For the first time since the NBA lockout began on July 1, it actually seems like we’re going to have a season. After canceling the first two weeks of the season and then bluffing that he would cancel an additional two weeks and then all of the games leading up to and including Christmas day, NBA commissioner David Stern conducted a 15-hour meeting yesterday that lasted until 3 a.m.
It was reported that Stern and players union executive director Billy Hunter were seen laughing together at certain points during the negotiating session, and when a reporter asked Stern when he expected a deal, he smiled and yelled, “Tomorrow!” Seeing as it was 3 a.m., I’m not sure if he meant today or tomorrow. Hell, I’m surprised he didn’t shout, “Bring on the whores!”
Now, it seems that Stern, despite all of his arrogant bluffing, believes that there will be an entire season. And why wouldn’t there be?
“We’ll try to schedule as many games as possible if we can make a deal this week,” Stern, the NBA Commissioner, said early Thursday. “Until we have an overall deal we don’t have a deal on anything.”
“There’s no question today was a better day than last Thursday,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. “We made progress on significant issues. But there are still some very significant issues left.”
(Via the New York Daily News)
The players have reportedly dropped their stalemate demand of 53% of basketball related income to 52.5% and that might be good enough to work a deal, seeing as they’ve still voluntarily surrendered 4.5% of the money they received in the last collective bargaining agreement. But none of that matters right now, because I’m starting to think this whole thing was just an elaborate scheme, at least from Stern.
The man notoriously tries to schedule league announcements and major events so they overshadow other leagues. This is routine from him, and it almost always works. So why on Earth would he suddenly change his tune about the status of the 2011-12 season? Because we’re witnessing an amazing World Series that included the most incredible Game 6 since Joe Carter galloped around the bases like he won the lottery.
I’m not predicting that it will happen, but if you think it’s out of the realm of possibility that Stern issues an announcement at 8:04 p.m. tonight that the NBA season has been saved, then you just don’t know him.
