[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Peter Vecsey: Lockout Settlement Next Week
Fits right in with my predictions...
[New York Post]
SPORTS
LOCKOUT SETTLEMENT SHOULD COME NEXT WEEK
By PETER VECSEY
--------------------------------------------
JUST when I thought David Stern was about
to start holding tryouts to fill the
league's 29 rosters, sanity has suddenly
surfaced on both sides of the collective
bargaining table frequented by our favorite
millionaires and billionaires.
Out of nowhere - after months of failing to
communicate, and being acutely understood -
the league and union rinsed the dirty label
hard cap out of their mouths and
established a feasible (luxury tax and
escrow) framework that finally allows them
to concentrate on the simple crux of the
matter; what percentage of
basketball-related income will both
partners pocket annually in a new five-year
collective bargaining agreement.
According to significant sources familiar
with both camps, It's now about the deal.
We're negotiating money.
Are Stern and Billy Hunter, executive
director of the Players Association close
to reaching an arrangement that would end
the lockout? No, although instincts tell me
otherwise. But at least they appear to be
speaking the same coherent, unspoken
language.
It's not what they're saying; it's what you
know they're thinking, a league source
underlined. Each side knows where all this
is leading.
A distanced yelp, clearly, from where the
situation was mired in the muck earlier
this week. I was convinced the only reason
the league and the union submitted to
negotiate for more than a fleeting moment
was because their shameful inactivity was
making the fans hostile. Never
underestimate the power of public
perception.
Furthermore, it's remarkable once the
spewing stops, and the exhausted propaganda
machines grind to a halt, how quickly
conversation can turn to compromise. Before
you know it, you know what's good for you
and you've got a settlement.
Far be it from me to overreact by such a
swift turn of events, but I'm no longer
taking seriously Stern's threat to cancel
the season past November. Moreover, I'm
predicting an agreement on how the wealth
should be shared within the week. Its
momentum should be enough to steamroll the
talks and sweep up the remaining issues in
the subsequent 48 hours and the season
should begin on Dec. 1.
And you can quote me. In fact, I'm so
confident the league and the union have
figured out it might be in their best
interest to stage a season after all, this
space officially is breaking into a notes
column for the first time since late June.
Which gives me the opportunity to zero in
on one of Hunter's more ludicrous stances
of late.
Looking to poison the atmosphere between
the players and the networks (NBC and
Turner Sports) that televise the games,
Hunter has raised the possibility they
might not make themselves accessible for
interviews.
Why would the players threaten to bite the
media that feeds them and their descendants
into the hereafter? Because the networks
are being branded by Hunter and Patrick
Union as partial toward the owners who are
being paid during the lockout whereas the
players aren't getting a cent.
Naturally, the networks have no choice but
to pay the owners. The stipulation is part
of the new four-year deal signed last
season. The fact is, had NBC and Turner not
met that condition, they wouldn't have
gotten the deal, a league source revealed.
Of course, what Hunter and Patrick Union
conveniently don't discuss is that the
owners must repay the networks before the
contract runs out, and they're not waiting
until the last year, either.
Oh, yeah, and by the way, you don't have to
be a math major to figure out the players
ultimately will benefit the most from the
networks' billion dollar deal.
Clearly, Hunter is merely trying to make a
deal and will use anything at his disposal
to gain some sort of leverage or put some
kind of pressure on the league. As if Stern
and the owners are going to buckle on
critical economic issues on the chance the
players won't make themselves available to
the networks.
It's almost as if Patrick Union, infamous
throughout his career for being
uncooperative with the media, has broken
the food chain. He doesn't seem to mind
harvesting the fruits of those who made the
league the success it is. The question is,
when does Patrick Union replant? WHEN all
is said and done, the players will gladly
agree to include the testing (and
subsequent punishment if caught dabbling)
for marijuana, steroids, speed, any and all
illegal substance the league stipulates ...
Look for the Celtics to deal Antoine Walker
to the Heat for Jamal Mashburn and P.J.
Brown as soon as the stalemate gets
resolved.
The bad news if the lockout turns into a
lost season: There's sure to be a baby boom
nine months from now. The good news? The
2017 draft should be exceptional.
A sign that the NBA might be dropping out
of the public consciousness. Nike's new
sneaker is called Air Glenn.