San Antonio star Manu Ginobili expresses concern over the NBA lockout – Basketball News
San Antonio Spurs stalwart Manu Ginobili expressed his concern over the NBA lockout in a recent interview. The league has been in lockout since July 1st when the old CBA expired and now it looks like the coming NBA season,
or at least a big chunk of it, will be lost as a result of the labour dispute.
The dispute stems from vast differences between the players and owners of NBA franchises over a new CBA. The owners and David Stern have pointed to the vast losses suffered over the last few years and demanded that the players
compensate by taking some big salary cuts.
The players don’t want salary cuts as deep as suggested by the league, nor are they impressed with proposals such as non-guaranteed contracts and a hard salary cap. After the lockout began the two sides only held one meeting in
almost two months.
The meetings have picked up pace now and it seems that they are willing to sit down and start talking, but many fear that it might be too little too late. If a new CBA is not reached in time and the season is lost, the damage could
be very long lasting to the NBA’s fan base.
Spurs guard Ginobili has been keenly observing the situation and admitted that the slow pace of progress in the dispute is a major cause for concern. He said both sides would naturally look for the best deal they can get but should
also be careful not to leave it too late.
“Of course we all pay attention to what is happening with the lockout,” Ginobili said. “We get updates. We talk about it. We are all worried. We don’t want this to happen, but we know every decade there is a chance this can happen.”
“We understand it is a huge business and everyone wants to take care of their part. So we are just here now thinking about this (tournament), and once it is over, we will start to be more concerned about what is going on in the
NBA.”
Manu is currently with the Argentine National Men’s basketball team playing in the FIBA Americas tournament. The Argentines boast arguably the strongest squad in the competition, with Ginobili as their elder statesman and a host
of young talented players around him.
Although they suffered a defeat against Brazil, their first of the event, Ginobili & Co. are proven at the international level and will be confident of bouncing back to get on track for the Championship. A berth in the 2012 London
Olympics is what is at stake for the side.
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