Union chief already balking at 'hard cap'


By John N. Mitchell
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


Though there are about six months left before the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players union expires, the suggestion by some owners that the league establish a hard cap and do away with guaranteed contacts has left the two sides miles apart.
Players union executive director Billy Hunter, in town yesterday to meet with the Washington Wizards, said he will confer with commissioner David Stern and certain team owners next week to begin working toward a new deal that would stave off a repeat of the 1998 lockout.







"I think right at this moment, things are a bit tenuous," Hunter said, adding that negotiations have been slower than he would like. "My understanding based on what they have proposed is, they want a hard cap. And there are some owners that have been extreme enough to suggest that players should do away with guaranteed contracts.
"I would say to you that is clearly not going to work. If that is their position, then unfortunately we might find ourselves in the same predicament that the NHL players find themselves."
The NHL has been locked out all season and could lose the year if labor accord is not reached soon.
Hunter said he hopes to avoid the acrimony of 1998, when players and management were so at odds that the regular season was reduced from 82 games to 40. But he indicated the meetings must be substantive.
"The commissioner has indicated that he and the owners are prepared to meet as long and often as it takes to reach a deal," Hunter said. "But it's not just about meeting. It's about a meeting of the minds and whether we can get a deal that is acceptable to both sides.
"It's an arduous situation and a stressful experience. It's just as stressful for the owners as it is for us. I would like to do everything reasonably possible to avoid it happening again. By the same token, I have indicated to the players, and they have agreed, that we are not going to accept a bad deal."
Under the NBA's current CBA, the salary cap of approximately $43 million is flexible in that it allows teams to exceed the cap to re-sign their own free agents, which explains why the New York Knicks are paying more than $103 million in salaries this season.
Also under the current CBA, player contracts are guaranteed through their duration — meaning if a player is cut, his team is obligated to pay the remainder of the contract.
"If we have a hard cap, what happens is all guaranteed contracts pretty much go out the window," Hunter said. "You just can't have a hard cap and have guaranteed contracts."
Another sticking point is an age limit for players. Stern and the owners have campaigned to have a minimum age of 20, but Hunter and his constituency remain opposed.
To emphasize his point, Hunter noted the success of players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire and Tracy McGrady, who entered the league before their 20th birthdays.
"It's OK with me," Hunter said. "Obviously, that is something that is very stressful to some folks in management. But right now, absent their demonstration of some compelling overriding reason as to why kids 18 years of age should not be able to come into the league, the argument against it hasn't been made. And when I look at people like LeBron James and others, that convinces me there are players who shouldn't be marginalized." \


MASSA SAID WE AIN'T GON BE ABLE TO FEED OUR FAMILY

Funny how we get ticked at guys who are stealing money in the NBA and the owners are trying to stop guaranteed money to guys who performance has dropped considerably.

Something has to give.

Thursday, January 6, 2005; Page D08


The NBA players' union informed the Washington Wizards yesterday that the league's owners have asked for a reduction in the length of maximum contracts, greater authority to discipline athletes and a minimum-age requirement as part of the ongoing labor talks with the union.

Billy Hunter, executive director of the NBA Players' Association, met with the Wizards at MCI Center following the team's practice to brief them on the progress of the labor talks. The current collective bargaining agreement runs out at the end of the season.

"[Hunter] told us to be prepared in case there is a lockout," said Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas, who added that he has been saving money in case there is a work stoppage. "The owners want to take everything from us."

In 1998, the NBA locked the players out for 32 games. Few NBA insiders believe that there will be another stoppage, but Hunter is traveling to visit all teams to warn players to prepare for one just in case.

"I like to think that there isn't going to be a work stoppage," Hunter said. "We will make every effort to get a deal done so there won't be a work stoppage. But you have to understand we're not going to accept a bad deal."

Owners want to reduce the length of maximum contracts from seven years to four or five. Management also wants more control to discipline players, an issue that cropped up following the Nov. 19 melee in Auburn Hills, Mich., when members of the Indiana Pacers jumped into the stands to fight with fans.

Hunter said that both sides are hoping to have an agreement in place by the Feb. 20 All-Star Game.

-- Greg Sandoval



[Edited by - PLAYA2 on 01/06/2005 19:58:44]

Who gives a crap about what they do its not like life or death if they play or not. I'm with the owners on this one. I'm tired of seeing some of these players hose the oraganizations with poor play and injuries. There is no way a Players contract should be guaranteed for the full amount. It should be base+ commision thats what most in the real world deal with.

The only time a GM should ever be bailed out of a bad long-term contract is if a player has a career-ending injury. Otherwise, the GM should have to live with his own stupidity.

the talent pool for actual NBA players is small compared to a replacement product the NFL could put out.

I did read that in MLB, you get the best insuramnce rates on contracts 4 years or under, that premiums go way up 5+ years, in fact some contracts you cant get insurance for after 4 years.


Im thinking that they keep the guaranteed money and go to a system that guatantees 4 years and has a team option for 5.

i think thats a fair substitute

i also have to believe that some type of hard cap has to be inplemented to allow player movement to be fluid. the knicks should not be allowed to spend 100mm while the jazz pay 40mm. it has been proven spending more money doesnt work and hurts the sytem IMHO. for example the knicks have had problems with high paid players i.e houston, hardaway, Thomas, andersen, weatherspoon, that a hard cap system wouldve kept them out of.

lets say a ceiling of 70 mm and a floor of 40 mm that is a reasonable solution. teams like the Knicks and dalls would be grandfathered in from penalties, but would be put on an allowance per year to get down to the required cap.

Posted by Vmart:

Who gives a crap about what they do its not like life or death if they play or not. I'm with the owners on this one. I'm tired of seeing some of these players hose the oraganizations with poor play and injuries. There is no way a Players contract should be guaranteed for the full amount. It should be base+ commision thats what most in the real world deal with.

Thikn of this as Bosses and workers and I am going to assume we are all workers here, you can never and I mean never side with the bosses. These Owners are billionaires and like someone said if they hire someone to sign players and they sign a player to a crazy deal and the owner agrees, that is just too bad my friend. You don't see owners so quick to renogtiate when the have a player trapped in a bad deal ala scottie pippen. It is a double edged sword and like someon else said unless you have someone with a career-ending injury, you gotta pay up. Even with a career ending injury, they should have to pay some portion of it. Like a forced buy-out.

I mean sure you have these guys like Sprewell hwho bitch and moan and make themselves look really stupid. We shouldn't let super rich people dupe us into going against people who 'hit the lotto' because they were 6 9 and could dunk a basketball. These players come from backgrounds far more similar or worse in many cases to those of you and I. We should remember that and keep in mind that these owners, for the most part did not. Owners would screw everyone if they could. Next they'll be saying we only wanna pay you if you score 20 a game, if you don' you dobnt get paid.

The rookie scale contract notion was fair and made a great deal of sense, but outside of that, I think they just want a way out. Basketball is more popular than ever before.

If you don't like it when latrell cries broke, it should make you 100 times more upset when a billion owner does the same thing. I'm with the players.

Posted by BRIGGS:

lets say a ceiling of 70 mm and a floor of 40 mm that is a reasonable solution. teams like the Knicks and dalls would be grandfathered in from penalties, but would be put on an allowance per year to get down to the required cap.

I'm not sure I'm getting what you are saying. Isn't that what they already do? There's a minimum spending limit and there's a max. Teams above the max get penalized by the luxury tax. (Or am I misunderstanding something?) Are you saying that once a team eventually gets below the max that they be locked below it or something? Clarify please?

----

Anyway, I definitely think contract lengths should be shortened.

I also think that teams should be able to do something about albatross contracts (such as Houston's). There has to be an alternative to waiting it out or buying someone out. This might be stupid, but what if a team was able to burn it's mid-level exception or forfeit a draft pick to remove a contract off of it's cap-number. That way the Knicks could still pay Houston his silly contract and have him remain on the roster (so they're not paying him to play for someone else like they are with Shandon). The Knicks alleviate their suffering in cap-hell, but not get off scott free either. Forfeited draft picks or exceptions can be allocated out somehow - maybe to teams that have spent responsibly and stayed below the cap. Bear with me, I haven't thought out the ramifications yet. I'm just throwing ideas out there.