Peter May Interview With David Stern

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

[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]

PRO BASKETBALL
A few Stern words on tough issu
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/11/98

The spiffy new NBA Guide and NBA Register arrived in the mail last week. One
wonders whether we'll need them this season
The league and its locked-out players will meet again Tuesday, but there isn't
a lot of hope on either side for ending their stalemate. About the best spin
anyone could muster after Thursday's five-hour session was that no one threw
any tomatoes.

Commissioner David Stern, in an interview Friday, touched on a few issues
surrounding the lockout. One of the ground rules for the interview, imposed by
yours truly, was that there be no mention of ''hard caps'' or ''Bird
exceptions'' or ''basketball-related income.''

 Some of the Q&A:

* Is the NBA intent on declaring an impasse in bargaining and imposing its
new, owner-friendly system, thereby daring the players to report or strike?
''No, not right now,'' Stern said. ''We're planning to sit this one out as
long as it takes and to use the lockout as the economic weapon that it is.''

* Is there a group of owners, up to 12, who would just as soon flush the
season down the drain? ''Nobody wants to miss the season,'' Stern said. ''Not
one team. Someone has a new rookie or a new coach or a new building. Hope
springs eternal. We talk to all the owners. They're all briefed. There's no
group which doesn't want to make a deal. Our mandate is to make a deal, but it
has to be the right deal.'' The owners, he said, were united as one, at least
for now.

* Stern did say there were ''a half-dozen'' teams that would do better
economically by not playing this year. ''But that doesn't mean they don't want
to operate,'' he said. ''But how much can you do when you're paying out more
than you're taking in?''

* Would the league be able to stomach the worst-case scenario of the impending
arbitration decision from John Feerick, namely that players with guaranteed
contracts get paid during a lockout? ''In a word, yes,'' he said. ''We have
the television revenues [more than $20 million per team]. But stay tuned,
because whatever he decides, it's only one step in the process. We still have
to make a deal.'' The NBA has already challenged Feerick's authority to hear
the dispute and would certainly appeal a decision that goes against it. ''We
think in the short and long term that we will be successful [in this case],''
Stern said.

* On the gag order that prevents teams from talking not only to players but
also to agents (they can talk among themselves, however): ''This is not about
being shrill or hurting the product. We don't want to do that. One word here,
one comment there. You won't see us do that.''

* On comparisons to baseball, namely, that the owners do not want to do what
baseball owners did 20 years ago and lose economic control of the game: ''This
is all about economics. It's always going to be a little out of control, and
there are other issues. The owners are prepared to do whatever it takes.''

* On missing games: ''The difference here is that it's the beginning of the
season, not the end. There's hope. We're not trashing our players. We're
arguing. Last time it was with the agents. This time it's with the union. But
we feel that the time to make a change is now, however painful the adjustment
is going to be.''