Re: Dave D'Alessandro: Owners rearing their collective ugly head

["Witch Craft" <witchcraft1998@hotmail.com>]

>Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1998 04:22:35 -0600 (MDT)
>Reply-to: The Sporting News <sports-mail@sportsmail.sportingnews.com>
>From: The Sporting News <sports-mail@sportsmail.sportingnews.com>
>To: "Dave D'Alessandro Mailing List" 
<sportingnews-dalessandro-list-ns@sportsmail.sportingnews.com>
>Subject: Dave D'Alessandro: Owners rearing their collective ugly head
>

<P>Even through this most difficult time, NBA players have one thing in 
t=
heir favor: their choice of enemies.
     =09
<P>If you've been paying any attention to what's gone on over the years, 
=
you know that some owners are like congressional Republicans -- so 
transp=
arently malevolent that they're probably still capable of turning what 
th=
ey consider a necessary part of business  into a PR disaster for 
themselv=
es.=20
     =09
<P>They hold most of the cards right now -- will hold them all, in fact, 
=
once an arbitrator rules that they don't have to pay players during the 
f=
reeze. Yet instead off practicing common sense, and generating some good 
=
will by issuing a Collective Bargaining Agreement proposal that reflects 
=
how the two factions are truly business partners in this multi-billion 
do=
llar venture, they are starting to squeeze. Hard.=20
     =09
<P>Their most recent proposal contains these gems, many of them designed 
=
not to create an equitable system that everyone can thrive on, but to 
wid=
en the gulf between superstar and role player:
     =09
<P><li>A three-year phase-out of the Larry Bird Exception, which would 
be=
 significantly weakened after the first year under this plan. Maximum 
all=
owable increases would be limited to 7.5 percent, down from 20 percent.
=20
<P><li>Rookies would be subject to five-year deals, 
right-of-first-refusa=
l in the sixth year (can you spell, `Collusion'?) and wouldn't become 
fre=
e agents until their seventh -- rules that would be applied 
retroactively=
 to players still playing under their rookie contracts.

<P><li>Players with fewer than six years of service who are cut would 
hav=
e to play in the CBA to get any guaranteed money remaining in their 
contr=
acts. One agent called it, "The Quad Cities Threat."=20

<P><li>Trades of players entering the final seasons of their contracts 
wo=
uld be prohibited -- unless a player agrees to relinquish his Bird 
rights.

<P><li>Players convicted of a gun-related crime, including possession 
wou=
ld receive a mandatory 10-game suspension.

<P>Et cetera, et cetera. Now, when separated by their constituent 
element=
s, some of these might not seem so bad to you, even though union 
presiden=
t Patrick Ewing refers the 17-page proposal as "a horrible deal. . . one 
=
we'd be stupid and ignorant to accept." But we'd all save a lot of time 
a=
nd anguish if we'd focus on the single economic issue that's caused this 
=
stoppage -- runaway top-end salaries.=20
     =09
<P>Specifically, the players could save themselves a lot of trouble if 
th=
ey started taking the issue more seriously -- which they haven't -- 
inste=
ad of complaining about the owners' chutzpah.=20
     =09
<P>Russ Granik, the deputy commissioner, spelled it out for them again 
th=
is past Thursday, when they met for the first time in two months. The 
onl=
y thing that's going to get the ball rolling is the union "presenting 
som=
ething where they understand the need to get for a system that doesn't 
pr=
ovide for open-ended salary escalations, but bring them into a 
percentage=
 relationship with revenues. That's the major point for us. But we don't 
=
have anything like that from the other side."
     =09
<P>The players, natch, will say they dealt with that in their own 
proposa=
l, but they really haven't. And the way they continue to talk, they 
still=
 don't get it.=20
     =09
<P>It's time for the $100 million contract to go the way of tight shorts 
=
and canvas Chuck Taylors. The megadeal is not only insane, but 
impractica=
l: It creates an economic imbalance that the league cannot withstand, 
and=
 a great deal of resentment within a team.
     =09
<P>Only the union isn't willing to admit -- something you might expect 
fr=
om a group whose leader (Ewing) utters such absurdities as, "With a hard 
=
cap, we as players caannot survive."
     =09
<P>What Mr. Hand-to-Mouth should remember is that the high-end players 
ar=
e surviving quite well, always will, and that it is now their 
responsibil=
ity to transform the current system of basketball Reaganomics to 
somethin=
g more equitable. For too long, too many of the wrong players -- through 
=
circumstance, greed, or owner stupidity -- have been invited to the 
feast=
, while the majority were left with crumbss from their table.=20
     =09
<P>What has resulted is a system out of whack, and the current mess 
they'=
re entangled in. All it would take for them to extricate themselves is 
an=
 admission that nobody needs $100 million, regardless of how many 
cousins=
 he has.=20
     =09
<P>We raised this subject with Buck Williams the other day. As you know, 
=
Buck is Ewing's predecessor as union prez, he negotiated the last CBA, 
an=
d he's one of the more thoughtful people you'll find in the league. We 
as=
ked him this: Does anyone need $100 million?=20
     =09
<P>"Does anyone need 50?" he responded. "If the market can bear it, I'd 
s=
ay yes."
     =09
<P>After staring at him for a few seconds, waiting for the punch line, 
he=
 continued with growing enthusiasm, "That's the truth. No one's talking 
a=
bout coaches making $7 or 8 million. Or GM's making money. I think $8 
mil=
lion for a coach is like $100 million for a player."
     =09
<P>Actually, anyone out there would need to have his head examined if he 
=
were to choose, say, a $100-million player such as Juwan Howard or Kevin 
=
Garnett instead of an $8 million coach such as Pat Riley or Rick Pitino. 
=
For the most part, coaches at that level are a more valuable commodity, 
w=
ith a greater influence overall, and are fairly compensated for it.=20
     =09
<P>Buck didn't buy that argument. No matter, it wasn't a salary 
compariso=
n worth making anyway. But it does illustrate how the players are as 
obst=
inate as the owners, and Williams emphasized this by droning, "the issue 
=
here is that teams have to be more fiscally responsible, and make better 
=
decisions."=20
     =09
<P>A thousand miles away, Alonzo Mourning said the same thing: "Not one 
t=
ime have they mentioned the coaches taking pay cuts. But they insist we 
t=
ake restrictions on salaries."
=09
<P>A line played out, an argument grown old. But it's the only one the 
pl=
ayers have, and they're sticking to it. Too bad. They have been provided 
=
with a easy villain in this languid labor scenario, if their leadership 
w=
ould only let them depict it as such. But for now, the owners are 
somehow=
 being allowed to look like the reasonable ones.=20

<P><B>INSIDE DISH</B>

<P>Any minute now, the league will cancel regular season games, so the 
qu=
estion becomes: What is a season, anyway? "We won't play a partial 
season=
 that doesn't give the regular season an integrity of sorts," said the 
co=
mmish, David Stern. "My view is you should be playing a minimum of 60 
gam=
es. If you lose more than that, I think you're really taking a risk." . 
.=
 .=20

<P>Some signs of a chill in Chicago. Michael Jordan said last week that 
"=
for now, I'm keeping my options open," and Scottie Pippen added, "I'm 
not=
 closing any doors whatsoever," as long as there's a multi-year deal 
behi=
nd one of them. Rumors persist, however, that Pippen's house-hunting in 
P=
hoenix. . . .

<P>Joey Crawford, the best referee the league has had in decades, is 
into=
 his second week of house arrest for tax fraud -- he'll wear the ankle 
br=
acelet for six months -- but he gave a compelling case for leniency. He 
h=
ad 73 supporters in the couurtroom, and presented letters of character 
re=
ference from numerous NBA types, including Lenny Wilkens, Mike Fratello, 
=
and Jeff Van Gundy. Next up: Steve Javie's trial begins November 30. . . 
.

<P>The lockout could be a blessing in disguise for Allan Houston. He had 
=
his knee scoped in July, but said last week that he's still about two 
wee=
ks away from being able to play. . . .

<P>Pat Riley's camps aren't for the weak, but imagine how they'll be if 
t=
hey're reduced from four weeks to two. "It'll be absolutely crazy," said 
=
Tim Hardaway. "We know that he's going to try to kill us, run us to 
death=
." Added P.J. Brown, "If you're a new guy, just please come in the best 
s=
hape possible. Don't plan to come in here half-stepping, because Coach 
Ri=
ley is going to bring the heat." . . .

<P>The Bulls lose a bundle because of the preseason cancellations. They 
h=
ad already sold out their four home preseason games and 95 percent of 
the=
 62,000 seats in arenas housing their four road games. Total refund: 
Abou=
t $5 million. . . .

<P>At the request of agent Bill Duffy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is working 
out=
 with Michael Olowokandi at an L.A. health club three times a week.



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