The Beginning of the End

Earlier today, the NBA Players' Association executive committee and player representatives unanimously voted down the deal that the owners had offered to them. According to the owners, this was the best deal that the players were going to get, and I agree with them. The players agreed to lower their share of Basketball Related Income (BRI) from 57% under the 2005 collective bargaining agreement to 50% under a possible new agreement already. The owners have stated unequivocally that this is the last deal that will have a 50/50 split of BRI, and the players will not strengthen their position by declining this proposal. They say that the proposed deal is unfair and has clauses in it that are detrimental to players. There are a few clauses that are not beneficial to players, but that is to be expected in a bargaining session when both sides need to compromise. The players are lucky that this deal included a soft cap and a mid-level exception amount at all, and these small matters are not going to swing in the players' favor if this deal is well and truly dead. I do not think that the NBPA negotiators acted in the best interests of the vast majority of players, and I feel bad for those players.

I don't see these two men being in the same room together for quite some time.

This is the letter that NBPA executive director Billy Hunter & president Derek Fisher sent out to players after the negotiating team decided to decline the deal and move down the path towards decertification, which NBA commish David Stern said would lead to "the nuclear winter of the NBA". From a reading of that letter it is clear who has the power in the player camp: the star players and the agents. The star players have no need for a labor union; they would actually have a good chance of making even more money if they weren't bound by the union framework. The union is for the injured veteran, the non-lottery draft picks, and the career journeymen. They are the ones who need the protection afforded by collective bargaining of rights, not superstars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwight Howard. Those guys are no longer merely players, but worldwide brands that rack up millions of dollars in non-basketball-playing income each year. You don't really see many insurance commercials starring guys like Brian Cardinal or Sundiata Gaines; they would be lucky to be an extra in a local car dealership ad without an NBA season. When the executive committee says that it will "dedicate itself to supporting individual NBA players in the assertion of your [their] non-labor rights to be free of any illegal restrictions on competition for your [their] services", it is clear that they are not looking out for the non-superstars: how much non-NBA competition is there for the services of Quincy Pondexter? The vast majority of the 500 or so members of the former NBPA are going to really feel the hurt if they lose the entire season, both in terms of lost income from cancelled games this season and in smaller BRI percentages in the future. Agents are also a driving force behind this move by the negotiators, as they seek only to protect the large commissions they derive from outsize deals like the one the New Jersey Nets gave to Travis Outlaw (5 years, $35 mil for 9.2 ppg and 4 rpg...ouch). They could not care less if players lose wages this season, as they have jobs and a constant flow of income. Agents would do anything possible to protect their wallets, and that is a fact that is working against the majority of the NBA players.

By decertifying this far into the negotiating process, the NBPA is almost totally writing off this season. The NFLPA went this route and was unsuccessful, but they chose to do so much earlier on. The NFLPA's claim was decided in relatively quick fashion, and it still took more than 2 months. The NBA players do not have 2 months to spare before the whole season is in jeopardy. Only time will tell what results from today's action, but looking at it from here it seems like the negotiating committee made the right decision for the superstars and their agents, but the wrong decision for the NBA players who aren't household names.

-Cote