What would YOU do?

[Douglas342@aol.com]

     Having read my fill of finger-pointing posts complaining about owner
greed and player greed, I was happy to see a few posts today with some ideas
as to how to resolve this situation.  One person said that the Bird Exemption
could be retained only by the team first bringing a player into the NBA.
Others have suggested lengthening the rookie contract.  It seems to me that we
have certain "givens:"
     1.  Owners vary in their abilities to pay megabuck salaries.
     2.  Players want all they can get.
     3.  Somewhere, the league has an interest in (a) competitiveness, and (b)
stability of franchises. (Remember Roller Derby, with the T-Birds?  Didn't
even bother to have a geographical connection?)
     4.  Players and owners alike will take every dime that fans will pay, and
if they can sell boxes at $10,000/season, they'll up it to $15,000 or more
until there are empty suites.
     5.  Players and owners, but especially players, have a common interest in
a viable, healthy professional basketball league.
     6.  Owners want to make a profit of some form, and have no reason to stay
in the game if it costs them money on the bottom line.  Given that this is a
capitalist country, they have the right to expect a profit.
	Given all of this, what suggestions can we come up with other than blaming
the other guy and suggesting that he throw in the towel?  What sort of
proposals do you think are being, or should be, discussed at the table?
     If a settlement is reached, please disregard this post. Thank you.