Resuming CBA talks

[Mr. Body]

it seems that most teams were losing tons of money anyway.

lawls.

[Bruno]

Players complaint filed in California:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baske...laint-main.pdf

Today is going to be an important day with owners phone call meeting. Owners will have to decide if they are ready to lose the season.
If hard liners won, I guess their next step will be to try to lengthen as much as possible the juridical process. Their goal will be to discourage players and force them to accept the "reset" offer.
If players friendly owners can get a majority, they will offer to players lawyers a new improved CBA offer. Their goal will be to save the biggest chunk of this season.
So far, hard liners have had the majority and it limits a lot any kind of optimism about this situation.

[ElNono]

Well, the claims are what was expected. The NBA will probably start by denying the allegations, trying to move the case to NY, and above all disclaiming class action status per the WalMart case not long ago.

Players next move will likely be request for a summary judgment.

[vy65]

Which wal-mart case?

[ElNono]

Which wal-mart case?

Walmart vs Dukes

[ElNono]

Carmelo Anthony(notes), Kevin Durant(notes), Chauncey Billups(notes), Kawhi Leonard(notes) and Leon Powe(notes) were listed as plaintiffs in the suit filed in Oakland, Calif. The initial case management conference for the suit is scheduled for Feb. 29, 2012, but can be moved up, court officials said.

Caron Butler(notes), Anthony Tolliver(notes), Ben Gordon(notes) and Derrick Williams(notes) are listed as plaintiffs in a second suit filed against the league in Minneapolis. The players are seeking “treble” damages in the suits, triple the $2 billion they could have made with a full season.

[yavozerb]

Carmelo Anthony(notes), Kevin Durant(notes), Chauncey Billups(notes), Kawhi Leonard(notes) and Leon Powe(notes) were listed as plaintiffs in the suit filed in Oakland, Calif. The initial case management conference for the suit is scheduled for Feb. 29, 2012, but can be moved up, court officials said.

Caron Butler(notes), Anthony Tolliver(notes), Ben Gordon(notes) and Derrick Williams(notes) are listed as plaintiffs in a second suit filed against the league in Minneapolis. The players are seeking “treble” damages in the suits, triple the $2 billion they could have made with a full season.

, You can blame the players or the owners for this holdout, but in truth its the lawyers "agents" who have been running the show for quite sometime.

[Dex]

The owners aren't going to cave. This is going to court, and it's going to take forrrrrever. And the way the players are approaching it, I don't see how it helps get players in the arenas.

Say the owners let it go to the court, then lose and have to pay the players 6 billion dollars. Does anyone really think they are going to want to negotiate and give the players a better deal then?

[ElNono]

Say the owners let it go to the court, then lose and have to pay the players 6 billion dollars. Does anyone really think they are going to want to negotiate and give the players a better deal then?

The case will likely be settled way before then. Owners are not paying $6 billion over "system issues" for "league parity". The players already agreed to give them back $3 billion and basically cover their losses.

[ElNono]

You're nuts if you think the owners are not going to pick up the phone if they find themselves with even the remote possibility of a $6 billion axe over their heads.

[benefactor]

You're nuts if you think the owners are not going to pick up the phone if they find themselves with even the remote possibility of a $6 billion axe over their heads.

Indeed. There will be a mutiny against Stern before that happens.

[Giuseppe]

It's mercenary as , but, I frankly can't wait for the situation to move past the point of no return and the season cancelled. I don't trust the players to stand fast in the ranks.

[Dex]

You're nuts if you think the owners are not going to pick up the phone if they find themselves with even the remote possibility of a $6 billion axe over their heads.

I'm no lawyer (obviously), but at what point can the owners pull out if things actually go into litigation? Would they have to settle before the case actually went to trial? Or can they wait until it is obvious they are on the losing side of things (assuming they would be), and then try to negotiate a settlement to bail themselves out?

And if that were the case, wouldn't the players have to agree to settle as well? Would they be willing to do that if they were obviously going to win their case?

Maybe that's what the players are hoping for....that the owners don't even want to let it go to court to find out.

[ElNono]

I'm no lawyer (obviously), but at what point can the owners pull out if things actually go into litigation? Would they have to settle before the case actually went to trial? Or can they wait until it is obvious they are on the losing side of things (assuming they would be), and then try to negotiate a settlement to bail themselves out?

And if that were the case, wouldn't the players have to agree to settle as well? Would they be willing to do that if they were obviously going to win their case?

Maybe that's what the players are hoping for....that the owners don't even want to let it go to court to find out.

I would adventure that certain ruling(s) would make both sides more willing to negotiate. There will be a bunch of those throughout these proceedings. There's going to be a ruling on the NBA NY case, the venue, wether the class action is certified or not, wether to merge the lawsuits, etc etc etc. All those could be challenged at some point. You also have to remember that judges sometimes will push for conciliatory meetings or settlement discussions before moving to a full jury trial.

As far as a settlement, if one is arrived, then obviously both parties have agreed to it, and that can happen at any time. I would also expect that the players would rather get to work under a cozy CBA than get a one time $6 billion payment that would destroy the league.

It's very, very early in this whole thing to try to determine an outcome or who the prevailing party is going to be. There's a lot of uncertainty this early. As chips start to fall, things will become more clear.

[Giuseppe]

El & Kori's nephew acting all studious & accomplished.

Gosh.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

, You can blame the players or the owners for this holdout, but in truth its the lawyers "agents" who have been running the show for quite sometime.

I don't see how you figure that. You always sue for the maximum when trying to create leverage. They are suing for recompense tot he max the law allows. That idea would come from any attorney.

[ElNono]

El & Kori's nephew acting all studious & accomplished.

Gosh.

Sue me

[Duncan2177]

Source: League briefs owners by phone

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/72...ll-source-says

[benefactor]

The players walked out of negotiations on Monday, rejecting the league's offer of a 50-50 split of basketball-related income and announcing it would take steps to disband the union and file an rust lawsuits against the league.

That's not why they walked away. Misleading information like this is why fans are so pissed at the players.

[DJ Mbenga]

ill admit im a bit worried. i wont panic until worjrhowski says as well the season looks lost. if he does it its confirmed. michael jordan is the guy that grew the nba, and he may very well be the guy that kills it.

[ElNono]

IMO season is over with... question is if it's going to be more than one...

[Dex]

Sources had previously said that a hard-line group of owners was hoping the players rejected the deal. The source said that after Thursday's call, that was still the case.

"No one wants to miss the season, but about half of the owners are willing to miss the season if it means fighting for a better deal," the source said.

ing ay. Even after all of this, the owners are still going to try to see how they can turn this to their benefit and screw the players even further than they have already tried. If reports like this are accurate, they aren't going to cave....it sounds like this is the position they wanted to be in in the first place.

It's reports like this that lead me to believe that the season is already lost. The owners don't care. The players don't care. They are too busy trying to prove each other wrong to give a about the fans, the game, or anything else.

[DPG21920]

Again, I don't see how you can blame the players? They do care. They tried their hardest (to their own financial detriment) to truly negotiate with the owners. Just because they didn't eat an absolute sandwich doesn't mean they don't care.

[Jacob1983]

So who is the favorite to win in 2012-2013? Bobcats, Wolves, Pacers, or Grizzlies?

[Dex]

Again, I don't see how you can blame the players? They do care. They tried their hardest (to their own financial detriment) to truly negotiate with the owners. Just because they didn't eat an absolute sandwich doesn't mean they don't care.

Dammit DPG, this is America. I reserve the right to be angry and unreasonable.

OK, maybe the players do care, but I still think both sides could've done a better job at handling this whole deal. Hunter was too worried about self-preservation to decertify. If the players were going to disclaim or decert, they should've done it in July. I know they were trying to negotiate with the owners (to their credit), but doing it now makes it even more likely that a 2011-2012 season won't exist. And there is still a good chance it will be in vain, with the players ending up with a deal that is even worse than the one they could've taken last Monday.