Dave D'Alessandro: Yes Virginia There Will Be A Season

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                                           NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
                                                               C O L U M N


Yes, Virginia, there will be a season

By Dave D'Alessandro - The Sporting News

For six months, we've sat here with our own unique perspective, one
wavering between jaundiced and callow, before concluding that what David
Stern said recently about owners and players is both candid and correct:
They are two arcs existing on different planes that might never meet.

That was meant to be deceptive, and for a while there, we bought it. But
after viewing what appeared to be calculated incompetence from both sides,
this is the only truth that has emerged recently: Neither the owners nor
players have come close to getting serious about this negotiation yet.
Astonishing, but true.

You know this by talking to both sides. And if they are not afraid to tell
the truth, they will admit that neither side has come close to making its
best offer, and neither is properly motivated to voice it at the bargaining
table just yet.

The great unspoken truth on the owners' part is that they can move on a
number of economic issues, particularly with regard to minimum salaries and
assorted exceptions that help the middle-class player. The great unspoken
truth on the players' part is that the vast majority of them are sick and
tired of hearing their lawyers and officers from the David Falk stable
debate stars' issues.

We keep hearing the players are willing to do something in terms of
limiting high-end salaries, but only if the owners remove restrictions from
their proposal regarding the Larry Bird exception -- particularly a nasty
little clause that states a player relinquishes his Bird rights if he is
traded.

The owners are willing to increase the wage scale substantially, but only
if the players accept something resembling the limitations that have been
proposed on superstars' salaries. Around and around it goes, growing more
insidious each week.

To wit: "It's still all hints and subtle suggestions and maybes," says one
prominent figure, who must be kept secret here. "But you've got to do more
than hint, for crissakes."

Now comes word that Stern and union boss Billy Hunter are conducting
private negotiations. If you're not beyond the point of caring, this should
be applauded. The disagreement over ownership's insistence on Bird
provisions still could be a season-ending obstacle, but neither side has
shown any imagination yet.

So yes, Virginia, we think there will be a season, though for now you have
to be entertained by this comic opera. The most recent episode was an
extraordinary news conference called by Falk -- ostensibly to bring
attention to a December 19 exhibition, before it dovetailed into a cogent,
round table treatise on the greed of the NBA athlete's family.

When promoters of the game initially announced that proceeds would go
primarily to low-income players, their fearless leaders justified it by
explaining that these recipients were as deserving as any other charity.

Alonzo Mourning said, "We have a lot of expenses. Players in the
professional ranks have a lot of pressure from our families, from outside
people. Everybody's hands are out."

Karl Malone added, "I have 26 nieces and nephews, and Uncle Karl is Santa
Claus every day, but nobody wants to talk about that."

Following the predictable backlash, Falk and company relented days later,
announcing that all the money would go to charity. Instead of reveling in
the latest player faux pas, Stern would be wise to check the calendar, if
only to remind himself that this is the season of giving.

And in that spirit, which is as disingenuous as the negotiation itself,
both sides might benefit by knowing that we're all close to giving them up
for good.



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