NBA Commissioner David Stern sends the retirement signal – NBA Update
It seems that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has taken its toll on the NBA Commissioner David Stern.
After the owners and the players ratified the new agreement, Stern, while announcing it hinted that his time to hang up the boots in near;
"I would say it's fair to say this is my last. This is a 10-year deal, with a re-opener at six," he said, explaining that either side can opt out after six seasons. "I'm not planning to be here certainly for the 10 and probably
not the six."
After the two parties had handshake deal nearly 10 days ago, there was vibe that some of the owners were not very happy with Stern and that his time as a commissioner may be coming to an end.
The NBA owners toed a very hard line in the negotiations. The small market teams wanted an equal opportunity, both in the revenue earned and quality of roster, and they wanted the players to make all the sacrifices for them to
achieve their goals.
Their major demands were a significant cut in the player’s share Basketball Related Income (BRI) and the introduction of a hard salary cap. However, the players stood their ground and eventually a deal, not significantly different
from the previous one was struck, at least as far as the system issues are concerned.
The agreement was done after the players used their ace card, decertifying the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), and sued the league for treble damages. Eventually, the NBA commissioner had to bow down and he decided
upon an agreement which was for some owners not very ideal. Naturally, they were not delighted with Stern and his latest remarks have further fuelled the speculation that the Commissioner may be on his way out.
Stern however refused to be drawn into a particular time frame and simply said that he would retire when he feels that the job no longer interests him.
He also dismissed the notion that the owners have been hard done by, in anyway, and also hinted at some progress in revenue sharing between the franchises. Reflecting back on the whole journey, he and the owners had to go through
in reaching to that agreement, Stern said;
"To me, when we started this tortured journey, more robust revenue sharing was a very important goal that we set. It required bringing along a number of teams that had grown up, so to speak, without major obligations to revenue
share. I feel very good that amongst the people that voted for this deal, the large markets were not there objecting or standing in the way at all.
Adam Silver, the deputy commissioner, is the favourite to succeed Stern. When that happens is anybody’s guess at the moment.
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