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Stern: NBA wants to drop player costs by ONE-THIRD

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Baron Scicluna, Oct 21, 2010.

  1. qtlaw

    qtlaw Well-Known Member

    How is it that this simple fundamental principle evades the grasp of so many owner representatives? In addition to owner apologists?
     
  2. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    America cheers.
     
  3. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    The Mess in Miami underscored how severely the owners have lost control, and how easily the players hijacked the entire league. Whatever red herrings and threats Stern throws out there now, it's all going to be about making sure the inmates are no longer running the asylum.
     
  4. qtlaw

    qtlaw Well-Known Member

    I'm not ripping you but how does "free agency" to a player mean an owner has some control?

    Free agency is just that, and Bosh and James exercised the rights they earned by surviving for 6 years in the league and playing out their contracts.

    Look at Jeter, Texiera, A-Rod and CC in NY, that's no different than what happened in Miami. That's true free agency. The NFL has been able to avoid that with the "franchise/transition tag." At least those players get paid a premium somewhat.
     
  5. qtlaw

    qtlaw Well-Known Member

    The players need to get their story out there questioning the "losses." Like how the Cablevision pays the Knicks an artificially low price for the rights so the Knicks show an artificial loss. What about the exorbinant salaries being paid to suck $$$ out of the franchises while also depreciating the players which is another negative on the balance sheets. I also bet that unlike other businesses which carry a positive "goodwill"/inherent value, the franchises take that factor out when claiming their "losses." Which flies in the face of the escalating appreciation of the franchise values.
     
  6. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    You answered your own question, I think. The owners don't want 'true free agency,' where two players can make a move and shift the entire balance of the league.
     
  7. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    David Stern loved every second of that LeBron mess, and sure as the day is long approved of it.
     
  8. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    Every time the owners come to their senses and try to control salaries, the players cry "collusion!" and win big settlements.
     
  9. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    Every time?

    And the only time it actually happened, it, well, actually happened.
     
  10. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    Of all the sports, basketball is the one where the players could walk and form their own league. All it'd take is financial backing for some arena deals. Hell, LeBron, Dwyane and Bosh created their own team. In the event of a lockout, what would stop five or six teams of NBA big stars from doing the same and barnstorm around playing each other? SOMEBODY would pay to put it on TV -- even if it was only Versus.
    Stern has marketed his stars and not the laundry for decades. Push too hard, the stars might become entrepreneurs, and Stern's league could look kind of hollow.
     
  11. qtlaw

    qtlaw Well-Known Member

    That happened once. And it was truly collusion, the owners collectively agreed to simply not offer any contracts. Common sense is totally different. The owners can easily roll back prices without colluding. Why pay $100M/5 yrs when you can offer 30/3? You don't need to have a conference call with every other owner to do that. Look at the A's/Pirates/Royals/Twins, they do not need to collude to avoid making big fat signing mistakes. The only thing stopping the Knicks/Warriors/Bulls from acting similarly is simple intelligence.

    $66M/6 yrs for Corey Maggette? Is collusion the only way to stop that?
     
  12. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    NFL players tried that in 1981. An early, syndicated version of TNT showed the games. The owners got the games stopped with a court order.
     
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