NBA Labor Talks have broken up after George Cohen locked everybody in a room for approximately three straight days, but it appears both sides are no further along than they were before the mediator extraordinaire stepped in to save the universe from a basketball work stoppage.
Below is what Woj had to report through a series of tweets he just posted within the last hour after Thursday’s meetings broke up.
Adrian Wojnarowski (WojYahooNBA):
Negotiations have broken off in New York and no new meetings are scheduled, league source tells Y! Sports.
Talks on a 50-50 BRI split broke down, and labor talks have ended, source tells Y! No new meetings scheduled. Huge setback in this lockout.
With the NBA standing firm on an offer of a 50-50 revenue split, talks ended, source tells Y!
Spurs owner Peter Holt on NBA and union: “We’ve kind of worn each other out.”
As NBA tells its side of story, union is waiting to get its crack to spin things its way. This promises to get even uglier.
Spurs owner Holt believed things were getting too emotional and staying in talks now could’ve pushed two sides even further apart.
Holt: “We’re not giving up. I don’t believe they’re giving up…going to keep trying to get a deal.”
Silver says owners told players they won’t go past 50 percent on revenue split.
So in summary, the owners are offering a 50-50 BRI spilt and the players (who were at the better end of a 57-43 BRI split in the last deal) don’t want to come all the way down to 50 is why the talks broke down essentially. Woj saying that this “promises to get even uglier” isn’t all that encouraging either. And not to be repetitive on any of this, but below is what CBS’ Ken Berger reported via twitter as the meetings ended as well in the event you want to be depressed more.
Silver. Says league made several significant compromises. “We’re saddened on behalf of the game.”
Silver: “we have certain core beliefs that we think are absolutely necessary … At this time, we have no further discussions scheduled.”
Holt: “We’re still pretty far apart. … We want to get to the point where all 30 teams have the opportunity — nothing guaranteed …”
Holt: “… to be competitive and to make a few bucks.”
Holt: “Certainly a tough day. A very tough day.”
Holt says mediators “weren’t ready to give up. … But both sides realized that we’re too far apart.”
Silver: “We have to regroup … and determine what our next steps are.”
Silver: issue that led to breakdown was the split of revenue.
Silver: We made clear we were willing to go to 50 percent in an effort to compromise.
Silver: Union made slight move from 53 to 52.5 percent for players’ share of BRI.
To be clear that is Spurs owner Peter Holt and NBA Deputy Commissioner, Adam Silver, Berger is quoting in those series of tweets listed above. So getting back to the BRI split, Silver is saying the Union was willing to go as far as 52.5 and the Owners were willing to then go as far as 50, a 2.5 Percent Gap which is apparently too impossible to bridge somehow. I gotta think that has more to do with ego than anything else at this point, on both sides, but what are you going to do.
What I am also not at all surprised about or remotely find coincidental is the fact that David Stern was home sick today. I’m not trying to infer he wasn’t sick with whatever he claimed to have, but I am trying to infer that he didn’t want his picture taken, video shot of, or his name attached in any way to, the quotes offered by Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver today. It wouldn’t be a good look for his legacy, is what he probably thought, maybe. Which is kinda why I put his picture in this post anyways.
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Photo: NBA.com
