Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Larry Coon's perspective...
People I've talked to have told me they'd rather lose a year than continue playing in a broken system. I take them at their word on this.
I think they know full well that the longer this goes (especially when they start missing paychecks on November 15), the better the deal they're going to be able to wrest from the players. So there's no reason to start horse trading now. I think they have two positions in mind -- right now they're at what I'll call Point A, which is their opening position. I'll call Point B their bottom-line, best offer. I think they already know exactly what Point B is. Here is what I think is their timeline:
Now through Nov 15: Stick to Point A, with the only thing they negotiate on is a grace period to implement the necessary changes. If the players agree, then we have a CBA. If not, then they continue to wait.
Nov 15 through mid-Jan: Negotiation starts in earnest. They will give up more, but will not go past Point B. Again, if they agree, we have a deal. If not, then they still wait.
Mid-Jan: There will be a specific date on which they decide to cancel the season entirely. Point B becomes their "take it or leave it" offer. If they don't take it, then they cancel the season.
I hope it doesn't come to that. MLB has to be pretty giddy right now.
btw...what are your thoughts on hard cap? I think I've read your views on it before, but I don't remember your position. I'm for hard-cap, but I think it will be grossly unfair if let's say - Miami and Lakers have to abide by the same hard-cap numbers due to no state income tax in FL and high income tax in California.
If they do implement hard-cap, I hope they also force some teams to spend more as well. For example, Kings spent only $44M last year, while Lakers and Mavs spent over $90M. If the cap is set for, let's say, $65M then force every team to spend at least $58.5M. Is there revenue sharing in NBA?