Billy Hunter hopes owners and players will soften their positions: NBA Lockout Update
The representatives of the NBA owners and players Association had a three-hour meeting on Thursday, the final day before the expiration of the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) as both the parties were miles apart
from forming an accord which forced the lockout for the second time in the history of the league.
Considering that the 2011-2012 season is at stake, the negotiations are expected to resume within two weeks. The free agency didn’t take place on Friday as a result of the NBA lockout. The negotiation process should be taken more
seriously this time with a frame of mind to close a deal before the league has to face more consequences.
Executive Director of the players association Billy Hunter hopes that each party will soften their positions to enforce the next season and said, “I hope it doesn’t come down to that. Obviously the clock is now running with regard
to whether or not there will be a loss of games. So I’m hoping that over the next month or so there will be sort of a softening maybe on their side, and maybe we’ll have to soften our position, as well.”
The meetings wavered throughout the discussion process since the end of the play-offs as there was never a definite answer regarding the settlement between both the parties. The players union came up with the previous financial
proposal on Thursday which Billy termed as a moderate scheme that was unacceptable for the owners’ committee.
Deputy Commissioner of NBA Adam Silver explained the contract offered by the representatives of the players association and said, “They would have taken existing salaries of roughly $5 million per player and grown those salaries
to approximately $6.5 million per player in Year 5 or, under the deal they proposed (yesterday), which was to add an additional year, to close to $7 million per player over six years”.
San Antonio Spurs’ owner Peter Holt who is the chairman of the committee stated that the proposal is improper for the owners to accept and they cannot work under this system.
The NBA Commissioner David Stern was also dismayed by the offer and said that the player’s economic proposal suggests that the league have been bearing the cost and they should continue to lose money. On the other hand, Hunter
is of the view that the negotiations are being made on a much friendlier scale as compared to the previous lockout talks in 1998.
Whatever the case may be, the league has officially entered in the lockout situation and it’s all on the owners and the players that how they take care of each others’ perspective and come to a solution to bring the action back
on the court.
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