NBA, union differ in views
One day after the NBA suspended collective bargaining talks with the players’ union, each side had a different take on how grave the situation has become.
Union director Billy Hunter didn’t see things as too bleak to salvage, while commissioner David Stern said the union should expect to see changes in the owners’ next offer when the sides meet again – whenever that may be.
“This is just a bump in the road,” Hunter said Thursday. “We’re going to get a deal. Sooner or later, we’ll come back to the table.”
Hunter and Stern were both in Washington to testify before a congressional committee investigating steroid use in professional sports. The NBA’s steroids policy was branded “pathetic” and “a joke” by lawmakers, and Stern said he wants to add more in-season tests, double the penalty for a first offense to 10 games, and kick players out of the league for a third positive test. Hunter said the union supports some changes.
But those changes will only come when the sides decide to sit down together again, and there was no telling when that might happen.
The league’s collective bargaining agreement expires June 30, two days after the player draft.
“I’m not confident, because we’re confounded as to how we can make a deal at this point,” Stern said after testifying. “I’m concerned that there will be a lockout.”
“We were negotiating. We thought we had a deal, or close to a deal, and then it was pulled off the table,” Stern said. “Every day that we don’t make a deal, damage will occur and the changes in our offer will be apparent down the road.”
The sides had been publicly optimistic over the prospects for reaching a new deal until last Friday, when Stern downgraded his outlook to “hopeful.” That came hours after two union attorneys gave an oral outline of the union’s new offer and, according to the league, changed its position on several key issues.
The league claims the union changed its position on the length of long-term contracts (current rules allow a maximum length of seven years), the size of annual raises in long-term contracts (current rules limit those increases to 12.5 percent annually for players who re-sign with their teams; 10 percent for players changing teams as free agents), and changes to the escrow and luxury tax systems designed to limit salary growth and penalize the highest-spending teams.
Hunter said it was “ludicrous” for the league to suggest he had agreed to a five-year maximum length for guaranteed contracts.
O’Neal misses another practice with thigh bruise
Miami center Shaquille O’Neal did not practice because of a bruised right thigh that has plagued him for more than a month.
The All-Star center hasn’t played since Game 2 of the second round against Washington.
The Heat will be off today and return to practice on Saturday. They play Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday or Wednesday, depending on the outcome of the Detroit-Indiana series.
O’Neal, who also missed Wednesday’s practice, is expected to continue getting treatment on the thigh in the coming days.
Magic drop Jent from list of candidates
Chris Jent, the interim coach for the Orlando Magic’s final 18 games, has been dropped from the team’s list of coaching candidates. Jent, 35, had two seasons of NBA experience as an assistant.
Jent took over for the fired Johnny Davis on March 17, but the team went 5-13 down the stretch to finish 36-46 and out of the playoffs.
Hill wins NBA’s sportsmanship award
Orlando Magic forward Grant Hill won the NBA’s sportsmanship award, edging league Most Valuable Player Steve Nash.
The award honors the player who best exemplifies fair play and integrity on the court. Hill received the Joe Dumars Trophy, named for the former Detroit Pistons All-Star guard who was the award’s first recipient.
NBA draft early entry list totals 108 players
Utah center Andrew Bogut and four members of North Carolina’s NCAA championship team highlight the list of 108 players who filed as early entry candidates for the June 28 NBA draft.
Of the 73 U.S. players who made themselves eligible, 12 are high school seniors. Two of the three eligible members of The Associated Press’ All-America team submitted their letters by last Saturday’s deadline.
Chris Paul of Wake Forest joined Bogut, but Duke’s J.J. Redick will return to school for his senior season. Wayne Simien of Kansas and Syracuse’s Hakim Warrick were seniors.
The players have the right to withdraw their names from the list by notifying the NBA by June 21, one week before the draft is held in Madison Square Garden.