The NBA owners and players union met for three days this week with a federal mediator, including almost 20 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday alone. And while that sounds like both sides were super serious about agreeing on a new collective bargaining agreement and ending this obnoxious lockout, it’s the opposite. How far apart are both sides? So far that the federal mediator left and won’t meet with them again.
So long, season.
With no further meetings scheduled, it’s likely more games will be canceled, though Mr. Silver said Thursday the league won’t take any more steps until meeting with owners as early as Friday.
“Our discussions did break off,” Mr. Silver said. “We are saddened on behalf of the game. We understand we’re disappointing millions of fans.”
(Via the Wall Street Journal)
The latest word is that the owners want a salary system that mirrors the NHL, but I won’t get into what both sides are still demanding from the other because that’s boring and we don’t really care anymore because innocent, hard-working people are now out of jobs as the holiday season approaches and David Stern cares so little that he thinks we’ll believe that he actually had a flu when he walked out of a meeting this week.
The real comedy now comes from Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who told players union executive director Billy Hunter that he could design a brand new system that would benefit everyone, and to “trust him.” I want to make a quick list of people off the top of my head that I would trust more to solve the lockout than Gilbert:
Anyone.
