By Chris Sheridan Click here for a link to a radio interview I did this afternoon on the Mason and Ireland Show in Los Angeles. The subject matter, not surprisingly, was the NBA lockout. I think I may have won the co-hosts over to my line of reasoning regarding what a settlement might look like financially, and why an imminent settlement makes so much common sense.
Bernucca column: Amnesty Irrational
By Chris Bernucca I would prefer not to bring politics into basketball, but I have to wonder if John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell somehow sneaked into the recent NBA labor negotiations and presented the amnesty clause as another one of their magical job-creating proposals. Those proposals always seem to start with legislation that assures companies and individuals who already have lots of money will either (a) keep all of their money or (b) be given more money. And they always
NBA Lockout: Where the settlement lies, dollar-wise
By Chris Sheridan NEW YORK — From what I can gather, it is looking more and more like a deal is going to be cut in the 51/49 or 50/50 range when it comes to the split of basketball related income. It’ll probably take the sides a couple of days to get to that point when negotiations resume Friday, with the owners currently offering only 46-48 percent (down from 57 percent in the last deal) and the players at 54 (but having
Kobe Bryant to Italy? “It’s likely,” he says
From Guido Guida of La Gazetta Dello Sport, regarding negotiations between Bryant and Virtus Bologna: “Will I be coming to play in Italy? It’s likely. It would be a dream for me. There’s a chance it might happen and we’re discussing it at the moment. It’s very possible, and that’s good news for me.” The Lakers star is currently touring Italy with sponsors Nike (today he was at an event in Milan; tomorrow he will be in Rome), but he found time to be
A tasty morsel from the NBA lockout talks
NEW YORK — If NBA commissioner David Stern kept his word, we should be past the sugar-rush phase of today’s collective bargaining negotiations. CBSSports.com NBA writer Ken Berger went to a bakery, ordered this chocolate cake and had it sent to the 14th floor conference room where the sides were meeting yesterday. Afterward, Stern said, “We agreed to have it for breakfast.”
Purchased at Stork's Bakery, Whitestone, Queens, NYC.
Exclusive: Owners proposing 4 luxury tax levels
By Chris Sheridan NEW YORK — As noted in this earlier post, a few details of what was in the owners’ latest proposal to the players’ union have come to light. Here is another one: SheridanHoops.com has learned that the owners have proposed four different levels of the luxury tax, with the tax increasing from a dollar-for-dollar levy on teams slightly above the luxury tax threshold (which was $70.307 million last season, when the Lakers, Magic and Mavericks were reportedly the only tax-paying teams),
NBA Lockout: Short meeting on ‘ideas and concepts’ – UPDATED
By Chris Sheridan NEW YORK — If things had gone poorly Tuesday in the jump-started NBA collective bargaining talks, the sides would have let that be known. So it should probably be seen as a positive sign that the owners and players retreated to their neutral corners after meeting for less than three hours and agreed to meet again today. I tweeted back on June 30 that there was probably a deal to be done at 52/48 in terms of the split in
NBA Lockout: Sheridan’s Thoughts via Trail Blazers radio
By Chris Sheridan Yes, to all of my tweeps and e-mailers who keep asking me if I think the NBA season is going to start on time. Yes. Why do I believe this? Have a listen to this podcast from Trail Blazers radio, in which I lay it all out: Chris Sheridan Interview for Portland Trail Blazers radio