Derek Fisher comes down hard on the NBA owners – NBA Labour Dispute Update
Derek Fisher, the President of the National Basketball Players Association, has criticized the owners for being greedy and blamed them for the current situation in his letter.
The Los Angeles Lakers man did not appear pleased in the letter, written a few days after talks collapsed on Friday, October 28. The two sides were believed to have made progress on some key aspects of the salary cap, but failed
to move forward once discussions on the Basketball Related Income (BRI) began.
Fisher was annoyed with the owners and said "if nothing more, the league and owners should understand people's livelihoods are at stake."
"They should be able to take the over 1 billion dollars we've offered them and open the doors of their arenas and let us, along with the ushers, parking attendants, everyone impacted to get back to work," Fisher added.
The $1 billion he has referred to is actually more than $1.5 billion over the next six years. According to the current proposal of the NBPA, they want to take a share of 52.5 percent of the BRI. This will be down from 57 percent
under the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement and would mean a transfer of over 1.5 billion dollars to the owners for the duration of the deal.
The NBA owners though want more. They started off by offering the players just 47 percent, but have since moved up to 50 percent. The players do not think that is substantial enough, especially given that they have already made
concessions in the BRI, the salary cap and numerous other minor issues.
Fisher assured members in the letter that the NBPA would not back down from their demands, even if the pressure continues to mount. He reiterated his commitment to the players and stated that they would only ever agree to a new
CBA if they think it is fair and balanced.
"My goal, the executive committee's ONLY goal is to present you with the most fair deal possible," Fisher wrote. "A deal that is both fair on system and BRI. One isn't more important than the other. They are both extremely impactful
to our business, our sport and our day to day life in the league."
NBA labour talks stand suspended at the moment, with the sides yet to schedule another meeting. Union executive director Billy Hunter reportedly walked out of the room on Friday after hearing the NBA’s proposal of a 50-50 BRI split.
It is believed the union will not consider meeting again if the owners do no raise their offer.
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