Paul Allen took a starring role in the NBA lockout as accounts of Thursday's breakdown in negotiations between players and owners spread Friday. But contrary to several accounts, the Trail Blazers owner did not personally deliver an ultimatum on Thursday to the NBA players union, a top league official said Friday night. In fact, Allen did not speak during a session between a group of owners and player representatives that was overseen by a federal mediator, Deputy NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a telephone interview with The Oregonian. Also Friday night, Blazers president Larry Miller rejected the contention, contained in one account of the Thursday mediation session on a national website, that Allen was positioning the team for sale. "Absolutely the team is not for sale," Miller said from New York, where he has been attending bargaining sessions as the team's representative on the league's labor relations committee. "Paul is just as committed to the team as he was when he purchased the team 23 years ago," Miller said. The Blazers and the NBA made Silver available for an interview in part to respond to stories written about Allen's participation in Thursday's negotiations. Silver is the league's chief operating officer and is Commissioner David Stern's top lieutenant. The NBA's players and owners broke off negotiations Thursday on a new collective bargaining agreement after three consecutive days of meetings, prolonging the lockout that hit its 113th day Friday. No additional sessions have been scheduled and the league's exhibition season and the first two weeks of the regular season have been canceled. Thursday's negotiations marked the first time Allen that was reported to have been involved in the current CBA talks. Allen's presence Thursday was partly coincidence, Miller and Silver said. He was in New York to attend the league's Board of Governors meeting on Thursday morning, Silver said, and "that happened to fall on the same day as the negotiating session with the union." After the meeting, "We asked Paul if he was available to attend the mediation session in person," Silver said. Up until Thursday, and for the past 2 1/2 years since the league's labor relations committee was formed, Miller has represented the Blazers. He is the only non-owner on it -- in essence serving as Allen's proxy. The committee was formed at about the same time Allen was diagnosed with cancer. "Larry has been an active member of the committee," Silver said, and as a result, "Paul's views have been incorporated throughout." At the mediation Thursday, "Paul did not speak at the session with the players," Silver said. However, some accounts have portrayed Allen's mere participation in the meeting as the league's effort to send a signal to the players union. By joining with his fellow owners at a bargaining session, some accounts said, Allen was signaling he was a "hard-line owner," even if he did not utter a word. And Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski wrote that a possible reason Allen has become a hard-line owner is that Allen could be trying to reduce expenses in preparation sell the Blazers. Silver rejected the characterization of Allen's one-day participation. "I do not understand why his presence has taken on a life of its own as if he was sent in to deliver a message to the players," Silver said. "Paul is in the same position as every other owner. He wants a system where every team is in a position to compete for a championship and every team, if managed properly, has a chance to make a profit. "In no way was his presence intended to send a message." That perception may owe to the fact that Allen carries weight that most other owners do not. He is the league's richest owner and one of its longest tenured (only five owners have had NBA teams longer), and as a co-founder of Microsoft has name recognition well outside the league. When Allen arrived, the sides had failed to close much ground on their disagreement on the players' share of basketball-related income (BRI). The players had come down half a percent to 52.5, but owners were holding firm at a 50-50 split. At that point, Hunter had suggested that the sides table BRI talk and focus on systems issues, such as luxury tax and salary cap. Allen's attendance at the Thursday meeting, Silver said, was an indication that he supports his fellow owners' goals in seeking a collective bargaining agreement. Silver rejected the notion that only wealthy owners should be able to compete at the highest level. "We're not interested in running a league where only a billionaire willing to reach deep into his pockets has the ability to compete with a franchise," Silver said. "That is unsustainable." Distrust between the players and owners appears to be high. Players representative Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers accused Silver of lying in his post-meeting press conferences. News accounts of Thursday's meeting appear to rely on National Basketball Players Association executive director Billy Hunter and union lawyer Jeffrey Kessler as sources for what transpired in the meeting. Hunter told reporters Allen was sent into the meeting to "deliver the message from the board of governors meeting." Hunter said owners refused to discuss systems issues unless the union first agreed to a 50-50 BRI split. When Allen walked into the meeting, Hunter said he addressed the Blazers owner directly. "I asked Paul, 'Are you prepared to talk about the system?'" Hunter said. "'They've indicated that you've been sent or brought to deliver the message to us that 50-50 is where it is. But where do you stand on the system?' "And Paul didn't respond. He was just in the room. So that's sort of where we are." Kessler told reporters, "We were told Paul Allen was here to express the views of the other board of governors and that view was, 'It's our way or the highway.'" To those characterizations, Silver reiterated that Allen did not speak during the meeting. Silver declined to say which owners did speak. Mike Tokito of The Oregonian contributed to this report. --Allan Brettman http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2011/10/paul_allen_takes_center_stage.html
Frankly, that sounds a lot more like an honest report than what we heard from the union (and infinitely more honest than we heard from Woj). Paul attending but not speaking is perfectly in keeping with his personality. And yeah, he's not selling. barfo
Actually, it's the same version just without the Billy Hunter and Canzano-esque slant. It was originally reported that Paul didn't even respond when directly asked a question. This just makes the players look childish and paranoid. Paul stops by to check out the negotiations, which is completely normal since he is after all an owner with quite a lot at stake. "Oh, Paul Allen is here. This can only mean he was sent here to deliver a hard line message to the plantation workers." Billy Hunter is a fucking joke.
I tend to doubt anyone "sends" Paul Allen anywhere. And yeah, this Woj character has taken a giant leap with his "reporting."
A near-.600 team despite many many games lost by starters. Wojjie wrote a vicious article in 2003 saying that Allen is the worst NBA owner. National writers get their information from local ones, who are dominated by the hateful Oregonian.
http://twitter.com/#!/AlexKennedyNBA/status/127229327740907520 FWIW. And I agree with Nic - if a hard cap is adopted and PA's deep pockets cease to be an asset, his negatives outweigh his positives.
I suspect every NBA fan is aware of the bad craziness with Dolan and the Knicks. When you look at PA and say "gee, that is something Dolan would do!", things are bad!
Outside Blazerland, no one thinks Allen is below average except a couple of national writers who rely upon local media. Practically every team would get 10 more wins a year with Allen as owner. Tell me which team wouldn't.
Actually I know several "owners" personally. They are part of a 112,000+ strong group of investors in the non-profit Green Bay Packers organization. We drink beer together and cook bratwurst on Sundays during the fall and winter months. They're pretty swell fellows and seem to understand that it's best to let Ted Thompson handle the personnel matters, Mark Murphy the financials and Mike McCarthy the calls on the field. It's worked out well.
Try reviewing Sonic owners after Whitsitt left. It was enough to turn a guy into a Blazer fan. Allen is God compared to those paupers.
Under the current system, that is true. Allen's desire to win and deep pockets made him an asset. Now, the owners are seeking a system that prevents owners from investing in their teams. The whole notion is patently absurd, and it removes any positive impact Allen could have on the team.
I hope he is tired of his toy. A new owner that brings basketball back to the Blazers would be much appreciated. That starts with with a coach that has a full bag of knowledge about the game.
