Boston Celtics swingman Ray Allen believes NBA Labour negotiations will pick up pace – NBA Update
It has been a month and a half since the NBA locked out its players and most analysts are currently projecting a doom and gloom scenario. The labour dispute is dragging on and shows no signs of heading towards a resolution in the
near future, causing many to fear for the 2011-2012 NBA season.
Ray Allen though is not one of them though.
The Boston Celtics guard believes that although the NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) have both not shown any flexibility in their stances as yet and there is bound to be some movement as the season
draws nearer.
Allen said in a recent interview that things will only start moving towards a compromise when the threat of lost games or a season, become very real. At the moment, there just isn’t enough pressure. This is how the NBA’s all time
leader in 3-point shots responded when reminded that 46 days had already passed since the lockout began,
"It's interesting that you counted," Allen said. "You've been counting -- 46. It's interesting because at this juncture of the summer, it's pretty much just business as usual. For most of the players when you start to see games
missed, that's when there's more that comes into play."
Allen’s argument does hold weight. Although it’s true that the players and owners have only met once since the lockout began on July 1st, and even cancelled another meeting, it’s also true that at this point in time
both sides are still flexing some muscles. The NBA and David Stern recently filed a lawsuit against the players union while union Executive Director Billy Hunter has been making the rounds of the National Labour Relations board to get a verdict about the NBPA’s
own complaint.
When the two sides see that lost salaries, for the players, and lost revenue, for the owners, is a tangible possibility, they will start bending and compromising. Allen said that the players would like to see the matter resolved
sooner rather than later, but conceded that they were more concerned with keeping in shape at present.
"We'd like to speed the process up and put urgency out there now," Allen said, "but right now it seems as though we're not moving forward like we'd like. For us players, we just have to keep our bodies together and keep our minds
sharp, because you never know when it will break."
It is pertinent to point out that many players have also contacted foreign teams to play abroad if the lockout drags on, while some have even signed contracts. The players are taking such measures in order to get some leverage
when the real negotiations begin.
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