Mike Wise: Talks Dead In The Water

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

          November 4, 1998

          League Official Calls Talks `Dead in the Water'


          By MIKE WISE
          NY Times

              After a week of bargaining and optimism, the two
              sides in the National Basketball Association's
          labor dispute are now faced with a sobering obstacle:
          they can't agree on the mechanics of a basic economic
          issue, a development that may soon lead to canceling
          more games.

          "Right now, we appear to be dead in the water," the
          league's deputy commissioner, Russ Granik, said last
          night. "Maybe something will happen tomorrow to put
          some wind back in the sails. But after Billy's comments
          on Monday, we seem to have a long way to go."

          Granik was referring to the union's executive director,
          Billy Hunter, who after a meeting between lawyers from
          the two sides indicated that the owners and players
          were "far apart" from reaching a compromise and
          belatedly starting the season. He said his gut feeling
          was that the season would begin in January.

          Hunter informed league officials on Monday that a full
          union bargaining team, comprising 15 to 20 players,
          would not be coming to New York for a hoped-for
          meeting. Instead, internal negotiating teams will meet
          at a midtown law firm this morning with the intention
          of trying to work out details of a proposed escrow
          system.

          That plan would go into effect after two or three years
          of using a luxury-tax system to curb salaries. In those
          escrow plan years, the sides would figure out at the
          end of each season how much revenue was devoted to
          player salaries.

          If a target number was exceeded, part of the escrow
          money would go all the 29 teams.

          Neither the owners nor the players would divulge
          details, but it appears that the issue has killed any
          progress toward agreement on a mechanism to divide
          revenues.

          "Without going into specifics, the N.B.A. just dug in,
          and they want more," Hunter said. "They're not
          satisfied with the concessions we've made. The more I
          put out there, the sweeter the deal gets for them.
          That's what this is about right now."

          The larger issue is total revenue distribution; the
          players want to earn 60 percent of basketball-related
          income while the owners are offering a 50-50 share.

          After an unproductive exchange Monday over how an
          escrow system would work, the two sides are concerned
          that talks may break off soon after they start today.

          "We felt like we were getting somewhere, but right now
          we are back to square one," Granik said.



                Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company