NBA should look at NFL to solve labour dispute: Jeff Van Gundy
Jeff Van Gundy believes the NBA should take a look at how the Nation football league (NFL) handled their labour dispute. The former NBA coach believes the NFL has set an example for NBA to follow, but sadly the decision makers
of basketball are not paying heed to his sane advice.
Van Gundy, who was a coach with the Houston Rockets the last time he featured in the NBA, has head coached the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals in the past. The former coach has kept a close eye on the lockout situation of the
NBA as well as that of the NFL, and he is of the view that the basketball camp has got their priorities wrong.
“What we’re running the risk of is losing regular season games.” Exclaimed Jeff, while talking to News Room Jersey.
He mentioned the NFL and how they had sorted the mess out before the threat of losing games was real, and criticized the NBA for leaving it this late.
“The NFL, they settled, they didn’t lose any training camp — they lost minicamp but they didn’t lose training camp. There was one preseason game cancelled — the Hall of Fame game — but they kept their schedule intact.”
The NBA has already cancelled its training camp, which was to begin on October 3rd, as well as 43 pre-season games. The league is also on the verge of delaying a start as both sides continue to be far apart on major
issues.
The NBA claims it suffered losses worth $300 million last season, while the players dispute that number, saying the league’s losses are not their responsibility in the first place. Van Gundy refused to be drawn onto such a debate,
he said what’s important is for all differences to be resolved.
“You know what, when they throw out numbers, my mind turns off. I don’t know what numbers to believe. One side says one thing; one side says the other thing. The business of basketball does not interest me in the least, nor does
the business of football. I just love the competition, so I just want them to settle it.
Van Gundy’s comments seem to be falling on deaf ears at the moment, as neither side has shown any inclination of bending to the other’s demands as of yet. The league and the National Basketball Players Association have racked up
a steady amount of meetings in the last few weeks but progress is slow.
Things got heated in a session on Friday, with reports of an incident between Dwyane Wade and NBA Commissioner David Stern. The following day a meeting lasted for seven hours and resulted, once again, in zero progress.
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