You are assuming that the owners are not going to be realistic in their proposal. What if they adopted a pay structure like the MLS? Think the players then form a union to fight for the liberties they gave up?
I think (although I might be incorrect) that MLS has been found to be a single entity competing in the global marketplace for players... a single entity (whether it's Nike or MLS or the NBA front office) can set standards for how much it will or will not pay employees. A collection of businesses (like the NBA franchises) cannot do that, and I don't think they can whether it's "realistic" or not (I'm not mocking your use of the word, just to clarify... I know I can sound snarky sometimes). I didn't follow the latest MLS labor issues that closely recently, so I might have old/bad information. Ed O.
Incidentally, as part of my quick Google search since my post, check out who represented the MLS players back in 2000... http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/12/s...ntitrust-suit-says-mls-is-not-a-monopoly.html Ed O.
I thought NBA players playing overseas weakened their collective bargaining position. It turns out, it may weaken their legal claims against the NBA. I really do hope LaMarcus and Wesley sign foreign contracts.
Point taken without thinking you are too uppity. : ) The NBA though is not a collection of 30 business comparable to the independant burger joints like Wendys vs Mc Donanalds vs Burger King etc. They are 30 entities operating within a set of rules to compensate players fairly while making each franchise able to compete with the other to make a sellable product. The current setup favors the players unfairly since the owners are bidding up the price of players domestically when no other market for their services exist. I do not think owners should have absolute power, but there has to be a happy medium. The Lebron/Carmelo fiascos this summer were the nails in the coffin of the current system.
I don't disagree with you about the current (and my preferred) balance of power, and your logic about the NBA being different than standard competitors (Wendy's or Burger King would almost certainly be better off if McDonalds went under... the same can't be said for, say, the Blazers and Jazz and the Bulls)... BUT... Even though the owners have, throughout recent history, made the assertion across major American sports, courts have consistently ruled that pro sports leagues are NOT single entities. Except MLS. MLS has all its players sign deals with the league. There is no free agency. There is no real authority for player movement, etc., at the team level. It's a system that is centrally controlled in order to keep salaries down. American Needle is the most recent US Supreme Court ruling that could impact the NBA situation, and although it might be limited in some respects, it indicates that even a conservative court was part of a 9-0 decision against a single entity application for even part (intellectual property) of the NFL's business. You can read about the decision (and there's a link discussing MLS's single entity in there, too, which is pretty informative) here: http://www.nutmegradio.com/single-entity-time-american-needle-and-what-it-means-for-mls/ Ed O.
Yeah, that's been my point the entire time about union members playing overseas before they even disbanded their union.
uh oh http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/1058/jr-smith [video=youtube;-5ZOQ7bUOqM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5ZOQ7bUOqM[/video]
It sucks for Smith, and I hope he's OK, but players have such short and fragile careers that them risking it over a little bit of money overseas when there's so much more from an "unfair" deal with the NBA seems silly to me. Ed O.
Really mixed emotions about this. Part of me is cracking up, but the other, nicer part of me feels bad for him because they really do have such fragile careers. Then again, it was his own fault for not getting a free college degree when he had the chance. Instead he chose to go pro out of high school. Hopefully if it is serious, he has someone he can trust that has done well with his money
Ain't that the truth. And while it's not a "little" bit of money, a bad injury over there could cost him a year or two PLUS what they might miss here. Imagine if you were Kevin Durant and you had a severe injury (ala Jay Williams) AND because of the declassification doohicky, your once guaranteed money is gone. oops.
I would think that, even if contracts aren't canceled due to labor strife, a serious injury from activities unrelated to NBA basketball would give the team cause to get out from under it (like Jay Williams and the Bulls). Edit: the terms of the agreement would be prohibited activity, and I'd guess that playing professionally with another team would arguable be prohibited... Ed O.
Patty Mills just signed with the same team that KMart plays for in China, leaving Australia right away. Shavlick Randolph is headed over there as well!
Patty Mills ends Melbourne contract, heads to China Posted by Inside Hoops Portland Trail Blazers point guard Patty Mills has cut short his stay with the Melbourne Tigers and will play for a Chinese league club during the NBA lockout. The National Basketball League said in a statement late Sunday that Mills had signed a contract to play with Chinese club Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers. The NBL said it allowed Mills to leave because it did not want to hold him back from other international opportunities. – Reported by the Associated Press Read more: http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=8605&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed#ixzz1eIBl1crA
Stein Source close to talks tells ESPN that Kevin Love has notified Besiktas he is NOT taking Turkish team's offer to join up with Deron Williams
Besides Love, Luol Deng (British passport holder) also atop Besiktas wish list. Other names linked to Istanbul club: Nene, Gortat, Boozer
