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NBA Lockout Update: Tentative Agreement Has Been Reached To End Work Stoppage

A tentative deal was reached on Black Friday to end the long and tumultuous NBA lockout.

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15 Total Updates since October 11, 2011
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  • Updates 13
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  • All Updates 15

NBA Lockout Update: NBA Players Reject Owners' Proposal

On Monday, NBA commissioner David Stern issued a threatening warning to the Players Association that not accepting the owners' latest proposal would only lead to a longer stalemate and worse deal for the players. Stern set a Wednesday afternoon deadline for the players to accept, essentially saying 'do this by then, or else.'

Well, apparently the players are refusing to acquiesce to Stern's bully tactics. Derek Fisher, executive director of the NBAPA, told reporters Tuesday that after convening with representatives from 29 of the league's 30 clubs, that the union would reject Stern's proposal. The primary components of the owners' latest proposal involved a 50-50 revenue split and additional salary cap restraints. Fisher said that in order for the players to continuing compromising about the revenue sharing split, the league would have to open up negotiations about 'system issues':

"We're open-minded on potential compromises on the number, but there are things in the system that are not up for negotiation for us to have a season," Fisher said.

Tom Ziller, who's been diligently covering the lockout proceedings for SB Nation, explains what issue players and owners have yet to agree upon:

The last remaining system issues include a smaller mid-level exception for luxury tax teams, an additional penalty for teams that exceed the tax line multiple times in a short span and a ban on sign-and-trade deals for tax teams. The union feels that these mechanisms will drop players' negotiating power and constrict player movement.

Stay tuned both here and at SB Nation's comprehensive NBA Lockout Stream for news and analysis about the labor impasse as it unfolds. 

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NBA Lockout Update: David Stern Issues Wednesday Deadline For Offer

In what could be construed as bullying tactics, NBA Commissioner David Stern appeared on SportsCenter Tuesday night to reaffirm the Wednesday afternoon deadline for the Players Association to accept the current offer put forth by the league's owners.  According to transcripts of the interview from Mike Prada at Bullets Forever, Stern issued the following warning to players about the consequences of not accepting the current deal:

"We think there's a great offer on table, and we told the players, 'It's getting late.' The only rational thing is to make that deal because given what is going on in our business and our industry, it will get worse from there. We told the players ... an offer of 47% will become operative w/ hard cap in effect [if they don't accept]."

Stern also dismissed decertification as a viable option for players, citing what happened in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals when NFL players decertified this summer. Finally, Stern was asked about when the league might officially cancel the season altogether if a new collective bargaining agreement is not reached soon:

"I don't want to say when we'll call off the season, because clearly we're not there yet and I don't want to make an idle threat."

The not-so-indirect threats made by Stern on SportsCenter reiterate the tone of a recent letter sent to the players about the danger in players declining the 50/50 deal put forth by the owners. Specifics of the owners' proposal can be read in a Tuesday New York Times column.

What's next? Who knows, but if Stern and the ownership group get their way, we may have significant news on the NBA lockout front as early as tomorrow. If the players don't back down down from the threats made by Stern, the impasse may really get ugly and entrenched as we enter what should have been the second full week of the 2011-2012 NBA season.

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NBA Lockout Update: Sides Make More Progress, David Stern, Billy Hunter Optimistic

The NBA appears to have made significant progress towards reaching a deal with the players union on a new collective bargaining agreement Thursday night after a long day of talks between the two sides. The meetings went so well that the two sides have scheduled meetings for Friday as well.

All parties appeared to be more lighthearted after the talks and optimistic that a deal could be reached. Billy Hunter, the Executive Director of the NBA Player's Association had several things to say about the negotiations. Including this tidbit about Commissioner David Stern's mood.

"I think we're within striking distance of getting a deal."- Billy Hunter

This talk appeared to be just the latest of many talks the two sides have had to this point, as little progress had been made to this point. But the major difference that has both sides feeling a little better about the prospects of a deal is that the owners have backed off a clause that would require a 50-50 revenue split between owners and players, which was a major point of contention.

"We were able to work through a number of different issues today regarding our system," union president Derek Fisher said. "We can't say that major progress was made in any way, but some progress was made on system issues. Obviously enough for us to come back."

According to a tweet by Adrian Wojnarowski, "Commissioner Stern agrees it would be a failure of those in the room if no deal could be reached within the next few days."

Stay tuned to SB Nation and SB Nation DC for more updates on this evolving situation.

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