NEW YORK — The season will start Dec. 15, there will be 72 games, and the start of the NBA finals will be pushed back into mid-June instead of early June.
That is assuming the players ratify the proposal David Stern made to the union late last night.
Here are the next several steps:
1. The union’s player reps, with one player representing each team, will have the proposal detailed for them at a meeting in New York on Monday or Tuesday (depending on travel logistics).
2. A petition seeking involuntary decertification will be filed with the National Labor Relations Board, which will sit on it until it sees whether the union accepts the offer on the table.
3. After the player reps are briefed, they will vote on whether to put the offer up for a vote by the entire NBA player population.
4. If a vote is endorsed, players will have to travel to a specific location (likely New York) to be present for a ratification vote. That could take until the end of next week because of the travel logistics.
5. If the offer is ratified, we are playing ball — but there will be less than 30 days for the agreement to be put into writing, for free agency to play out, training camps to open and one or two exhibition games to be played.
In the meantime, we wait.
The owners and the players have no respect for the people that pay money to support and see them play. I myself love the NBA(nothing but africans or almost) and the owners should treat them like the slaves they have brought. If there is no season so be it we deserve it for having faith in millionares doing business with billionares. I think we need to fight back somehow boycotting everything NBA owners and players keep our money away from the owners and players and somehow make it hurt, I know it will be difficult if not impossible. I say lets somehow show them that we will not buy or patronize anything that has to do with. Its our fault not theres for having faith in them to get a deal done. Dear Mr Stern and Owners(Michale Jordan) and players Kobe,D Wade,Lebron,Carmelo,Dwight, you all are disappointments God Bless a conerned x fan.
All this conjecture is great but the players aren’t putting this deal up for a vote. Its a bad deal. The owners know it’s a bad deal and want the players to reject it so they can move to worse deal. I believe owners want players to decert and sue. Once players get beatdown by courts they’ll take a pathetic deal. What outstanding options! I would still tell players to cut their loses and take current bad deal. I really believe the agents are whipping players into frenzy and giving awful advice. Decert was an absolute failure for NFL. Stern will not make better offer in 45 day waiting period. Him and his lawyers are already working on how to legally void all player contracts. Stern is a lot of things but not dumb. I’d hire him over player agents anytime.
Chris: great site. You have an opportunity right now to break from the mouthpieces of the agents/players and make the following points:
1. NBA players are employees who often receive guaranteed multi year contracts with full benefits (per diem pay, private chartered travel, luxury hotel stays etc).
2. The average NBA player will start at 5 million income under this proposal and every NBA player shares in the income of the league — if the income goes up, the players benefit automatically.
3. NBA players are free to earn endorsement income apart from any labor agreement and many do quite well in this area.
4. If a player doesn’t want to play in the NBA, they are free to play in any other league. In fact, if a sponsor(s) is willing to fund another league or fund games etc, any player can go that route. In other words, the NBA pays its players far more than the marketplace will bear for their talents being used elsewhere.
And your point is….what? The issue is not whether the players are well-compensated; the issue is whether they are compensated fairly.
“In other words, the NBA pays its players far more than the marketplace will bear for their talents being used elsewhere.”
By the same token, without the top 50 players, the NBA would be the D-League: Part Duex.
It is a mutually beneficial relationship: yes, the players need the owners; but the owners need the players just as much.
Guest: you’re wrong. If every NBA player stopped playing today, the league would continue with the next group of 360-450 players willing to play. New players would be marketed, new players would be drafted — and Madison Square Garden would be rocking in no time.
that’s the stupidest thing i’ve ever heard. yeah, the NFL rocked with scab players right? yeah,M SG would love to watch D-league talent and pay full prices. and of course, TV would still pay the NBA full price for D-league level games. and of course advertisers would be pushing each other to get to advertise on those channels showing D-league level games!
as a. lincoln said, capital without labor is NOTHING!!
quit hating and being racist ( yes, i believe many who hate on the players are racist as the NBA is the most AA league in all of sports from the top execs down to the players)
You sound like the union attorney who rightfully apologized for unconscionable remarks.
Don’t be an idiot with the racism talk. Try an intelligent argument instead. I’m African American as well and disagree with your point. You can call me names if that’s what you are about.
From a financial standpoint, the players next best alternative is far below what the league is offering for the 450 NBA players. If the players believe they should take a stand on a principle and forgo $2 Billion this year plus take the additional financial hits that will come, more power to them.
We will see soon what they decide.
By the way, the NHL cancelled a full season and hit the players for a 24% pay cut when they came back. Was that racism?
Will the players sign off on non-guaranteed contracts CBA? if they are the sh!t as many delusional reporters claim, let them play with non-guaranteed contracts ala the NFL.
The players can get 57% but no guarantee contracts, Stern should propose that idea NOW
Chris,
How would this revise proposal effect the knicks ability to be able to obtain a chris paul or d12 and still fill out its roster?
Point #4 is ridiculous. In this day and age when you can vote electronically, by internet, why force players to come to New York? A quarter of them are disenfranchised because they are in Europe or China. Some can’t leave teams they are playing for. Others have no sane reason to spend on air fare and hotels to come over for one day when they might have to save their money to tide them over a lost season (if this offer is rejected).
They could do an informal electronic vote so the results are known prior to all the air travel.
I think it’s because they want to be 100% sure the ones voting are the players and not someone representing them, who could have his/her own interests.