NBA players just committed a major blunder
Union chief Billy Hunter, flanked by Derek Fisher (left) and other players, has no leverage.
The NBA players can tell themselves that the owners created this mess. They would be right.
They can say it was the league’s owners who handed them the last collective bargaining agreement, the owners who gave them long and lucrative contracts, the owners who have done inexplicable things like give Joe Johnson a $119 million contract. And they would be right about all that, too.
But this was the bonehead move of all bonehead moves.
The NBA players decided Monday to reject the owners’ latest proposal for a new CBA. They plan to decertify the union and take the league to court for antitrust violations. This is what it looks like when an entire league of players commits suicide.
If the players are serious about all this, forget this season. At least.
Commissioner David Stern said Monday, “If I were a player, one of 450, I would wonder what it is [NBPA] Billy Hunter just did.”
Stern also referred to this as a “nuclear winter.”
Something tells me he has been practicing these soundbites for a while. My only hesitation in completely taking Stern’s side on this is, like the players, I don’t trust him, either.
But Stern and the owners really are holding all of the cards. The NBA is not the NFL in terms of stature or revenue streams. So it doesn’t really matter that the NBA owners are as wrong as the NFL owners were in their desire to change the rules of the game and take back what they’ve already given the players.
The NFL owners never were going to allow the cancellation of regular season games because there was too much money on the table. Everybody was winning, just not to the degree the NFL owners wanted to win.
That’s not the case in the NBA. The bottom line is . . . well, the bottom line. If close to half the NBA’s owners aren’t scared about shutting down the league for a year because they were projected to lose money anyway, does the union really believe the owners are going to blink?
There also are too many markets — Atlanta being one — where the NBA is simply off the radar right now. It’s about college football and the NFL. Soon, it will be about baseball trades and then spring training.
I’m not saying nobody cares because many do — just not so many that a firestorm from the fanbase is going to prompt the two sides to go back to the negotiating table.
Like all owner-player battles, this is being driven by high-powered agents who don’t want to see their commissions go down and the top 10 percent of the salary list who can afford to miss paychecks. But at some point, the players in the league who don’t have long-term security will grumble.
The players will have to give in, and this will not have been worth it.
By Jeff Schultz
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239 comments Add your comment
Kudzu
November 14th, 2011
4:39 pm
Please cancel the NBA league…forever. Let’s start over…
Ron Mexico
November 14th, 2011
4:40 pm
With all these NBA players out of a job, look for the crime rate to go up
Kyle
November 14th, 2011
4:45 pm
The only thing that matters is football and after yesterday that is pretty much over with in this town until next year too (other than the SEC Championship game).
flagboy?
November 14th, 2011
4:45 pm
A great day for sports.
The end.
Skeezix
November 14th, 2011
4:47 pm
You are right Jeff. The owners hold the cards here. Most of these overpaid/pampered players are clueless, being so lacking in real world experiences and so out of touch with reality. They have been poorly served by their union leadership.Here in NC most sports fans I know care most about college sports, then it is probably a tie between MLB and the NFL, with maybe the NFL slightly ahead of MLB.
Nobody I know cares, except maybe a handful of Bobcat fans in Charlotte. I mean the Bobcats? Are you kidding? I don’t know this firsthand, but there must be a few folks in Charlotte who really care because 2,000 to 3,000 usually show up for the games (probably hoping they’ll see MJ).
NBA SUCKS
November 14th, 2011
4:47 pm
I want to know who in the hell watches this crap?? This league has been in the toilet for at least 10 years now.
More boneheaded than...
November 14th, 2011
4:48 pm
…then Smitty going for it on 4th down from his own 30 yard line, in overtime???? Maybe, maybe not…
Actually...
November 14th, 2011
4:50 pm
With all these NBA players out of a job, look for the out of wedlock, baby daddy rate to go up higher than it already is…
Dap01
November 14th, 2011
4:50 pm
All NBA players can jump off a cliff.
NBA SUCKS
November 14th, 2011
4:50 pm
If were lucky they will cancel 2 years of this garbage. I’m always up for more viewing opportunities of NCAA Basketball!
Matt from MN
November 14th, 2011
4:52 pm
I’ll just bet you could walk by Philips Arena any night this winter and hear pin drop. Hahahahaha…way to go screw yourselves over, ASG!!
NBA SUCKS
November 14th, 2011
4:53 pm
Would love to see a national poll if people care about NBA basketball. I’m sure everybody loves watching grown men covered in Tats acting like thugs!
gabeaux
November 14th, 2011
4:54 pm
The players are delusional thinking they are irreplaceable. The owners are delusional in thinking their franchises are irreplaceable. No one is winning in this battle. The owners think their deeper pockets will eventually grant them victory over the players, but that victory will be at the cost of all but the most rabid of fans. It will take years to win back a fan base willing to pay big league prices after the old fans have been watching college hoops where the athletes really care and respond to coaching.
Skeezix
November 14th, 2011
4:57 pm
Furthermore, I would say around my state that even minor league baseball is bigger than the NBA. People in Durham, Greensboro, WinstonlSalem and Kinston N.C. support their minor league teams. Those teams get far more press than the NBA.
My point is, the NBA owners know this and they know they have a real serious problem with their product. The clueless players don’t seem to have figured this out. Well, let them get a regular job paying $12.00-$15.00 an hour with no benefits and then maybe 51% of revenues might start looking a lot better.
gspot
November 14th, 2011
4:58 pm
What’s the name of the “league” with the play by play “thug” actually on the floor with a wireless mic?
Boyz From North Ave
November 14th, 2011
4:58 pm
I would rather watch two mules having sex than give ANY of my time to the NBA. Both the players and the owners (aside from Mark Cuban) all suck big fat ones.
BuzztheKiller
November 14th, 2011
4:59 pm
I have not even noticed they were not playing. I hope the league folds and these one trick clowns have to get a real job after they blow the rest of their money. They have wayyyyy over-estimated their worth and popularity. They must think they are in the NFL which actually makes money.
Carolina DAWG
November 14th, 2011
5:00 pm
I would not walk to my parking lot for an NBA ticket FREE of Charge– Do not care if they NEVER PLAY another game.
duronimo
November 14th, 2011
5:01 pm
The words “Joe Johnson and 119 million” spoken together, embellishes the definition of the word “stupid.” It highlights the fact that owners are paying insane amounts to players no longer willing accept their irrational millions! They deserve each other.
BuzztheKiller
November 14th, 2011
5:02 pm
Look at the picture, its says it all. Three crooks surrounded by a bunch of clowns.
NBA SUCKS
November 14th, 2011
5:05 pm
Why does the national media still cover these clowns? I mean the TV ratings are horrendous, the product is lacking, and the players are just unprofessional. Face it the league has suffered every since MJ retired in 98. He was the leader and players respected him. Now is almost total anarchy with the players behavior and attitudes.
?
November 14th, 2011
5:07 pm
Are those the crips or the bloods in the picture with their lawyers? Is it mandatory not to smile in a picture if your….
what the
November 14th, 2011
5:10 pm
greedy basta#%$
yeti
November 14th, 2011
5:10 pm
awesome. I will not have to watch NBA highlights on ESPN
Ted M
November 14th, 2011
5:12 pm
Yep Boneheaded is corrected.
The real story…
Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel became the NL Rookie of the Year in a unanimous vote
what the
November 14th, 2011
5:12 pm
OCCUPY NBA….move the stoners and their tent cities to the players yards
J
November 14th, 2011
5:19 pm
lmao, it’s always the idiotic Dawg fans that try to bash the NBA. That is irony at it’s finest!
Paddy
November 14th, 2011
5:22 pm
Jeff…..you are correct. There are people that care about the NBA not playing. The problem is that, that number has dwindled dramaticly the last 10 years. The ones that do care are not enough to make most teams viable or interesting. The league caused this marketing disaster. Fans want to see the Lakers come to town not Kobe’s Lakers come to town! Folks with disposible income have left the building and are not coming back anytime soon!
J
November 14th, 2011
5:24 pm
seriously, DAWG fans, why even waste your time commenting here … we know you’re not basketball fans and your comments show that.
moboman
November 14th, 2011
5:35 pm
As if we didnt know how clueless some of these guys are. Guess they will have to cut down to only 200 pairs of Nikes. Let em sit. This will only enhance the college game. Wish the NCAA could let some of the guys who left early go back to school. At least they could enhance their skills while Hunter et al figure out that nobody cares and they have zero leverage. Poor guys, soon they will have to learn that 10+ million a year is something they can still get by on. Cant have a league where only 5 teams can afford to win and everyone else loses money. The owners are doing the right thing. All teams have to be on the same level set of rules for league balance. It only makes sense. Revenue sharing and a hard cap is the only way to fair way run a league, whether the players like it or not.
Mel in Midtown
November 14th, 2011
5:38 pm
Hey, very rich college dropouts – where’s that next check comin’ from? I’ll bet a bunch of kids who left college to enter this past NBA draft are pissed!
Marty
November 14th, 2011
5:42 pm
Who freaking cares about these grossly overpaid goons?
Muffican Jam
November 14th, 2011
5:43 pm
tell you what Stern, take the rest of the season off. then we’ll call you guys when we miss your product enough to even care.
UGASlobberknocker
November 14th, 2011
5:43 pm
Those poor NBA players/fools think they are the NFL.
The owners are losing money hand over fist while people like Joe Johnson are making $20 million a year. The owner provides the opportunity for the players to make money, then he loses millions..yet the players are supposed to keep raking in the cash? That isnt how business works, boys. Go get a real job. Us working stiffs will just watch college basketball til April, then jump right to the Braves. NBA? What NBA? We won’t miss you guys, I promise..In fact, just cancel the whole decade while you are at it.
kenny v
November 14th, 2011
5:45 pm
I REMEMBER WHEN I WORKED FOR THE PISTONS IN THE EARLY 60′S WHEN YOU COULD’NT GIVE AWAY A TICKET AWAY. ARE WE FACING THAT AGAIN?
UGASlobberknocker
November 14th, 2011
5:48 pm
@J
I’ll give you that most of us Dawg fans consider basketball just an irritant, a season where. if we lose in the 1st rd and dont make the NCAAs, hey, at least there is no conflict with spring football. Me, I probably would have flunked Jim Harrick, Jrs basketball class..BUT
that doesn’t mean we cant be hatin’ on greedy professional idiots. that is something even Tech and Ga people can agree on.
gadawgs
November 14th, 2011
5:49 pm
WHO CARES! If they never play another minute I truly will not lose any sleep over it.
what?
November 14th, 2011
5:57 pm
There’s a strike in the NBA??? Never noticed.
extremus
November 14th, 2011
6:02 pm
Oh, whatever are those poor, wretched NBA players to do without those annual millions in guaranteed contracts? They all have egos to feed. Those NBA owners are slave drivers, I tell you.
May the NBA DIE, and DIE SOON, so it can serve as a warning to the other pro sports that boundless greed, hedonism, and stubborn hubris make for an unsustainable business model. If drastic measures aren’t taken, the NBA is only the beginning; soon all of professional sports could find themselves endangered by their own avarice. If the NFL and MLB don’t watch closely and learn they too will be discussing writing off seasons and even cutting teams and/or disbanding altogether. Professional sports’ economy does NOT exist in a bubble distinct from the rest of us who are frankly hurting right now. One has only to look at newer stadiums to see how luxury suites and boxes have replaced an average family being able to afford attending a game, and that my friends shows the WRONG priorities (in a word, MONEY trumping everything including character and ethics).
IL Jacket
November 14th, 2011
6:07 pm
Sorry, Real Renegade, obviously that was 1994. Thanks for the information about the 2004-2005 NHL season.
Kantspell
November 14th, 2011
6:19 pm
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
LawDawg
November 14th, 2011
6:22 pm
The owners can have 48%* piece of the post-LeBron, people-caring-about-the-NBA pie, or they can wait a year and take 52% of the post-strike, worse-than-MLB-in-1995, casual-fans-are-done-with-your-league pie.
This whole thing really makes no sense to me. If the total revenue contracts by 5%, then getting an extra 2% is actually a loss and at this point, I think the revenue of the league is going to contract a lot more than that. Good job losing all the goodwill from last year’s finals.
* I do not care enough to figure out what the actual numbers are.
LawDawg
November 14th, 2011
6:23 pm
48% of a billion is more than 52% of 800 million
JSS
November 14th, 2011
6:23 pm
You people are silly, the last time three times someone tried to show the American consumer sham talent in the marketplace of professional sports, it turned them out to pasture. The NFL replacement season, the XFL, and the CFL expansion into the US. It is time for a lot of you to grow up. This is not a typical labor-management issue. The labor is the product. Why is that so hard for you to understand? The owners bought into a system that is not intend to make mega-profits. The players are not the reason that the T-Wolves, the Hawks, the Pacers (and how they messed that up is amazing), the Grizzlies, and the crown princes of the cluster four letter word the Kings can losing money hand over fist. Decertify, the labor law automatically turns in the players favor because the owners can no longer impose a labor agreement. The owners will then have to deal with the courts, and the St. Louis circuit will be no where near the appeals case. Stern is the mouthpiece for 15 owners (if you believe the media), they are willing to leverage the league’s short-term mess for the chance to get off from under their blunders!!!
BurytheBone
November 14th, 2011
6:33 pm
I had rather stack greasy bb’s than watch 1 NBA game.
LowCountry XPlant
November 14th, 2011
6:34 pm
I don’t really care for either side. But, given this contract offer and having Stern all over the tube shouting take it or the next offer will be considerably less – I would have done the same thing the players did.
SR
November 14th, 2011
6:40 pm
Haven’t cared about the NBA in years. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…….
dwdawg
November 14th, 2011
6:41 pm
SOA’s-spoiled overgrown athletes
MSD
November 14th, 2011
6:46 pm
And college hoops starts this week, so good riddance.
Cobb Dawg
November 14th, 2011
6:51 pm
There’s still professional basketball in this country? I hadn’t noticed for about the past 20 years. I couldn’t care less about what they do. I can only name a couple of players and that’s because they were on the front pages for being arrested for something or another. File this story under “who cares”.