Michele Roberts Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: NBPA, Horford, Hawks

August 23rd, 2015 at 11:50am CST by ChrisCrouse

The National Basketball Player Association (NBPA) wants the money that teams receive from the government to construct new arenas to be included in the calculation of Basketball Related Income (BRI), Apratim Ghosh of USA Today writes. The Collective Bargaining Agreement calls for a roughly 50/50 split of all BRI between team owners and players, but the public funding owners receive is not currently included in that calculation.

“Under the CBA, we do not have a gross compensation system,” Executive Director of the NBPA Michele Roberts said. “The players’ 50% share is calculated net of a substantial amount of expenses and deductions. New and renovated arenas around the league have proven to be revenue drivers, profit centers and franchise-valuation boosters. That has been the case over the past few years in Orlando, Brooklyn and New York, to name a few. In some instances, owners receive arena revenues not included in BRI.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Hawks center Al Horford believes the Thunder’s roster offers his former coach, Billy Donovan, a great opportunity to succeed at he NBA level, as he tells Jeremy Woo of SI.com. “I think it’s gonna be a perfect fit. Obviously, so many talented players there, but just the way he wants to play, how he wants to get up and down the floor, that’s the perfect scenario with the type of players there,” Horford said. The Florida product will be a free agent after the 2015/16 season.
In the same interview, Horford touched upon the significance of re-signing teammate Paul Millsap in addition to some of the other offseason moves that Atlanta made. It was very important.I think that was the priority for us, to make sure we brought Paul back. Being able to add Tiago Splitter and Tim Hardaway, really was big. Unfortunately, we lost DeMarre [Carroll]; he’s such a great player, but it was the type of thing he couldn’t turn down, and it’s what’s best for him and his family,” the big man said. “I honestly thought there was a chance we’d be able to keep them both [ Carroll and Millsap]. But it just didn’t work out that way. I’m happy for DeMarre, but I’m happy for us, being able to keep Paul, he’s such an important part of what we do. Just his versatility. He makes the game easier for all of us.”

And-Ones: Lockout, Gentry, Pointer

June 16th, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Commissioner Adam Silver signaled Sunday night that he doesn’t anticipate a lockout taking place in 2017, when the league and the union can opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, as Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com details. Players association executive director Michele Roberts said last week that the sides will begin negotiations this summer toward a new labor deal.

“I think we have a very fair deal right now,” Silver said. “I think the deal is designed to pay players a percentage of revenue so it self-adjusts as revenue goes up. And when the new television deal kicks in in 2016/17, the players are going to be averaging over $8MM a year. I think, again, it’s a fair deal. If there’s things they want to talk about, of course we’ll talk about them. But I’m not overly concerned. I think we’ve got a great thing going right now. I think both sides recognize that.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Warriors GM Bob Myers admits that if there hadn’t been such a lengthy break before the start of the NBA Finals, the team might not have allowed Alvin Gentry to have the second interview with the Pelicans that led New Orleans to hire him as head coach, as Myers tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com.
The Lakers, Wizards and Sixers are the upcoming teams on the predraft workout docket for St. John’s small forward Sir’Dominic Pointer, reveals Josh Newman of SNY.tv.
St. Bonaventure center Youssou Ndoye, if drafted, is willing to sign overseas and become a draft-and-stash prospect if an NBA team so desires, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Ndoye faces long odds to hear his name called on draft night, as neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him. He worked out for the Clippers on Monday and is set to do so for the Jazz today after showing off for the Knicks last week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Charania adds the Sixers, Mavericks, Heat, Spurs and Wizards to the list of teams working him out, which includes previously reported auditions with the Nets and Grizzlies.
Shooting guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr., who took the unconventional route of playing collegiately in the Philippines rather than the U.S., will work out for the Mavericks, Hawks and Celtics in addition to previously reported workouts with the Nets and Jazz, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune details.

Michele Roberts On Cap, Max Deals, Rookie Scale

November 13th, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts has on many occasions deferred to the judgment of the players when asked about issues during her first month and a half of the job, but she’s nonetheless made her feelings known. Roberts took more pointed aim at NBA leadership and policies in an interview Wednesday with Pablo S. Torre of ESPN The Magazine, calling the league a monopoly, objecting to the salary cap, advocating for the end to maximum salaries and arguing against rookie scale contracts. She made it clear she’ll fight for the players to receive a larger portion of basketball related income, Torre writes.

Roberts isn’t ruling out the idea that the union will support a phasing in of expected increases to the salary cap, a matter that the league and the union will decide upon before 2016, but she says the idea is “not that attractive” at first glance. She wasn’t making many other concessions as she spoke with Torre, whose entire piece is worth a read. We’ll pass along Roberts’ most eye-opening comments here:

On the concept of a salary cap:

“I don’t know of any space other than the world of sports where there’s this notion that we will artificially deflate what someone’s able to make, just because. It’s incredibly un-American. My DNA is offended by it.”

On maximum salaries and the rookie scale:

“I can’t understand why the [union] would be interested in suppressing salaries at the top if we know that as salaries at the top have grown, so have salaries at the bottom. If that’s the case, I contend that there is no reason in the world why the union should embrace salary caps or any effort to place a barrier on the amount of money that marquee players can make.”

On the idea of a shorter season:

“Every time a player gets hurt, I think, my God, they really are pushing their bodies. And back-to-backs, those are the ones I really find disturbing. … So the answer, of course, is that everybody wants a shorter season. The tension is, Will that mean less money? And that’s something we need to talk about and think about. … I don’t think it would hurt the game to shorten the season.”

And-Ones: Allen, Thabeet, NBPA

October 30th, 2014 at 10:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In response to commissioner Adam Silver’s statement that a third of the teams in the league are still losing money, new NBPA head Michele Roberts said, “The NBA’s cries of poverty will not work this time,” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes.”I can say that I was more than surprised,” Roberts told Yahoo Sports. “I am not suggesting that Adam is telling a lie. I am sure that the owners told him that. But it’s difficult for me to believe that, especially after looking at the 2011 CBA negotiations and seeing all the money the players don’t have now. There’s $1.1 billion that the players would’ve been otherwise entitled.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Mavs owner Mark Cuban left open the possibility that Dallas could add either Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis later on in the season, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News reports. “We haven’t talked to him, but I think he’s doing it the right way,” Cuban said of Allen. “He’s waiting to see who’s doing well. If it comes down to it, we’d always consider it. We’re always open to improving the team. But you don’t want to mess up a good thing, either. That’s when Caron Butler got hurt and Roddy [Beaubois] got hurt. But Peja Stojakovic is a good example of us adding a veteran in season.” In regards to Lewis, Cuban added, “Rashard Lewis is working out here. We’ve stayed in touch with him and worked with him.”
Hasheem Thabeet has passed on playing in Europe and instead will play for Grand Rapids in the NBA D-League this season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It appears that the Pistons, who had waived Thabeet, will retain his D-League rights as franchises can retain the rights of up to four players that they have waived.
The NBA D-League Draft is scheduled to be held this Saturday and the crew over at DraftExpress ran down the complete list of eligible players.
The Bucks will keep working toward an extension with Brandon Knight up until Friday’s deadline, David Alarcón of HoopsHype tweets. It’s unclear how far apart the two sides are in their discussions, but in his look at Knight in our extension candidate series, Chuck Myron opined that the two sides could compromise on a four-year, $41MM arrangement similar to what the Sixers gave Jrue Holiday two years ago.

And-Ones: Roberts, Spurs, Vucevic, Rubio

October 21st, 2014 at 9:45pm CST by Alex Lee

After his sit down with Michele Roberts, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post doesn’t get the feeling that the new NBPA head is on board with the idea of a gradual increase in the salary cap starting in 2016 (Twitter links). The alternative is to allow the cap to jump up after the 2015/16 season — Bontemps estimates a spike to over $90MM — due to the injection of the money from the league’s new TV deal. That increase, of course, could coincide with the free agency of superstar Kevin Durant.

Let’s take a look at what else is going on around the league on Tuesday:

It would be shocking if any of Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis or JaMychal Green were to end up on the Spurs’ final roster, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Cotton, Davis and Green all have partially guaranteed deals, but as our Expanded Roster Counts show, the Spurs already have 15 fully guaranteed contracts on the books.
A strong showing in 2014/15 would have likely netted Nikola Vucevic a more lucrative deal next summer than the one he agreed to earlier tonight, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. However, Lowe believes Vucevic’s shortcomings on the defensive end add risk for the Magic while also conceding the deal should be a fair one considering the rising cap (Twitter links).
Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated, also pointing to the increasing salary cap, writes that Vucevic’s extension compares favorably to the four-year, $48MM deal Utah’s Derrick Favors inked last October. Golliver adds that the pact eliminates any chance of a bidding war over Vucevic for the Magic next summer which could have resulted in an overpay.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities expects Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to soon become more involved in extension talks for point guard Ricky Rubio (via Twitter). The Wolves reportedly upped their offer to four years, $48MM shortly after we heard that Rubio and Taylor had spoken several times on the phone. Wolfson, who speculates that a total offer of $52-54MM might do it, adds that Taylor’s loyalty to Rubio could “change the dynamic” of the talks (Twitter links here).

Michele Roberts On Union, Salaries, Age Limit

October 21st, 2014 at 6:16pm CST by Alex Lee

New NBPA head Michele Roberts seems to be making the media rounds after stepping into the role vacated by Billy Hunter. She recently sat down with Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to discuss several topical issues that she is sure to address in her tenure as the executive director of the NBPA. There is a little overlap with her conversation last week with Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops, but the entire story is still worth a read. Here are some of the key quotes from Roberts:

On the status of the union:

“But I think what is equally important, for me, is to repair what has been a foundation that has been subjected to some injury by, unfortunately, my predecessor. What we don’t have, and what we will have, is a management structure that is both able to interact with our counterparties with the league and elsewhere, but a structure that allows the players to do unequivocally what they want to do, and that’s run their own union…. They didn’t hire me, and they were not interested in hiring, someone to run things for them, to simply let them know what’s going on.”

On having a max salary rule:

“I’ve had conversations with guys who have said, ‘Look, when I go to play in New York, I’m not selling out the Garden. I can get on the subway and no one knows who I am. But when LeBron goes to the Garden, he’s selling it out, and he can’t get on the subway because he’ll be mobbed’ … so there’s an appreciation of what we all realize is true. The LeBrons of the world, the Durants of the world, the Kobes of the world, they make a ton of money for this league and empower everybody. So I don’t hear players complaining about max salaries or getting rid of max salaries. Because, frankly, everyone gets it.

On the NBA minimum age:

“It sounds trite, but you can go to war and you can’t make a living. If I had my way, you could work at 14, and whenever someone is prepared to hire you. If people say, ‘They’re not yet members of the union, why should we care?’ Michele cares that anybody that’s able to work can. The notion that the union shouldn’t be concerned about people who will one day become members of the union, that’s nonsense. We may not legally be able to do anything about that, but to not care about people we know are going to become members of our union, of course we care about them, and we should consider any policy that’s going to impact our future members. Michele needs a better argument with respect to why that policy needs to be increased from 19 to 20, but I’ll find out from my bosses what they think, and I’ll let you know.”

On the 2017 labor talks:

“The only way that happens is when people have not been engaged in the process going forward. In other instances [I’ve been in] where there have been multiple stakeholders who have had interest in the outcome but internally and there has been a dissension in the ranks, it’s always been when people are lied to or had a complete misunderstanding of what the goals were.

“I can’t say what happened in 2011 because I wasn’t there, but I was told there was internal dissension, and I can imagine there was a communications breakdown. There’s no sort of magic bullet you can have, but you can certainly minimize the possibility of that happening.

“But if you get people engaged and involved in the discussion as early as possible, and if you have a common agenda and everyone knows this is what we’ve agreed we’re going to do and try to accomplish, it would minimize — I think dramatically — the possibility of people fighting internally. It could happen, but it will not happen because I don’t get people I needed to be in the room in the room, and so we’re going to start getting people in the room right now.”

Michele Roberts On CBA, Salaries, Revenue

October 16th, 2014 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

New NBPA head Michele Roberts is stepping into the job just prior to team revenues skyrocketing thanks to the new $24 billion TV deal the league has recently inked. The players can choose to opt out of the current CBA in 2017, and with all the new revenue in play it seems that will be the likely course of action. Roberts spoke with Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops, and the entire piece is worth checking out, but here are some of the highlights…

On the NBA minimum age:

“The word that is troubling to me, generally speaking, is ‘restriction.’ My DNA is offended by the notion that someone should not be able to make a living because he needs to have been alive a year longer. That’s Michele, not Michele NBPA director. I know what it means to be able to make a living and support your family. Emmanuel Mudiay can’t play in his country because he’s not old enough. That makes no sense to me.”

On having a max salary rule:

“I have difficulty with rules that suggest that for some reason, in this space, we are not going to allow you to do what is ordinarily allowed in every other aspect of American life– you can work and get compensated at the level that someone thinks you’re worth being compensated at. And for all the reasons that it might be reasonable, it still–as a base–the premise offends me. So for me, there needs to be a justification that is substantial. And I’m told in large part it’s because there’s an inability on the part of some owners to control their check-writing habits. So that’s where I am. Now, there’s a history that led up to max contracts, and I’m not going to pretend it’s not significant. But if you ask me off the cuff, that’s my response.”

On whether the NBPA intends to opt out of the CBA in 2017:

“We are preparing to opt out. I mean it’s not my call, because unlike Billy [Hunter] I don’t think I run the union. This union is run by the executive committee, I serve at their pleasure, and I do what they command I do. I advise, and I will recommend. But at the end of the day, it’s not Michele Roberts saying to the executive committee: ‘Hello, guys, get ready. We’re opting out.’ It doesn’t work that way. So it’s not my call, but in the event the call is made, we will be ready. And we are preparing to opt out.”

On fair treatment for the players:

“I can tie it up into this whole notion of fairness, but I think at the end of the day they want to be respected for the fact that they are what makes this game successful, and one of the ways to show that is to allow for fair compensation, and any limitations on their ability to make as much money as either the teams or anyone else is prepared to pay them is unfair. You know, we don’t restrict the revenue that owners are able to enjoy. They share it with us, but apart from that there aren’t these overlays that restrict how they can generate new revenue, or what they can do with the revenue. So I think when the players talk about wanting to be treated fairly, they want to be treated as the persons who are responsible for the product. I mean they create the product.”

On the union accepting a lower portion of revenues in the latest CBA:

“I can certainly appreciate why the players are not happy. That’s a lot of money. And it’s hard for me to be critical because I wasn’t in the room, so I cannot say that it was something that was avoidable. But it’s certainly not a happy turn of events, and I get why the players are not of the view that they came out winners.”

And-Ones: Union, Ariza, Wizards, O’Neal, Nets

September 24th, 2014 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

Players union executive director Michele Roberts is making $1.2MM this year, the first of a four-year contract, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. Roberts, who officially began the job this week, tells Soshnick that she can earn an additional $600K each year of the pact via bonuses. Either way, it’s significantly less than the $3MM that predecessor Billy Hunter was making per year. Still, Roberts’ salary is on par with what first-year executive directors for the NFL and Major League Baseball players unions have made of late, as Soshnick points out. There’s more on Roberts amid the latest from around the league, as we pass along:

Roberts didn’t mince words with Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News in declaring her intention to establish credibility with players and not follow the path of Hunter, whose tenure ended amid allegations of corruption. “I’m sure there are people thinking, ‘Ahh, another politician-like person coming in trying to sell us a bunch of bull,’” Roberts said. “And that’s my job to win them over, to tell them, ‘No, this time it will be different or fire me. I want you to if I even dare replicate my predecessor.’”
Trevor Ariza was asking for $10MM salaries from the Wizards, but GM Ernie Grunfeld wouldn’t go that high in part because he was pursuing Paul Pierce, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
Rasual Butler‘s similarities to Pierce helped him earn a spot on the Wizards preseason roster, but Xavier Silas and Damion James each has a better shot at making it to opening night, as Michael adds in the same piece.
Warriors GM Bob Myers spoke with veteran center Jermaine O’Neal on Monday, but Myers tells Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that he still doesn’t have much clarity about whether O’Neal will retire or re-sign with Golden State.
Jerome Jordan‘s deal with the Nets becomes partially guaranteed for $100K should he remain on the roster through October 25th, not $150K as previously reported, a source tells Robert Windrem of Nets Daily (Twitter link).
Spurs assistant coach Sean Marks is moving off the bench and returning to the front office in a new role as assistant GM, the team announced. Marks spent two years as an executive before San Antonio made him an assistant coach last season.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Roberts, Haddadi, Ferry, Parsons

September 10th, 2014 at 9:03pm CST by Alex Lee

The summer of 2014 continued to belong to Boris Diaw, as the Spurs star led France to a huge upset of host Spain in the quarterfinals of the Basketball World Cup earlier today. Meanwhile, on American soil, details continue to emerge in the situation in Atlanta. Here are some additional updates from around the league, Hawks-related and otherwise, on Wednesday night:

Michele Roberts‘ term as executive director of the NBPA will begin at the end of September, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who writes that the trial lawyer won’t have much time to ease into the job with the Hawks saga in full swing. Obligations from her previous job and ongoing contract negotiations have prevented Roberts from starting sooner, according to Amick. Acting executive director Ron Klempner, who issued a statement on the Atlanta situation on Monday, has been has handling the role on an interim basis since Billy Hunter was fired in 2013.
Seven-foot Iranian center Hamed Haddadi wants to explore the possibility of a return to the NBA before committing to Qingdao Double Star of China, according to Sports Sohu (translation via Sportando). The 29-year-old Haddadi played in China and then Iran last season after spending five years in the NBA with the Grizzlies and Suns. He has not been linked to any NBA teams this offseason.
Even if Danny Ferry was indeed reading a scouting report written by someone else, Bob Young of AZCentral opines that the Hawks GM should still resign for not immediately firing that member of his staff on the spot. Young also points out that Ferry and the Hawks have been fortunate that the NFL scandal has somewhat overshadowed what has transpired in Atlanta.
Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons said the Rockets told him to “go get the biggest deal and the best deal for you and we’re matching,” writes Michael Florek of The Dallas Morning News. Parsons, of course, proceeded to do just that — signing a three-year, $45MM deal with Dallas — but Houston didn’t follow suit.

And-Ones: Parker, Heat, Roberts. Allen

August 17th, 2014 at 12:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jabari Parker knows the history of second-overall pick busts in the NBA, and is determined not to be the next, writes Brett Pollakoff of NBC Sports.com. The Bucks rookie said, “There’s been a lot of second pick busts. I’m just trying not to be that bust. Everyday that I step on the court, I just remind myself that I have a long ways to go. If I want to be one of those guys in the first tier of the NBA, like a LeBron [James], like a Kobe [Bryant] , like a [Blake Griffin], then I have to have that mentality starting off from the ground, and work my way up.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Cavs are optimistic about their chances to sign Ray Allen prior to the start of training camp, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
With the NBA reportedly considering a change in the lottery system, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel explains why such a move would be an overreaction from Adam Silver and company.
The Heat’s win total this season could be affected if any changes are made to the NBA Draft lottery system, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. If there is less of a reason for franchises to tank, then Miami couldn’t necessarily count on padding their record against the Sixers, Magic, and Bucks, opines Winderman.
The selection of Michele Roberts as NBPA head was a historic one, with Roberts becoming the first female to lead a professional sports union. In an interview with Andrew Keh of The New York Times, Roberts said she was all too aware that if she was selected, she would represent several hundred male athletes in the NBA; she would deal with league officials and agents who were nearly all men; and she would negotiate with team owners who were almost all men. To this, Roberts said, “My past is littered with the bones of men who were foolish enough to think I was someone they could sleep on.”
Kentucky freshman Karl-Anthony Towns will be a strong possibility to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. DraftExpress currently has Towns ranked fourth behind Jahlil Okafor, Cliff Alexander and Emmanuel Mudiay.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.