Billy Hunter says NBA lockout looming
On Monday 22 November, Billy Hunter, the executive director for the NBA players’ association, stated that he is “99 per cent sure” next summer will bring a league lockout. “I think it’s highly probable that there will be a lockout and that’s what I’m preparing
for because I don’t see anything else right now."
According to the report, the discussions regarding a new collective bargaining agreement have once again stalled. The current agreement expires next summer, and unless league representatives and the players’ association can get on the same page, the 2011-12
NBA campaign remains in jeopardy. Although talks fell through last week, the two sides are expected to reconvene sometime next month.
Hunter has stated that the problem stems from the owners, who would like to see reductions in a myriad of areas including contract lengths and guarantees, overall salaries, yearly raises, and rookies’ pay. Although the parties have been in talks for over a
year, both Hunter and David Stern, the league’s commissioner, concurred that there has been little progress.
Hunter, meanwhile, is reluctant to budge. “I don’t really see that the argument’s all that compelling for the changes that they’re asking for,” he said.
The league is asking that the players’ cumulative salary be cut by $700 to $800 million, and is also attempting to employ a hard salary cap to substitute in place of the current system, which makes certain exceptions. The players, however, aren’t buying it.
“It seems like things are doing all right and so our position is that we want to do what’s best for the game,” said New York Knicks guard, and member of the players’ executive committee, Roger Mason Jr. “Any way that we can make the game better as players,
speaking for a lot of the guys, we’re all for it. But we don’t want to have a deal that’s just not fair and that’s what we think is being presented to us right now.”
Tags: