NBA commissioner David Stern called for the players union to do “the only rational thing” and accept the league’s current proposal or face a far less appealing offer.
So as the danger increases of the NBA season completely slipping away, team player reps are scheduled to gather today in Midtown to discuss their options for accepting the on-the-table proposal that will stay in place only until tomorrow.
And, according to sources, the players are expected to vote on beginning the process of decertifying the union tomorrow.
“Time is of the essence with respect to a meeting that is scheduled,” Stern said during an interview last night on ESPN. “We think there is a great offer on the table, and what we told the players is it’s getting late and the only rational thing to do is for us to make that deal because given what’s going on in our business and our industry, it’ll get worse from there.”
The executive committee of the National Basketball Players Association held a conference call yesterday to discuss today’s agenda, a call described as a simple follow-up after the marathon Saturday-into-Sunday session that again included a federal mediator. Stern said early Sunday if the players did not accept the current proposal, which he claimed could provide players with up to 51 percent of basketball revenues, the offer would drop to 47 percent with a hard cap.
“We told the players — and we actually sent [a letter] to the union and we’ll send it to the player reps to make sure they have it — that an offer of 47 percent will become operative with a hard cap in effect,” Stern said of the ramifications of rejecting the current offer.
“[The owners] are unified in their willingness to make this deal through [tomorrow] and then they will be unified in their willingness to negotiate only over the 47-percent proposal that goes onto the table [tomorrow] at the close of business,” Stern said.
Among other things, players called Stern’s declaration and ultimatum “unacceptable.” That likely means some players today will raise the question of decertification, a tactic gaining favor among players and agents. Some insist decertification would ensure the season is a wash because of the lengthy legal process that would follow. One prominent agent disagreed.
“I don’t know why it kills the season,” the agent said. “Decertification doesn’t stop you from negotiating. You’re just saying, ‘As a union, we can’t make a deal with you.’ If they won’t negotiate, we’ve got to look at alternatives.”
Stern said he felt a move to decertify would not affect the process “particularly much.” Roughly 130 players, or 30 percent, would need to sign a petition for a decertification vote. A 45-day waiting period would follow and then 50 percent of the players would need to vote to dissolve the union.
One general manager, speaking anonymously, said decertification would kill the season. But even without that path, the GM questioned the possibility of saving the season.
“I don’t think we’ll have one,” he said. “I think the players are strong and I don’t think they’ll be intimidated.”
The players have denied that the league offered up to 51 percent of revenues.
–Additional reporting by Peter Vecsey