According to David Stern, everything is down to the split of basketball-related income. Owners, he said, had removed their insistence on a hard cap, weren't demanding salary rollbacks either, and are willing to let players opt out of a 10-year deal after seven, all of which were thought to be drop dead issues for ownership.
The union did not dispute Stern's summary but the devil was always going to be in the details of the BRI. Bottom line is that the two sides are a few percentage points away from a handshake. As Henry Abbott wrote Tuesday night, "the fact is that the two sides are not, after all this, very far apart. In fact, they are much closer than they have ever been."
So what's the latest and what's the problem? The union continues to see the BRI split as the underpinning of everything else and is hardline on the issue. There are reports of divisions between union leaders and agents who want to go the extra mile and decertify the union. That's angered some players who are threatening to dump their agents if they continue to go against union leadership. And Monday, Stern says, he will start canceling games.
- Sources: NBA agents plan next step - Chris Broussard - ESPN
- Three ways NBA talks could end - Henry Abbott - ESPN
- Labor Talks: All About The Benjamins - Sekou Smith - NBA.com
- NBPA, owners can reach finish line on new deal; here's how - Ken Berger - CBS Sports
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NBA's labor fight approaches its biggest deadline - Brian Mahoney - AP
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N.B.A. Labor Talks - Players Rejected a 50-50 Split of Revenue - Howard Beck - New York Times
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With NBA preseason canceled, union leader Billy Hunter's motivation at forefront - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger