NBA Labour talks collapse again; David Stern cancels games through November – NBA Lockout Update
The NBA owners and players union were not able to find a compromise in the ongoing labour dispute on Friday, Oct 28, and games throughout November have now been cancelled. NBA Commissioner David Stern made the announcement after
watching another week’s good work go down the drain on Friday, when the two sides broke off talks after failing to resolve differences.
The NBA locked out its players on July 1st and with the expiry of an old Collective Bargaining Agreement. It has negotiated on and off since then with the National Basketball Players Association for a new CBA, but to
no avail.
Stern had hinted on Thursday that if a deal was reached this week, a full NBA season could still be possible. However, as the optimism evaporated on Friday, the commissioner ruled an 82 game season, saying it was no longer “practical”.
"It's not practical, possible or prudent to have a full season now," Stern said, after sharing the grim news via teleconference with the NBA's labour relations committee. "We held out that joint hope together, but in light of the
breakdown of talks, there will not be a full NBA season under any circumstances."
The league had already cancelled the first two weeks of games, alongside the training camps and pre-season. Last week talks held under the gaze of federal mediator George Cohen failed to produce the desired results and speculation
rose that more games were in line for the cull.
Stern though didn’t announce any cancellations in the immediate aftermath of the Cohen led talks, and the two sides engaged each other once again this week to try and avoid the loss of games. In that they have now failed, and David
has warned that the consequences, for both sides, are going to leave a mark.
"I would say both sides are very badly damaged," Stern said. "I'm not sure that anytime in the short run the owners will be able to make it back. And I know for a fact that in the short run the players will not be able to make
it back -- and probably never be able to make it back."
Losses for both sides are going to be very substantial because of the cancellations. The NBA owners will lose millions in revenue which would have otherwise flowed in November. The players too are in line for a major hit.
Billy Hunter, the Executive Director of the NBPA, had previously estimated that they stand to lose a combined $350 million per each month of regular season action missed due to the NBA lockout.
Those fears will now become a reality for the players, who are bound to come under intense pressure from a public as well as a monetary perspective.
Tags: