ducks
11-14-2004, 10:45 PM
Will NBA be next to go silent?
BY MIKE WELLS, Pioneer Press
Life at the Xcel Energy Center just isn't the same. The Wild are supposed to be 16 games into the season and preparing for a contest against St. Louis on Wednesday. But with a work stoppage that is 59 days old and showing no signs of ending, the National Hockey League has become an out-of-sight, out-of-mind sport.
Could the NBA be headed in the same direction?
ADVERTISEMENT
click here
The whispers already have started to swirl about the National Basketball League having its second work stoppage in seven years next season. The collective bargaining agreement signed six years ago by the players association and the NBA expires June 30, 2005. The league and the players union have held preliminary talks, but there has been no indication that the sides are close to approving a new deal.
"Hopefully we can get something done before it expires, but it's unlikely," Timberwolves player rep Ervin Johnson said last month. "I think it would really, really hurt if there's a strike. There are a lot of things going on in this nation now and this country and for us financially. I think it would hurt the game and hurt things on both sides. I think we'll get a deal done. When? I don't know."
One of the main issues that could make things interesting is that the owners want players to give up six- and seven-year guaranteed contracts for three- or four-year contracts. Owners also want to increase the luxury-tax rates for the high-spending teams, like the New York Knicks, and lower the tax threshold.
"Owners, on balance, want to come up with a system that's a bit more profitable than the existing system and one that doesn't reward players who are no longer in the league, or who shouldn't be in the league at higher prices," Commissioner David Stern said during a conference call with reporters before the start of the season. "Players getting contracts and not playing in the league is taking money from players who are in the league and contributing heavily. That's what gets us into discussions of shorter contracts and things like that."
The players would rather keep the current long-term guaranteed contract format. They also want more flexibility to trade rules and lower tax and escrow thresholds. Age limitation on draftees, which is favored by the owners, also is an issue that will be addressed. For every player who makes the jump directly from high school like LeBron James, there's a Jackie Butler, a player who thought he was good enough, only to later regret not going to college.
"There are a lot of proposals and ideas going around," Stern said. "We remain committed to a process that guarantees the players a specific percentage of revenue. We're talking more about certain approaches as to redistributing money than we are about major efforts to clamp that money down."
Several Wolves said a work stoppage would hurt the game because the league is just getting over the stoppage from 1998-99. That lockout lasted 190 days and shortened the season by 32 games. Since then, though, the league has bounced back and become even more international. Players like Yao Ming and Tony Parker have entered the league and become stars. And young players like James and Carmelo Anthony have started to take center stage.
"I think it did hurt the game for a little while," Wolves guard Fred Hoiberg said. "It's going to hurt any sport that strikes. I know it's going to hurt hockey. That might last all year. It hurt baseball a lot. Our game is at a pretty good point right now with the young talent in the league and the good veterans."
Hoiberg was in his fourth season with Indiana at the time of last stoppage. To stay prepared for the start of the season, Hoiberg, along with some of his teammates, worked out at a friend's house.
"Nobody expected us to have a lockout then," Johnson said. "And boom, there it was. We were gone for three, four months. We didn't get going until like January or February. That was a long time. We just can't afford another one."
There are still seven months before the current deal expires, but the players — yes, millionaire athletes — might have to start watching their spending habits to make sure they are prepared for possibly missing some, if not all, of next season.
"I sure hope there's going to be a strike, but I never say never because who knows what's going to happen," Wolves vice president of operations Kevin McHale said. "It's almost like the NBA and sports has taken that next step to rock star status."
Mike Wells covers the Timberwolves and the NBA. He can be reached at [email protected].
BY MIKE WELLS, Pioneer Press
Life at the Xcel Energy Center just isn't the same. The Wild are supposed to be 16 games into the season and preparing for a contest against St. Louis on Wednesday. But with a work stoppage that is 59 days old and showing no signs of ending, the National Hockey League has become an out-of-sight, out-of-mind sport.
Could the NBA be headed in the same direction?
ADVERTISEMENT
click here
The whispers already have started to swirl about the National Basketball League having its second work stoppage in seven years next season. The collective bargaining agreement signed six years ago by the players association and the NBA expires June 30, 2005. The league and the players union have held preliminary talks, but there has been no indication that the sides are close to approving a new deal.
"Hopefully we can get something done before it expires, but it's unlikely," Timberwolves player rep Ervin Johnson said last month. "I think it would really, really hurt if there's a strike. There are a lot of things going on in this nation now and this country and for us financially. I think it would hurt the game and hurt things on both sides. I think we'll get a deal done. When? I don't know."
One of the main issues that could make things interesting is that the owners want players to give up six- and seven-year guaranteed contracts for three- or four-year contracts. Owners also want to increase the luxury-tax rates for the high-spending teams, like the New York Knicks, and lower the tax threshold.
"Owners, on balance, want to come up with a system that's a bit more profitable than the existing system and one that doesn't reward players who are no longer in the league, or who shouldn't be in the league at higher prices," Commissioner David Stern said during a conference call with reporters before the start of the season. "Players getting contracts and not playing in the league is taking money from players who are in the league and contributing heavily. That's what gets us into discussions of shorter contracts and things like that."
The players would rather keep the current long-term guaranteed contract format. They also want more flexibility to trade rules and lower tax and escrow thresholds. Age limitation on draftees, which is favored by the owners, also is an issue that will be addressed. For every player who makes the jump directly from high school like LeBron James, there's a Jackie Butler, a player who thought he was good enough, only to later regret not going to college.
"There are a lot of proposals and ideas going around," Stern said. "We remain committed to a process that guarantees the players a specific percentage of revenue. We're talking more about certain approaches as to redistributing money than we are about major efforts to clamp that money down."
Several Wolves said a work stoppage would hurt the game because the league is just getting over the stoppage from 1998-99. That lockout lasted 190 days and shortened the season by 32 games. Since then, though, the league has bounced back and become even more international. Players like Yao Ming and Tony Parker have entered the league and become stars. And young players like James and Carmelo Anthony have started to take center stage.
"I think it did hurt the game for a little while," Wolves guard Fred Hoiberg said. "It's going to hurt any sport that strikes. I know it's going to hurt hockey. That might last all year. It hurt baseball a lot. Our game is at a pretty good point right now with the young talent in the league and the good veterans."
Hoiberg was in his fourth season with Indiana at the time of last stoppage. To stay prepared for the start of the season, Hoiberg, along with some of his teammates, worked out at a friend's house.
"Nobody expected us to have a lockout then," Johnson said. "And boom, there it was. We were gone for three, four months. We didn't get going until like January or February. That was a long time. We just can't afford another one."
There are still seven months before the current deal expires, but the players — yes, millionaire athletes — might have to start watching their spending habits to make sure they are prepared for possibly missing some, if not all, of next season.
"I sure hope there's going to be a strike, but I never say never because who knows what's going to happen," Wolves vice president of operations Kevin McHale said. "It's almost like the NBA and sports has taken that next step to rock star status."
Mike Wells covers the Timberwolves and the NBA. He can be reached at [email protected].