The NBA’s lucrative new television deal might actually lower the probability of a work stoppage in 2017, opines Salary Cap FAQ author Larry Coon (Insider link via ESPN.com). The owners shut down the league in 2011 because so many clubs found themselves in the red, and the league’s business model at the time was “unsustainable,” as Coon puts it. He suggests the latest TV deal might mean the owners are more willing to find a middle ground with the Player’s Association during seemingly imminent negotiations for a new CBA that would keep the NBA schedule at 82 games.
While Coon still says it’s still very likely the NBAPA opts to negotiate with the owners for a new CBA in 2017, he writes that the odds of a lockout halting regular season play are lower than they were in 2011. Nothing is set in stone yet, and a lot can still happen in the next two years, but Coon’s take on the 2017 labor negotiations is surely a refreshing one for fans around the Association. We’ll round up more on the TV deal below and highlight a few players’ reactions to the news..
- Adam Silver wouldn’t say whether the new TV deal would ensure that every team is profitable, but if the league argues that teams are losing money during the next collective bargaining agreement negotiations, LeBron James says the union won’t buy that argument. “That won’t fly,” James told reporters, including Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
- Nets guard Deron Williams says NBA players should prepare for another lockout in the wake of the league’s monstrous new TV deal, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “I think it’s going in pretty much the same direction as it was last time (lockout of 2011),” said Williams, who is the Nets’ union rep. “So I feel like we made a lot of concessions last time, and it’s going to be hard for us to do that again. With the new leadership we have and (former NBAPA president Billy Hunter) finally being out of the picture, which is a great thing, hopefully things will go better for us.”
- Williams isn’t alone in his thinking, as Kings forward Carl Landry shared the same sentiment as his fellow union rep, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “We’re excited and we’re preparing ourselves for a possible lockout again,” said Landry, “Anything is possible, but that (television deal) definitely helps us out.”
Zach Links contributed to this post.