Re: Stern: Union Won't Kill NBA

["Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com>]

Wow.  If this is more than bluffing, we could be looking at a 
drastically different pro basketball scene next fall.  The NBA, as we 
know it, could be dead.  But would that be a bad thing?  I'm not so 
sure.  If the NBA does whatever it needs to do to start signing players 
for next year I think there will certainly be a rival league.  But who 
does this hurt more?  The owners are making very little profit now 
anyway.  Neither league would be able to pay the players anything close 
to what they are making now.  But that's what the owners are trying to 
accomplish, isn't it?  Loser: The players.

If competition is introduced, the NBA has a huge advantage.  It has the 
history and the teams that fans are familiar with.  All it needs to do 
is secure about half of the talent.  The only chance the new league 
would have would be if it was clearly more talented.  Even then, it 
would have huge marketing and logistical hurdles to overcome.  The 
timing of this, as Jordan retires, can't be coincidental.  After all, a 
new league with Jordan to market might stand a chance.  But that's not 
going to happen now. Winner: The NBA.

The players need to realize that, when you're trying to improve your 
profit margin and one item takes up 57% of your revenues, it won't take 
long to figure out how to save money.  The bottom line is that you don't 
need two billion in revenues to make a couple million profit per year, 
but you do if you want to pay 400 players 2.6 million dollars each.  The 
owners would do much better in a drastic shake up than the players 
would.

I still expect this thing to get settled at the last minute.  The 
players have too much to lose.  It's just that I'm not sure I want it to 
be settled anymore.  I wonder if I would prefer to see a much smaller 
league, with less hype, less marketing and more basketball.  Chances are 
when I finally convince myself that it will be a good thing, and I can 
live without basketball for one year, they'll end up settling and things 
will carry on as usual.  Until next time.

Jim

>Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 07:48:10 -0500
>From: Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>
>CC: celtics@igtc.com
>Subject: Stern: Union Won't Kill NBA
>
>
>       David Stern says without hesitation the NBA will
>       operate next season.
>
>       "We may not have the same players, we may not
>       charge the same ticket prices, we may not have
>       the same extensive TV revenue, but it will be a
>       league and it will survive for a long time and
>       it will continue to regrow and recoup itself,"
>       the commissioner said yesterday during a
>       conference call with reporters.
>
>       "It will have suffered tremendously, but it will
>       be here to live and entertain another day and,
>       ultimately, thrive."
>


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