Steve Nash talks lockout; Says NBA season might not start in time – Basketball News
Phoenix Suns and Canadian basketball legend Steve Nash took time out to speak with reporters while in Vancouver and he did not seem too upbeat about the current NBA lockout. Nash said things looked bleak at the moment but retained
hope that the season could still be saved.
The NBA lockout has upset NBA players and fans the world over and the Phoenix Suns super star is no different. The league locked out the players on July 1st because the owners and the players union were not able to come
to terms for a new CBA.
It has been over two months now and the lockout does not seem like ending any time soon. In a recent player-owners meeting it was revealed that the two sides had only just agreed over the ground rules for a dialogue and the important
matters such as share in BRI, length of contracts and hard salary cap are yet to be discussed in detail.
Steve Nash said in light of the current situation he could not foresee an on time start for the NBA season 2011-2012.
“It looks like, right now, we probably won’t start on time,” said Nash, a two time winner of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award.
He did go on to state that these things take time and maybe now as the season draws closer both side will show an urgency in resolving the matter. If the will to save a season is present on both sides than Nash believes common
ground can be found.
“Hopefully, as we get into the time of year where everyone is missing basketball, than we can all start to kind of concede on some points that each other is looking for, and find a middle ground. That would be the best of both
worlds and we can get back to work relatively quickly.”
Steve’s words do hold some weight. In recent days, negotiating activity has picked up pace. Both sides know that the start of training camps is set on October 1st, just around three weeks from now, and something substantial
has to be agreed by then.
The National Basketball Players Union held a meeting with the NBA owners at the end of August and held another one on Wednesday. They have agreed to meet again on Thursday.
The two sides have decided not to release many details of the meetings to the media so as to build a constructive negotiating environment. Previously they had taken shots at each other publicly that contributed in a temporary breakdown
of the discussions. Hopefully this time the players and owners will be able to stay the course.
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