NBA Players Association United by Hunter, Smith and Fisher

NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter

    Take a second and ponder a question if you will....what do you fear the most?  Just for a moment, focus on how it would feel to be an owner of a professional basketball team in the NBA during a self imposed lockout; now ask yourself this question....what would I fear the most?  On this day, the owners of the NBA faced what they fear the most, a unified players union!  Two days had passed since stories surfaced detailing a somber tone coming from the results of a meeting this past Tuesday between the owners and the Players Association in which a deal wasn't struck and future meetings were not planned.  The rhetoric coming out of Tuesday's meeting featured the  owners making Billy Hunter wait 3 hours before declining to agree to the deal and also the first indications of the players faith in Billy Hunter waning.

Since 1996 Billy Hunter has guided the players association and looked out for their best interest, that was his singular goal year in and year out, battling Commissioner Stern and his owners at every opportunity he
could.  This was not his first rodeo as he also battled Stern in the lockout of 98/99 that caused the NBA implement a 50 game season due to 32 games being lost.  Again he'd seen it all but as the news continued to circulate out after Tuesday's meeting, the most startling revelation of all began to rear its ugly head.  Five super agents in the NBA, Arn Tellem, Bill Duffy, Mark Bartelstein, Jeff Schwartz, and Dan Fegan spoke about the possibility of de-certifying the Players Association which would in turn remove Hunter from his position.

By law, labor unions cannot file antitrust lawsuits.  In the event of de-certification, the antitrust rules would change allowing the players to file antitrust motions against the owners and request injunctions that would force the owners to allow the players to work thus ending the owner imposed lockout.  This tactic would replace Hunter with an antitrust lawyer who would present the case to federal judges and at that point both players and owners are at risk for more loses than they are currently presented with.  Of course this is the path that Hunter has wanted to avoid but take this into consideration.  Thirty percent of the players would have to vote for de-certifying the union and the five super agents mentioned above represents that amount of players in the NBA.

Today was the day that it was speculated that the agents mentioned above would begin their cue because keep this in mind, if the players aren't getting paid come November, the agents wouldn't be getting paid as well and it was that selfishness that Hunter was trying to avoid at all costs.  It seemed as if a rift was beginning to form in the ranks of the players union and that was music to the ears of the owners who wanted to hold out until at least November when checks would be missed to watch the union crumble but it was being speculated that the fraction, the rift had already begun.  Coincident or not, Hunter's grasp on the players and his job was at risk as he prepared to face the players today in Las Vegas.

NBPA President Derek Fisher

Sensing possible dissension in the ranks, Derek Fisher, the Players President of the Union, sent out an email explaining in detail that the most recent hold up at the meeting wasn't caused by the owners simply rejecting the players proposal but due to the fact that the owners had begun fighting among themselves.  It was reported by ESPN that Dan Gilbert and Robert Sarver, who own the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns respectively were opposed to the most recent players proposal while the owners of the Knicks and Lakers, James Dolan and Dr. Jerry Buss were visibly annoyed by the demands of Gilbert and Sarver.  That fact all but verified that there's a rift between the philosophies of the owners of the NBA, a rift caused by the difference between large markets and small market teams, a rift that may not be repaired due to the fact that the haves won't allow their successful structure to be deconstructed due to the have nots having the incapability to understand that there's no current business model in the world where everyone business is successful.  Every business can't succeed but every business will incur loses.  Fisher's email also addressed those players who's agents were in their ear, trying to dictate the fate of the players from behind the shadows.

NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith

While the owners were in Dallas today battling among themselves, Billy Hunter, Derek Fisher and about 70 NBA players were in Las Vegas participating in the Las Vegas Impact League, a league built upon the notion of having the players prepared for training camp whenever it starts.  Today was the day that the agents and the owners were waiting for the fraction, rift, and dissension among the players to become public, today was supposed to be the day that the shit hit the fan and the Players Union would crumble, it was to be the day that Billy Hunter's 15 years of service would have ended.  As demonstrated earlier by the email that was sent, Derek Fisher was again a step ahead of the agents and the owners.  Fisher invited the NFL's Players Union executive director DeMaurice Smith to speak to the near 70 players who were attending the Impact League.  Having just endured a 4.5 month lockout himself with the NFL, Smith's goal was to instill faith back into the players of the NBA and also to remind them to remain unified in this harsh time of uncertainty.

Not one but two union heads delivering the same message...unity amongst themselves, amongst the players as the owners and the agents were moving in for the kill.  The owners faced their worst nightmare today, a unified union, a strong union who will not lay down or be strong armed.  The agents faced their fears as de-certification was taken off the table completely as an option and at the end there was Billy Hunter, standing as tall as ever having won another battle in the war of the NBA, the war of reality vs perception.  The first shot has been fired by the players after the mess that was Tuesday and only just now did the owners fire back by stating that the owners are still united, bonded by the idea of having a hard salary cap.  Let it be known that on this day, Thursday, September 15th, 2011 the players won a small battle, their unified front could be a giant step in the right direction of creating a resolution with the owners.  After today's meeting, Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies sent out a tweet that spoke volumes, I just hope that the owners were able to hear it and/or paid attention to it.

"We believe in Billy Hunter!!!  Great Meeting!!!

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Derek Fisher addresses players in letter

To Each & Every Player,

After the latest round of meetings, I thought it would be best to update you personally as to where the leadership of the National Basketball Players Association stands, where the negotiations stand where we are headed and the reasons why.

Without a doubt, someone will be leaking this. I know it. The moment you read this you will know it. So, I say all with the fullest transparency.

I was elected as your President. By you. For you. I take great pride and am honored to serve the over 400 members of our association. I and our Executive Committee take this job and this role seriously and will not agree to an unfair deal on behalf of you and our players. Period.

I'm not looking out just for the marquee guy, I'm looking out for the guy that dreams of being a professional basketball player and gets a minimum deal. I'm not just trying to protect the guy on a team in a huge market. I'm protecting the player that is in a small market with incredibly loyal fans.

I've made it clear, I want to play. You have each made it clear, you want to play. The fans have been unwavering, they want their basketball. The thousand of employees that work in the arenas, the ticket offices, the concession stands, they want a season. We all want to go back to work.

The league and the team owners have locked us out. This was not our choice. Our employers decided to stop allowing us to do our jobs.

My job since July 1st is to find a solution. To find an outcome that protects each of you and your livelihoods and continues to allow us to play the game we love so much and the fans love supporting.

Since before the lockout began, I have spent hours upon hours, days, months, years, working on preparing you, the fans and the media about the

possibilities. Now as the lockout has set in, reality of the situation is here.

The most recent meetings in New York were effective. What you have been told by your agents, representatives and the media is probably speculative and inaccurate.

What actually happened in those meetings was discussion, brainstorming and a sharing of options by both sides. The turning point this past Tuesday was not a disagreement between the players and the owners. It was actually a fundamental divide between the owners internally. They could not agree with each other on specific points of the deal and therefore it caused conflict within the league and its owners.

So it is our hope that today, Thursday, at the owners meeting in Dallas that they work out their differences, come up with a revenue sharing plan that will protect their teams and are then ready to come together and sign off on 

the agreement we as a smaller group deemed reasonable.

Decertification seems to be a hot button issue today in the media. So I'd like to address it. I've read yesterday's stories and find the position of these agents interesting. I have made myself available to each and every agent. But not once have I heard from them. If they are so concerned about the direction of the union, then why have they not contacted me? Each and every one of them mentioned has been in meetings with me. I've answered their questions, I've been told they support you, their players and our Players Association. So if there is a genuine concern, a suggestion, a question, call me. Email me. Text me. I'm working tirelessly each and every day on behalf of the over 400 players that they represent. Working for nothing but the best interests of THEIR guys. I don't make a commission, I don't make a salary for serving as President. I have NO ulterior motives. None.

It is because they have not come to me once that I question their motives.

I work every day on these negotiations. I work so that each player from Blake Griffin to Tyler Hansbrough, Pau Gasol to De'Andre Jordan, Dwight Howard to Jrue Holiday, Taj Gibson to Danny Granger, Steve Nash to Luke Babbit and every single player get a fair and reasonable deal. Not just for this year, not just for next year but for years to come. So that the league that WE the players largely helped build, continues to grow and thrive.

So to address the agents that have decided to say their piece yesterday, I don't mind. Perhaps they are trying to make news. Perhaps they just want to show you, their clients, they are working hard. But what would be appreciated by the 400+ players would be the support of our agents and constructive ideas, suggestions and solutions that are in our best interests. Not the push for a drastic move that leaves their players without a union, without pensions, without health care. We just aren't there.

I will remain committed to finding resolution to this because I know how important this is. I ask you to remain united with me and your over 400 allies, friends, brothers and colleagues. We are a powerful group if we remain united and focused on the task at hand.

I urge every single one of you to call me, text me, email me with anything. An idea, a suggestion, a concern, a question. I represent you. I work for you.

So to each player, each fan, each agent, each media member who ends up reading this...I stand behind this message. It comes from me, a 15 year veteran of basketball, the game I dreamt of playing as a kid, the game I love so much. I'm a teammate, I'm a father, I'm a son, I'm a husband, I'm a brother, but right now, the role I must work so hard to honor is the one as PA President. And I ask each of you to stand with me, stand by me and urge the league and the owners to come together and allow the game of basketball to continue to grow and thrive. We're ready.

Sincerely,

Derek

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Text the Balla Commish at 516.784.5362

As the Balla Commish I feel that it's my job to keep you the fans informed with the latest relevant news in the NBA and also at the same time keep you slightly entertained especially with the current lockout that we are all living through.  With that being said my exclusive articles have slowed down due to the lack of activity in the league at this time but please keep in mind that the News/Rumors section of site is updated daily.  Over the course of the past year I've had a few dedicated readers leave comments on the work and those comments were much appreciated so recently I asked myself this question, how can I make the interaction with my readers, the fans of the NBA more personal?  I've decided to add an aspect to this site that hasn't been seen on any other blog or corporate owned site.  The goal is simply, I want to hear from you guys, my team and I wants to know if we are delivering the news and perspective that you want and in the event that we are not then we'd love to hear that as well.

I've decided to give you all unlimited access to me and this hasn't been done anywhere else.  All you have to do is simply send me a text message, I don't care what time it is, I don't care what day of the week it is, if you have questions or comments about the NBA or the Real NBA or the work of me and my team just simply send me a text and I will respond 100% of the time.  Due to the fact that I have a day job, I may not respond at the exact moment that you contact me, but I will respond because hearing from you is important to me. I am extremely serious about this matter or I wouldn't be putting my personal information out like this so don't be afraid of what I may say; just text me to gain more insight on what my team and I feel about the NBA, The Real NBA, and anything else that just happens to cross your mind that is relevant to sports.

516.784.5362

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Perception or Reality: The NBA Lockout of 2011

This time last year I was preparing myself for what was supposed to be perhaps the greatest season in the history of the Miami Heat organization and this year I'm faced with something that I haven't witnessed since I was a junior in high school.  The owners of the NBA have decided to lockout the players of the league by stating that the NBA as a whole has been loosing hundreds of million of dollars the last few seasons.  Commissioner Stern recently stated that 22 out of the 30 teams currently in the NBA are losing money.  Let me be very clear on this, this is not a strike, the players are not fighting for more money while declining not to play, the owners have shut down the league in an effort to shut down the players, their rising salaries, and their ego's; that is what this lockout is all about nothing more and nothing less.  The goal of Stern is to have all 30 NBA franchises to turn a profit because thus at the end of the day it is a business.  The perception is that most businesses turn profits but the reality is that most fail.

In the early days of Stern's power, the NBA salary cap was introduced and set at $3.6 million dollars, teams could cons
truct their teams up to the $3.6 million threshold and at times go over by way of built in exceptions but as the league reached heights that were never seen before in the 80's, so too did the salary cap.  NBA royalty like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan helped the league reach its new heights by having dramatic rivalries, climatic NBA Finals, and capitalizing on marketing and the growing demand for shoes.  The growth of the NBA as a professional sports league in the view of the global market was a growth that was exponential.  By the time the NBA showcased its product via the Dream Team in Barcelona during the 1992 Summer Olympiad, the Salary cap had risen to $12.5 million dollars.  The momentum did nothing but gain more strength and the 1992 Summer Olympiad was another launching point for the league, along with mega-stars, Magic, Bird, and Jordan, names like Barkley, Robinson, and Malone made their impact on the league for years to come adding to the momentum that was already carrying the star driven league.

David Stern

No major business is absent of mistakes as no decision is perfect, we all make bad decisions in life and in business but it's the multitude of those decisions that causes perception good or bad to become reality and thus the NBA was not immune.  During a sixteen year period from 1988-2004, the NBA saw expansion like never before as seven new teams were added "Heat, Hornets, Magic, Timberwolves, Raptors, Grizzlies, and Bobcats", the WNBA was formed along with the NBDL and the NBATV network.  Expansion isn't a bad concept but this was a case of too much too soon.  The WNBA is in the middle of its 15th season but the league hasn't had a transcendent star in years, the NBDL and NBATV has had modest success in their respective fields but with teams in the NBA now drafting more foreign players than players that are promoted up from the NBDL, is that league even necessary at this time?  The one thing that the NBA has rarely done in the Stern era is admit defeat.  The only time that the NBA as a league admitted defeat was when Commissioner Stern introduced the microfiber composite Spalding ball which was gone by the mid season point of the 2006-07 season due to the multitude of player complaints.  In a league where there's been an aura, a perception of always making right the decisions is anyone truly surprised that the NBA is in the place where it finds itself now.  The reality of the matter is that the NBA and its collection of franchises have made mistakes over the past 16 years and now only at the very end when the commissioner and his minions are finally ready to admit defeat, they look to make the players out as their scapegoats in order to take the stench of blame off themselves.  Stern and his brain trust are utilizing perhaps the oldest game in the book of business, win the public opinion battle while making the opposition look bad and the most disturbing situation of all is that once again the public is blind to that truth and falling into the hands of the perception that the NBA is broadcasting.

In a recent Wall Street Journal Poll, fans were asked who's side were they taking during the current lockout, the owners, the players, or don't care and the results were staggering but also very predictable.  11.6% sided with the players with 28.7% siding with the owners, the remaining 59% stated that they didn't care.  Translation, twice as many fans are siding with the owners when it was the owners who shut down the league to began with, just as they did thirteen years prior citing the same losses that they are now.  During the lockout of 1998, the owners added a luxury tax, escrow accounts and also limited contract lengths and amounts to circumvent said losses.  The players surrendered those options so that they can continue to play the game that they love, the game that they've played their entire lives.  The players relented and the owners received the mechanisms that they needed to again circumvent their losses so the question is, thirteen years later, What happened?  Why are the owners again selling the public on losses; is anyone noticing a pattern here?

No words are needed.

Before I go any further I would like to say that all of the owners aren't bad owners but the bad ones are to blame for this lockout, simply put they are 100% responsible.  I happen to be a fan of a franchise who's owner is perhaps one of the best I've seen in sports, constantly constructing hard working, championship caliber teams year after year and with having won 1 championship.  Micky Arison, owner of the Miami Heat is not just a good owner, he is a great owner and has been for over 15 years.  Just today as my nephew and I were driving home after receiving haircuts, I asked him this question "Name some teams that were terrible in your youth that are still terrible today?", and his answer did not disappoint.  After what seemed like mere seconds he stated that the Los Angeles Clippers were the team that has been historically bad in his opinion.  Donald Sterling has been the owner of the Clippers since 1981 and he's considered by many to be the worst owner in all of the four major sports.  Futility seems to be the Clippers strong point and has been for the last 41 years.  In their inception, they were know as the Buffalo Braves "1970-78", they then moved to San Diego and became the Clippers "78-84" and finally  they made the move to Los Angeles in 1984 where they have remained to this day.  The Clippers futility is based on a grand total of six winning seasons since 1970 and only two of those winning seasons came after the 1984 season.

Responsibility is almost as powerful of a weapon in this battle that we call life as freewill and in the world of professional athletics, freewill is akin to free agency.  Citizens who are sympathetic towards the owners, to big business will point out that over the years there's been players who've been irresponsible with their earnings and have been forced to file for bankruptcy due to financial mismanagement.  There's multiple examples of players who overspend on cars, house, and their entourages which yes includes various women and at times a multitude of children and after all of the cheers and adulation are gone, they do pay the ultimate price but responsibility has no class distinction, no race barriers, no age requirements, for responsibility touches us all.  I said that to say this, a segment of players have been irresponsible with their earnings but haven't some owners also?  How many horrendous contracts have we seen the owners green light since the last NBA lockout but you must remember that in a league where the perception is the owners can do no wrong, who's there to hold them accountable?  Bad owners make bad decisions and then they expect a league shut down to take place to fix their bad decision making, but if history always repeats itself then the problem will never be fixed.  Cutting players salaries will not, I repeat will fix the NBA business model because the mentality of the owners has and will never change.

Just recently we saw Major League Baseball take over the Los Angeles Dodgers due to a lack of responsibility on the owners part.  For example, Frank McCourt, owner of the Dodgers paid his sons $600,000 annually despite the fact that one of those sons already had another full time job.  Another example of a severe lack of responsibility arose when it was revealed that McCourt had paid 71 year old "Healer" over $100,000 to send positive energy to the Dodgers in order to produce wins.  MLB Commissioner Bud Selig in a statement said that he had great concerns about the Dodgers and that he made the move "I have taken this action because of my deep concerns regarding the finances and operations of the Dodgers and to protect the best interest of the club, as you mentioned, its great fans and all of Major League Baseball."  "To protect the best interest of the club....and all of Major League Baseball" that one quote speaks volumes because Selig unlike David Stern actually held the party whom was personal responsible for the franchise's financial demise liable.  

Donald Sterling

Frank McCourt loses his team to the MLB for his poor decision making but Donald Sterling continues to own an NBA franchise because he usually turns a profit at the expense of his own team.  By failing to open his checkbook to draw top talent, Sterling has seemingly sacrificed wins just to turn a profit which makes him a "good" owner in the eyes of Stern.  If I'm not mistaken, doesn't Stern want all 30 of his NBA franchises to turn a profit?  Would he allow them all to turn profits at the expense of winning?  It does seems as if that's the perception that Stern is pushing and selling the idea of profitability has been one of his strong points as of yet but now he's paying the ultimate price for his fatal flaw.  The NBA's owners have become their own worst enemy in the lawless land of Stern, the same Stern who acts as judge, jury, and executioner when it comes to terrible displays of personal responsibility on the part of the players.  Sterling for the most part has been out of control as an NBA owner based on being accused of sexual harassment multiple times, discriminating against African Americans and Latinos, and also being caught heckling current and former players of the Clippers Chris Kaman and Baron Davis.  Perhaps Sterling's most despicable act came in 2004 when then assistant coach Kim Hughes was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Sterling refused to cover the cost of the surgery which was at least $70, 000 which prompted Clippers players at the time Cory Maggette, Chris Kaman, Marko Jaric, and Elton Brand to help their ailing coach cover the medical costs.  Ladies and gentlemen I bring you today Donald Sterling, the prototype of what a great NBA owner should be based on the lawless views of David Stern.  The reality of the matter is that owners like Donald Sterling are responsible for the league being what is today, a league that's been dominated by only 9 franchises in the last 30 years while others remain irrelevant by not maximizing the values of their franchises by simply putting a winning product on the court night after night.

Perception or Reality

For the 28.7% of fans who blame the players for the current NBA lockout, I would caution you not to make hast judgments when it comes to the players.  The players are just the work force, but it's the owners who created a system where they would have to bend to the needs of the players.  Most have sold their collective souls for so called "talent" only to be disappointed in the long run.  Grossly overpaying for talent that ultimately fails to meet one's expectations is an example of the owners showcasing their poor sense of financial responsibility and shutting down the league in order to "fix" the problem is false ideology.  The league as is doesn't need a fix, the false perceptions of Stern and his minions is the issue that needs to be fixed, shut down.    I've often heard that the truth hurts and that some have a hard time owning up to the many truths of the world about one's own life in and out of the world of business.  I offer you this truth, a bit of reality that no one wants to face...the owners have committed murder and now they are trying to frame the players for the crime all the while disguising it as owners wanting to take the power back from the players.  During the lockout of 1998/99 the owners asked for a soft cap and mid level exceptions but now they shun it in favor of a lowered hard cap.  If the owners really wanted to gain "control" of the players, they would do away with free agency....Did I really just say that?  It's a radical idea but also an idea that the owners won't entertain because their motives isn't what they say they are.  Controlling the players was never the goal, using them as scapegoats was but no matter how much the system is manipulated to put the blame on the players for the bad decisions on the part of the owners, the players will always have the last laugh.  I pray that this game of pimps and hoes that the Nation Basketball Association is playing with its players backfires on the league and the pimp like rule of Commissioner David Stern.  It's quite possible that Proposition Joe of The Wire had the right solution for disputes such as the one between the players and the owners.

Proposition Joe

Proposition Joe: "I'm doing like one of them marriage counselors. Charge by the hour to tell some fool he need to bring some flowers home. Then charge another hour telling the bitch she oughta suck some cock every little once in a while. You know, keep a marriage strong like that."

Ladies and Gentlemen, the damn thing was just done!  Stern and his owners are the one's who should prepare themselves to start sucking now.

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