The league and players got together to try and work out a new collective bargaining agreement and after about 21 hours of talks they left the negotiating table where they started off, with no deal anywhere in sight. Stern said any new offers to the players union will now have to reflect the money that the owners have lost so far this season. He said both the league and the players are losing an extraordinary amount of money with each passing day.
The players are trying to put the pressure on the league by saying it might not recover from a lost season. However, the people who are feeling the squeeze the most at the moment are all of the associated workers, such as arena security staff, vendors, and ushers as well as others who depend on the NBA to make their livings.
Adam Silver, the NBA’s Deputy Commissioner, followed all of the clichés and said the league feels for its fans, business partners and those who rely on the games for their livelihoods. He added that the league is committed to coming to a deal with the players that’s fair for everybody involved and will enable the game to grow. It’s going to be pretty hard to accomplish in the near future though as there aren’t any new talks scheduled between the two sides.
Some of the league’s foreign players are either feeling the pinch of no income or are just getting bored of the whole thing and have headed back overseas to play in their domestic leagues. Some of the American stars are also thinking about joining them, but none of the biggest names have committed to it as of yet. It’s been reported that Kobe Bryant has considered it as well as Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, who was the MVP in last year’s NBA Finals.
The last labor dispute to wipe out an entire season in a major North American sport took place in 2004-05 when the National Hockey League season was scrapped. When that happened, 350NHL players headed overseas and ended up playing in an assortment of leagues throughout Europe. There have also been reports that some of the NBA players might get together and take their act on the road for a world tour if things don’t get settled soon.
It’s believed that star players such as Bryant, Derrick Rose, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James might decide to play some games over in London, England, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Macau. As long as the players are asking for more than 50 per cent of the league revenues it looks like those players will be packing their bags soon.
