NEW YORK — Draw no conclusions from this picture.
There are more chairs and more microphones nearby if needed, and there is an NBA backdrop at the ready. There were six microphones at the table earlier, people starting drawing invalid conclusions, and David Stern himself came down and rearranged things (OK, that last part is not true).
At some point this afternoon or tonight or in the wee hours of tomorrow morning, a news conference will be held in the room where I am now sitting, or perhaps two news conferences.
If it is the latter, it means there is still no deal to end the NBA lockout.
If it is the former, we’re playing ball in a month.
Owners and players went back to the bargaining table at noon EST after meeting for 12 hours Wednesday, ending at 1 o’clock in the morning. The sides reportedly closed the gap on three of the five most contentious salary cap system issues that were unresolved when Wednesday’s bargaining session began, and it has been an open secret for more than two days that the players are prepared to take something close to a 50-50 split if they receive sufficient concessions from the owners on system issues.
But it is not a simple process, as the give and take on the system issues is intertwined with where the sides are willing to go on the money (A drop-down from 57 to 50 percent would represent a $3 billion giveback for the players over 10 years). Also, there are multiple secondary system issues that have to be addressed in addition to the big five, which is why the sides are taking so much time to methodically plod through them.
And they have all the time in the world, since David Stern stopped the clock at 1 a.m. Thursday (which was the secret answer to the question: In David Stern’s world, when exactly is the close of business on Wednesday?), and he still must come out of the negotiating room with an agreement that will pass muster with a majority of his 30 ownership groups, who want the system changes to ensure more competitive balance.
“The competitive issues are independent of the economic issues,” Silver said. “Our goal is to have a system in which all 30 teams are competing for championships and, if well managed, they have an opportunity to break even or make a profit. We don’t see the ability to break even or make a profit as a tradeoff for the ability to field a competitive team. All of those issues are still in place.”
The owners were represented by the same five men who were in the room yesterday: Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, and attorneys Dan Rube and Rick Buchanan. Chris Paul, Theo Ratliff, Keyon Dooling, Matt Bonner and Roger Mason of the union’s executive committee joined the talks Thursday, a day after Billy Hunter gave the most positive assessment of anyone, saying: “There was enough give and take on both sides to merit us both coming back.”
Stern, on the other hand, showed his gift for creative language in claiming “nothing was worked out.”
In truth, plenty has been worked out from a philosophical standpoint with the sides having moved so close to an agreement on the financial part of the equation. But this is a marathon, and even if they have gotten through 25.2 miles, that last mile is usually the most grueling.
Whether they can cross the finish line and collapse into each others arms (or hands) remains to be seen.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed. But I’m sensing more and more that a deal is going to get done by tomorrow. But, what I care about more is whether or not that deal allows the Knicks to get Paul via trade or in free agency next summer.
knicks suck either way. LMAO knicks are pathetic. Go off yourelf.