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Back To Square One
November 25, 1998
No Christmas cheer in NBA this season
by Phil Jasner
Daily News Sports Writer
The NBA's Christmas Day games on NBC weren't
the only thing that came apart at the seams
yesterday.
Now, no one can even be sure Saturday's
scheduled bargaining session between the
league and the National Basketball Players
Association will take place in New York.
The meeting's status became more than a
little tenuous when NBPA attorney Jeffrey
Kessler informed deputy commissioner Russ
Granik by telephone the union "misunderstood"
the league's escrow proposal and was
withdrawing its agreement from Friday to a
key element of that proposal.
Kessler said the union never agreed to the
league's plan that called for the players to
contribute 15 percent of their salaries to an
escrow fund. If salaries exceeded an
agreed-upon limit, players would pay back $1
for every $1 above the trigger point and $2
for every $1 above the 15 percent.
The second level of payment would come from
the highest-spending teams.
"That discussion didn't fully take place on
Friday," Kessler said. "That was completely
unacceptable."
Granik said: "Regrettably, it appears that
any progress we thought we had made at our
last meeting was illusory. We no longer have
the framework for reaching a new agreement."
Kessler referred to the league's plan as
"punitive payments" and called Granik's
statement "a grandstanding operation,"
saying, "They want to negotiate in the
media."
The league, in a letter, asked union
executive director Billy Hunter whether any
basis remained for Saturday's meeting.
"The owners feel there's no point in having
anymore meetings right now," Granik said.
In a classic "He said, I said" response,
Kessler said: "It's not going to lead to a
deal, and that's very sad, because they're
playing with the lives of millions of people
and thousands of fans, and they don't care.
The players care, and we intend to be there
Saturday. We hope someone shows up from their
side."
Hunter echoed Kessler's remarks.
"If the NBA is serious about making a deal,
they should stop posturing and come to the
bargaining table this Saturday with the goal
of ending the lockout and saving the season,"
Hunter said.
Earlier yesterday, the league canceled the
Dec. 25 games matching the Chicago Bulls
against the New York Knicks and the Los
Angeles Lakers against the Phoenix Suns that
were to have been telecast on NBC.
Clearly, Granik wasn't kidding the other day
when he said, "Those games are virtually
gone, I think there's no chance we'll be
playing."
NBC instead will show "It's a Wonderful
Life," starring Jimmy Stewart.
NBC and Turner Broadcasting are paying the
league a combined $2.64 billion over four
seasons that went into effect this year. The
league is receiving payments in the midst of
the lockout, which has been in place since
July 1, but will have to make them up --
either in dollars or programming -- later on.
NBC spokesman Ed Markey said the network
would not comment. But if you have any hope
for the network telecasting games in the near
future, three regional games are on the
schedule Jan. 16, NBC's next scheduled date
to show games: New Jersey at New York, San
Antonio at Seattle and Phoenix at Utah.
So much for the flicker of hope that filtered
out of 10 hours of negotiating Friday.
The first eight weeks of the season have been
canceled, at a cost of more than $250 million
in players salaries. If there is to be any
semblance of a season, it wouldn't start
until at least sometime in January.
"The season is in grave danger," said Jeffrey
Mishkin, the league's chief legal officer.
"We are as far apart as we've ever been."
©1998 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.