NBA players can use overseas option as a bargaining chip - NBA Special Report
The current dispute between the National Basketball Association owners and players is all about leverage as both sides are seeking for more without offering much in return.
Because of this reason, the negotiations between the players and owners have remained unsuccessful so far. Both sides were shores apart when they met last time on June 31 and thereafter, league locked-out the players.
The first casualty of this unfortunate event was the free agency, having players who opted out of their contracts in order to test new waters.
Then came the turn of the poor employees, who were working with the league or franchises for long time, but were sacrificed in the name of cost cutting. This is just the beginning, as more employees are on the verge of losing their
jobs.
In this scenario, the owners look in rather comfortable position, despite the fact that a whole next season can be lost. The reason is that for owners it’s a business and they all want to increase their profit with every passing
year, but if things go in wrong direction, like it happened this year, they will just shut the lights out and close the doors.
It is evident that the owners are not going to flex until they will receive something substantial in return and if that does not happen, they will move on and still remain rich. However, as far as players are concerned they cannot
afford to do that.
When the lockout struck National Hockey League, players in the league made the same statement, what NBA players are reiterating now that they will stick with their resolution to this until they would not get a good deal out of
it.
Although, after losing the whole season NHL players found it hard to survive without finding any permanent job and they do not have the option of playing overseas, as the international teams did not offer them handsome contracts.
This forced them to accept the hard salary cap that the owners were demanding.
However, the NBA players have an edge over the other leagues, as they have good offers from different leagues around the world, at the same time they offer competitiveness too. Moreover, the Players Association has also backed
all such players, who are looking to take their talents beyond borders.
The owners, who were succeeded in breaking the players back in 1998 lockout, seems in trouble this time, as they were looking to play the same card again, as they tried to impose the drastic changes overnight through new CBA.
All that NBA players need to do is to use this as a bargaining chip, since the overseas option has put the owners under immense pressure. Furthermore, it is expected that the stress will grew on the owners as the upcoming season
draws closer.
Tags: