Kevin Durant feels ball is now in the court of NBA owners – NBA Labour Dispute News
NBA super star Kevin Durant believes that it is time for the NBA owners to make a compromise in order to bring the NBA labour dispute to an end.
The league has locked out its players for the fourth month running because of the dispute, as both sides haggle over the details of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement or CBA.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Durant told reporters on Saturday, October 15, that the players had in fact made “a lot of sacrifices” so far in the labour negotiations, but the owners were holding still. That, according to Durant, has to change to save the NBA season, first two weeks of which have already been cancelled.
"They got to meet us at some point," Durant said after playing in an exhibition game at a DC-area high school on Saturday. "I feel like (the owners) aren't helping us out -- they're not trying meet us halfway with it."
Durant also echoed a growing accusation by the players that the owners just do not seem serious about finding a solution to the problem, although he did so via very soft words.
"The way the meetings (have) been going, it's just so slow," Durant said.
As Union President Derek Fisher had said on Friday, Durant told reporters that the NBA players are the main money makers in the league; they should be treated as such. He said he wanted a compromise made but it was time the players also made a stand.
"Us as players, we bring in a lot of the money. Hopefully we come to an agreement, but we got to stand firm."
In the previous CBA, the players were guaranteed 57 percent of Basketball Related Income (BRI). This time around though, the NBA owners want to give them just 47 percent, which the players think is simply ludicrous. They rejected a 50 percent offer from the owners before the first two weeks were cancelled, showing that they will stick to their demand of 53 percent in the long run.
Still, Durant still has hope that the differences between the two sides would somehow be resolved. The two times NBA scoring champion said it was very important to everyone involved that the 2011-2012 NBA season is salvaged and simply refused to be drawn on a scenario, where it is not.
"I'm not concerned about that," he said. "I think we'll get something done -- I hope so. I don't want to think about that."
The NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) are set to resume talks on Tuesday, now under the eye of a federal mediator. It is hoped that George Cohen, the man who helped resolved a similar crisis in Major League Soccer, will be able to get things sorted out for the NBA as well.
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