Comments on: The men behind the curtain want to pull the string on decertification

By: yikes123

yikes123 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:46:26 +0000

I think audited number have been provided according to SI and Sporting News and other sources. And both sides are having a pretty tough time cooperating since the ten (10) sports agents/agencies who control 69% of NBA player contracts (total over One Billion $) have inserted themselves into the negotiations saying they are going to “blow this expletive thing up” because they want a different outcome.

Those ten sports agents don’t jump, shoot or dribble for millions, they just do the contracts. So why are they inserting themselves and who are they to threaten the league, the teams and the UNION?……. and…more alarming…..do they have the power to influence the players votes…..ten slick guys who are making tens of millions of dollars in commissions off the players can screw up the game, thousands of businesses, tens of thousands of jobs and most import…. millions of fans?

Someone should investigate their power and how they are using it. NLRB might have something to say about their “influence”.

By: mosdamz

mosdamz — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:16:13 +0000

The owners had no problem collecting payment for my season tickets on time last week!

By: udontknowjaq

udontknowjaq — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:41:54 +0000

Poor NBA owners? Really!!

By: bosutton

bosutton — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:43:36 +0000

This seems like a pretty frivolous argument to me. The players should go Billy Hunter’s route because it’s more civilized, more moderate. Of course the assumption is that moderation is a good thing in and of itself. I think if you compare the two approaches there is a strong argument to be made for the players being aggressive and decertifying.
If the only negative of this ploy is that David Stern’s feelings get hurt it seems like a pretty low threshold for the positives of this idea to overcome to be worthwhile. The owner’s are apparently going for the throat of the players. They’re unwilling to provide honest accounting numbers. David Stern has already been apart of one lockout that lost games. He seems far less willing to compromise this time. The NBA experienced 5% growth last year. I’m not saying the league is in great shape, I’m saying the only real discussions to be had our revenue sharing and BRI percentage for the players. And the players only really have control over the BRI portion of that.
So if you’re already dealing with an incredibly hostile opponent why wouldn’t you at least give yourself the nuclear option. The owner’s are planning on not negotiating until they have the upper-hand, the players need a way to counter that. Moderation only works if your opponent is willing to play ball. This is the classic prisoner’s dilemma in economics/international relations. If both sides cooperate than both sides do well for themselves. If one side negotiates in good faith and the other does not than the side that does not negotiate in good faith does even better for themselves while the side trying to be honest loses. The final option is both sides play hardball and while they don’t do as well as they could if they both trusted each other, they certainly do better than if they trust the other side in get betrayed. I can’t imagine the owners aren’t willing to screw the players, and nothing you said would point to that likelihood. So I ask you why would they put themselves at risk when they have other options?