League Offers New Proposal

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

[charlotte.com]                           
]
Posted at 7:37 p.m. EDT Friday,               
September 25, 1998


League makes new proposal, still
seeks hard salary cap

         By CHRIS SHERIDAN
       AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NBA put a new
collective bargaining offer on the
table Friday, although the players
union said it barely varied from
the owners' previous proposal
demanding a ``hard'' salary cap.

It was the first formal offer made
by the owners since May 27. Union
director Billy Hunter said he
would prepare a detailed response
to be presented to the owners next
Tuesday.

``Once we respond, we'll decide
collectively where we go from
there,'' Hunter said.

A new labor agreement would have
to be in place by the second week
of October -- at the very latest
-- in order to save the 82-game
regular season. The league has
already canceled some exhibition
games and postponed the start of
training camps indefinitely, and
the players have been told to
expect the lockout to extend into
December -- or longer.

Union officials spent several
hours reviewing the proposal
Friday after it was sent over from
the NBA offices.

``We're still trying to find out
where they moved off their last
proposal,'' Hunter said.
``Generally, it still deals with a
hard salary cap. They have not
moved or retreated from their
position.''

In their May 27 proposal, owners
asked for a four-year phase out of
the Larry Bird exception, which
allows teams to exceed the salary
cap to retain their own free
agents.

Owners also asked that the
percentage of basketball-related
income (BRI) devoted to player
salaries be scaled back over four
years from 57 percent to 48
percent. The owners had the right
to seek a new agreement once BRI
rose above 51.8 percent.

Hunter would not reveal the
specifics of the new proposal, and
league officials did not comment.

The players made their last
proposal Aug. 6, and the owners
responded by storming out of the
room. The sides have held only one
brief sit-down meeting since then
to discuss moving the process
forward.

The union's position all summer
has been that there is no need to
hold further bargaining sessions
if the owners continue to insist
on a hard salary cap and a phase
out of the Bird exception. It's
unclear if that stance changed at
all during a meeting Thursday of
the union's Executive Council
including some 15 players.

``We will submit a comprehensive
response and maybe a
counterproposal,'' Hunter said.
``I don't want to discuss it any
more until I've had a chance to
give my response to them first.''

Asked if there was any hope for
starting the season on time,
Hunter would only say: ``Over
here, hope springs eternal.''

AP-ES-09-25-98 1915EDT