Tuesday?s latest round of talks between the league and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) again resulted in stalemate, with the NBA now electing to axe its entire preseason programme of 114 games. The new season is scheduled to commence on November 1, but Stern admitted that regular season games are now in severe jeopardy if a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is not reached.
"We are looking down the barrel of losing regular season games," Stern said, according to Reuters. "There is an extraordinary hit coming to the owners and to the players. By Monday, we will have no choice but to cancel the first two weeks of the season."
Tuesday?s four-hour meeting saw owners and players enter talks knowing there would be little chance of getting the season started on time unless major progress was made. However, NBPA president Derek Fisher said: "Today was not the day to get this done. There has been no discussion about next meetings. Maybe a month. Two months. Your guess is as good as mine. As of this moment, we've broken off the negotiations."
NBA owners, citing losses of US$300 million for the 2010-11 season and more than $1.5 billion over the six-year term of the recently completed CBA, are seeking significant reductions in player compensation. The previous labour deal saw players receive 57% of league basketball-related income, equating to $2.176 billion from the total of $3.8 billion for the past season. The main sticking point in Tuesday?s talks again appeared to be the salary cap. Stern said owners were willing to discuss a 50-50 split, but the offer was rejected with union representatives stating there was little reason to continue talks.
"The union told us there was no further purpose to meeting today and no reason to schedule another meeting," said NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver. "We were willing to negotiate around the clock. The players came back and said that was not something they are willing to do and there was no point in continuing discussions today and that is how we concluded."
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sportbusiness/~3/AJuTdVVNJFE/nba-chief-issues-regular-season-warning
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