It really looked as if October 4th is going to be the savior day for the 2011-12 NBA season and settle the NBA lockout but ultimately it just fell apart.
With NBA Player’s Association leadership encountering players in Los Angeles it seemed that things would move towards some amiable solution but unfortunately, that did not happen.
While there have been some hints from a few sources about some players folding on the issues to settle the NBA lockout most of the players insist that there is no such folding out and they remain strong at their stands. According to McGee and Mbah a Moute who met the NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter and President Derek Fisher at one of the Beverly Hills hotels, players have made a lot of concessions so far and it is now up to the owners to settle the NBA lockout with a fair deal.
However, the statement of McGee was not supported by contemporaries Fisher and Hunter as according to them McGee, who left the room first of all at around 3 PM PT was in no position to tell anything about the final outcome in the discussion to settle the NBA lockout. According to them the person who had spent least time in the discussion room had no business to make any such comments about the final outcome of the discussion to settle the NBA lockout.
Some players considered themselves pacifiers while they also considered a few others among them as the extremists. But both types of players do have the consensus on one point that the NBPA does not have the mechanism to issue fines to
its players to settle the NBA lockout.
Major points of difference between the owners and the players were on division of the revenue earned, length of contracts, as well as the new luxury tax system and its structure. Earlier, before the meeting, Hunter had told ESPN that he was mandated to negotiate even with a short or small deck to get the best deals and finally to settle the NBA lockout.
At the same time he also made it amply clear that while the players were ready to make some concessions, they did not want it to be as big as the NBA authorities want them to make. According to him it does not make sense because the players and not the management are the product that attracts audiences and money and their views need to be paid adequate weight while dealing with the ways to settle the NBA lockout.
Differences of opinion largely revolve round the distribution of revenue. While the players are settling for reduction of the guaranteed cut to 53% from the erstwhile 57%, the authorities are asking 53% of the revenue for themselves. Such difference of opinion is the main blockade that obstructs ways to settle the NBA lockout.
Players agree to short contracts so that under performing contracts may be replaced by high performing contracts. On the other hand owners want more competitive league and less advantage for major market teams.
One only hopes that the two disputing parties settle the NBA lockout on a cordial note at last.
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