here at home instead of $750K abroad – which, I’m guessing, will be right around the time you’re ready to do your holiday shopping – the owners will be right here waiting with a more punitive setup than what you’ve been offered.
Chris, Why is your optimism beginning to wane? Has something came out that is leading you to believe differently than you have believed the last few weeks?… Or are you just concerned about the distance the two sides are from the BRI split?
I think its the fact the two sides just spent 7 hours in a room together and only made “little progress” and there is pretty much only 2 more meetings til regular season games start being canceled. My optimism isn’t looking so great either.