NBA Owners' Position Revealed

[damekmo@teleport.com]

I got this from the Warriors newsgroup. Thought some of you would be
interested. Personally, I'm finding it hard to care who wins and/or who
loses in this labor/management struggle. I just want this to end so I can
begin ripping Ricky's trades.

>> NBA Proposes Significant Changes
>> By Mark Asher
>> Washington Post Staff Writer
>> Saturday, October 3, 1998; Page D2
>>
>>
>> The NBA's latest proposal to its locked-out players would put
>> greater restrictions on free agency, impose an inflexible
>> ceiling on team salaries and require each player to undergo two
>> random drug tests per year, according to a copy of the 17-page
>> document obtained by The Washington Post.
>>
>> The proposal, dated Sept. 24, was mailed to all players and
>> agents early this week. It contained no change in the league's
>> position on the core issue of the labor stalemate: the league's
>> insistence on imposing an inflexible ceiling on team payrolls,
>> or a hard salary cap. The offer also, for the first time, gave
>> details of the financial terms for other parts of a new
>> collectively bargaining agreement.
>>
>> The sides will resume bargaining on Thursday in New York, only
>> the second formal session since the lockout began on July 1 and
>> virtually all basketball-related activities ceased. Training
>> camps were supposed to open Monday, but they have been postponed
>> indefinitely and the first 24 preseason games canceled. The
>> regular season is scheduled to begin Nov. 3, but top league
>> officials said last week it is doubtful games will be played
>> before Jan. 1 unless a deal is completed by the middle of
>> October.
>>
>> NBA spokesman Chris Brienza said the league will not comment on
>> collective bargaining proposals.
>>
>> National Basketball Players Association chief Billy Hunter could
>> not be reached for comment. Previously, union officials have
>> said players will not agree to a system with a hard salary cap,
>> so further restrictions on free agency would make the proposal
>> even less appealing.
>>
>> In the previous agreement, rookies were subject to a wage scale
>> for three seasons, based on their draft position. Contracts of
>> first-round picks were guaranteed during those three seasons,
>> after which the players became unrestricted free agents.
>>
>> Under the NBA's proposal, players would have to be in the league
>> for six seasons before they could be unrestricted free agents.
>> The rookie wage scale would be extended to five seasons, but
>> only the first three seasons would be guaranteed. Teams would
>> have the option to renew the contract for the fourth and fifth
>> seasons. After five seasons, a player could seek a deal
>> elsewhere, but his old team could match any offer he receives.
>> The other change is that the salaries on the rookie wage scale
>> would increase only 5 percent per season instead of 10 percent
>> as they did in the prior agreement.
>>
>> As for the salary cap, the prior agreement allowed teams to
>> re-sign their own players for any amount, even if it exceeded
>> the cap. That caused some owners to view it as a soft salary
>> cap. The NBA proposed two formats in its latest offer.
>>
>> In one format, the hard salary cap eventually would eliminate
>> that exception. The change would be phased in over four years,
>> with teams allowed to be 20 percent over the cap for the 1998-99
>> season. That 20 percent cushion is expected to translate to $6
>> million, which teams could use to re-sign their players who have
>> at least three years' experience. However, teams could not use
>> that cushion to sign other teams' free agents.
>>
>> In the other salary cap proposal, nearly all of the exceptions
>> would remain in effect, but if a team exceeded the cap, players
>> on that team could be forced to give up a portion of their
>> salaries. The NBA proposed that the union could determine the
>> formula for deciding which players had to forsake money they had
>> negotiated. The money would go into an escrow fund to help
>> teams.
>>
>> The NBA also wants to strengthen its disciplinary powers. It
>> wants to be able to terminate a player's contract if he assaults
>> officials of his team or the league or attacks a fan. Fines for
>> missing practices and exhibition games would be increased
>> significantly, and a player who does not report following a
>> trade would have his salary reduced by 10 percent for each day
>> he failed to report. Players convicted on gun charges would be
>> subject to 10-game suspensions for the first time.
>>
>> The league and the union have agreed to include marijuana in the
>> league's list of banned substances. The NBA's latest proposal
>> also adds amphetamines, opiates and includes
>> performance-enhancing drugs and requires all players to undergo
>> two random drug tests a season. For marijuana, the second
>> offense would be a five-game suspension. Third and subsequent
>> violations would result in indefinite suspension while
>> undergoing drug rehabilitation.
>>
>> The NBA also wants to eliminate provisions that allow players to
>> opt out of contracts, as Washington's Juwan Howard did in 1996.
>> Contracts could be no longer than five or six years instead of
>> seven. All incentive clauses would be limited to 5 percent of
>> the player's contract.
>>
>> The NBA also offered to increase the minimum salaries for
>> players, based on experience, though the increases are short of
>> what the union is seeking. The proposed minimum for the 1998-99
>> season would be $325,000, increasing annually at 10 percent, for
>> players with one to five years' experience. Players in their
>> sixth to ninth seasons will earn the minimum plus $50,000 for
>> each year of service above five; thus the minimum for a
>> nine-year veteran would be $525,000 this season. The minimum for
>> players with 10 years of experience would be $750,000; the
>> figure will increase by 10 percent annually. Only the basic
>> minimum salary would count against the salary cap.
>>
>>
>> © Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
>>
>>
>>