Tuesday Bolts – Deal Day Edition
Sam Amick of SI: “With the National Basketball Players’ Association having already offered to drop the players’ portion of basketball-related income from 57 percent to 52 percent, the agents implore players to insist on “no further reduction of the BRI received by the players. A source close to the union told SI.com recently that any agreed-upon deal in which the players received 51 percent could possibly be ratified but would likely lead to the ousting of Billy Hunter as the NBPA’s executive director, so this is in line with those parameters.”
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “Based on the league’s current bargaining position, even if the players offered to receive 49 percent of BRI — thus accounting for all of the owners’ $300 million in stated losses — it still would not be acceptable to the owners, who are seeking the opportunity for every team to make a profit in addition to increased parity they believe can be achieved through a combination of systemic changes and more robust revenue sharing. One prominent agent told CBSSports.com Monday that the owners’ position is “out of touch with reality.” “These guys think they’re entitled to have a business that’s fool proof,” the agent said.”
Dave Zirin of The Nation wants us to take action: “Watching the NBA players develop a backbone, and seeing the reemergence of fightback against corporate greed, it’s difficult to not think about the words of Troy Polamalu during the NFL’s lockout over the summer. The Steelers safety said: “I think what the players are fighting for is something bigger. A lot of people think it’s millionaires versus billionaires and that’s the huge argument. The fact is its people fighting against big business. The big business argument is ‘I got the money and I got the power therefore I can tell you what to do.’ That’s life everywhere. I think this is a time when the football players are standing up and saying, ‘No, no, no, the people have the power.’ ” Yes we certainly do. I want my basketball, and I know I’m not alone. Let’s Occupy the NBA.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “After all the suggestions – here and elsewhere – that Stern had lost clout with a brash new generation of owners, several management sources still insist: He’s ruled the owners’ day in these labor talks, and he’s still positioning all the pawns in this lockout. The NBA has moved to the cusp of canceling regular-season games, to a nuclear basketball winter, and has still refused to seriously engage the players in talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.”
Rob Mahoney for PBT on super-subs: “Collison has carved out a name for himself in the stat-minded basketball community with his sterling +/- and adjusted +/- numbers, but Collison’s unselfish offensive game is an unheralded part of his total contributions. He’s established an interesting on-court rapport with James Harden, a player who, as a fellow member of OKC’s second unit, is able to take full advantage of Collison’s passing from the high post. He screens hard, he rolls into open space, he rebounds effectively, and he brings a level excellence to both individual and help defense. Collison is who he is, and while that won’t garner him All-Star consideration, it certainly does well for the Thunder — as it would any NBA club.”
Thunder assistant GM Troy Weaver was rumored for the Blazers GM position but has pulled out from consideration.
How much of a hit does OKC take if there’s no season?
Dan Feldman of Piston Powered says he’s most curious about Westbrook’s spot in NBA Rank: “He became the villain of last season’s playoffs, but he’s hardly the first young player to shoot too much. That’s just part of the growing pains for a developing team, and hopefully Westbrook won’t be judged too harshly based on a small sample of games just because they happened to be on national television.”
