The Players Union Wanted No Salary Cap

Two more weeks of the 2011-12 NBA season were canceled yesterday because the owners and players are still so far apart in their current labor negotiations. I’m confused, though, because David Stern has already made so many empty threats that I can’t remember if this is another two weeks on top of the first two weeks that were canceled, or if this is two weeks after Christmas day, since he said that games were going to be canceled through that after he left last week’s meetings with “the flu.”

Either way, instead of trying to actually reach an agreement, the league and owners are still engaged in a greater game of finger pointing. Today’s latest blame game involves Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and players union executive director Billy Hunter. The players and Hunter are saying that Cuban proposed a new deal that eliminated the salary cap completely, instead increasing taxes on teams that spend beyond a certain amount. Cuban can’t comment, so of course we’re going to get some mumbo jumbo from NBA senior vice president Mike Bass.

“On behalf of the league, Mark Cuban proposed adding a new salary cap exception, not eliminating the salary cap,” Bass said. “It was the union that, in response, proposed eliminating the salary cap, a proposal that was even worse for the NBA than the union’s prior proposals.”

(Via the Wall Street Journal)

I assume that Bass is explaining things now because Stern’s flu got so bad that he slipped into a coma. Wait, was his eye just open? I could have sworn it looked like his eye was open. Oh no, NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver has the flu, too, and now he’s slipped into a coma. Man, it’s only a matter of time before the whole league is sick and dying from this outbreak.

In the meantime, you can listen to Hunter’s comments on Bill Simmon’s podcast if you’re brave enough. Bass claims that Hunter was spreading a lot of misinformation in it, while Hunter claims that he’s spot on. I guess what I’m trying to say is, who’s ready for some NHL posts?

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